About Me
I was born in Toowoomba, Queensland to George and Aldy Johnston. My father is a Scottish imigrant who is' jack of all the practical trade's and encouraged me to build big and dream bigger. My mother is an Australian who became an Art teacher and has always supported my artistic passions.
I spent many years travelling after finishing my Psychology degree in the early 1990's. My travels inspired me on so many levels, especially with regards to my art practice. I returned to Australia in the late 1990's and completed my fine art degree in Queensland before eventually settling in the UK where I had my own graphic design business.
i returned to Australia in 2005 and have now got 2 beautiful daughters. I am now practising as a full time professional artist and am based in Ararat, Victoria. I am passionate about the interactivity and tactility of the sculptural installation. My pieces comment on the contemporary human condition in a personal and sometimes confronting way, using techniques of repetition, scale, and an inherent respect to the technical process of making.
I believe in the accessability of art for all who encounter it, regardless of artistic education or exposure. I want my work to reach people and be understood on a personal level. But my works also operate on multi-layers of meaning; in their simplest interpretation they project a strong core message, enabling an instant emotional and intellectual engagement. Beneath this initial interpretation lies further meaning and abstraction. Every detail or element is for a reason. Every detail tells another story and casts light on a larger, more complicated picture.
I hope that those viewing my works feel and follow their need to find themselves within each piece’s form, to fight and succumb to the need to touch its tactile reality.
My current conceptual realizations are in response to reproduction and fertility, and the isolation of humanity in the corporate machine.
Influences include Antony Gormley, Barbara Hepworth, Doris Salcedo and Louise Bourgeois.
Artist Profile
Catherine Johnston
Born:
1971 in Toowoomba, Queensland
Education:
- 1988 Dux, Maleny High School, QLD
- 1991 B.A. Psychology, UQ, QLD
- 2000 B. Fine Art, Sculpture/Intermedia Majors, Award for Academic Excellence in 98, 99 and 2000, QCA, QLD
Experience:
- 1991 – 1996 Extended travels - Australia, Asia, Africa, America, Europe and UK.
- 1996 – 1998 Hard Pressed Pulp Company, handmade paper pulp collages.
- 1998 – 2000 Art Therapist, children’s weekend camps, CPLQ
- 2000 – 2005 Establishing Alternarts Ltd, freelance Graphic Design, UK. Clients - Vercase, Guess, BT, RNID.
- 2005 – 2009 Montville Graphics, freelance Graphic Design and Sculpture, Montville, QLD
Solo Exhibitions and Residencies:
- 2012 ‘Missconceptions’, Ballarat Art Gallery, VIC
- 2011 Rainbow Love – Courthouse Gallery, Geelong, VIC
- 2011 Rainbow Love – Stawell GCH, VIC
- 2011 ‘undercover’ - Trocadero ARI Footscray, VIC
- 2011 ‘static’ - Trocadero Billboard, Footscray, VIC
- 2011 Rainbow Love, Manuscript Room at Ballarat Art Gallery, VIC
- 2011 Backspace Arts Venue Residency, Ballarat, VIC
- 2011 ‘Rainbow Love’, Grampians Community Health, Stawell, VIC
- 2010 ‘Rainbow Love’, Ararat Regional Art Gallery, Ararat, VIC
- 2009 ‘Pulp’, Secrets Gallery, Montville, QLD
Group Exhibitions:
- 2012 Midsumma Visual Arts group exhibition, 1000£ Bend, Melbourne, VIC
- 2011 Big and Bold Sculpture Exhibition, Substation, Footscray, VIC
- 2011 SUBspace project, Malop St, Geelong, VIC
- 2011 Bendigo Queer Art, La Trobe Gallery, Bendigo, VIC
- 2011 Convent Gallery, Daylesford, VIC
- 2011 ‘Textile’ Horsham Regional Art Gallery, VIC
- 2011 ‘Identity’, 45Downstairs, Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC
- 2004 ‘Women’s International’ Finalist, Westend Centre, Aldershot, Hampshire, UK
- 2002 ‘Neighbourhood Grafix’, Northampton, UK
- 1999 ‘Women in Art’, Montville Hall, Montville, QLD
Grants and Awards:
- 2011 Toyota Indoor Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition finalist, Port Melbourne, VIC
- 2011 Linden Postcard Exhibition, Finalist, St Kilda, VIC
- 2010 Regional Arts Quick Response Grant for ‘Rainbow Love/Tie the Knot’
- 2010 ‘Noosa 3D Travelling Scholarship’ Finalist, Noosa Regional Gallery, Tewantin, QLD
- 2010 ‘National Artworkers Award’ Finalist, Paddington, Brisbane, QLD
- 2010 ‘Churchie Emerging Artist Award’ Finalist, QCA Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
- 2002 Best Sculpture, Neighbourhood Grafix, Northampton, UK
- 1999 & 1998 Academic Excellence Awards, Griffith University, QLD
- 1999 Peoples Choice & Best Sculpture Award, Women in Art, Montville, QLD
- 1999 ‘Artistcare Student Drawing Prize’ Finalist, QCA, Brisbane, QLD
Commissions:
- 2011 Artlink LEAP project, Ballarat Art Gallery, VIC
- 2008 Mural, Palmwoods Aquatic Centre, QLD
- 2006 ‘Woman in Water’, Secrets on the Lake, Montville, QLD
- 2003 ‘Wrong Way, Go Back’, Neighbourhood, Northampton, UK
- 2000 ‘A Piece of the Puzzle’, CPLQ, QLD
Collections and Representation:
Works held in Private Collections in the Netherlands, England, Bermuda and Australia. Currently unrepresented while producing large sculptural installation works for 2011 exhibition.
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