Art Wank

• Episode 232 - Talking Landscape, Materials and Meaning with John R. Walker

  Send us a textIn this episode we explore the work and world of Australian artist John R Walker, a painter who invites us to experience the land as a living and layered presence rather than just a view. Born in Sydney in 1957 and now based in Braidwood, New South Wales, Walker’s journey has taken him from city life to a deep engagement with rural environments. His art connects ecology, geology, and memory, revealing what he calls “the experience of being in country.”Walker is known for his large and immersive paintings that map the rhythms and histories of the Australian landscape. His brushwork traces erosion, fire, and growth, capturing both the slow movement of geological time and the immediate sensations of walking through a place. In his Fireground series he responded to the devastation and regeneration of bushfires, showing both the destruction and renewal that shape the land.Over more than thirty years, Walker has exhibited widely in Australia and overseas. His paintings are held in major collections including the National Gallery of Australia. His exhibition Journeys and Return at the Orange Regional Gallery in 2023 and 2024 confirmed his reputation as one of the leading painters of country in Australia.In our conversation we discuss how Walker balances materials and philosophy, how walking shapes his art, and why he believes landscape painting today must also tell ecological stories.John is represented by Utopia Art in Sydney Thanks John

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• Episode 231 - Michael Cusack: Painting, Abstraction and Building the Byron Bay School of Art

  Send us a textIn this episode we speak with Michael Cusack, an accomplished abstract painter, educator, and co-founder of the Byron School of Art in Mullumbimby. Michael’s career has spanned over three decades, with his paintings exhibited widely across Australia and internationally. His work is represented in major public and private collections, and he is known for his richly layered abstractions that explore colour, form, and the tension between control and chance.Michael began teaching at TAFE NSW, where he developed a strong connection to art education and mentoring younger artists. In 2013, alongside fellow artists Emma Walker, James Guppy and Christine Willcocks, Michael co-founded the Byron School of Art. Based in Mullumbimby, the school has grown into a respected independent art institution in the Northern Rivers, offering a range of programs, exhibitions, and a strong sense of creative community outside of the metropolitan art centres.We talk about Michael’s journey from Ireland to Australia, his ongoing fascination with abstraction, and the role of teaching and community-building in sustaining a meaningful artistic practice.Michael is represented in sydney by Olsen Gallery. 

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• Episode 230 - Inside the World of Artist Gina Bruce

  Send us a textIn this episode of the Art Wank Podcast we chat with Sydney-based artist Gina Bruce, known for her haunting, dreamlike paintings that play between strength and subtlety. Gina works across a variety of media, often returning to the same places to capture their changing moods and connections to identity. Her works are bold in mark-making yet beautifully delicate in atmosphere, creating that unique balance she’s become recognised for.We talk about her journey into art, including how she came to study at the National Art School and what drew her into painting in the first place. Gina shares insights into her process – starting with sketches and drawings – before approaching the canvas with quick, decisive marks that bring her ideas to life.The conversation also touches on her trip to Broken Hill. Gina talks about returning to favourite spots time and again, how place and memory become entwined, and why those themes continue to fascinate her.She has been selected for the Sulman Prize, the Portia Geach Memorial Award (twice Highly Commended), and the NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize, to winning the Waverley Art Prize with her diptych Dreamhouse 2. Gina is represented by Liverpool St Gallery in Sydney. 

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• Episode 229 - Gallery Lane Cove - Repair/Replace with Gary Gregg, Gary Deirmendjian and curator Miguel Olmo

  Send us a textWe spoke with artists Gary Gregg and Gary Deirmendijan, together with curator and director Miguel Olmo, about Repair/Replace, the current exhibition at Gallery Lane Cove. Our conversation touched on the curatorial process, the role of found objects in art, and the unexpected significance they can hold. Gary Gregg shared insights into his collages made from studio detritus, and the ways these works sit alongside his painting practice. We also discussed pieces that Gary Deirmendjian describes as having “nil intent”, unconscious acts that make an artwork, such as a Sydney university noticeboards, layered over decades with thousands of staples and flyers, each mark a trace of countless hands.A huge thank you to Miguel, Gary G, and Gary D for joining us. Don’t miss Repair/Replace at Gallery Lane Cove.Opening tonight Weds 27th August 6-8pm at @gallerylanecove '20 August - 13 SeptemberOpening Event: 27 August 6pm - 8pm Gallery Lane CoveRepair | Replace brings together artists who confront the urgent need to rethink our relationship with the planet, considering the materials we choose, the stories we tell and the structures we sustain. Prompted by the quiet clarity of the pandemic lockdowns, the exhibition begins with a provocation: If we don’t repair our relationship with the planet, we ourselves may be replaced. Spanning painting, sculpture, installation, and object-based practices, the works examine cycles of damage and renewal. Artists in the exhibition approach materials not only for their physical properties, but for their capacity to carry histories, critique dominant structures, and open up new imaginaries of care, continuity, and transformation. ​Some artists engage with salvaged or post-consumer materials, either incorporating them directly or drawing conceptual inspiration from them. Whilst others foreground material culture in narratives that reflect on consumption, memory, and value. The exhibition draws a connection between material and planetary care. It proposes that our relationship to objects, spaces, and stories are intrinsic to how we relate to one another and in extension to the world we share.'

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• Episode 228 - Michael Kempson: Mastering Printmaking, Mentorship, and the Art of Collaboration

  Send us a textIn this episode of the Art Wank Podcast, we sit down with Michael Kempson, one of Australia’s leading master printers. With a career spanning over three decades, Michael has made a profound impact on the field of printmaking through his own practice as well as his work as a mentor, collaborator and educator.Michael is best known as the founder and director of Cicada Press, an educationally focused printmaking workshop based at UNSW Art and Design. Through Cicada Press, he has collaborated with hundreds of artists from Australia and overseas, fostering experimentation and innovation in print. The workshop has become a vital space where emerging and established artists can expand their practices, with Michael guiding technical expertise while encouraging creative risk taking.Alongside this collaborative work, Michael has dedicated much of his career to teaching. He was a senior lecturer at UNSW and has mentored countless students, many of whom have gone on to develop successful artistic practices of their own. His approach emphasises the importance of both technical mastery and the spirit of collaboration, showing how printmaking can open up new conversations across disciplines and cultures.Beyond his role as a master printer and teacher, Michael maintains a personal art practice that reflects his own visual language and concerns. His prints often draw on social and political themes, expressed through a refined and graphic sensibility. This balance between nurturing the artistic visions of others and pursuing his own practice marks Michael as a unique and influential figure in the contemporary art world.In our conversation, Michael shares insights into the collaborative process and reflections on what it means to dedicate a life to teaching, printing and making art.

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