Art Wank

• 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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• Episode 227 – Ana Pollak: Art Inspired by Dangar Island and the Natural World

  Send us a textIn this episode of the Art Wank Podcast, we talk with acclaimed Australian artist Ana Pollak, whose practice is shaped by the natural beauty and quiet rhythms of Dangar Island, her home on the Hawkesbury River. Ana’s work evokes a strong sense of place, combining close observation with an intimate emotional connection to her surroundings. Her drawings and paintings capture shifting light on water, the textures of flora and foliage, and the subtle human gestures that weave themselves into the landscape. We explore Ana’s creative journey, tracing her path from early influences to the development of her distinctive style, one that combines expressive mark-making with a keen awareness of environmental and social themes. The conversation also touches on her animation projects, which incorporate water and raindrops, and are further inspired by music. We also explore Ana’s involvement in Six Artists Seven Days On at Defiance Gallery, where she joined five other artists for an intensive week of creation. She reflects on the collaborative energy, the challenges of producing work in such a short timeframe, and how the process influenced the direction of her art. The exhibition is on view until 23 August 2025.The project began in July 2024, when six artists embarked on what they described as a life-defining experience. The invited residency artists—Sophie Cape, Nicolette Eisdell, Pamela Honeyfield, Michelle Hungerford, Charmaine Pike, and Ana Pollak—were accompanied by filmmakers Kathryn Milliss ACS and Anna Howard ACS, along with arts writer John McDonald. This exhibition is the culmination of that residency, marking the final expedition in a ten-year initiative to connect artists with country and foster environmental awareness in a unique and powerful way.Over the past twelve years, with the support of the Ferris Family Foundation, Defiance Gallery has coordinated four residencies, raising an extraordinary $750,000 through exhibition sales. With this fifth and final exhibition, the goal is to reach a total of $1,000,000 in donations to support the vital conservation work of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.This conversation offers a glimpse into Ana Pollak’s practice, her connection to place, and her ongoing fascination with her environment. Ana’s work invites us to pause and notice the beauty in the moments that surround us.

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