Neil McIrvine - Profile

PRIZES
2013 Moran National Portrait Prize semi finalist
2008 Archibald Prize finalist
2006 Shirley Hannan National Portrait Prize finalist
2005 Discovery Art Show, Gasworks Art Park, Melbourne - Winner Best Oil Painting Award
2004 Cromwell's Art Prize - Winner Viewer's Choice Award

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2007 Paintbox Fine Art, Fulham, London, UK
2007 Paintbox Fine Art, Braddon, ACT
2007 Wall Gallery, Ascot Vale, Victoria
2007 Delshan, Armadale, Victoria
2007 Green-Wood Gallery, South Melbourne, Victoria
2006 Delshan, Armadale, Victoria
2006 Wall Gallery, Ascot Vale, Victoria
2006 Green-Wood Gallery, South Melbourne, Victoria
2005 Wall Gallery, Ascot Vale, Victoria
2005 Discovery Art Show, Gasworks Art Park, Albert Park, Victoria
2005 Rex-Livingston Art Dealer, Surry Hills, NSW
2005 Jackman Gallery, St Kilda, Victoria
2005 Manyung Gallery, Mt Eliza, Victoria
2004 The Lab Gallery, Lexington Avenue, New York City
2004 Cromwell's Art Prize, Sydney, Melbourne, Washington USA
2004 Jackman Gallery, St Kilda, Victoria
2004 Toyota HQ, Port Melbourne, Victoria
2004 Manyung Gallery, Mt Eliza, Victoria
2003 Jackman Gallery, St Kilda, Victoria
2003 Affordable Art Show, Sydney, NSW
2003 Artists For Kids Trust, Jackman Gallery, St Kilda, Victoria
2003 Manyung Gallery, Mt Eliza, Victoria
2002 Jackman Gallery, St Kilda, Victoria
2002 Contemporary Art Society of Victoria, Melbourne
2002 Artists For Kids Trust, Jackman Gallery, St Kilda, Victoria
2002 Manyung Gallery, Mt Eliza, Victoria
2001 Agora Gallery, Soho, New York City
2001 Jackman Gallery, St Kilda, Victoria
2001 Contemporary Art Society of Victoria, Melbourne
2001 Southside Arts, offices of the Hon John Thwaites, Deputy Premier of Victoria
2001 Manyung Gallery, Mt Eliza, Victoria
2000 Jackman Gallery, St Kilda, Victoria
2000 Contemporary Art Society of Victoria, Melbourne
2000 Southside Arts, offices of the Hon John Thwaites, Deputy Premier of Victoria
1999 Jackman Gallery, St Kilda, Victoria
1999 Contemporary Art Society of Victoria, Victoria
1996 Roar Gallery, Fitzroy, Victoria
1995 Emerging Artists Group Show, Mile End, SA
1995 Art Images, Norwood, SA
1990 Contemporary Art Society of Dundee, Dundee Museum, Dundee, Scotland
1989 Contemporary Art Society of Dundee, Roseangle, Dundee, Scotland
1988 Contemporary Art Society of Dundee, Roseangle, Dundee, Scotland

COLLECTIONS
The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Private collections in Australia, New Zealand, China, England, Scotland, USA

Winner of the 2005 Discovery Art Show
Best Oil Painting Award - $5,000

"THE PHOENIX"
102cm x 76cm

Judged as the Best Work In Oil in the 2005 Discovery Art Show.

The painting was acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
for their Contemporary Art Collection.

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The Sunday Herald Sun, April 11th, 2004

PRIZEWORTHY: Neil McIrvine with his portrait of Nathan Buckley.

THE EVENT: Tucked away in Hotham Street in South Melbourne is Gallery M, a vibrant new face on the Melbourne art scene. The gallery, which opened on Wednesday night, is dedicated to showcasing select Australian artists and supporting emerging talent.

SPOTTED: Collingwood captain Nathan Buckley was not at the opening, but his presence was certainly felt in the room. Buckley's portrait was captured for the Archibald Prize by Neil McIrvine, who happily admits he is not a Collingwood fan. The piece is now on display and - if you have a chequebook handy - for sale at the gallery. Buckley sat for McIrvine twice, however the portrait took about three months to complete.

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COVER OF
ART GALLERY GUIDE OF AUSTRALIA
August 2000

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INSIDE MELBOURNE (lifestyle magazine)
SUNDAY JULY 30, 2000:
THE SPIRIT OF DIVERSITY

Within the confines of his dimly lit studio, surrounded by brushes and palettes, Neil McIrvine's paintings radiate a luminescent quality that can only be described as seductive. This seduction, in part, comes from the thick layers of gold paint he applies to create his unique portraits. More crucially, it is the result of the intense, overwhelming sense of emotion his works seem to emit, the essence of which is captured perfectly in the title of his first solo exhibition, The Human Spirit. Staring out from vast canvases are the eyes, faces and bodies of his subjects that have been brought to life, seemingly effortlessly, belying the years he

has spent working towards their completion.
“It has taken me many years to get to this point. I only started doing these paintings about 18 months ago, but everything I worked on beforehand was a predecessor to that.” These “predecessors”, examples of which are scattered on walls throughout his home, include Jackson Pollock-inspired splashed canvases, vivid portraits and colourful, abstract compositions. So diverse are they that without his signature scrawled in the bottom right-hand corner, it would be impossible to pick them as his. This, says McIrvine, is more than intentional.

It's the whole point. “For me, it's about developing and going on to the next stage, whether it's something completely different or a progression from these pictures. As much as I am enjoying doing these paintings at the moment, I don't want to paint them for the next 20 years. Picasso said it well when he described other artists, saying ‘they've made their mould – they just go off and bake their little cakes in that same mould’. He just kept reinventing himself, and that's what I want to do.” His current phase is the one that has got people's attention. IM