Locust Jones Biography

Born Christchurch, New Zealand. Lives and works in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia.

1993
Bachelor of Visual Arts, Sydney College of the Arts, Australia

2009
Master of Visual Arts, Sydney College of the Arts, Australia

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2020
‘Situation Room’, Dominik Mersch Gallery, Sydney

2019
‘The Stuff of Life’, Bett Gallery, Hobart, TAS

2017
‘Trouble on the range’, DOMINIK MERSCH GALLERY, Sydney
‘Back to the Dark Ages’, Durational Drawing Performance, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
‘Dark Ages’, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Maitland, NSW
‘Season of Unreason’, Bett Gallery, Hobart, TAS

2016
‘Back to the dark ages’, Art Central Hong Kong, Solo Project for DOMINIK MERSCH GALLERY

2015

City of Sydney Public Art Commission for the Juanita Neilson Community Centre*
‘Screenshots’, DOMINIK MERSCH GALLERY, Sydney
‘A week in the life of the world’, Blue Mountains City Art Gallery, Katoomba, NSW
‘Brainfog’, Karen Woodbury gallery, Melbourne, VIC

2014
‘Burn Freeze’, David Krut Projects, New York
‘Made in Johannesburg’, Solander, Wellington, New Zealand
‘Lifters and Leaners’, Bett Gallery, Hobart, TAS
‘Descent into the mass media maelstrom’, Galerie Patrick Ebensperger, Berlin, Germany

2013
’24HR News Feed’, Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand
‘Steep Descent’, DOMINIK MERSCH GALLERY, Sydney

2012
‘Boycott, Isolate, Sabotage’, Whitespace, Auckland, New Zealand
‘Some mistakes were perhaps made’, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Bathurst, NSW

2011
‘Asia one’, Hong Kong art fair with DOMINIK MERSCH GALLERY
‘Revolt’, DOMINIK MERSCH GALLERY, Sydney

2010
‘Mediated By The Media’, White Space, Auckland, New Zealand
‘Lozenge of dawn’, 24Hr Art, Darwin, NT
‘Elevating a disastrous situation into a catastrophe’, MOP Projects, Sydney
‘Untitled’, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne, VIC

2009
‘HitchHiking in the Donut of Death’, Gallery 9, Sydney
‘Back-Handed Bullets’, Whitespace, Auckland, New Zealand
‘Ride it ‘til it dies’, Rear View, Melbourne, VIC

2008
‘I’ll Burn that bridge when I come to it’, Until Never, Melbourne, VIC
‘Final Notice Centre of Contemporary Art’, Christchurch, New Zealand
‘The Bird Agents Tin Sheds Gallery’, University of Sydney, Sydney

2007
‘Clearing Station Centre of Contemporary Art’, Christchurch, New Zealand

2006
‘Spin Cycle Sakshi Gallery’, Mumbai, India

2005
‘Live by the Sword Mahara Gallery’, Wellington, New Zealand

2004
‘Poverty Jet Set Espace SD Gallerie’, Beirut, Lebanon
‘Amnesia’, Beyrouth Riviera Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023
Collection Focus: Paper Planes, Rockhampton Art Museum, Queensland
Wrestlemania, Rockhampton Art Museum, Queensland

2022
Art and Conflict, Australian War Memorial Travelling Exhibition, Shepparton Art Museum, Victoria

2020
Critical Mass: The Art of Planetary Health, Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, Katoomba
Guns To Roses, The Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Maitland

2019
Print Council of Australia, Bilbao, Spain
‘The Drawing Room’ Galerie Obrist, Essen, Germany
‘Dobell Australian Drawing Biennale’, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange, NSW
‘Shadow and Light’, Solander Galerie, Wellington, New Zealand
‘The Fall’, DOMINIK MERSCH GALLERY, Sydney

2018
‘Disrupt’, Whitespace, Auckland, New Zealand
‘Dobell Drawing Biennale’, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
‘Bove – Expat’, Kunstraum Dusseldorf, Germany

2017
‘Mining Pyrite’, Newington Armory, Sydney
‘Giving Voice’, Devonport Regional Art Gallery, Devonport, TAS

2016
‘As far as the eye can see’, Contemporary Printmaking, Blue Mountains Art Gallery, Katoomba, NSW
MCA ARTBAR Four hour Durational Performance with Tim Bruniges and Hirofumi Uchino, MCA, Sydney
‘Giving Voice’, Flinders University Gallery, Adelaide, SA
‘Winter Show’, DOMINIK MERSCH GALLERY, Sydney

2015
‘Geelong Print Prize’, Hutchins works on paper prize
‘Burnie Print Prize’, Burnie Regional Gallery, Burnie TAS
‘Modern art projects’, Everglades, Leura, NSW
‘Giving voice’, Touring exhibition, Gosford Regional Gallery, Gosford, NSW
Galerie Patrick Ebensperger, Vienna, Austria

2014
Open Studio 18th Street Arts Centre, California, USA
Jacaranda Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Gallery, Grafton, NSW
Fremantle Print Award, Fremantle, WA
Redlands Art Award, Sydney, Aus
‘Giving Voice’, Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart, Tas
‘Nature Nurture’, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Richmond, VIC
‘A General Map of caves’, Hawkesbury Regional Art Gallery, Sydney

2013
Galerie Patrick Ebensperger, Berlin, Germany
‘Down to the line’, Bett Gallery, Hobart, TAS
Fremantle Print Award, Fremantle, WA
‘Unsettled’, Recent acquisitions of Australian Contemporary art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA
Fauvette Laurio Travelling Art Scholarship, SCA, Sydney University, Aus

2012
‘The Lookout’, National Art School Gallery, Sydney
‘Excavation’, The Armory, Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney
‘Drawing the line’, Whitespace, Auckland, New Zealand
‘Through your eyes’, Korean Cultural Foundation, Sydney

2011
‘5 x 3’, Kunstraum Dusseldorf, Germany
‘Sub Text’, Carriageworks, Sydney, Australia

2010
‘Free Hand’, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Bulleen, VIC
‘Navigators’, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
‘No right turn’, Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest, Sydney

2009
‘I Walk The Line New Australian Drawing’, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
SMAC Awards, GBK, Sydney, Australia
‘The written word in contemporary art’, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
‘The June Fourth Incident’, Serial Space, Sydney
‘Something I said’, Helen Gory Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

2008
‘888Exhibition’, China Heights Gallery, Sydney

2007
‘Riviera Real Estate’, Riviera Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

2005
‘Diversity 1’, Sulkin Secant Gallery, Santa Monica, California, USA

1999
‘Sydney Beirut – Beirut Sydney’, Espace SD Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

COLLECTIONS

Art Bank, Australia
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Art Gallery of South Australia
Australian War Memorial Museum, Canberra ACT
Bathurst Regional Art Gallery
Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, Katoomba, NSW
Centre of Contemporary Arts, Christchurch, New Zealand
City of Sydney Art Collection, Sydney, New South Wales
Grafton Regional Gallery
James Wallace Trust, Auckland, New Zealand
Kedumba contemporary drawing collection, Australia
Kunstwerk Museum, Collection of Peter W. and Alison Klein, Stuttgart/Eberdingen, Germany
Maitland Regional Art Gallery
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand
Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Victoria
Shepparton Art Museum, Victoria
University of Sydney
Tweed River Regional Gallery
University of Wollongong

SELECTED AWARDS, PRIZES AND RESIDENCIES

2022

Finalist, commended. Jacaranda Drawing Award, Grafton regional gallery, NSW,
Finalist Highly commended, Paul Guest Drawing Award, Bendigo Art Gallery, Vic
Finalist National Works on Paper Award, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Vic
Finalist, Adelaide Perry drawing award, Adelaide

2021

Red dot design award Germany for my artist book six weeks in the life of a global pandemic
Cel Animation Artist Residence, Hill End, NSW
Finalist Fremantle Art Award, WA
Burnie Print Award, Tasmania
Geelong Print Prize, Vic
Dobell Drawing Award, NAS, Sydney
Blake Prize for Religious and Spiritual Art, Casula Powerhouse, NSW

2020

Finalist – Blake Prize
Finalist – Blacktown City Art Prize
Finalist – Fisher’s Ghost Art Award
Finalist – 15 Artists

2019
Finalist – Dobell Drawing Prize, National Art School, Sydney
Finalist – Geelong Print Prize
Finalist – Hazelhurst Works on Paper Prize

2016
Finalist – Fremantle print award, Fremantle WA
Finalist – Jacaranda Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Gallery, NSW
Finalist – Paul Guest Drawing Award, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
Finalist – Wynne Prize Exhibition, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, Australia

2015
Geelong Print Prize. Hutchins works on paper prize
Finalist – Burnie Print Prize, Burnie Regional Gallery, Tasmania

2014
El Nopal Press, Los Angeles, California, USA
18th Street Art Centre, Santa Monica, California, USA
Artist Residency, Kulturwerk, Berlin, Germany
Artist Residence, Big C, Bilpin, NSW
Australia Council for the Arts – New Work Grant
Finalist – Fremantle Print Award, Fremantle, WA

2013
Finalist, Fremantle Print Award, Fremantle, WA

2012
Artist Residence, David Krut Projects, Johannesburg, South Africa
Wallace Art Awards, Auckland, New Zealand
National Works on paper prize, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, VIC
Finalist – Paul Guest Award, Bendigo Art Gallery, VIC
Finalist – Alice Springs Art Prize
Winner – Fishers Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown Art Gallery
Acquired – Kedumba contemporary drawing award, Wentworth Falls, NSW

2011 – 2012
Finalist – Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing,
Hill End Artist Residency
Finalist – Hazelhurst Works on Paper Prize

2010
Winner – National Contemporary Art Award, New Zealand
Finalist – Royal Bank Of Scotland Art Award,
Asialink residency, Changdong Artist Studio, Seoul, South Korea
Finalist – The Paul Guest Drawing Award
Finalist – Noosa Regional gallery 3D Art prize, Tewantin, QLD
Finalist – Sunshine coast art prize
Artist in Residency, Penrith Regional gallery, Penrith NSW
Finalist – Stanthorpe Art Festival Award

2009
Winner – the Hazelhurst works on Paper Prize
Finalist – Fishers Ghost Art Prize
Finalist – Blake prize for Religious art
Finalist – Geelong Print Prize
Finalist – Fremantle Print Award, Fremantle, WA

2008
Finalist – Kedumba drawing award
Finalist – Fremantle print award

2007
Finalist – Hazelhurst works on paper award

2005
Finalist – Hazelhurst works on paper award
Finalist – Fremantle print award

2004
Artist in Residence, Espace SD Gallerie, Beirut, Lebanon

2003
Lower East Side Print Workshop Residency, New York

PRESS

2017
Locust Jones, Subterranean Output, Five years of drawing, 2010-15 ISBN 978-0-646-96678-6
Hobart Mercury, Embracing Reality

2015
ArtsHub, Art review of a week in the life of the world by Gina Farley
Art Monthly, A week in the life of the world., by Locust Jones
What’s on in Melbourne, The Age, April 2015, Dan Rule
Raven, April, by Rachel Vance, Berlin based art critic
Ocula for Hong Kong Project by Lisa Summers

2014
Holding up a mirror to society, Hobart Mercury, July 19, Clyde Selby
The Age, In the galleries by Dan Rule, Feb 22
Printeresting, New York, Review of Burn Freeze at David Krut Projects, April

2013
Imprint, My trip to Johannesburg and the prints I created at David Krut Projects
Christchurch Art Gallery Bulletin Magazine, Sept-Nov, by Felicity Milburn

2012
Sydney Magazine, SMH, August
Financial Review
New Zealand Herald, by Tj Mcnamara

2011
Art Profile issue 15, Australian Art Collector, Jan-Feb
Art Nation, ABC Television

2010
June/July edition of Art in America- Review by Roger Boyce

2009
In the name of art, rub out the drawing board, Andrew Frost for Sydney Morning Herald
On their marks, get set, go, John Mcdonald for Sydney Morning Herald
ABC Sunday Arts, interview with Fenella Kernebone
Exhibition Review Wellington, Catherine Macdonald writer for Imprint Magazine
Pulp friction, Tracey Clement for The Sydney Morning Herald

2007
Large-scale comment on life, Jamie Hanton for The Christchurch Press NZ
The end is nigh – Locust Jones draws a world slowly going to hell. Tracey Clement for Sydney Morning Herald