Monika Behrens - BIO
As a painter, I am known for engaging with the historical traditions of still life, playfully reimagining knowledge and potential within these paintings. I have developed a practical model of looking, thinking and painting which provides new ways of seeing the still life painting genre.
My paintings deliver a new interpretation of the genre through large brightly coloured works that contrast colours and contain provocative combinations of old and new objects. Through multilayered detail, viewers discover deeper engagements that unfold in complex ways, between the stillness of the represented objects and the presence of the paintings. This method of working contributes to critical understandings of the history of painting within the context of contemporary still life painting.
CV
Education
2013 - 2017 PhD, UNSW Art and Design,
- Research title: Reimagining seventeenth-century Dutch still life: through a
contemporary painting practice.
2004 - 07 Master of Fine Art, UNSW Art and Design,
1995 - 98 Bachelor of Fine Art, RMIT
Solo Exhibitions
2020 Space for Time, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney
2018 The Thinking Image, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney, NSW
2017 Reimagining seventeenth-century Dutch still life: through a contemporary painting practice, UNSW Galleries, Sydney, NSW
2016 The Hunting Trophy, Verge Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2011 Standing Still, Gallerysmith, North Melbourne, VIC
2010 Double Dutch, Breenspace, Waterloo, NSW
1 Malaysia, Rimbun Dahan Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2009 Have Your Cake and Eat it Too, Gallerysmith, North Melbourne, VIC
Salad Days, National Art School Gallery, Darlinghurst NSW
- Curated by Katie Dyer
2008 Hush Historical, Rehearsing the Australian History Wars, Gallerysmith, North Melbourne
- Opening night launched by Henry Reynolds
Battle Nullius, FirstDraft Gallery, Surry Hills, NSW
2007 Silent Bang, Ivan Dougerty Gallery, Sydney, NSW
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019
Spellbound, UQ Art Museum, Brisbane
Summer Group Show, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney
Territory, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney
Autumn group show, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney
Auckland Art Fair, Martin Browne Contemporary
Sydney Art Fair, Martin Browne Contemporary
Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Gallery
2018 Analogue, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne (Curated by Tony Lloyd & Sam Leach)
Group Show, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney, NSW
Auckland Art Fair, Martin Browne Gallery, NZ
Melbourne Art Fair, Martin Browne Gallery
Sydney Contemporary, Martin Browne Gallery
Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Gallery, QLD
Fantasy, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney, NSW
2017 Group Show, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney, NSW
Nobody's Baby, Central Park, Sydney
Hyperbotanica, Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2016 EMSLA, Coffs Harbour Regional
2014 Painting Now, Galerie pompom, Sydney
Fleet, Metro Arts, Brisbane
Salon des Refuse, S.H.Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2013 Portia Geach 2013, S.H.Ervin Gallery, Sydney, NSW
Sulman 2013, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
2012 Archibald 2012, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW
Portia Geach 2012, S.H.Ervin Gallery, Sydney, NSW
R & M Mc Givern, Maroondah Art Gallery Melbourne, VIS
Fishers Ghost, Cambelltown Art Centre, Cambelltown, NSW
We Australians, Federation Square, Melbourne, VIC
2011 Zooplasty, Helen Gory Galerie, Prahran, VIC
2010 Small, Breenspace, Waterloo, NSW
2009 Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship, Artspace, Sydney, NSW
Group Show, Breenspace, Waterloo, NSW
Origami High Street, Horus & Deloris, Sydney, NSW
2007 Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship, Artspace, Sydney, NSW
ABN AMRO Emerging Artist Award, ABN AMRO Foyer, Sydney
Smash Hits, Paramatta Studio Gallery, Parramatta NSW
Square Dance, FirstDraft Gallery, Surry Hills, NSW
Unwrapped, United Gallery, Perth, WA
Matchbox Projects, Gosford Regional Gallery, Gosford, NSW
2006 Girl Band, Deloittes, Sydney, NSW
EEA21, Museum of Modern Art, Saitama Japan
Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW
PRIMAVERA 2005 (touring), Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook, NSW
2005 PRIMAVERA 2005, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW
- Curated by Felicity Fenner
Collaboration (Behrens and Haley)
2019 Spellbound, UQ Art Museum, Brisbane
2014 FLEET Mop Projects Sydney (group show)
2011 Bedknobs and Broomsticks Mop Projects Sydney
2010 Pleasure Garden site specific installation, Penang, Malaysia
Residencies
2019 Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
2016 Bundanon Trust, Bundanon NSW
2013 Artspace, Sydney, Australia – 6 Month Studio Residency
Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
2011 Artspace, Sydney, Australia – 6 Month Studio Residency
Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
Performing Arts Forum, St Erme Outre et Ramecourt, France
2010 Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
Performing Arts Forum, St Erme Outre et Ramecourt, France
2009 Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia, 12 Month Residency
2008 National Art School, Sydney, Australia, 12 Month Studio Residency
Collections
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
UBS Art Collection, Brisbane
Artbank, Melbourne and Sydney
Hijjas Kasturi Associates, Malaysia
Grants and Awards
APA - 2013 -2016
2013 - CAL Grant
2010 - Australian Council New Work Grant, Ian Potter Cultural Trust Grant
2007 - Australian Council New Work Grant
Selected Citations:
Andrew Frost, Interview: Monika Behrens, The Thinking Image https://theartlife.com.au/2018/interview-monika-behrens-thinking-paintings/ 2018
Anna Dunhill, Monika Behrens, Art Guide Australia, Jan/Feb 2018, Issue 111, p.48
Interview with Graham Harman, ON Journal, 2014
Behrens, A Delay in Time: The Political Still Life, DasSuperpaper Issue 32, 2014
Sapna Chandu, Manifestations of Now, Artlink Magazine, Vol 32 #3 2012, p.63
Eugene Barilo, “Monika Behrens@Gallerysmith”, Artsdiary 365, June 2011 http://artsdiary365.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/monika-behrens-gallerysmith
Paul Flynn, “Profile: Monika Behrens” Artist Profile Magazine, issue 17, December 2011, p.89-92
Gina Fairley “Monika Behrens at Gallerysmith”, Art Asia Pacific, July/August 2011, p.92-93
Robyn Stuart, “The Viewer’s View” Das Superpaper, December 2010, p.76
Runway, Issue 15: Lies, November 2009 - March 2010
Australian Art Collector, “What Now?” Issue 49 July – September 2009
Marcus Browne, “Monika Behrens”, Das Superpaper http://www.dasplatforms.com/superpaper/monika-behrens/ February 2009
Runway, Issue 12: Make Believe, December 2008 - March 2009, Cover work
Holly Williams, “Emerging Art: It’s Not Simply Young Talent Time”, Art Market Report, Spring 06 p.36
Brad Hatch, “The Company Curator”, Financial Review (Boss Magazine) November 06 p.20
Barbara Flynn, “Girl Band”, (Catalogue), October 06 p.1
Dougal Phillips, “Interesting Times and Primavera”, Art and Australia, Autumn 06 p.440
Melanie Watkins, “COFA Cleans up”, COFA Magazine, 01.06 p.21
Craig Scutt, "Blind leading the blind, Censorship of the visual arts in Australia", NAVA Quarterly,12.05, p.4
Robert Buratti, “Strokes from the Primavera”, Drum Media. 10.05
Tracey Clement, “Cleanse the palette”, Sydney Morning Herald (Metro) 23-29.09.05, p26
Sunanda Creagh, "Young artists redraw perceptions of the land", Sydney Morning Herald, 08.09.05, p.14
Sarah Ranawake "Timeout", City Weekly, 08.09.05, p.23
Shaun Ellis "Left by the wayside", Wentworth Courier, 07.09.05, p.50
Adam Bennett, "Artists develop palette for a brush with tradition", MX, 06.09.05, p.2
Felicity Fenner, Primavera 05 Exhibition by Young Australian Artists, Museum of Contemporary Art, p.14-15
Alexa Moses, "Primavera takes on a new sheen after casting its net wide", Sydney Morning Herald, 24.05.05, p.14
Felicity Fenner, Undiscovered Artists, Australian Art Collector, issue 23, April 2005, p.99
Jeff Makin "In praise of Caravaggio", Herald Sun, 14.02.05, p. 121