Wendy Stokes practice is driven and filtered through her experiences of the natural environment; making images which allow for moments of pause and a celebration of spirit. Her work shifts between painting,drawing and printmaking disciplines where one informs the other.
Stokes lives by the ocean and draws from her deep connection to this landscape and those connected to personal histories. Her works purposefully wrestle with ambiguous ground; between the Romantic lineage of landscape representation and Modernist Abstraction, while also challenging contemporary notions between drawing and painting. [1]
Playing with notions of space, Stokes fuses ambiguous islands of floating colour and lyrical markmaking, punctuated by contradictions and triggers pulled directly from landscape. The works present as residues of lived encounter; documentations to sensorial grabbing's as one moves through a landscape; while drawing from the archaeology of memory.
They are works which resonate with collective meaning, connecting to sites of private territory, experienced terrains; inviting the viewer to embark on an immersive encounter into landscapes which universally bind us; connecting experiences from the recesses of memory- the mutable edges of ocean and gardens from childhood.
[1]Through a reflective process of journey and return Stokes has maintained a sustained engagement with Claude Monet's Nymphéas suite; exploring it as a collective image and vessel to memory. Late in 2010 Stokes visited Paris and returned in 2014 as part of an Internationale des Arts Cite Residency which included extended access to Monet's garden in Giverny, (courtesy Fondation Claude Monet); and field research in the coastal terrain of Étretat, Normandy.
Visual Arts Practice: Painting, Drawing, Printmaking
Resides and works Mid North Coast NSW, Australia
2016 | MFA Research UNSW Art and Design |
2014 | Cite International des Arts, Paris, UNSW Studio residency |
1985 | Graduate Diploma Visual Art, Sydney College of the Arts |
1980 | Diploma in Art, Newcastle College of Advanced Education, Newcastle |
1980 | member Sydney Printmakers to present |
1999-2015 1992 | Teacher North Coast Institute TAFE in painting, drawing, printmaking Guest artist Hampton Editions,Long Island, New York |
2022 | BMGart; Flower in the Wind-Notations of Memory; Adelaide |
2021 | Blended Geographies / Parallel Landscapes as part of the #LIVEWITHART series curated by Catherine Asquith Art Advisory, exhibited VMG, Melbourne |
2019 | Glasshouse Port Macquarie Regional Gallery; Within and Between Walking in the space of Landscape; Port Macquarie,NSW |
2017 | Maitland Regional Art Gallery; Walking through the space of landscape; Maitland, NSW |
2016 | Grafton Regional Gallery; Retracing Memory; Grafton, NSW |
2015 | Tamworth Regional Gallery; In Conversation: The Nymphéas, Tamworth NSW |
2014 | BMG art, Adelaide, S.A |
2012 | Catherine Asquith Gallery, Mark and Place – the Space Between; Melbourne |
2011 | Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, A Silent Conversation, Coffs Harbour |
2010 | BMG art, Aspects of Transience, Adelaide, South Australia |
2009 | Catherine Asquith Gallery, Interplay, Melbourne |
2008 | Catherine Asquith Gallery, New Territory Melbourne |
2005 | Sydney art Darlington, Sydney, Marked in Time |
2003 | BMG art, Adelaide South Australia |
2002 | Robin Gibson Gallery, Layers of Association, Sydney |
2001 | Flinders Lane Gallery, Encased in Memory, Melbourne |
1998 | Axia Modern Art, Melbourne |
1997 | Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne |
1995 | BMG art, New York Series Adelaide, South Australia |
1994 | Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne |
1993 | Manning Regional Gallery, Estuary Series Taree, NSW |
1992 | Guest artist Hampton Editions, Long Island, New York |
1991 | BMG art, Adelaide, South Australia |
1989 | Editions Galleries, South Melbourne |
1987 | BMG art, Woollahra, Sydney |
1985 | Editions Galleries, South Melbourne |
2023 | Sydney Contemporary SCAF23; Michelle Perry Fine Arts Origin-the place where something begins: Sydney Printmakers; The Glasshouse Regional Gallery,Port Macquarie |
2022 | Paper, Michelle Perry Fine Arts, Chippendale, NSW |
2021 | To the Edges: 60 Years of Sydney Printmakers, Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Manly NSW |
2020 | Sydney Printmakers 2020, May Space, Waterloo, Sydney |
2019 | Borderless-Sydney Printmakers, Megalo Print Studio and Gallery, Canberra |
2018 | Douro Print Biennial, Douro, Portugal |
2017 | Partners in Print, Sydney Printmakers Kickarts Contemporary Arts, Cairns |
2016 | Printed in Australia, Spot 81, Chippendale |
2014 | Boundless & Borderless: A Print Portfolio Exchange between Open Studio, Canada & Sydney Printmakers, Australia, Touring Exhibition in Taiwan |
2013 | Air, Light, Space-Contemporary Abstraction, Angus Nivison, Wendy Stokes, Michael Cusack Port Macquarie Regional Gallery |
2012 | Finalist JADA, Grafton Regional Gallery, Grafton touring exhibition |
2011 | Finalist Fleurieu Water Prize, South Australia |
2010 | JADA Grafton Regional Gallery Touring exhibition |
2009 | Select- Port Macquarie Regional Gallery |
2008 | Sydney Printmakers, Galerie Skara , Norway Red Herrings John Miller Galleries, Newcastle, Stephen Killick, Geoff Maddams, Wendy Stokes |
2007 | Aspects of the Collection, Port Macquarie Regional Gallery NSW Parliament House, Macquarie St Sydney |
2006 | JADA Award, Grafton Regional Gallery, Port Macquarie Regional Gallery |
2005 | Collaboration, Sydney Printmakers ,Gosford, Tweed River and Noosa Regional Galleries |
2004 | John Gordon Gallery, Coffs Harbour, Christmas Show Grafton Regional Gallery; Wendy Stokes paintings, ceramics J Kesby |
2003 | Sounds of Stillness, Port Macquarie Hastings Regional Gallery Abstraction Margery Edwards (New York paintings) and Wendy Stokes , Port Macquarie Regional Gallery, NSW |
2002 | Postcards Seven Regional Artists, Southern Cross University, Lismore; Cowra Gallery |
2001 | NERAM Regional Art Museum, Packsaddlers Exhibition Axia Modern Art, Melbourne;Wendy Stokes, Kate Briscoe, George Raftopolous |
2000 | Postcards Port Macquarie Hastings Regional Gallery |
1999 | Sydney Printmakers, Museum of Contemporary Art, University of Chile |
1998 | MPAC Print Prize, Mornington Arts Centre, Mornington Victoria |
1997 | Sydney Printmakers, Rex Irwin Gallery, Sydney |
1996 | Sydney Printmakers, Rex Irwin, Sydney; Burnie Regional Gallery, Tasmania |
1995 | Borderlines Sydney Printmakers, Studio One, Spiral Arm Gallery, Kingston, ACT |
1994 | ACAF 4 Melbourne, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne |
1993 | Travelling ‘Prime’ Painting Exhibition, Newcastle, Dubbo, Gold Coast City Regional Galleries; Muswellbrook Regional Gallery Editions Southbank Galleries, South Melbourne |
1993 | Sydney Printmakers, Blaxland Gallery, Sydney |
1992 | The Artist and the Printmaker II, Peter Cole, Wendy Stokes, Grahame Fransella,Idris Murphy, John Coburn, Richard Hook, Arthur Boyd and John Olsen at Editions Southbank Galleries, South Melbourne |
1991 | The Artist and the Printmaker I, Peter Cole, David Rankin, Bruno Leti, Wendy Stokes, Idris Murphy, Jock Young, Editions Southbank Galleries, Melbourne |
1990 | ACTA Maritime Touring Exhibition Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide |
1989 | ACTA Maritime Touring Exhibition Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide |
1988 | Editions Southbank Galleries, South Melbourne |
1987 | Editions Southbank Galleries, South Melbourne |
1985 | Sydney College of the Arts Graduate Diploma Exhibition, Pier 3 Hickson Rd, The Rocks |
1984 | Editions Southbank Galleries, South Melbourne |
1983 | Henri Worland Print Prize, Warrnambool Regional Gallery; acquisition |
1982 | Roundhouse Gallery, University of NSW, Grahame Kuo, George Barker, Leong Chan, Rose Vickers, Wendy Stokes, Michael Bognar, Ruth Faerber, Margaret Spratt |
1981 | Newcastle Printmakers, Lake Macquarie Regional Gallery |
1980 | Hogarth Galleries, recent graduates from Newcastle College of Advanced Education |
1979 | Gold Coast City Art Prize- Gold Coast City Gallery and Maitland City Art Gallery, Tertiary Student Art Prize, Maitland, NSW |
National Gallery of Australia
Art Gallery New South Wales
Warrnambool Regional Gallery
Tamworth Regional Gallery
Grafton Regional Gallery
Bathurst Regional Gallery
Gosford Regional Gallery
Port Macquarie Regional Gallery, Glasshouse
Coffs Harbour City Gallery
Newcastle University
Charles Sturt University
Parliament House, Canberra
Print Council of Australia
Australian Secondary Schools Project, Print Council of Australia
Artbank
Within and Between the Space of Landcsape, catalogue interview, Bridget Purtill,Curator, Glasshouse Regional Gallery and the artist; Glasshouse Regional Gallery,Port Macquarie
In Conversation: The Nymphéas, essay Louise Martin Chew, Tamworth Regional Gallery, Tamworth
Air, Light, Space - Contemporary Abstraction, essay Louise Martin Chew, introduction Niomi Sands, Port Macquarie Regional Gallery at the Glasshouse, Port Macquarie, 2013
A Silent Conversation, essay Christopher Orchard, Dr Leigh Summers, Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery 2011
View Points -Approach to Landscape essay, Laura Murray Cree, Catherine Asquith Gallery, 2011
Resilience, essay John McDonald; Catherine Asquith Gallery 2010Wendy Stokes, Interplay Catherine Asquith Gallery, Herald Sun, April 2009, Jeff Makin
Transience, essay Sandra McMahon, Tamworth Regional Gallery, June 2009
Marked in Time, essay Marilyn Walters; Sydney Town Art, 2005
Interplay, essay Olga Sankey Grafton Regional Gallery, 2004
Abstraction: Margery Edwards, Wendy Stokes, Port Macquarie Hastings Regional Gallery, 2003
Printmaking in the Sun, Dan Welden and Pauline Muir
Galerie Gora, essay Sharni Lloyd; Montreal Canada, 2000
Images in Contemporary Australian Painting, Vol 3 Nevill Drury Craftsman House 1998
The Adelaide Review, April 1995, True Believer, JN
Periphery, February 1993, The Estuary Series, J Matsinos
The Weekend Australian,1991, Children of the Cosmos, Elwyn Lynn, April13-14
Images in Contemporary Australian Painting, Vol1 Nevill Drury Craftsman House 1992
The Weekend Australian – Children of the Cosmos April 13-14,1991,Elwyn Lynn
New Art Four – Profiles in Contemporary Australian Art, 1990 edited Nevill Drury
The Bulletin, July 10,1990, New and Notable, Glenn Russell p 112
Periphery –May 1990 The North Coast in Perspective R Rixon
Entertainment Times Hong Kong June 6, 1987 Ian Findlay
Eight Australian Artists–Alvin Gallery, Hong Kong
Weekend Australian Haunted by the ellipse of form– October 31 – November 1, 1987, Elwyn Lynn
Sydney Morning Herald – Sydney Printmakers, 1981
Sydney Morning Herald – Sydney Printmakers 14th June, 1980, James Fairfax; Women Artists of Australia