Nell (artist) facts for kids

Nell (born in 1975) is an Australian artist. She creates many kinds of art. This includes performance art, installations, videos, paintings, and sculptures. In 2013, she won an important art award called the University of Queensland Self-Portrait Award. In 2017, she was honored in the Maitland City Hall of Fame for her work in the arts. Nell lives and works in Sydney, Australia.

About Nell

Nell was born in 1975 in Maitland, New South Wales. She follows the Buddhist philosophy.

Nell studied art at several famous schools. She learned from artists like Lindy Lee at the Sydney College of the Arts. She also studied with Joan Jonas and John Baldessari in the United States. Later, she learned from Annette Messager in Paris, France.

Nell's Art and Career

Nell's artwork often explores opposite ideas. These can be things like life and death, or happiness and sadness. She uses images from rock 'n roll music. She also uses many repeated symbols in her art. These include smiley faces, lightning bolts, clouds, raindrops, suns, and different faces.

Nell's art has been shown in over 200 exhibitions. These shows were in Australia and other countries. Early in her career, in 1999, her work was chosen for the Primavera exhibition. This show features talented young Australian artists under 35. It was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) in Sydney.

Around that time, she also had shows in Amsterdam. She worked with Indian artist Neha Choksi in Sydney and Mumbai. Nell's first major museum exhibition was at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 2001.

In 2011, a museum in Hobart, Australia, asked Nell to create an exhibition. It was called Let There Be Robe. She also made two performance art pieces. These were called Chanting to Amps and It's a Long Way to the Top. They were performed many times in different places.

Collaborations and Outdoor Art

Nell has worked with Australian fashion designers Romance Was Born. In 2014, their joint work was shown at the National Gallery of Victoria. This fashion collection was even called a "Masterpiece of Australian Fashion."

Nell often creates art outside of traditional galleries. She stages performances and installations in many different settings. In 2014, she showed her work at the Glastonbury Festival in England. In 2015, she performed at Performance Space in Sydney.

In 2016, Nell's large artwork called The Wake was shown. It was part of the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art. The Art Gallery of South Australia later bought The Wake. A book was also written about this artwork. In the same year, the Shepparton Art Museum held a big exhibition of Nell's works.

Nell's art was also part of the 25th anniversary of the Primavera exhibition in late 2016. It started at the MCA in Sydney and then traveled to other towns.

In 2017, the National Gallery of Victoria asked Nell to make an outdoor sculpture. This sculpture is now a permanent part of their garden in Melbourne. Her work was also in the first "The National" exhibition. This show highlights new Australian art. Nell also had a solo exhibition called WORDS + CROSSES in New Zealand.

In 2018, she had another solo exhibition in Bordertown, South Australia. In 2019, Nell showed paintings, sculptures, and brooches. She made the brooches with a New Zealand jeweler named Neil Adcock. This show was part of the Sydney Contemporary art fair.

Awards and Special Opportunities

Nell has had several artist residencies. These are times when artists live and work in a special place. She had residencies in Rome, Beijing, Canberra, and Sydney.

In 2002, she traveled to Ravenna, Italy. She received a scholarship to help emerging artists travel and learn.

Nell has won several awards for her art. In 2001, she won the People's Choice Award for a small sculpture. She was also a finalist for the Blake Prize in 2005, 2011, and 2013.

In 2013, Nell won the University of Queensland Self-Portrait Award. She won for a video performance artwork.

In 2017, Nell was added to the Maitland City Hall of Fame. This was for her achievements in the arts. Other famous people like actor John Bell were also in the Hall of Fame.

Since 2017, Nell has been an artist-in-residence at the Carriageworks studios in Sydney. This place is special to her family. Her great-grandfather worked there as a boilermaker. Her great-uncle was also a draughtsman at the same location.