Two local artists have been recognised at this year’s Abbotsleigh Grace Cossington Smith Art Award, a biennial exhibition that brings together artists from across the country.
Frankie L. Abroon (Willoughby) took out the early career artist award for her painting, “Part of Home.” Clare Brodie (North Shore) won the local artist award for her work titled “form · placement · time.”
In Short
- Frankie L. Abroon from Willoughby secured the early career artist award for her culturally reflective painting, "Part of Home".
- North Shore painter Clare Brodie took home the local artist award for her bush landscape work, "form · placement · time".
- Abroon’s work uniquely merges Iranian architectural elements with the backyard pool culture of her Willoughby upbringing.
- Brodie's award-winning practice is deeply influenced by Grace Cossington Smith's philosophy of painting the immediate local environment.
Frankie L. Abroon: Painting two worlds into one
Abroon is of Australian and Iranian descent and recalled discovering art almost by accident when she walked into a Willoughby framing shop called Frame 88 with her mum. There she met local artist Ditty Wheeler, who now runs her own North Shore gallery, and the visit changed the direction of her life.
She went on to train at the National Art School and had her first solo show at Ditty Wheels, Wheeler’s gallery. Unsatisfied with her work, she returned for a master’s degree and began making work drawn directly from her Iranian heritage.
“Part of Home,” includes the mosaic tiling common in Iranian architecture alongside a nod to something distinctly local: the backyard pool culture of her Willoughby upbringing.
“My way into learning about cultural heritage was through these aesthetics, these objects, the way my house was presented to me,” she said. “That felt like the perfect representation of a diasporic identity.”
Next up for Abroon is a solo show in November at the Eloise Cato Gallery in Surry Hills, for which she is building a pool installation, extending the backyard imagery running through her work.
Clare Brodie: Re-imagining local landscape
Grace Cossington Smith Gallery
Brodie’s paintings begin as traditional paintings, through layers of washes as she discovers the direction of the work, and gradually builds up to the distinctive solid, matte finish. The idea of looking closely at what was on her own doorstep traces back to a book she read years ago, Drusilla Modjeska’s Stravinsky’s Lunch, which detailed how Grace Cossington Smith would paint what was on her own doorstep. Brodie recounts that this idea resonated with her and helped shape her decision to look closely at her own local bush environment and landscape.
“Every artist has to decide what their inquiry is, and mine became what was on my doorstep,” Brodie said. “Local bush, landscape, and the environment around me.”
That investigation shapes her current series, “form · placement · time” a title modelled on Pride and Prejudice for its ability to describe the work in full.
For Brodie, her recent award offers something beyond recognition. “It was such a gorgeous moment,” she said. “You need energy to come in to practice, because you’re here all the time. Having an accolade is such positive energy.”
Brodie has an upcoming show with her Gallerysmith (Based in Melbourne) and is working to bring forward a companion series next year.