Wendy Sharpe

1960 –

 

Wendy Sharpe is undoubtedly one of Australia’s greatest contemporary figurative painters, creating provocative and sensuous images of the human form. Often working directly from life, her paintings possess a spontaneity and directness that invites viewers to engage with the work on an emotional level.

 

Citing Expressionist artists such as Max Beckmann and Edward Munch as initial influences, Sharpe has developed a distinctive gestural style grounded in an innate ability to draw. She is not afraid to confront universal themes of love, passion and the complexities of human relationships, something rarely expressed in art today.

 

One of Australia’s official war artists sent to East Timor in 1999, Sharpe is regularly travelling abroad in the name of art. In early 2012 she was invited to attend the centenary voyage to Antarctica by the Mawson’s Hut Foundation, producing over 100 works based on the experience. Her painting ‘Self-portrait in Antarctica with penguin and Mawson’s huts’ was a finalist in the 2012 Archibald Prize. She was also a finalist in teh 2012 Mosman Art Prize, Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award and National Works on Paper Award.

 

Sharpe has been awarded many prestigious accolades and scholarships including The Portia Geach Memorial Prize (2003 and 1995); The Archibald Prize (1996); The Kedumba Drawing Prize (1995); The Mercedes Benz Traveling Scholarship (1999); The Sullman prize (1986); The Marten Bequest Traveling scholarship (1986); Tenancy of the Denise Hickey studio at Cite Des Arts in Paris (1986) and The Robert Le Gay Bereton Drawing prize, among many others.

Bibliography

 

2013 Allen, Christopher, ‘Portraiture that looks like a snap to paint’, The Australian, A Plus, March 15, p15

2012 DiCiero, Lyn ‘Sharpe Practice’ The West Australian, March 21, Follow this link to view

2011 ‘Frequent Flyer Wendy Sharpe’ The Sydney Morning Herald Smart Edition – Traveler, November 5-6 , p.5

2011 Omergari, Lisa ‘Book review’ Artist Profile, Issue 16

2011 Hazelhurst Regional Gallery Sydney, ‘Prints from the Griffith Studio’ catalogue, p.44

2011 Taylor, Andrew, Christopher ‘Who Watches Who at Zoo’ The Sydney Morning Herald, August 14

2011 Allen, Christopher ‘Sensuous compulsion’ Weekend Australian Review, Visual Arts, April 2, pp.11-12

2011 Meacham, Steve ‘Stripped bare for a rare look back’ The Sydney Morning Herald, February 23, pp.14-15

2011 Fortesque, Elizabeth ‘Vivid Celebration of Life’ The Daily Telegraph, February 21, p.26

2011 ‘Artist capture Zoo’s roar appeal’ Sun Herald, February 20

2011 Sharpe, Wendy, Wendy Sharpe, [128p. monograph, essay by Kidd, Courtney] Martin Lane Design, NSW

2010 Hunter, Catherine & Inglis, Bruce The Imagined life – The Art of Wendy Sharpe, DVD, Catherine Hunter Productions, Sydney

2010 O’Conner, Natalie, Slow Burn – A century of woman artists from a private collection, S.H. Ervin Gallery & Eva Breuer Art Dealer, August pp.218-219

2010 Selinger-Morris Samantha ‘Profile of artist Wendy Sharpe’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum, July 17-18 p.4

2010 Sisley, Alan Tales from the City, ‘Bernard Ollis and Wendy Sharpe’, Orange Regional Art Gallery

2010 Lopez, AnneMarie, Art Box Office (image) The Magazine, Sydney April p.57

2010 The Planner ‘ETC, ‘Open Studios’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum, March 20-21 p.20

2010 ‘Water’ (image) The Sydney Morning Herald, Metro, January 26, p.2

2010 ‘Art and War’ (image) Incubate, COFA publication, Sydney, issue 4, p.73

2009 Schwartzkoff, Louise, ‘Perfectly at Easle’, The Sydney Morning Herald, Metro, May 8, p22

2009 ‘War Room’ Sydney Morning Hearald, Spectrum, April 25-26, p.22

2009 Matchett, Stephen ‘The Art of War’ Weekend Australian Review, April 25-26

2009 New-Selected Work and Recent Exhibitions, University of Queensland, p64

2009 Van Witt, Kathleen Collections Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, p33

2009 Allen, Christopher ‘Land’s End’ Weekend Australian Review, March 28

2008 Gillies, Fiona ‘In the Frame’, The Sunday Telegraph, October 26, cover & pp.6-7

2008 Simmonds, Diana “Travels with my Art” The Weekend Australian, Oct 11-12, p.4

2008 Macdonald, Cindy ‘UpFront – your time starts now’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Weekend October 11-12, p.16

2008 Allen, Christopher ‘Walk the Line’ Weekend Australian Review, Sept 20-21

2008 Cockington, James ‘The God of small things’ The Sydney Morning Herald Sept 10 p.13

2008 Mc Cormick, Alice & Rhodes, Sarah, The Artists Lunch Murdoch books pp.180-193

2008 Fortesque, Elizabeth, ‘Sharpe has an exquisite French Connection’ The Daily Telegraph, May p.24

2008 Macdonald, John, ‘Snapshot’ The Sydney Morning Herald, May 31, p16-17

2007 Lloyd, Ian & Macdonald, John, Studio – Australian Painters on the Nature of Creativity R. Ian Lloyd Productions, pp.184-187, p.276

2006 Atkinson, Frances, ‘What I ‘ve learnt’ The Age, December 16 p.10, A2

2006 ‘Mona Lisa’s Guile Smile’, The Daily Telegraph, Sept 21, p.43

2006 Lucinda Schmidt, ‘Pro file – Wendy Sharpe’ The Age & The Sydney Morning Herald, Sept 20

2006 ‘Witness to War’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Good weekend, August 8, p.17

2006 Meacham, Steve, ‘In The Army zone’ The Sydney morning Herald, July 30

2006 Macdonald, John, ‘Tour of Duty by Lens and Brush’ The Sydney morning Herald, June 22-23 pp.16-17

2006 Pinson, Peter, John, The Australian Watercolour Institute, Philip Mathews pp.144-145

2006 Brown, Rachel: ‘Portrait reveals Mary…’ The Sun Herald, April 9 p.3

2006 Fortesque, Elizabeth: ‘What’s the Form?’ The Daily Telegraph, Sydney live, March 23 p.2

2006 Byrne, Wenona, ‘Wendy Sharpe – Erskineville, every surface has its day’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Domain, February 23, p.5

2005 Craig, Sunundra : ‘I wish I painted that – Wendy Sharpe on Goya’s light of the witches’ The Sydney Morning Herald, December 28, p.24

2005 Verghis, Sharon : ‘Art School Battle hits the streets’ The Sydney Morning Herald, November 22, p.7

2005 Verghis, Sharon: ‘Battle Lines are Drawn’ The Sydney Morning Herald, November 12-13, p.37

2005 Helen Musa, ‘Chapman Gallery’s Coup’ The Canberra Times, September 2, p.8

2005 Sonia Barron, ‘Intimate Works of Vigour’ The Canberra Times, September 28, p.12

2005 Sandra McLean, ‘Visual Arts’ Courier Mail, June 2, p.21

2005 Sebastian Smee, ‘Face Value’ The Weekend Australian, April 23-24, p.4

2004 Speck, Catherine, Painting Ghosts Craftsman House Press, pp.200-203

2004 Churcher, Betty, The Art of War The Miegunyah Press, pp.166-168

2004 Weight, Greg, Australian Artists Chapter & Verse, p.166

2004 Davies, Alan: An Eye for Photography The Miegunyah Press, pp.104-105

2004 Hill, Peter: ‘Creative thoughts’ The Sydney Morning Herald, November 20, p.44

2004 Mclean, Sandra, ‘Different Destination’ The Courier Mail, October 8, p.4

2004 Li, Jingzhe, Australian Contemporary Painting Shanghai Peoples Fine Arts Publishing House, pp.101-104

2004 Brown, Phil, ‘Wendy Sharpe’s brush with travel’ Brisbane News, October p.39

2004 Hill, Peter, ‘Two to tango’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum, October 16-17 p.18

2004 Pierce, Peter, ‘Dispatches from the Homefront’ the Sydney Morning Herald, September 4-5 p.13

2004 Fortescue, Elizabeth, ‘city at night’ The Daily Telegraph, Sydney Live, April 9 p.65

2004 Higson, Rosalie, ‘The Face’ The Weekend Australian, Profile, April 10-11 p.R3*

2004 Morgan, Joyce, ‘Enter at their own risk’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum, March 6-7 p.4

2004 Artist Week- Visual Arts Program, Adelaide Festival Artist Week, February 28

2003 Reid, Michael, ‘Always buy the works you love’ The Weekend Australian, February 8-9 p.42

2003 Higson, Rosalie, ‘Work from a woman’s perspective’ The Australian, September 26 p.16

2003 Low, Lenny Ann, ‘Paper and tigers’ The Sydney Morning Herald, October 11-12

2003 Fortescue, Elizabeth, ‘A Sharpe focuses on herself’ The Daily Telegraph, Sept 26, p105

2003 Verghis, Sharon, ‘Rampant colour and chaos float in teacup over sea of restraint’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Sept 26 p.5

2003 ‘A Thousand Words-East Timor Concert’ (image) The Weekend Australian Magazine, Dec 20-2, p.2

2003 Musa, Helen, ‘New book captures the true colours of war’ The Canberra Times, May 21

2003 Guerrera, Orietta: ‘Book marks artists in conflict’ The Age, May 21 p.7

2003 Price, Jenna, ‘Painting in sharp focus’ The Canberra Times, June 14 p.17

2003 Wilkins, Lola [editor], Artist in Action (from the collection of the Australian War Memorial) Australian War Memorial Publication [front cover image]

2003 Gower, Steve, Artist in Action (from the collection of the Australian War Memorial) Australian War Memorial Publication, Lola Wilkins [editor], pp.156-157

2003 Minus, Jodie, ‘The Face-Gavin Wilson’ The Weekend Australian, Feb 8-9 p.R3

2003 Symmonds, Diana, ‘An Artist at her Peak’ The Sunday Telegraph, Oct 19 p.120

2003 Ball, Amelia, ‘Portrait wins Praise’ The Glebe and Inner Western Weekly, Oct 8 p.23

2003 Buttenshaw, Lucy, ‘Wendy Sharpe and Janna Ferris’ Pottery in Australia, Spring/Summer p.23

2003 Bojic, Zoja, Sunce Juznog Neba Published by Ruma, Yugoslavia

2003 Callagon, Greg, ‘A thousand Words – A painting by Wendy Sharpe’ The Weekend Australian Magazine, Dec 20-21

2002 Thomas, David, ‘Erotica Today,’ catalogue for ‘rotica’ exhibition, Metro5, Feb.27- Mar 17

2002 Aldred, Debra, ‘Ms Contrary,’ The Courier Mail, Nov6, p23

2002 Low, Lenny Anne, ‘Lets be serious, it’s Archibald time,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, May 24

2002 Lumby, Carrie, ‘Two Kings,’ Australian Art Collector, Issue 19, Jan-March, p62

2001 McDonald, John, ‘Australian Art and Society 1901- 2001,’ catalogue for ‘Federation’ exhibition, National Gallery of Australia

2001 Blinksell, Magella, ‘Wendy Sharpe,’ Reviews, Muse, August, p11

2001 Fortescue, Elizabeth, ‘The Year of Living Famously,’ Daily Telegraph, March 10, p12&13

2001 Morgan, Joyce, ‘How to win the Archibald,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, March 5, p2&14

2001 Bevan, Scott, ‘East Timor Drawings,’ (cover and review), Newcastle Herald Weekend Supplement, Feb 24

2000 Taylor, Elena: ‘Christmas in East Timor,’ Art on View, National Gallery of Australia, Summer,p17

2000 Wilkens, Lola: ‘New Beginnings-East Timor,’ catalogue – Australian War Memorial

2000 Kidd, Courtney: ‘Critic’s Picks,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, August 18-24, pp27

2000 Hynes, Victoria: ‘Sharpe focus on East Timor,’ Galleries, The Sydney Morning Herald, August, p15

2000 Auty, Giles: ‘Into the breach with paintbrush,’ Arts Review-The Weekend Australian, Arts Review, July 15-16, p23

2000 Fortescue, Elizabeth: ‘At The Sharpe End,’ The Daily Telegraph, July 8, p112

2000 Taylor, Kerry: ‘Art gives a glimpse of Timorese journey,’ The Canberra Age, July 5, p7

2000 Wills, Jenny: ‘house painting,’ The Sunday Telegraph, June 25, p17

2000 ‘Sharp images of battle,’ The Sun Herald, June 25

2000 Szczepaniak, Alex: ‘art keeps the peace,’ LOOK magazine (Art Gallery of NSW), May 18-20

2000 James, Bruce: Spectrum, The Sydney Morning Herald, Mar 25, p12

2000 Duncan, Susan: ‘Images of war (Wendy Sharpe in East Timor),’ The Australian Women’s Weekly, March, p56-57

2000 Smee, Sebastian: ‘Between the lines,’ Spectrum, The Sydney Morning Herald, Nov 11, p12

2000 ‘Beyond the Frame,’ Visual Arts Resource Package, Department of Education and Training

1999 Stuart, Sarah: ‘Sydney’s new pool opens with a splash,’ Sunday Telegraph, Feb 8

1999 Ryan, Anne: ‘Australia’s mermaid,’ LOOK magazine (Art Gallery of NSW), August, p20,35-36

1999 Trute, Peter: ‘Water wonderland,’ The Daily Telegraph, July 30, p21

1999 Jamieson, Tim: ‘A pool of resources is the new way to park,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, July 20

1999 Morgan, Joyce: ‘Vaudeville star makes a new splash,’ June

1999 McCabe, Susan: ‘Million Dollar Mermaid, Art write, issue 18, p28-29

1999 Hallett, Bryce: ‘Captain canvas reporting for duty,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Dec 9, p1

1999 Albert, Jane: ‘New war artist expecting a grim picture,’ The Australian, Dec 9, p5

1999 Ross, Peter: ‘Let’s Face It (The History of the Archibald Prize),’ Art Gallery of NSW [front cover image]

1999 Ross, Peter: ‘Let’s Face It (The History of the Archibald Prize),’ Art Gallery of NSW, p110- 111&140

1999 Smee, Sebastian: ‘In Combative Mode,’ The Galleries, The Sydney Morning Herald, Oct 12, p17

1999 Fortescue, Elizabeth: ‘Images True to Life (Drawing on History),’ Nov 13, p36

1999 Moore et al: (Cover), The Sydney Morning Herald, Dec 9

1999 Saleh, Lillian: ‘Woman to capture our Timor soldiers,’ The Daily Telegraph, Dec 9, p19

1999 Gotting, Peter: ‘Artist draws on horror, heroism,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Dec 31

1998 Mooney, Susan: ‘Archibald in its intimacy,’ Inner Western Suburbs Courier, March 9

1998 Kolenberg, Hendrik: ‘Australian Drawings from the Art Gallery of NSW Collection,’ (book)

1997 Watson, Bronwyn: ‘It pays to read between the lines,’ Art-The Bulletin, Sept 23, p73

1997 McDonald, John: ‘Serious Fun,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, May 10

1997 Fortescue, Elizabeth: ‘Winner rides a higher profile,’ The Daily Telegraph, March 21, p 42

1996 Turner, Brook: ‘Suffering for our art,’ Agenda, The Sydney Morning Herald, July 26, p13

1996 Merten, Margaret: ‘Body of work,’ Good Weekend, The Sydney Morning Herald Magazine, June 29, p18-19

1996 James, Bruce: ‘Dedication and a sensual dignity,’ The Age, March 27, pA20

1996 Cochrane,Peter: ‘Diana in thongs walks off with Archibald,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Mar 25, p1

1996 McDonald, John: ‘The sentimental prize,’ Spectrum Arts, The Sydney Morning Herald, March 16, p14s

1996 Fraser, Jane: ‘A revealing view of women as winner,’ The Weekend Australian, March 9-10, p1

1996 McDonald, John: ‘Archibald and the sex goddess: the art prize that surprises,’ SMH, March 9

1996 Smee, Sebastian: ‘Win lose and draw,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Oct

1995 James, Bruce: ‘Geach winner true to award’s ideals,’ The Melbourne Age, Nov 8

1995 Auty, Giles: ‘There’s no place for arrogance,’ The Weekend Australian, Oct 22

1995 McDonald, John: ‘brush power,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, Oct 21

1995 McGillick, Paul: ‘Talented Women on Show,’ Art-The Financial Review, Oct 20

1995 Cochrane, Peter: ‘A portrait of the artist-with milk-crate,’ Sydney Morning Herald, Oct 20

1995 James, Bruce: ‘The Archibald, a portrait of dishwasher dullness,’ The Age, April 19

1995 Fortescue, Elizabeth: ‘Drawing from Life,’ The Daily Telegraph Mirror, April 29, p107

1995 James, Bruce: ‘Archibald Prize,’ Review-The Age Mar 27

1994 Lynn, Elwyn: ‘Solemn search for the soul,’ The Australian Weekend Review, Mar 26, p10

1992 Fenner, Felicity: ‘Sexuality in the Work of Six Contemporary Women Painters,’

1992 Art and Australia, Spring

1992 Dysart, Dinah & Paroissien, Leon: editors of ‘Eroticism – Images of Sexuality in Australian Art,’ Craftsman House

1991 Fenner, Felicity: ‘A Figurative Focus,’ (catalogue essay), Tamworth City Gallery, April-May

1991 The Sydney Review, Aug

1991 Webb, Belinda: catalogue, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Aug

1990 Delaruelle, Jacques: Art Monthly, April

1989 Gibson, Emily: The Sydney Morning Herald, June 18

1989 Allen, Christopher: The Sydney Morning Herald, June 23

1989 Loxley, Anne: ‘Modern Muses: Classical Mythology in Australian Art, 1940- 1989,’ catalogue, SH Ervin Gallery

1988 Loxley, Anne: The Sydney Morning Herald, Nov 27

1987 Hoad, Brian: The Bulletin, Jan 13

1987 McDonald, John: The Sydney Morning Herald, Jan 3

 

Collections

 

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Arts Centre Victoria

Australian War Memorial, Canberra

Australian Embassy, Paris, France

Bathurst Regional Art Gallery

BHP Australia

City of Sydney Council

Hawkesbury Regional gallery

Kedumba Drawing Collection

Manly Regional Gallery

Orange Regional Gallery

Qantas

Tweed River Art Gallery

University of Queensland

University of Sydney

Warringah Council

Waverley Council

Etching House for Wendy Sharp Limited edition fine art works in mediums such as Etching, Giclee, Silkscreen, lithographic prints and mono prints, some original paintings are also available.