Briony Downes

Writer

Briony Downes is an arts writer based in Hobart. She has worked in the arts industry for over 20 years as a writer, actor, gallery assistant, art theory tutor and fine art framer. Most recently, she spent time studying Art History through Oxford University.

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Portraiture is a political act

From the Archibald to the Mona Lisa to the selfie, portraiture is a ubiquitous genre of our time. Yet it has an urgent social undercurrent of whose image we value, and what that image speaks to—which contemporary artists like Blak Douglas, Atong Atem, Peter Drew, Yvette Coppersmith and Kate Beynon are questioning with stunning effect.

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How can we live with Freedom of Movement?

From Nick Cave to KAWS to Patricia Piccinini, artists in Freedom of Movement: Contemporary Art and Design from the NGV Collection look at the ever-blurred lines of design and art, capturing everything from the stuff we buy to fantastical realms.

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The art of tapa: Celebrating the Omie’s intricate and expanding designs

The Omie is a community living in the remote rainforest mountains of Papua New Guinea’s Oro Province creating the art of tapa—a tradition spanning across the Pacific. When Skirts Become Artworks: Sihoti’e Nioge, showing at Caloundra Regional Gallery, reveals the Omie’s distinctive tapa designs.

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The women artists redefining Australian Impressionist landscapes

For far too long depictions of Australian landscapes have been dominated by male artists. Now the Art Gallery of Ballarat is showcasing reinterpretations of Australian Impressionism by female photographers, focusing on gender, migration and First Nations history.

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Nalini Malani’s radical vision

With a practice spanning five decades, Nalini Malani’s innovative video and performance art is internationally acclaimed for interrogating gender, race and political histories. Malani’s first major Australian survey is now showing at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

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Who Are You: Australian Portraiture

From Polly Borland’s glittering photograph of Queen Elizabeth to Maree Clarke’s tremendously stitched possum skin cloak, to John Nixon’s cross painting, the exhibition Who Are You: Australian Portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery is centered on challenging the traditional conventions of portraiture.

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Skill, funding, climate change and experimenting: What’s defining younger craft makers?

What does it mean to be a craft practitioner in 2022? Four younger and emerging artists—Zaiba Khan, Anna Varendorff, James Lemon and Claudia Lau—speak about their craft practices, their inclusion in Craft Contemporary 2022, and the challenges facing young creatives—from skills to money to risk-taking.

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Maddie Grammatopoulos on what makes a house a home

“Objects are just things we can touch, smell and see,” explains filmmaker Maddie Grammatopoulos when talking about what makes a house a home. Her award-winning film Which Made This Place Home is showing at Praxis Art Space.

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Susan Norrie is documenting the tragic forces of the world

From the Iraq War to natural disasters, since the 1970s acclaimed artist Susan Norrie continues to show us scenes of tragedy and mystery. Now her work is being situated alongside other contemporary female artists at Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery.

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“From one painter to another, the silent communication was profound”: Caroline Zilinsky’s revisions of Russell Drysdale

Retracing Russell Drysdale’s 1944 journey to remote Australia allowed Caroline Zilinsky to confront a male dominated version of the outback. Zilinsky’s new show at Nanda\Hobbs responds to this visual history.

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Catherine Rogers’s photography blurs the boundary between real and fabricated

“I am absolutely interested in making an image worth looking at.” The first survey of Catherine Rogers’s photography, Evidence and The Visible at ANU’s Drill Hall Gallery, looks at the allure of ‘unreal’ images.

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“The universe itself is alive”: Mel O’Callaghan on deep sea, eco feminism, and where life began

Working between Sydney and Paris, artist Mel O’Callaghan has a major new solo at Sydney’s Carriageworks. In our interview she talks about deep sea exploration, theories on the beginning of life, ancient festivals in India, and a prized mineral collection.

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Briony Downes

Writer

Briony Downes's Articles

Portraiture is a political act

How can we live with Freedom of Movement?

The art of tapa: Celebrating the Omie’s intricate and expanding designs

The women artists redefining Australian Impressionist landscapes

Nalini Malani’s radical vision

Who Are You: Australian Portraiture

Skill, funding, climate change and experimenting: What’s defining younger craft makers?

Maddie Grammatopoulos on what makes a house a home

Susan Norrie is documenting the tragic forces of the world

“From one painter to another, the silent communication was profound”: Caroline Zilinsky’s revisions of Russell Drysdale

Catherine Rogers’s photography blurs the boundary between real and fabricated

“The universe itself is alive”: Mel O’Callaghan on deep sea, eco feminism, and where life began

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