100 Artworks for a Koala entry by Melissa Hartley . Title: ‘Treasured’ – acrylic on Italian linen.
Melissa HARTLEY
Artist based in Sydney, Australia
Melissa desires to create images of beauty and mystery that allow the viewer to find their own personal significance in them…
100 Artworks for a Koala entry:
Title: ‘Treasured‘ | Size: 500mm x 500mm | Medium: acrylic on Italian linen.
“My works are an ode to the long tradition of Dutch still life painting. Emerging out of the midnight-black void, the subjects allude to the transitory nature of existence. Still life asks us to stop and consider the world anew. It urges us to look closely and observe.
The isolating effect of deep black seems to heighten the vulnerability and seeming desire to place trust in the viewer. This chiaroscuro effect is used for the sake of drama and the emotional impact it implies. It shows the vulnerability of our beloved Koala and of the natural world, placed on a ‘pedestal’ it is a way of honouring and showcasing both their inherent beauty and rights to live in the world untortured.
The underlying context in my painting is about our responsibilities to all living things and the environment we all live in.” Melissa Hartley
Artist bio
Melissa Hartley is a self taught artist, that studied graphic design and who has been working for the last 17 years in Publishing in Sydney and Edinburgh. In 2010 she decided to pick up the paint brush again and pursue her love of painting.
Her compositions feature darkly poetic female portraits against undefined backgrounds, in a void or dream-like state. These mystical portraits of women, almost haunting in their beauty, are seeped in the natural world, each work contains an element of the supernaturally surreal. They are contradictions within themselves, brought to sensual life through surrealistic icons & symbols. Each subject is attractive yet somehow disturbing.
She’s inspired by many things, but her paintings predominately draw on the sublime beauty of nature, old traditional craftsmanship, especially botanical illustrations of the past, and fashion photography. Melissa desires to create images of beauty and mystery that allow the viewer to find their own personal significance in them, traversing emotions that reside deep within our own subconscious.
Artist exhibitions & prizes
2019
November: EMSLA Still Life Awards – finalist
June: Lethbridge 20,000 Small Scale Award – finalist
March: North Sydney Art Prize – finalist
2018
April: Percival Portrait Art Prize – finalist
2017
September: Mosman Art Prize – finalist
June: Lethbridge 10000 Art Award 2017 – finalist
March: North Sydney Art Prize – Winner: Award for Painting
2016
September: Gosford Art Prize – finalist
Northbridge Art Prize – finalist
May: Kirribilli Art Prize – finalist, people’s choice award
2014
March: The Kilgour Prize – finalist
Exhibitions - solo & group
Solo exhibitions
2016
November: “Noctural Heartstrings”, 19KAREN Contemporary Artspace, Gold Coast, Australia
2015
March: “The Tarnished Age”, 19KAREN Contemporary Artspace, Gold Coast, Australia
2013
July: “Phases de la lune”, Auguste Clown Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Group exhibitions
2020
March: “New Growth” group show. Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, USA
February: “Power in Numbers 5” group show. Nucleus Portland Gallery, Portland, USA
January: “The Summer Exhibition 2020” group show. Milk Factory Gallery, Bowral, Australia
2019
April: “Floral and Fetish” group show. Hudson Hughes Art Gallery
February: “Art of Mourning” group show. Crucible Gallery
2018
December: “3rd Birthday” group show. The Stockroom Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
September: “New Art” group exhibition. Manyung Gallery, Mount Eliza, Australia
August: “Beautiful Women” group show. Penny Contemporary Gallery, Hobart, Australia
“Whimsy” group show. Rochfort Art Gallery, Sydney, Australia
April: “Petals and Pods” group show. Rochfort Art Gallery, Sydney, Australia
March: “The Cat Show” group show. BeinArt Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2017
July: “Small works” group show. BeinArt Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
February: “Lover’s eye” group show. Modern Eden Art Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2016
December: “Kindred Souls & Spirit Animals” group show, Alexi Era Gallery, Oregon, USA
“Wanderlust 4”, group show. Modern Eden Art Gallery, San Francisco, USA
October: “Mission Blue” group show, Haven Gallery, New York, USA
July: “Tokens of Love” group show, Copycat violence online show
May: “Happy” group show, 19KAREN Contemporary Artspace, Gold Coast, Australia
March: “BeMused” group show – Copycat Violence Art Collective, Penumbra Gallery, Loures, Portugal
2015
December: “Wanderlust”, group show. Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, USA
November: “Interiors”, group show – Copycat Violence Art Collective. Gristle Art Gallery, Brooklyn, USA
October: ‘Les Petit Fours’, group show beautiful.bizarre & Friends of Leon Gallery Invitational, Friends of Leon Gallery, Sydney, Australia
August: “Pain/ting”, group show, presented by 19KAREN Contemorary Artspace, Open Walls Gallery, Berlin, Germany.
May: “Spring Unveiling Arts Festival” group show. Archimedes Gallery, Oregon, USA
February: “Myth, magic and lore” group show. Bash Contemporary, San Francisco, USA
2014
November: “Thoughts on a grey day” group show. Archimedes Gallery, Oregon, USA
“Kilgour Art Prize”. Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, Australia
July: “Temple of the Soul: bodies and sacred systems” group show. Alexi Era Gallery, St Louis, Missouri, USA
June: “Kulture Klash” group show. Queen Mary, Long Beach, California, USA
“Wilderness” group show. Auguste Clown Gallery,, Melbourne, Australia
May: “On Beauty” group show. Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, USA
April: “Universe: the art of existence” group show. Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, USA
January: “Tarot Under Oath” group show. Last Rites Gallery, New York, USA
2013
November: “Grand Opening” group show. Alexi Era Gallery, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
August: “Curiosities” group show. Modern Eden Gallery, San Fransisco, USA
May: “The Art of Cirque Du Soleil” group show. 19KAREN Contemporary Artspace Hosted by Sofitel Gold Coast Broadbeach, Gold Coast, Australia
“The Language of Flowers” group show. Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, USA
February: “Venice” group show. Modern Eden Gallery, San Fransisco, USA
2012
November: “Vanishing Points” group show. Auguste Clown Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
May: “Small is beautiful” Pyrmont Art Prize in association with Tap Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Artist contact
instagram; @melissajhartley
www.melissahartley.com.au
© HENDERSON Beric 
© BARTELL Bec