Ken Searle grew up around the Cooks River, in the south-west suburbs of Sydney, where he still lives and works. He is best known for his large paintings in oil on canvas, depicting the suburban and industrial areas of a number of Australian cities including Sydney, Adelaide, Ballarat and Geelong. Ken Searle describes his method as ‘walking into the landscape’.
In the mid 1970s Searle began regularly exhibiting works at Watters Gallery in Sydney, where he has held twenty solo exhibitions. Major collections holding his work include the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the National Gallery of Victoria.
Ken Searle: Solo Exhibitions:
2018 Building Babel, Watters Gallery, Sydney
2017 Learning from Country, Fisher Library Gallery, University of Sydney
2015 Convergence, Watters Gallery, Sydney
2013 Walking into the Landscape, Watters Gallery, Sydney
2011 Two Weeks in Chloride Street, Watters Gallery, Sydney
Two Weeks in Chloride Street, Broken Hill Art Gallery
2009 Star-Showers, Watters Gallery, Sydney
2008 Papunya, New Paintings, Place Gallery, Melbourne
2008 Introspection, New Drawings, Watters Gallery, Sydney
2007 Headland, Paintings, Watters Gallery, Sydney
2004 Around Papunya, Watters Gallery, Sydney
2002 Recent Paintings and Drawings, Watters Gallery, Sydney
2000 Urban Drawings and Painting, Canterbury City Library, New South Wales
1999 Newtown Revisited, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1998 Ballarat, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Victoria;
Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
1996 Small Worlds, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1995 North Geelong, Geelong Art Gallery, Victoria
North Geelong, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
1995 Mount Olympus in Australia, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1993 Further West: Lithgow, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1991 West, Watters Gallery, Sydney
West, Lewers Bequest and Penrith Regional Art Gallery
1987 132 Lennox Street Gallery, Melbourne
1986 Watters Gallery, Sydney
1984 Watters Gallery, Sydney
1982 Watters Gallery, Sydney
1981 Bowden/Brompton, Funeral Parlour, Brompton, Adelaide
1980 Watters Gallery, Sydney
1978 Newtown, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1977 Watters Gallery, Sydney
1976 Watters Gallery, Sydney
Awards, Commissions, art prizes, grants,
2014 New South Wales Premier’s History Award, Books for Children and Young Adults, Australians All (text Nadia Wheatley, illustrations Ken Searle)
2011 Australian Award for Excellence in Educational Publishing (Primary Student Reference), 2012, Playground (text Nadia Wheatley, illustrations Ken Searle)
2009 Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize
2006 Inner West Community Development Organisation: Commission
2005 New South Wales Parliament House: Commission
2001 Canterbury City Council: Commission
1997 Ballarat University and Ballarat City Council: Commission
1997 Visual Arts Board, Project Grant
1984 Visual Arts Board Overseas Studio: Besozzo
1983 Gold Coast City Art Prize (purchased)
1982 Singleton Art Prize (purchased)
1980 Alice Springs Art Prize (purchased)
1980 Maude Vizard Wholohan Purchase Award
1980 South Australian Arts Council, Project Grant
1978 Visual Arts Board, Project Grant
1987 Visual Arts Board, Project Grant
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2022 Tradition and Transformation 2, Taiwan-Australia International Watercolour Exhibition, Australian Watercolour Institute, Juniper Hall, Sydney
2021 Tradition and Transformation 1, Taiwan-Australia International Watercolour Exhibition, Australian Watercolour Institute, Taiwan
2020 Rogue Pop Up Gallery, Redfern
2019 Australian Watercolour Institute Annual Exhibition, Juniper Hall, Sydney
2018 Australian Watercolour Institute Annual Exhibition, Juniper Hall, Sydney
2018 Rogue Pop Up Gallery, Newtown
2015 Une Histoire du Livre d’Artiste Australian, Cabinet du Livre D’Artiste, Université Rennes
2014 Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize, National Art School Gallery, Sydney
2009 Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize Exhibition (Winner), PLC Croydon, NSW
2008 Melbourne Art Fair 2008, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
2006 Critic’s Choice: Same Place, Many Views, Defiance Gallery, Newtown, NSW
Melbourne Artfair 2006, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
2005 Something in the Landscape, Watters Gallery, Sydney
2002 Modern Australian Paintings, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2004 Melbourne Artfair 2004, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
2002 Modern Australian Paintings, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2000 Chris O’Doherty, Ken Searle & Frank Littler, Prints and Works on Paper, Watters Gallery, Sydney
Selected Works, Watters Gallery, Sydney
Melbourne Artfair 2000, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
Federation: Australian Art and Society 1901 – 2001, National Gallery of Australia
1999 Summer Exhibition, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1998 Sixth Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
Summer Exhibition No.13, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1997 Artists for Tranby, Sherman Galleries Hargrave, Sydney
Packsaddle Exhibition, Art Museum, Armidale, New South Wales
Ken Searle’s ‘Cooks River Series’ together with works on paper by Frank Littler,
Bridget McLean & Chris O’Doherty/Reg Mombassa, Watters Gallery, Sydney
Summer Exhibition, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1996 Fifth Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
Packsaddle Exhibition, Art Museum, Armidale, New South Wales
Ecstatic & Grotesque, Eva Breuer Art Dealer, Sydney
Summer Exhibition, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1995 Full of … CONTENT, Watters Gallery, Sydney
Recent small works, Watters Gallery, Sydne
Images from Myths and Legends, Watters Gallery, Sydney
Summer Exhibition, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1994 Fourth Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
Summer Exhibition, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1993 “Margaret Stewart Endowment: Part 2”, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Packsaddle Exhibition, Art Museum, Armidale, New South Wales
Metropolis Now, Lewers Bequest and Penrith Regional Gallery, NSW
Summer Exhibition, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1992 “Third Australian Contemporary Art Fair”, Exhibition Building, Melbourne
1991 “Off the Wall. In the Air”, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
“Rivers in Australian Art”, Heide Gallery, Melbourne
1990 “Works on Paper”, Watters Gallery, Sydney
“Visual Instincts”, Holdsworth Gallery, Sydney; University of New South Wales, Sydney
1989 Australian Art Post 1960, Deutscher Gertrude St, Melbourne
Modern Muses: Classical Mythology in Australian Art, S.H Ervin Gallery, Sydney
A Show of Heads, Watters Gallery, Sydney
Inside the Greenhouse, Tin Sheds Galllery, University of Sydney
Portrait of a Gallery, Watters Gallery 25th anniversary exhibition, Touring 8 regional centres until 1991
Houses, Watters Gallery, Sydney
Summer Exhibition No.5, Watters Gallery, Sydney
Visual Instincts, a major survey of contemporary Australian paperworks, Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney
Works on Paper: 40 Artists … 40 Works, Watters Gallery, Sydney
The Cow Show, Legge Gallery, Sydney
Summer Exhibition, Watters Gallery, Sydney
1987 “The Third Biennale Invitation Purchase Exhibition”, University of New South Wales, Sydney
1985 “Minds on Masonite”, C.A.S., Adelaide
“History of Architecture in Sydney”, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney
1984 “Ken Searle, Frank Littler”, Pinecotheca, Melbourne
1983 “Drawings”, Watters Gallery, Sydney
“Some Figurative Painting”, Watters Gallery, Sydney
“Some Recent Australian Works on Paper”, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
“Minds on Masonite”, Art Unit, Sydney
“Recent Australian Painting: A Survey 1970-1983”, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
1982 “Australian Painting and Sculpture 1956-1981”, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
“Urban Images”, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney; Wollomgong Art Gallery, Wollongong
1981 “Visions After Light”, Centenary Exhibition, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
1980 “Painting in South Australia Today”, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
1978: “Landscape and Image”, exhibition of Contemporary Australian Art to Indonesia
“Artists’ Books”, Ewing and George Paton Gallery, University of Melbourne, Melbourne
1976-7 “Ocker Funk”, Realities, Melbourne, and selected Regional Art Galleries
1976 “Post-Object Installations”, Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide
Major Collections:
Australian National Gallery, Canberra
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
State Library of New South Wales
Mildura Arts Centre, Mildura
City of Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat
Geelong Art Gallery, Geelong
Alice Springs Art Foundation, Alice Springs
Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Surfers Paradise
Singleton Shire Council, Singleton
National Bank of Australia, Melbourne
State Bank of New South Wales, Sydney
Allen, Allen and Hemsley, Sydney
I.B.M., Sydney
Bibliography
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Bonython, Kym, Modern Australian Painting, 1975‑1980, Rigby 1980
Borlase, Nancy, Sydney Morning Herald, 19/3/76
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Carmichael, Rod, The Sun, 11/4/84
Dolan, David, The Advertiser, `Solely Searle’ 1/3/80
Drury, Nevill (ed.), New Art Two, Craftsman House, 1988
Drury, Nevill (ed.),Images 2: Contemporary Australian Painting, Craftsman House, 1994
Forbes, John ½ Art, Honi Soit # 7, 1975
Forbes, John, ‘Serious Kangerigars’, C.A.S. Bulletin, no.6 Sept 1976
Forbes, John, catalogue for North Geelong exhibition, 1995
Forbes, John, The role of the regional gallery Agenda Issue 42 May 1995.
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Radnay, Charles, Geelong Advertiser, `Map-like painting intrigues viewer’, 27/1/95
Rooney, Robert, The Australian, `A new angle on life in Ballarat’, 26/6/98
Rygiel, John. ‘Artist’s view of our north’, Geelong News, 24/1/95
Saurin, Jo, ‘Banality: elitist and populist’, Sydney Morning Herald 26/4/91
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