Biography

1965 Born in Bristol, family moved to Australia
1985 Obtained a BA from RMIT University, Melbourne
1995 Obtained a MA from RMIT University, Melbourne
Won the Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship
1996-97 Studied as an Affiliate Student at the Slade School of Art
1988 First show at the Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
2000 Dobell cow sculpture displayed in 'Les Champs de la Sculpture', Paris
2002 Dobell cow sculpture displayed in 'La Parade des Animaux', Monte Carlo

Solo Exhibitions

1988 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
1990 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
The Essoign Club, Owen Dixon Chambers, Melbourne
1993 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
1995 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
Piccadilly Gallery, London, UK
1996 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
Masters Exhibition, RMIT, Melbourne
1997 Piccadilly Gallery, London, UK, 'Painting the Dead Horse'
1998 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
2000 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 'More Fucking Cows!'
Piccadilly Gallery, London, UK
L'espal centre culturel, Le Mans, France, 'John Kelly'
2002 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
Piccadilly Gallery, London, UK, ‘Culture Jam’
2003 Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney, 'The Nice Paintings – From The Top Paddock’
2004 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, ‘The Irish Rover’
The Essoign Club, Owen Dixon Chambers, Melbourne, 'John Kelly'
Project Space, RMIT, Melbourne, ‘The Drawing Room’
2005 Piccadilly Gallery, London, UK, ‘Incorrect Usage’
Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney, ‘Australian Cultural Product’
Goodenough College, London, ‘Three Cows in a Pile’
Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, ‘Project x 2’
2006 Piccadilly Gallery, London Dolliver Design Studio, Cork, Ireland, ‘There was an Australian, an Englishman and an Irishman...’
Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, ‘Sun of Moonboy’
McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Melbourne, ‘Deconstructing Australia’
2007 The Room, Brighton, VIC, ‘John Kelly’
Piccadilly Gallery, London Dolliver Design Studio, Cork, Ireland, ‘There was an Australian, an Englishman and an Irishman...’
Musée d’Art Moderne de Contemporaine, Nice, France, ‘Cow up a Tree’
2008 Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney, ‘Self Portrait from Afar’
2009 Salamanca Arts Centre, Battery Point, TAS, ‘Self Portrait from Afar’, third project from Kelly’s Garden curated series
2010 Agnews Gallery , London, UK, 'Probe'
2011 Michael Koro Gallery, Melbourne, ‘Enterprise’
2013 Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney, ‘Look and Put (Irish Landscapes)’
Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, Ireland, ‘Sticks and Stones’
2014 Australian Galleries, Derby Street, Melbourne, ‘From under my mother’s bed’
The Doswell Gallery, Cork, Ireland, ‘Castlehaven’
2015 Australian Galleries, Roylston Street, Sydney, ‘From under my mother’s bed including recent etchings and steel cut outs’
2016 Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, Ireland, ‘Out There’
Bett Gallery, Hobart, ‘The Moo Brew Etchings’
Australian Galleries, Melbourne, ‘Hanging Rock’
Australian Galleries, Melbourne, ‘The Moo Brew Etchings’
Sotheby’s, Sydney, ‘John Kelly: Sculptures’

Selected Group Exhibitions

1988-1994 Various group exhibitions in Australia
1995 Linden Gallery, Melbourne, ‘St Kilda Postcard Show’
Dobell Drawing Prize Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Sulman Prize Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Benalla Visual Arts Festival, Benalla, VIC, ‘Australian Felix’
Piccadilly Gallery, London, UK, ‘Piccadilly Gallery at Art ‘95’
Geelong Art Gallery, Geelong, VIC, ‘Deakin University: Recent Acquisitions’
Basel Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
Piccadilly Gallery, London
London, UK and Edinburgh, UK, ‘Royal Overseas League Exhibition’
Access Gallery, Sydney
The Herald Sun Art Prize, Melbourne
1996 Royal College of Art, London, UK, ‘20th Century British Art Fair’
London, UK and Edinburgh, UK, ‘Royal Overseas League Exhibition’
Basel Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
Wynne Prize Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Mornington, VIC, ‘12th Biennial Spring Festival of Drawing’
Fifth Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Melbourne
1997 Halle Saint Pierre, Paris, France and Strausborg, France, ‘Oh La Vache!’
Basel Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
Musée Municipal A.G. Poulain, Normandie, France, ‘Vaches du XXe Siecle et Droles de Bovides’
Glasgow Art Fair, Glasgow, Scotland
Wynne Prize Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
London, UK and Edinburgh, UK, ‘Royal Overseas League Exhibition’
1998 Sulman Prize Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Wynne Prize Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Salon des Refusés, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney
Sixth Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Melbourne
Basel Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
Access Gallery, Sydney
Hill-Smith Gallery, Adelaide
Virgin Airlines, Gatwick Airport, London
Hammerson, 100 Park Lane, London, UK, ‘Figuring it Out'
Galerie Luc Queyral, Paris, France, ‘Proposition Australiennes’
Gallerie Commercio, Zurich, Switzerland, ‘Kuhkunst’
1999 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, ‘Blue Chip II: The Collectors’ Exhibition’
Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Mornington, VIC, ‘Horses for Courses’
Espace Eiffel, Paris, France, ‘Salon Grands et Jeunes d’Aujourd’hui’
Paris, France, ‘Les Champs de la Sculpture II’
Basel Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
Royal Academy of Arts, London, ‘Summer Exhibition’
2000 Royal Academy of Arts, London, ‘Summer Exhibition’
Sulman Prize Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Foundation Coprim, Paris, France, 'Paysage'
l’Espace, Adamski Designs, Paris, France, ‘Accents Australiens'
2002 Monte Carlo, Monaco, ‘Parade des Animaux’
Ipswick Global Arts Link, Ipswick, QLD, ‘Ready, Set, Go! Sporting Life and Australian Art’,
Basel Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
Royal Academy of Arts, London, ‘Summer Exhibition’
2003 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, ‘Blue Chip V: The Collectors’ Exhibition’
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, ‘Fair Game: Art & Sport’
McClelland Gallery, Langwarrin, VIC, ‘A Modelled World’
2004 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, ‘Blue Chip VI: The Collectors’ Exhibition’
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat, VIC and touring, ‘Imaging the Apple’
Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne
The Triskel, Cork, Ireland, 'Taking Stock'
2005 Glastonbury Festival, Glastonbury, UK, ‘The Green Fields’
The Triskel, Cork, Ireland, 'Taking Stock'
McClelland Gallery, Langwarrin, VIC, ‘McClelland Contemporary Sculpture Survey and McClelland Award Exhibition’
2006 Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne
Belfast Print Workshop, Belfast, Ireland, ‘Cork-Belfast Printmakers Exchange’
The Triskel, Cork, Ireland, ‘Fetish in a Box’
Belfast Print Workshop, Belfast, Ireland, ‘10 x 10 Identity in Contemporary Ireland’
Sculpture by the Sea: Tenth Annual Exhibition, Sydney
2007 Montalto Sculpture Prize: Finalist Exhibition, Red Hill, VIC
The Hague, Netherlands, ‘Den Haag Sculptuur 2007’
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat, VIC, ‘How Now Cow’
Agnew’s, London, UK, ‘Looking forward – 25 British Artists’
Glastonbury Festival, Glastonbury, UK, ‘The Green Fields’
Sirus Arts Centre, Cork, Ireland, ‘Death and Desire’
Toorak Festival of Sculpture, Toorak, Melbourne
Auckland Art Fair, Auckland, NZ
Hawkesbury Regional Gallery , Hawkesbury , NSW, ‘Bloodlines: Art and the Horse’
2008 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, ‘Blue Chip X: The Collectors’ Exhibition’
The Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award 2008, Werribee Park, Melbourne
Yarra Sculpture Gallery, Melbourne, ‘Ship of Fools, Ship of Hope, One World’
Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
The Third Guangzhou Triennial, Guangzhou Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China, ‘Farewell to Post Colonialism’
2009 Cork Printmakers and Tristel Arts Centre, Cork, Ireland, ‘Today I joined a gang in the woods’, curated by Emma Mahony
Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney, ‘Summer exhibition’
2010 Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney, ‘Blue Chip: Collectors’ Exhibition’
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan, ‘At the Crossroads’
2011 Goteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art, Goteborg, Germany
Crawfort Art Gallery, Cork, Ireland
2014 Australian Galleries, Derby Street, Melbourne, ‘Australia Day 2014 Celebratory Exhibition’
Australian Galleries, Derby Street, Melbourne, ‘one of each’
2015 Void Gallery, Derry, Ireland, 'Horse'
2016 Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, Adelaide, ‘Fleurieu Art Prize’
Australian Galleries, Melbourne, ‘Conjuring, Alchemy and Allure’

Collections

Artbank, Australia
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Baker and McKenzie, London, UK
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat, VIC
Benalla Art Gallery, Benalla, VIC
Bendigo Art Gallery , Bendigo, VIC
City of Yarra Collection, VIC
Deakin University Art Collection, VIC
Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Gold Coast, QLD
Gallery of Sport, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Holmes a Court Collection, Cowaramup, WA
La Trobe University Collection, VIC
Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River, WA
Maharam Collection, New York, USA
McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery, Langwarrin, VIC
Murdoch Collection, Australia
Musée Municipal A G Poulain, Normandie, France
Museum of Old and New Art, Moorilla, Hobart
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Sports Museum, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, TAS
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Tasmania Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
Trinity College Collection, Melbourne
Western Mining Collection, Australia
Numerous private and corporate collections in Australia, Europe and USA

Commissions, Grants, and Awards

1988 Project Grant, Visual Arts Board, Australia Council
1992 The Melbourne Theatre Company 1992-1993 Season Programme, I Hate Hamlet
1993 City of Richmond Acquisitive Art Award
John Storey Memorial Scholarship, The Queen’s Trust Grant, RMIT
1994 Barcelona Studio, Visual Arts/Craft Board, Australia Council
1995 Anne and Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship Award
St Kilda Postcard Show
2001 Project Grant, South East Arts
2002 Professional Development Grant, Visual Arts/Craft Board, Australia Council
2005 ‘Moo Brew’, paintings for Moorilla Estate, TAS
2015 ‘Man lifting cow’ for Brimbank Council
2016 Fleurieu Art Prize (Finalist), Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, Adelaide

Bibliography

Catalogues, Books, and Films

Moet et Chandon (exhibition catalogue), 1988
John Kelly (exhibition catalogue), Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 1993
Neville Drury, Images 2 – Contemporary Australian Painting, Craftsman House Press, 1994
Moet et Chandon (exhibition catalogue), 1994
Australian Arts Diary, illustrated, 1995
Australia Felix (exhibition catalogue), Benalla, 1995
Royal Overseas League (exhibition catalogue), London, 1995
John Kelly (exhibition catalogue), Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 1995
Barry Humphries, The art of John Kelly (exhibition catalogue), The Piccadilly Gallery, London, 1997
Anne and Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship (exhibition catalogue), University of South Australia, 1996
Royal Overseas League (exhibition catalogue), London, 1997
John Kelly (exhibition catalogue), Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 1998
Basel Art Fair (exhibition catalogue), 1998
Cow up a Tree, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 1999
John Kelly – New Paintings and Sculpture (exhibition catalogue), The Piccadilly Gallery, London, 200
More Fucking Cows! (exhibition catalogue), Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 2000
Laura Murray Cree, Awesome! Australian Art for Contemporary Kids, Craftsman House, Sydney, 2002
The Nice Paintings – From the Top Paddock (exhibition catalogue), Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2003
Australian Cultural Product (exhibition catalogue), Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2004
Sun of Moonboy (exhibition catalogue), Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2006
Sun of Moonboy (exhibition catalogue), Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2006
Australian Art Pack Animals 1788 – 21st Century, The Creative School Supply Company, 2007
Robert Lindsay, Deconstructing Australia (exhibition catalogue), McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, Melbourne, 2006
Sonia Payes, Untitled: Portraits of Australian Artists, Macmillan Publishing, Melbourne, 2007
The Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award at Werribee Park 2008 (exhibition catalogue), The Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award, Melbourne, 2008
Self Portrait from Afar (exhibition catalogue), Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney, 2008
John Doggett-Williams, Deconstructing John Kelly, Fine Eye Productions, Melbourne, 2008

Articles and Reviews

Gary Catalano, The Age, 17 February 1988
Alison Barclay, “Cow of a job for a talented artist”, Herald Sun, 8 June 1993
Anna Clabburn, “Laughing at national sacred cows”, The Melbourne Times, 23 June 1993
Openline, RMIT “John Storey winner milks memories of wartime cows”, RMIT University, 16 June 1993
Chris Johnston, “Painting a cows tale”, Western Independent, Melbourne
Robert Nelson, “Moet has depth and seduction”, The Age, 4 January 1995
Anna Clabburn, Asian Art News (Australian Supplement), May 1995
Andrew Block, “Cudding Edge”, Herald Sun, 1 March 1996
Susan McCulloch, “Metaphorically Phar-fetched”, The Australian, 4 November 1997
“The weekend’s best: Art”, The Age, 28 November 1998
“Kelly: London to Brighton”, Artlink, volume 18, No. 4, 1998
“John Kelly L’Australie Aux Champs”, Connaissance Des Arts, No 561, May 1999
“John Kelly dans le cadre des Champs de la Sculpture 2000”, press book, comprehensive collation of international media coverage, Agence Hymann, Renault Associees, Paris, 2000
Anna Clabburn, “Stripes and squares animate landscape carnival”, The Australian, 10 November 2000
Robert Nelson, “Shock of the moo”, The Age, 8 November 2000
Jeff Makin, “Suspended animation”, Herald Sun, 20 November 2000
“Docklands is out on a limb for art”, Melbourne Yarra Leader, 12 February 2001
Susan McCullock-Uehlin, “Packing art and leaving home”, The Weekend Australian, 2 June 2001
Jeff Makin, “Roses all the way”, Herald Sun, 4 February 2002
Alison Harper, “Market perspective”, The Australian Art Market Report, Issue 4, 2002
“Market perspective”, The Australian Art Market Report, Issue 5, 2002
Louise Bellamy, “Bull market for Niagara”, The Age, 24 April 2003
Bob Hart, “In the bid time”, Herald Sun, 3 May 2003
Georgina Safe, “Painter mocks arts council bull”, The Australian, 20 June 2003
John Kelly, “Letters”, Art Monthly Australia, August 2003
John McDonald and John Kelly, “Branding time at the oz co. corral”, Australian Art Review, November 2003
Alison Harper, “Interview with John Kelly”, The Australian Art Market Report, Issue 10, 2003
Terry Ingram, “Merger streamlines art market”, The Australian Financial Review, 14 November 2003
Patricia Anderson, “Apparitions and metaphors”, The Australian, 15 November 2003
Geoff Maslen, “Gavel fails to fall for most vendors”, The Age, 1 December 2003
Harbant Gill, “Having a cow of a time”, Herald Sun, 28 January 2004
Louise Bellamy, “A gain for the galleries”, The Age, 25 June 2005
Harbant Gill, “So who’s a silly moo?”, Herald Sun, 28 June 2005
Jeff Makin, “Pun in the moonlight”, Herald Sun, 20 November 2006
Harbant Gill, “Now it’s three cows up a tree”, Herald Sun, 26 Marh 2007
Ailin Quinlan, “Artist brings animal attraction home”, Irish Examiner, 2 April 2007
Brian O’Connell, “Pull the udder one”, The Irish Times Magazine, 7 April 2007
Katrina Stickland, “No sacred cows”, The Australian Financial Review, 6 December 2007
Harbant Gill, “Peril vaults back”, Herald Sun, 18 February 2008
“It’s a date: Helen Lempriere Centenary Exhibition at Werribee Park”, Royal Auto, April 2008
Fergal Gaynor, “Crawford Open 2007 – the sleep of reason”, Circa 123, Spring 2008
John P O’Sullivan, “Enjoy the View”, The Sunday Times, 03 August 2014
James Cockington, “Art to Adore for Heifer and Heifer”, Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Money’, 22 October 2014
Capone, Alesha, “Artist John Kelly begins work on Man lifting cow statue for Sunshine”, Brimbank Leader, 11 November 2015
Kylie Northover, “Cow-up-a-tree-artist John Kelly – Australia’s most famous artist you never knew”, The Age, 18 December 2015
Margaret Burin, “Australian artist John Kelly brings cows home to mark humble beginnings”, ABC News, 20 August 2016
Sally Glaetzer, “How a beer label led to Leigh Carmichael’s brilliant new career”, The Mercury, 29 October 2016

Writing by the artist

“In advance of the Crawford open”, Recirca.com, 2007
“Making a meal of sculpture”, Recirca.com, 2008
“If I were you I wouldn’t start from here – The way things go”, Recirca.com, 2008
“The spectacle of expectation in public”, Recirca.com, 2008
“An Open Letter From John Kelly to the PM”, The Art Life blogspot, 2008
“Wotif, Wotif...”, The Artlife, 2008
“Sean Lynch”, Circa magazine, Ireland 2008 Summer edition
“The impossibility for shopping in the mind of a stuffed d’oh eyed panda”, Circa magazine, Winter edition Ireland, 2008
“First Past the Post-Colonial”, Art Monthly Australia, November 2008
“Prayer for the Potato Crop”, Art Monthly Australia, March 2009
“The Beauty of Distance”, Art Monthly Australia, July 2009
“Is that your dog”, A Biennale Romance, www.recirca.com, 2009
“Grin and bear it”, Circa magazine, Ireland, Summer 2009
“On the beach – a letter from Nice”, Recirca.com, 2009
“Not exactly about cricket”, The Art Life, 2009
“Letter from an Australian”, originally published in Art Monthly, Issue No 322, December 2009/January 2010, p 38
“Bacon ‘n’ Eggs”, Art Monthly Australia, March 2010
“From Melbourne to Monaco (via Princess Grace boulevard)”, The Art Life, April 2010
“Thingamajig, the secret life of objects”, The Art Life, May 2010
“The Caretaker and the Guesthouse”, The Art Life, June 2010
“William Dobell, An artist’s life, Book review”, Art Monthly Australia, November 2010
“Close Examination, Fakes, Mistakes and Rey Mysterio – A year in review”, The Art Life, December 2010
“Flying High I & II: Airplane, the Terminal Convention and Sirium Matters”, The Art Life, February 2011
“Memory Places”, Art Monthly Australia, April 2011
“The Golden Thread: Hany Armanious at the Venice Biennale, “The Art Life, July 2011
“Art, Branding and Camouflage Cows”, The Art Life, August 2011
“Artist and the State and the State of the Arts”, www.papervisual.com, September 2011
“PAN DEMON i UM: The Goteborg International Biennale of Contemporary Art”, www.recirca.com, September 2011
“The Garden Shed”, Visual Arts News, November-December 2011

John Kelly

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