Melinda Schawel
Melinda Schawel’s art practice is a personal and emotional response to phenomena occurring in nature, as well as meditations on the nature of paper itself. Working with a thick 640gsm paper, she drills and tears into the medium with a scalpel and peels it back to create abstract shapes and textures revealing different aspects of the paper’s persona. Drawing ink and fluid acrylics are poured and painted on sections of the torn and perforated paper, creating dynamic interplays between colour and form.
Her practice explores the resilience of fragile ecosystems, which are under threat by both natural and human made events but still able to flourish despite the harshest of conditions.
Education
1996
Postgraduate Degree, Fine Arts (Honours) in Printmaking, RMIT, Melbourne
1993
BA, Fine Arts and Communication Studies (Honours),University of California Santa Barbara, USA.
Solo Exhibitions
2019
Summertime in the Mountains, Hill Smith Gallery, Adelaide, SA
2018
Boundless, Sydney Contemporary Art Fair with Wagner Contemporary, NSW
Second Chances, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2017
Silver Lining, Beaver Galleries, Canberra, ACT
Higher Ground II, Hill Smith Gallery, Adelaide
Higher Ground, Wagner Contemporary, Sydney
2016
Protected, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2015
Out from Under Me, Hill Smith Gallery, Adelaide
2014
Traverse, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
Traverse, Artspace Foyer Gallery, Mackay
2012
Torn, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2009
Full Circle, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2006
Out of Touch, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2003
Lingua Franca, Global Art Source, Zürich, Switzerland
2000
Recent Works, Flinders Lane Gallery
1999
Etched, Helengory Galerie, Prahran.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2018
Art Central Hong Kong, Hill Smith Gallery, Hong Kong
2017
Whyalla Art Prize, finalist, Country Arts SA, Port Adelaide & Adelaide Airport, SA
Denfair, with Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne Convention Centre
Finalist, Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing, Sydney, NSW
2016
Works on Paper, Hill Smith Gallery, Adelaide, SA
Of Colour & Light, Yarra Sculpture Gallery, Abbotsford, Vic
The Nillumbik Prize, finalist, Montsalvat, Melbourne
2015
Small Works, Beaver Galleries, ACT
Magical, Neospace, Collingwood, VIC
Fisher's Ghost Art Award, Finalist, Campbelltown, Arts Centre, NSW
Drawing: A Fundamental Liberation V, Wagner Gallery, Sydney, NSW
The Nillumbik Prize, finalist, Montsalvat, Melbourne
Roots & Wings, with Belinda Fox, Beaver Galleries, ACT
Direction Now, Wagner Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2014
The Portrait Show, Flinders Lane Gallery
2013
The Nillumbik Prize, finalist, Montsalvat, Melbourne
Grounded, Australian High Commission, Singapore
2012
Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown Arts Centre, NSW, Australia
2010
Four Squared, Gallery S.P.A.C.E., Savannah, Georgia, USA
2009
Obra Grafica Murtra Edicions, Collegi d’Aparelladors, Barcelona (Mataró), Spain.
Four Squared, University Gallery, Uni of Northern Florida, USA
20Plus, Flinders Lane Gallery
Paper Works, Gallery RFD, Swainsboro, Georgia, USA
2008
Surface Tension, Flinders Lane Gallery
The Perfumed Garden, Flinders Lane Gallery
2007
Christmas Collection, Beaver Galleries, Canberra
Pure, Flinders Lane Gallery
2006
Treasures, Flinders Lane Gallery
Melbourne Art Fair, Flinders Lane Gallery
Meeting Place, Keeping Place, George Adams Gallery, Arts Centre, Melbourne
Slowly, Slowly, Kudos Gallery, Sydney
2005
Art Sydney 05, Sydney
Up to Speed (2 person show with Belinda Fox), Beaver Galleries
2004
Ausstellung in der Kupferdruckwerkstatt, Zürich, Switzerland
2003
Del Mar, Kulturbüro Schaufensterprogramm, Bern, Switzerland
Grafik und mehr, Galerie Vostry, Erfurt, Germany
2002
Works on paper, Global Art Source, Zurich
Land-line, Port Jackson Press Australia, Fitzroy
Crossroads, Broken Hill Regional Gallery, VIC
Confluence, Warrnambool Regional Gallery, VIC
Sojourn with Belinda Fox, Beaver Galleries ACT
Awards and Residencies
2016
Residency, The Art Vault, Mildura, Victoria
2015
Residency, Chiang Mai Art on Paper Workshop, Chiang Mai Thailand
2012
Residency, Whitsunday Anglican School, MacKay, Australia
2004
Residency, Frans Masereel Centre, Kasterlee, Belgium
2002
Colour Intaglio workshop at La Fundacio Pilar i Joan Miro, Mallorca, Spain
Recipient of Pat Corrigan Artist’s Grant (NAVA)
Fine Art Publishers
2006-7
Port Jackson Press Australia, Melbourne
2003-4
Murtra Edicions, Arenys de Munt, Spain
Collections
Astral (NSW) Jupiters Casino (QLD) Sheraton (VIC), Fraser Suites Perth (WA), Hyatt (Phillipines), Hilton (VIC), Four Seasons (NSW), Stockland Development (NSW), Geelong Regional Gallery (VIC), Royal Museum of Fine Art Antwerp (Belgium), Frans Masereel Centre of Graphic Arts (Belgium), National Gallery of Australia (ACT), Artbank (NSW), Charles Sturt University (NSW), Phillips Fox Lawyers (ACT), Hilton (SA), Sebel Hotel (VIC), Hotel Causeway (VIC), Westin (NSW), Park Hyatt (VIC), Crown Casino (VIC), private collections in Europe, USA, Australia, Asia.
Melinda Schawel
Resolve
Ink and pencil on torn, perforated paper
120 x 120 cm
$7,500
SOLD
Melinda Schawel
Crossing Over
ink and pencil on torn and perforated paper
120 x 91 cm
$5,500
Melinda Schawel
Deluge
ink and pencil on torn and perforated paper
90.5 x 120.5 cm
$5,500
SOLD
Melinda Schawel
long way from home
Medium:
Ink & pencil on torn & perforated paper
Dimensions:
77 x 113 cm
SOLD
Melinda Schawel
Below the Surface II
Ink pencil on torn perforated paper
120 x 92 cm