ARTIST BIO + CV
Tom Blake’s solo and collaborative practice draws on fragmented moments, looped imagery and recurring motifs as potential sites for contemplating forms of time, language, and the psychological, architectural and technological frameworks that surround us. Tom has exhibited in Australia, Japan and Italy and has been a finalist in the the Dobell Drawing Prize (National Art School), the churchie (Institute of Modern Art), Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award (FAC), Fisher’s Ghost Art Award (Campbelltown Arts Centre), The Clip Award (PCP), The Ramsay Art Prize (AGSA) and The Blake Prize (Casula Powerhouse) . Tom has undertaken residencies with the Museo de Arte Moderno Chiloé, FAC, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA), North Metro TAFE, Tenjinyama Art Studio, Parramatta Artists’ Studios and has previously been awarded a Clitheroe Foundation Mentorship. In 2o21, A.P.E published BAUXIDE, an artist book by Tom and Dominique Chen, commissioned as part of the Lost Rocks 2017-21 series (lostrocks.net). Tom is represented by N.Smith Gallery.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 thoughts are metallic they melt in salt water, Goolugatup Heathcote, Perth Festival
2022 holding leaves (index), N.Smith Gallery, Sydney
2020 leaf on the stairs, KNULP, Sydney
2018 it’s hard to move away from turning water, Firstdraft, Sydney
2018 the foam that floats on stagnant pools, c3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne
2017 downstream dreams, Moana Project Space, Perth
2017 seeing 眼 in the stream, Tenjinyama Art Studio, Japan
2015 Boundless Planes, some.center, Sydney
2014 House of Kardia, Lawton House, West Perth
2012 On the Verge, The Film & Television Institute (FTI), Fremantle
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 BLEED Biennale, PICA, Perth (forthcoming)
2024 ART FAIR TOKYO (N.Smith Gallery), Japan (forthcoming)
2023 Ramsay Art Prize, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
2023 Sydney Contemporary (N.Smith Gallery), Carriageworks, Sydney
2023 yes I’m listening, yes I’m hearing you, Artsource, Fremantle
2023 Library Arrangement, ReadingRoom, Melbourne
2022 Keeping Score, Tracing Time (curated by Kelly McDonald & Sophia Kouyoumdjian), Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney
2022 Out of Bounds (curated by Sarah Wall & Miranda Johnson), PICA, Perth
2022 Hidden Rookwood Films (curated by Kath Fries), Rookwood, Sydney
2021 Dhawun Guwaala-y (curated by Dominique Chen & Samuel Chen), Nexus Arts, Adelaide
2021 No Show (w/ Firstdraft) (Curated by Aarna Hanley), Carriageworks, Sydney
2021 slippery when wet (curated by Benjamin Clay), Olsen Annexe, Sydney
2021 Welcome., N.Smith Gallery, Sydney
2021 Dobell Drawing Prize #22, National Art School, Sydney
2020 Against separation (curated by Elyse Goldfinch), Fires, Sydney
2020 the churchie (curated by Talia Smith), Institute of Modern Art (IMA), Brisbane
2020 field notes for care workers (online program by Sofie Burgoyne) w/ Dominique Chen, Bus Projects, Melbourne
2020 mixed business (curated by Suzanne Claridge & Gianna Hayes), Pari, Parramatta
2019 All things are water (curated by Meryl Ryan & Naomi Riddle), The Lock-Up Artspace, Newcastle
2019 Fremantle Biennale: Undercurrent, Fremantle
2019 SPRING1883, The Establishment, (with Success Arts), Sydney
2019 Site Seeing (curated by Tian Zhang), PAS, Sydney
2019 The Utopian Object, c3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne
2019 Saturated Terrain (curated by Kate Britton for Art Month), Incinerator Art Space
2018 All the parts I like about you, Ideas Platform (curated by Sophia Kouyoumdjian, Michelle Newton, Lola Pinder & Alexie Glass-Kantor), Artspace, Sydney
2018 Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Campbeltown Arts Centre
2018 A Score to Scratch the Surface (with Dominique Chen), The Unconformity, Tasmaina
2018 some things only become clear much later (curated by Hayley Megan-French), PAS, Sydney
2017 Warp (curated by Amy Marjoram), Fremantle Arts Centre (FAC)
2017 Antarctica (curated by Nadim Samman & Alexander Ponomarev), Antarctic Pavilion, Italy
2017 Bunbury Biennale (curated by Caro Lunel), Bunbury Regional Art Gallery (BRAG)
2016 Radical Ecologies (as part of the ‘cene) curated by Andrew Varano, Leigh Robb & Nadia Johnson, PICA
2016 Speed (curated by Bianca Acimovic), Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA)
2016 Twelve Grrowls (as part of the ‘cene), Paper Mountain, Perth
2016 The Blake Prize, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (CPAC), Liverpool
2015 Proximity (curated by Kelli McCluskey & Sarah Rowbottam), Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA)
2015 Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Campbeltown Arts Centre
2015 Bunbury Biennale (curated by Caro Lunel), Bunbury Regional Art Gallery
2015 Fremantle Print Award, Fremantle Arts Centre
2014 Embrace, M Contemporary, Sydney
2014 PUBLIC House, FORM, Perth
2013 Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney
2013 Bright Lights, Small City (curated by Karys McEwen), Buratti Fine Art, Fremantle
AWARDS / GRANTS / RESIDENCIES
2024 Taipei Residency, Tresure Hill Artist Village x PICA, Taiwan (forthcoming)
2023 Mosman Art Prize – Finalist
2023 Artsource Studio Tenancy
2022 Megalo Artist Residency, Canberra
2020 Moores Building Artist Residency (FAC), Fremantle
2020 Copyright Agency, Cultural Fund Resiliance Grant
2019 Parramatta Artists Studios (NSW), One Year Studio Tenancy
2018 Woollhara Small Sculpture Prize — Finalist
2018 Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Projects for Invididuals & Groups (with Dominique Chen)
2018 Parramatta Artists Studios (NSW), One Year Studio Tenancy
2017 Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio (Japan), Artist Residency
2016 Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), Studio Residency
2016 North Metro TAFE , Artist Residency
2016 Museo de Arte Moderno (MAM) Chiloé, Studio Residency
2016 SITUATE Art Lab, Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart
2016 Department of Culture and the Arts (DCA) WA, Creative Development
2015 Proximity Artist Lab – Helen Cole (UK), AGWA
2015 Fremantle Arts Centre – AiR studio seven
2015 Proximity Mentorship (Dr David Williams)
2015 Department of Culture and the Arts (DCA) WA , Artflight
2014 Future/Forward Travel Bursary, NAVA
2014 Fremantle Arts Centre – AiR studio one
2014 Claremont Art Award Finalist (painting)
2013 Clitheroe Foundation Emerging Sculptor Mentorship (w/ Ken Unsworth)
2013 Mindaroo Foundation Interstate Freight Grant
2013 Alcoa Aluminium Materials Grant
2013 Apache CLIP Awards – Finalist
COLLECTIONS
Wesfarmers Collection
City of Bunbury Art Collection
MAMA Collection
Tom Blake’s solo and collaborative practice draws on fragmented moments, looped imagery and recurring motifs as potential sites for contemplating forms of time, language, and the psychological, architectural and technological frameworks that surround us. Tom has exhibited in Australia, Japan and Italy and has been a finalist in the the Dobell Drawing Prize (National Art School), the churchie (Institute of Modern Art), Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award (FAC), Fisher’s Ghost Art Award (Campbelltown Arts Centre), The Clip Award (PCP), The Ramsay Art Prize (AGSA) and The Blake Prize (Casula Powerhouse) . Tom has undertaken residencies with the Museo de Arte Moderno Chiloé, FAC, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA), North Metro TAFE, Tenjinyama Art Studio, Parramatta Artists’ Studios and has previously been awarded a Clitheroe Foundation Mentorship. In 2o21, A.P.E published BAUXIDE, an artist book by Tom and Dominique Chen, commissioned as part of the Lost Rocks 2017-21 series (lostrocks.net). Tom is represented by N.Smith Gallery.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 thoughts are metallic they melt in salt water, Goolugatup Heathcote, Perth Festival
2022 holding leaves (index), N.Smith Gallery, Sydney
2020 leaf on the stairs, KNULP, Sydney
2018 it’s hard to move away from turning water, Firstdraft, Sydney
2018 the foam that floats on stagnant pools, c3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne
2017 downstream dreams, Moana Project Space, Perth
2017 seeing 眼 in the stream, Tenjinyama Art Studio, Japan
2015 Boundless Planes, some.center, Sydney
2014 House of Kardia, Lawton House, West Perth
2012 On the Verge, The Film & Television Institute (FTI), Fremantle
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 BLEED Biennale, PICA, Perth (forthcoming)
2024 ART FAIR TOKYO (N.Smith Gallery), Japan (forthcoming)
2023 Ramsay Art Prize, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
2023 Sydney Contemporary (N.Smith Gallery), Carriageworks, Sydney
2023 yes I’m listening, yes I’m hearing you, Artsource, Fremantle
2023 Library Arrangement, ReadingRoom, Melbourne
2022 Keeping Score, Tracing Time (curated by Kelly McDonald & Sophia Kouyoumdjian), Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney
2022 Out of Bounds (curated by Sarah Wall & Miranda Johnson), PICA, Perth
2022 Hidden Rookwood Films (curated by Kath Fries), Rookwood, Sydney
2021 Dhawun Guwaala-y (curated by Dominique Chen & Samuel Chen), Nexus Arts, Adelaide
2021 No Show (w/ Firstdraft) (Curated by Aarna Hanley), Carriageworks, Sydney
2021 slippery when wet (curated by Benjamin Clay), Olsen Annexe, Sydney
2021 Welcome., N.Smith Gallery, Sydney
2021 Dobell Drawing Prize #22, National Art School, Sydney
2020 Against separation (curated by Elyse Goldfinch), Fires, Sydney
2020 the churchie (curated by Talia Smith), Institute of Modern Art (IMA), Brisbane
2020 field notes for care workers (online program by Sofie Burgoyne) w/ Dominique Chen, Bus Projects, Melbourne
2020 mixed business (curated by Suzanne Claridge & Gianna Hayes), Pari, Parramatta
2019 All things are water (curated by Meryl Ryan & Naomi Riddle), The Lock-Up Artspace, Newcastle
2019 Fremantle Biennale: Undercurrent, Fremantle
2019 SPRING1883, The Establishment, (with Success Arts), Sydney
2019 Site Seeing (curated by Tian Zhang), PAS, Sydney
2019 The Utopian Object, c3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne
2019 Saturated Terrain (curated by Kate Britton for Art Month), Incinerator Art Space
2018 All the parts I like about you, Ideas Platform (curated by Sophia Kouyoumdjian, Michelle Newton, Lola Pinder & Alexie Glass-Kantor), Artspace, Sydney
2018 Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Campbeltown Arts Centre
2018 A Score to Scratch the Surface (with Dominique Chen), The Unconformity, Tasmaina
2018 some things only become clear much later (curated by Hayley Megan-French), PAS, Sydney
2017 Warp (curated by Amy Marjoram), Fremantle Arts Centre (FAC)
2017 Antarctica (curated by Nadim Samman & Alexander Ponomarev), Antarctic Pavilion, Italy
2017 Bunbury Biennale (curated by Caro Lunel), Bunbury Regional Art Gallery (BRAG)
2016 Radical Ecologies (as part of the ‘cene) curated by Andrew Varano, Leigh Robb & Nadia Johnson, PICA
2016 Speed (curated by Bianca Acimovic), Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA)
2016 Twelve Grrowls (as part of the ‘cene), Paper Mountain, Perth
2016 The Blake Prize, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (CPAC), Liverpool
2015 Proximity (curated by Kelli McCluskey & Sarah Rowbottam), Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA)
2015 Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Campbeltown Arts Centre
2015 Bunbury Biennale (curated by Caro Lunel), Bunbury Regional Art Gallery
2015 Fremantle Print Award, Fremantle Arts Centre
2014 Embrace, M Contemporary, Sydney
2014 PUBLIC House, FORM, Perth
2013 Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney
2013 Bright Lights, Small City (curated by Karys McEwen), Buratti Fine Art, Fremantle
AWARDS / GRANTS / RESIDENCIES
2024 Taipei Residency, Tresure Hill Artist Village x PICA, Taiwan (forthcoming)
2023 Mosman Art Prize – Finalist
2023 Artsource Studio Tenancy
2022 Megalo Artist Residency, Canberra
2020 Moores Building Artist Residency (FAC), Fremantle
2020 Copyright Agency, Cultural Fund Resiliance Grant
2019 Parramatta Artists Studios (NSW), One Year Studio Tenancy
2018 Woollhara Small Sculpture Prize — Finalist
2018 Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Projects for Invididuals & Groups (with Dominique Chen)
2018 Parramatta Artists Studios (NSW), One Year Studio Tenancy
2017 Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio (Japan), Artist Residency
2016 Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), Studio Residency
2016 North Metro TAFE , Artist Residency
2016 Museo de Arte Moderno (MAM) Chiloé, Studio Residency
2016 SITUATE Art Lab, Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart
2016 Department of Culture and the Arts (DCA) WA, Creative Development
2015 Proximity Artist Lab – Helen Cole (UK), AGWA
2015 Fremantle Arts Centre – AiR studio seven
2015 Proximity Mentorship (Dr David Williams)
2015 Department of Culture and the Arts (DCA) WA , Artflight
2014 Future/Forward Travel Bursary, NAVA
2014 Fremantle Arts Centre – AiR studio one
2014 Claremont Art Award Finalist (painting)
2013 Clitheroe Foundation Emerging Sculptor Mentorship (w/ Ken Unsworth)
2013 Mindaroo Foundation Interstate Freight Grant
2013 Alcoa Aluminium Materials Grant
2013 Apache CLIP Awards – Finalist
COLLECTIONS
Wesfarmers Collection
City of Bunbury Art Collection
MAMA Collection