Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep. 53 Carly le Cerf

Over the last decade, I think it would be fair to say that Carly le Cerf has become one of the most quietly compelling voices in contemporary Australian landscape painting.

Her paintings exude atmosphere and exhibit a beautiful balance of abstraction and observation. Her approach to colour, atmosphere and, I guess, stillness is what makes Carly le Cerf’s paintings so special and the reason behind her commanding a significant amount of collecting attention.

Her inspiration was the, at times, overwhelming desert landscapes of the Pilbara. Those experiences and the influences on her work were profound. We discussed her creative processes in detail which was fascinating. Having seen her work recently at the Sydney Contemporary, I can vouch for the fact that you are drawn into the painting - it’s hard to explain. Her work is often done from an aerial perspective with very little, if any, skyline so the imposing landscape almost hits you in the face and causes you to look quite deeply into it.

It was also interesting talking about her Blue Mountains residency which meant a whole new colour palette and a whole new range of issues to resolve. She's done it brilliantly.

Head to the link in my bio to listen to her episode.

Carly is represented by Michael Reid Galleries and has an exhibition at Michael Reid Murrurundi (with Julz Beresford in partnership with R.M. Williams) in May 2026.

Images

1. Cerly le Cerf

2. Into Her Mystic 2023, 120 x 120

3. Oasis 2022, 104 x 288

4. Looking Out Over Redgums, 2025, 180 x 120

5. Wayfinding, 2025, 180 x 120

6. A Painters Path, 2025, 180 x 120

7. That Alluring Diamond Haze, 2025, 120 x 90

Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep 51 Nusra Latif Qureshi

A conversation with Dr Rebecca Coates (MUMA)

My podcast guest today is Dr Rebecca Coates, and we will be talking about one of Australia's most compelling contemporary artists, Nusra Latif Qureshi.

Nusra Latif Qureshi bridges the ancient tradition of South Asian miniature painting with what has been described as, ‘urgent contemporary concerns about migration, identity, and cultural displacement.’

Her distinctive artistic practice challenges conventional boundaries between traditional and contemporary art forms. She has been granted numerous international prizes and residencies in locations such as New York, Los Angeles, and Banff. Her works are held in esteemed collections including the British Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney, the Parliament of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Queensland Art Gallery, the Smith College Museum of Art, and the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

‘She points to history’s erasures, traces and ghostly images and encourages us to look, and then look again. Qureshi does not tell us what was once there but asks us to distinguish between what was and what remains.’

Hammad Nasar, 2005

Dr Rebecca Coates is a very accomplished museum director, curator, writer and lecturer. She is currently the Director of the Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA) having previously been Artistic Director and CEO of the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM). She has also worked at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne International Arts Festival and the Museum of Modern Art Oxford.

Over the course of her career, Dr Coates has curated over 50 exhibitions and organised programs for many of Australia’s leading contemporary art spaces, as well as international art museums and galleries.

Head to the link in my bio to have a listen to our conversation

https://nusraqureshi.com/

https://www.monash.edu/muma/home

Nusra is represented by Sutton Gallery, Melbourne

Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep 50 Tracey Moffatt

(A conversation with Amanda Love)

To celebrate the new year AND the 50 th post for AWA (!!!) I wanted to start with a personal favourite artist - Tracey Moffatt.

There’s an argument to say Tracey Moffatt is probably Australia’s most successful artist ever, both nationally and internationally. She is certainly one of the few Australian artists to have established a global market for her work.

A filmmaker as well as photographer, Tracey has held around 100 solo exhibitions of her work in Europe, the United States and Australia. In 2017, she had the rare honour of representing Australia at the 57th Venice Biennale with her solo exhibition, "My Horizon".

To discuss artist Tracey Moffatt, I’m joined in this podcast conversation by Amanda Love.

Amanda is the principal at the fabulously named Love Art Advisory and is one of Australia’s most insightful and influential figures in contemporary art. She has been an independent art advisor and active art advocate for over 30 years, and an integral part of the international Art Basel network. She has served on the Board of Artspace and the Biennale of Sydney, Australia's largest contemporary art event, for over 10 years. She is not only a passionate collector, she has a Masters in Fine Arts (Hons) and holds the Christies Diploma of Fine Art, been an accredited valuer for over 20 years and has spoken as an expert on contemporary art in Australia and overseas, including at the State Library, NSW, National Gallery of Scotland, Arco in Madrid, the MCA, Sydney, the AGNSW, and Melbourne's Heide Museum. She has lectured for Christies Australia and regularly advised on Australian Art Collector Magazine's 50 Most Important Artists selection Panel.

To hear our conversation, head to the link in my bio.

For photos of Tracey’s work I’ll be posting a separate post in my instagram account, @australianwomenartists.

Instagram image: TM by Claudia Fitzpatrick

Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep. 49 Dr Bonita Ely

Bonita Ely stands as one of Australia's most significant contemporary artists.

She is a pioneering voice whose work has consistently challenged audiences to confront envir0nmentaI degradation and s0cio-poIiticaI realities through innovative conceptual art practices.

She has a diverse practice that spans sculpture, installation, performance, video, and photography, establishing herself as a formidable force in both Australian and international art contexts.

Bonita's work has been exhibited internationally and is held in major collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and the National Gallery of Australia.

Her influence on younger generations of artists working with environmental themes cannot be overstated. By establishing environmental art as a legitimate and powerful form of artistic practice in Australia, she opened pathways for countless artists to engage with ecoIogicaI themes through their work.

Head to the link in my bio to hear this episode

Images

1 BE by Jessica Maurer

2 Menindee Fish KiII 2019 image: Melissa Williams-Brown

3 Murray River Punch 1980

4 Recipe for MRP

5 Great Artesian Basin Map 2022 installed on the floor with its legend displayed on the wall

6 The Dancers 2022 Felt silk charcoal paper bone plywood. The Great Artesian Basin map, to Bonita, resembles a Spanish dancer - in mourning

Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep 48 Kaylene Whiskey

(A conversation with Professor Dr Natalie King OAM)

I’m excited to bring this episode to you. I'm talking to Professor Dr Natalie King OAM and we are discussing the incredible unique work of indigenous artist Kaylene Whiskey.

Natalie King is an Australian curator, writer, editor and Professor of Visual Arts, Victorian College of the Arts at the University of Melbourne. She has curated three national pavilions at the Venice Biennale (including the Australian Pavilion 2017, the Aotearoa New Zealand Pavilion 2022 and the inaugural Timor-Leste Pavilion 2024). She has contributed to many leading international art publications and serves as President of Australia (International Association of Art Critics, Paris). Her most recent publication is The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do you believe in Love? A monograph edited by Natalie and the team at Iwantja Arts. It's the first major monograph of Kaylene's work.

Kaylene Whiskey is a Yankunytjatjara artist born in Indulkana, South Australia, and is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Australian art.

Living and working in the APY Lands, Kaylene creates paintings that combine the vivid visual language of desert art with the glitter and glamour of global pop culture.

Her works are filled with famous and iconic women who coexist with Anangu women in scenes of daily life, dance, and laughter. Through this vibrant and unexpected fusion, Kaylene Whiskey redefines what contemporary Indigenous art can be.

Join me in this fabulous conversation by heading to the link in my bio above.

www.natalieking.com.au

https://thamesandhudson.com.au/products/art-of-kaylene-whiskey-do-you-believe-in-love

Images (details)

KW by Jackson Lee

Michael J 2018 acrylic on linen 91 x 122

Do You Believe In Love? 2019 acrylic on linen 167 x 198

Seven Sisters Song 2021 water based enamel on SA Tourist Attraction road sign 120 x 180 x 3

Flying Over Indulkana 2022 acrylic on digital print on rag paper 91 x 156

Dolly's Birthday 2024 acrylic on linen 167 x 198

The book

Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep 47 Robyn Stacey

Robyn Stacey is one of Australia’s most established and respected photographers, exhibiting widely in Australia and internationally since the mid-1980s.

As a photographer and installation artist she is celebrated for transforming ordinary spaces into cinematic worlds of light, history, and intimacy.

Through large-scale photographs, camera obscura works (which we talk about in our conversation), and evocative still lifes, she reimagines how we see the domestic and the personal.

Her art invites us to look closer to discover the stories within.

Besides her many accolades and awards, Robyn was featured in Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now, a landmark exhibition organized by the National Gallery of Australia that was aimed to highlight the contributions of women artists to Australia’s cultural landscape (sounds like a familiar theme).

Head to the link in my bio for our conversation

Some of her images are on my instagram. You can see others on her website

www.robynstacey.com.au

She's represented by

Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney

Jan Manton Gallery, Brisbane

PDNB Gallery, Dallas

Images (detail)

1 RS by Brett Boardman Studio

2 Thursday 14 December 2023 at 10:46:18 photographic print 120x160

3 Aurum 2019 photographic print on metallic paper 154x179

4 Wendy and Brett Whiteley's Library 2016 Type c print 110x159

5 Comfort Inn Riviera SAMHRI 2016 Thpe c print 110x147

6 Fontaine de Vaucluse 2009 Type c print 120cx170

7 Ice 1989 Gloss cibachrome print 120 x 202

Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep 46 Michaye Boulter

Michaye is a painter whose evocative seascapes and atmospheric horizons capture the delicate balance between isolation and connection.

She was born in Brisbane and at a very early age moved to Tasmania’s wild southern coastlines. Her father was a fisherman, and this meant Michaye’s life was sailing, fishing, and living close to water. These early experiences instilled in her a profound sensitivity to the ocean’s moods and mysteries, which would later become central to her visual language.

Her works often explore the human experience of solitude within nature’s immense presence, rendered through subtle layers of oil that convey both stillness and movement.

It’s been said that her paintings invite contemplation and quiet emotion, and my recent viewing of her works would definitely confirm that.

Head to the link in my bio to hear our conversation

***NB Michaye's next exhibition is Thursday 5 March 2026 at Art House Gallery in Sydney - the date has changed since our recording***

Michaye is represented by

Arthouse Gallery in Sydney

Bett Gallery in Hobart

To see more of her works head to those gallery websites or

www.michayeboulter.com

Insta images

1. MB supplied by artist

2. A passage of light oil on linen triptych 153 x 366

3. Atmospheres oil on linen. 102 x 153

4. Morning watch oil on board triptych 20 x 47

5. Portal oil on hadn beaten steel 86 x 70