Julian Meagher

Presentation

Julian Meagher is a 32 year old Sydney-based artist, working from his studio in Surry Hills. Four years ago he left work as a medical doctor to pursue painting full-time. He currently shows at Lindberg Gallery in Melbourne, Chalk Horse Gallery in Sydney (of which he is also a director), Edwina Corlette Gallery in Brisbane, Ecosse Gallery in Exeter/Bowral and Cat Street Gallery in Hong Kong.

Having trained in traditional oil portraiture in Florence, Italy in his early 20's, his application of paint somewhat reflects those techniques. He applies multiple thin glazes over many sittings, achieving an almost watercolour-like effect. He refers to his practice as a form of 'messy neat realism', where the narrative of the work comes from the surface history a simple symbolic object.

In 2009 he was the recipient of the New Work Grant from the Australia Council of the Arts as well as being selected into Artbank and also saw him hung as a finalist in the Doug Moran Portrait Prize, Salon des Refuses for the third time, Metro 5 Art Prize, Blake Prize for Religious Art and the RBS Emerging Artist Prize. In 2010 he was again a finalist in the Salon des Refuses as well as the Metro Art Prize, and exhibited work in both the Melbourne Art Fair as well as the Contemporary Art Fair in Shanghai, China.