ABOUT

“Based on a careful study of our world, that in turn suggests another, Ciccarone’s paintings operate in an invented space that exists somewhere between reality and memory”. Linda Short, curator, State Library of Victoria

Julia Ciccarone’s highly detailed paintings invite the viewer into a world that negotiates the space where memory, imagination, dream and reality intersect. Drawing on herself, friends and family as models for her paintings, solitary figures act out various roles, in vignettes from what the artist describes as “a sort of painterly movie”. Julia Ciccarone, 2014

Ciccarone’s interest in the relationship between painting and the moving image is reflected in the strong cinematic narrative that runs through her work and her approach to each series of paintings, which begins with a storyboard mapped out in pencil by the artist. Ciccarone has worked alongside film director Kasimir Burgess, variously as art director, producer and conceptual artist, contributing to four short films, music videos and the feature length film Fell.

Born in Melbourne in 1967, Julia Ciccarone completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1988. Julia lived and worked in Italy as the recipient of the Verdaccio Studio awarded by the Visual Arts & Crafts Board of the Australia Council. She has completed a number of commissioned portraits in recent years and exhibited in the 2013 Archibald Prize and recently the 100th anniversary Archiblad Prize. In 2014 the artist was a finalist in the Sir John Sulman Prize, The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize and semi-finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize.

Julia currently lives and works in Melbourne.

Solo

EXHIBITIONS

2020

Beyond the Unknown, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

2018

Between Worlds, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

2014

Ricordati, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

2009
Nostalgia, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

2007
When you Write on Water, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

2005
Memories of Things that Never Happened, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

2002
La Vita e un Sogno, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

2000
Comfortably Numb, Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne
Remembering the Future, BMG Art Gallery, Adelaide

1998
Selected Works, BMG Art Gallery, Adelaide

1996
Fictitious Voyages, Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne

1994
Viva Gli Sposi, Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne

GROUP

EXHIBITIONS

2021

100th Archibald Prize 2021, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney and Touring

2020

Blue Chip XXII: The Collectors’ Exhibition, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

2019

Blue Chip XXI: The Collectors’ Exhibition, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

2017

Sydney Contemporary, Niagara Galleries, Carriageworks, Sydney

2016

On the Beach, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria

2015

Sydney Contemporary, Carriageworks, Sydney

Blue Chip XVII: The Collectors’ Exhibition, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

2014

Blue Chip XVI: The Collectors’ Exhibition, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

Sir John Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize 2014, South Australian Museum, Adelaide

2013

Sydney Contemporary 13, Carriageworks, Sydney

Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria

Blue Chip XIV: The Collectors’ Exhibition, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

Archibald Prize 2013, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney and Touring

2012

Blue Chip XIV: The Collectors' Exhibition, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

Body of Knowledge, The University of Melbourne, The Art of Teaching: Clinical Schools, Curated by Dr. Jacqueline Healy, The Ian Potter Gallery, Melbourne

Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, South Australia Museum, Adelaide and National Archives, Canberra

Geelong Contemporary Art Prize, Geelong Art Gallery, Victoria

Portia Geach Memorial Art Award, S H Ervin Gallery, Sydney,

2011

Where there is water... Curated by Meryl Ryan. 9th Dec 2011 - 5th Feb 2012. Lake Maquarie City Art Gallery

2009
The Shilo Project, The Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne

2007
Melbourne Savage Club 2007 Invitation Art Prize for Painting Exhibition, Victoria

2006
Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

2004

The Plot Thickens: Narratives in Australia Art, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne and touring

The Sir John Sulman Art Prize Finalist

2003
Portia Geach Memorial Award Exhibition, S H Ervin Gallery, Sydney

Mystic Medusa on Art, Newcontemporaries, QVB

Heat, Noosa Regional Gallery

2001
Stitches Fare Il Punto, Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney

Geelong Art Prize, Geelong Regional Gallery, Victoria

2000
Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and touring

1999
We are Australian, Victorian Arts Centre and touring internationally

1998
In absentia: Julia Ciccarone and Anne Wallace, Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University, Canberra

Metamorphosis, Mornington Peninsula Gallery, Mornington

Flesh, Noosa Regional Gallery, Queensland

Still Life and Landscape: Gabrielle Brauer and Julia Ciccarone, Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne

25th Anniversary Exhibition, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne

Mornington Peninsula National Drawing Prize, Morninqton Peninsula Gallery, Mornington

Site and Sensibility, S H Ervin Gallery, Sydney

Food Ex, 21st National Food and Beverage Exhibition, Nippon Convention Centre, Tokyo

Australia Felix, Benalla Easter Arts Festival, Victoria

Mulch and Metaphors: The Garden in Contemporary Art, Mornington Peninsula Gallery, Morninqton

1996
Colonial Post-Colonial, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne

Geelong Art Prize, Geelong Regional Gallery, Victoria

Food in Art, Mornington Peninsula Gallery, Mornington

Works on paper, Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne

1995
Lo Spazio (The Space), Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts and touring

Our Parents' Children, National Gallery of Victoria

Focus: 17 Australian Women, Adelaide Central Gallery, Adelaide

1993
Interiors, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne

1991
Moet and Chandon Exhibition, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and touring

Contemporary Landscapes, Deakin University Gallery, Geelong

Landscapes, Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne

Group Exhibition, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne

1990
Moet and Chandon Exhibition, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane and touring

Change, Judith Pugh Gallery, Melbourne

Now look this is serious, Judith Pugh Gallery, Melbourne

Witness, 200 Gertrude Street, Melbourne

1989
Gold Coast City Art Prize, Gold Coast Art Gallery, Queensland

Heidelberg and Heritage, Linden Art Gallery, Melbourne

BP Australia Acquisitive Prize, Melbourne

1988
Graduate Exhibition, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne

9x5 The Wilderness Society Exhibition, Linden Art Gallery, Melbourne

COLLECTIONS

COMMISSIONS

Artbank, Sydney

BHP, Melbourne

Coopers & Lybrand, Melbourne

Edith Cowan University

Latrobe University, Melbourne

The Melbourne University, Melbourne

Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne

Monash University, Melbourne

Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria

Parliament House, Canberra

The Melbourne Savage Club, Victoria

Wesfarmers Pty Ltd, Perth

Private collections, Australia

St Vincent's Commission to celebrate their centenary

Portrait of Professor John Poynter, Trinity College, The University of Melbourne

Portrait of Ronald Faren-Price, Australian Council

Portrait of Professor Vernon Marshal, Monash University

Portrait of Professor Bruce McKellar, University of Melbourne

Portrait of Professor Steve Wesselingh, Monash University

Portrait of Professor Stephen Holdsworth, Monash University

Portrait of Hatem Salem, Monash University

Portrait of Ross Gillies, QC, Peter O’Callaghan Gallery Foundation

Posthumous Portrait - William Alexander Watt, Parliament of Victoria

awards

2013

Finalist, Archibald Prize, Sydney

2014

Finalist, Sir John Sulman Prize, Sydney

Finalist, The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, Adelaide

Semi-Finalist, Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, Sydney

2021

Finalist, Archibald Prize, Sydney

2013

People's Choice Award Winner, Archibald Prize, Sydney

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS/CATALOGUES

Beyond the unknown, exhibition catalogue, Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2020

Blue Chip XXI: The Collectors’ Exhibition, exhibition catalogue, Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2019

Between Worlds, exhibition catalogue, Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2018

On the Beach: Leisure, Pleasure, Conflict, exhibition catalogue, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria, 2015

Ricordati, exhibition catalogue, Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2014

Blue Chip XV: The Collectors’ Exhibition, exhibition catalogue, Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2013

13: 2013 Archibald Prize, exhibition catalogue, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2013

Sasha Grishin, Australian Art: A History, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 2013

Blue Chip XIV: The Collectors’ Exhibition, exhibition catalogue, Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2012

Meryl Ryan, Where there is water…, exhibition catalogue, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, New South Wales, 2012

Julia Ciccarone: When you Write on Water, exhibition catalogue, Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2007

R. Ian Lloyd and John McDonald, Studio: Australian Painters on the Nature of Creativity, R Ian Lloyd Productions, Sydney, 2007

Pip Stokes, ‘The Prophetic Imagination’, catalogue essay, Memories of Things that Never Happened, Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2005

Rex Butler (ed.), Radical Revisionism, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2005

Luke Morgan, ‘Time, Space and the Commonplace’, catalogue essay, The Plot Thickens: Narratives in Australia Art, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Victoria, 2004

Cassandra Laing, ‘Dreaming forward’, catalogue essay, La Vita e’ un Sogno, Niagara Publishing, Melbourne, 2002

Laura Murray-Cree and Nevill Drury, Australian Painting Now, Craftsman House, Sydney, 2000

Katarina Paseta, ‘Carnavalesque’, catalogue essay, In absentia: Julia Ciccarone and Anne Wallace, Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University, Canberra, 1998

George Seddon, Landprints: Reflections on Place and Landscape, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, 1997

Nevill Drury, Images 3 Contemporary Australian Painting, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1997

Juliana Engberg 'The Colonial Corridor', catalogue essay, Colonial Post Colonial, Museum of Modern Art at Heide, June 1996

Robert Lindsay, Fictitious Voyages, exhibition catalogue, Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne, 1996

Neville Drury Art Now Book 2, McGraw-Hill Australia, Sydney 1996

Robin Buckner, Art and Design Book One, McGraw-Hill Australia, Sydney, 1995

Rachel Kent, Julia Ciccarone-Viva gli Sposi, exhibition catalogue, Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne, 1994

‘Suffrage’, Focus: 17 Australian Women Focus on the Progress of Women in Society over the Past 100 Years, Adelaide Central Gallery, Adelaide, 1994

Alison Carrol, The Moët & Chandon Touring Exhibition, Moët & Chandon Australian Art Foundation, Sydney, 1991

Stuart Koop & May Lam, Contemporary Landscapes, Deakin University, Geelong, 1991

Kevin Murray, Witness: An Exhibition of Seven Contemporary Painters, exhibition catalogue, 200 Gertrude Street, Melbourne, 1990

Frances Lindsay, The Moët & Chandon Touring Exhibition, Moët & Chandon Australian Art Foundation, Sydney, 1990

ARTICLES/REVIEWS

Andrew Wood, ‘A burning issue’, Art Collector, no. 91, January-March 2020, front cover & pp. 202-203

Justin Heazlewood, ‘Past Calling’, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 October 2017

Ian Warden, ‘Face-to-face with a gorilla in our midst’, The Canberra Times, 2 October 2012

Jill Stowell, ‘A feast from far and wide’, Newcastle Herald, 24 December 2011

Robert Nelson, ‘An exercise in incongruity, and an allegorical killing’, The Age, 7 November 2007 ‘Critic’s choice’, Herald Sun, 5 November 2007

‘Julia Ciccarone’, The Age Melbourne Magazine, November 2007

Rex Butler, ‘On radical revisionism’, Artlink, vol. 26, no. 1, 2006, pp. 46-50

Harbant Gill, ‘Images come flooding in’, Herald Sun, 14 December 2005

‘Art around the galleries’, The Age, 10 December 2005

Robert Nelson, ‘Ciccarone has the most beastly fun’, The Age, 7 December 2005

Peter Hill, ‘Magical mystic tour’, Sydney Morning Herald, 31 May 2003

‘The big picture’, New Look, no. 3, 2003

Susan McCulloch-Uehlin, ‘Previews: Julia Ciccarone’, Australian Art Collector, July 2002

Jeff Makin, ‘Off the wall, but it smells like keen spirit’, Herald Sun, 19 August 2002

Robert Nelson, ‘Great Myths, great energy a vital mix’, The Age, 10 August 2002

‘Polished, unsettling art’, The Age, 7 August, 2002

Cassandra Laing, ‘Uncertain terrain’, Artlink, vol. 22, no. 4, 2002

Robert Nelson, ‘…reassuring’, The Age, 24 May 2000

Adam Dutkiewicz, ‘Compelling Narratives’, The Advertiser, 16 March 2000

Rebecca Lancashire, ‘Journey to the sublime’, The Age, 26 May 1998

Jenny Zimmer, ‘Driven to abstraction’, Herald Sun, May 1998

Anne O’Hehir, ‘Review’, Musee Canberra’s Art Monthly, September 1998

Sonia Barron, ‘Individual paths lead to a sense of anxiety’, The Canberra Times, August 1998

Helen Musa, ‘Pictures people can understand’, The Canberra Times, July 1998

Robert Rooney, ‘Review’, The Australian, 17 May 1996

Susan McCulloch, The Australian Weekend Magazine, 8 June 1996

Robert Nelson, ‘Habits of the cinema’, The Age, 8 May 1996

Lara Smith, 'The Faddish World of the Post Colonial Exhibition Space’, The Big Issue, no. 2, July 1996, p. 44

Peter Hill, 'The Next Wave, nightclubs, and surrounding islands’, Art Monthly, July 1996, pp. 12–14

Brian Castro, 'Nature Morte: pictures at an Exhibition’, Art Monthly, August 1996, pp. 4–6

Susan McCulloch, 'Julia Ciccarone at Robert Lindsay Gallery', Asian Art News, July 1996

Bob Hart, ‘Telling tales’, The Herald Sun, 29 January 1995

David Broomfield, 'Varied Perspectives on Italian Experience’, Art Through Australian Eyes, vol. 2, 1995

Judith McGrath ‘The space may be empty at PICA but the earth is full at Kalla Yddeip Art Centre', The Western Review, September 1995

Adam Dutkiewicz 'The Art of Suffrage', The Adelaide Advertiser, October 1994

Anna Epstein, 'The Changing Face of Australian Women', Artlink, vol. 14, no. 1, 1994

Nicholas Zurbrugg, ‘Fatal Attraction: Women and Technology', Artlink, vol. 14, no. 1, 1994

Robert Rooney, ‘Warmth in the mountains frieze’, The Weekend Australian, 17 December 1994

Robert Nelson, 'Nuptial scenes from one of the city's most promising painters', The Age, 7 December 1994

David Goodman ‘Contemporary Landscapes’, Agenda, April 1992

Jenny Zimmer, Arts; Vintage Vine Art', Sunday Review, 1992

Julia Ciccarone, ‘Artist Profile’, Artlink, June 1991

Marie Geissler, ‘Collectible Art of Moët et Chandon', Australian Business, 10 April 1991

Sasha Grishin, ‘Witness to a group of works by young, vigorous painters', The Canberra Times, 18 November 1990

FILM

Film 'Lily'

In collaboration with Kasimir Burgess

Maremetraggio International Short Film Festival {Italy}

Acquired by ABC TV 2011

Collected by Australian National Film Archives 2011

Distributed by Premium Films {France}

Official Selection 27th Short Film Festival, Hamburg 2011

Winner of the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film in the Generation

KPLUS category Berlin Int'l Film Festival 2011

Berlin International Film - Festival 2011 (61 Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin Generation)

Grand OFF World Independant Film Festival Nominated Best Direction {Poland} 2011

30th Uppsala International Film Festival Finalist Ingmar Bergman Award {Sweden}

Tehran International Film Festival Special Jury Mention {Iran} 2011

Moscow International Film Festival Opening Night Short Film {Moscow} 2011
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Hamburg International Short Film Festival Mo and Friese {Germany} 2011

Sapporo Short Film Festival {Japan} 2011

Discovery International Festival for Children and Young People {Scotland} 2011

Cine' Magic International Film Festival {Ireland} 2011

Le Festival Cine' Junior International Film Festival {France} 2011

Palm Springs International Film Festival {USA} 2011

Ankara 17th International Film Festival on Wheels {Israel} 2011

International Art Festival for Children {Columbia} 2011

Jerusalem International Children's Film Festival {Israel} 2011

29th International Young Audience Festival {Poland} 2011

19th OZU International Film Festival {Italy} 2011

Official Selection St Kilda Film Festival 2011

Flickerfest International Short Film Festival (Australia) 2011

Won Gold at The Australian Cinematographers Society Awards 2010

Official Selection Melbourne International Film Festival (Australia) 2010

Film '67'
In collaboration with Kasimir Burgess

Screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2007

Screened at the Artbank International Film Festival, Turkey 2007

Screened at the Niagara Galleries, Australia 2007

Screened at the St Kilda Film Festival, Australia 2007

Screened at the Dungog Film Festival, Australia 2007

Screened at the Falls Film Festival, Australia 2007

Screened at the Portable Film Festival, Australia 2008

Screened at the Concorto International Film Festival, Italy 2008

Screened at the Tehran International Film Festival, Iran 2008