Kate Briscoe is a painter and mixed media artist who creates textured artworks that evoke geological formations and humanity’s connection with the landscape. Making use of layers of paint, screen print, sand and foil, Briscoe’s works touch on her own sense of spirituality. Her extensive body of work spans five decades. Having frequently exhibited on both, the national and international level, Briscoe has been an important figure in Australian abstraction since her arrival from the United Kingdom in 1969.
Born in southern England in 1944, Briscoe showed a strong interest in and talent for drawing at an early age, and was accepted into Portsmouth College of Art as a sixteen year old on the strength of her portfolio. Studying from 1960-64 for her Diploma in Design, Briscoe studied photography, printmaking and ceramics. Upon successful completion of the Diploma in Design she undertook an Art Teachers’ Diploma at Leicester College of Art. During this time Briscoe cemented her interests in two areas: human spirituality and landscape. The context of her upbringing – in the geologically interesting area of Wessex and within reach of Stonehenge and the great Cathedrals – had a perceptible effect on her. Briscoe took part in two group exhibitions during this time ('Group South’, 1966, 1968) and had a solo exhibition at Harnham Gallery in 1968, all showcasing her developing work concerning the local landscape.
Briscoe visited Australia in 1968, and decided to stay after becoming enamoured with the landscapes she encountered and the Oceanian art of the wider region. The harsh, stark features of Australian geology, as well as that of regional artifacts, can be seen as a hallmark of her paintings. Abstract in nature, her works employ deep, earthy colours which evoke the primeval. Her employment as a lecturer at the National Art School in the same year was the first of many educational positions she held over the years. Briscoe has also lectured at the University of Western Sydney, the University of Newcastle and the City Art Institute, New South Wales (now College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales).
After her first Sydney exhibition in 1971 with the Sydney Printmakers, Briscoe became established in the Sydney printmaking scene and frequently contributed to the annual exhibitions. During the 1970s she contributed as both painter and printmaker to various group exhibitions and held three solo exhibitions at Hogarth Gallery. Armageddon, a work that Briscoe describes as one of her most pivotal, was made at this time (pers. comm.). Briscoe also won the 1975 Cathay Pacific Art Prize. As in England, Briscoe began her artistic process with inspiration garnered from trips to remote areas within Australia and offshore, making sketches and photographs. She also collected masks, baskets and everyday implements from Papua New Guinea and other islands to which she alludes in her work. Later excursions to Fiji, Kakadu and the Tasmanian Coast provided extra source material. In 1974 Briscoe became a committee member of the Contemporary Art Society of New South Wales and continued her involvement with the Sydney Printmakers group.
In the 1980s and 1990s Briscoe continued to develop her body of work. She traveled further afield to isolated locations that evoked the sense of natural power that forms the basis of her paintings. Along with near-annual solo and group exhibitions, Briscoe also exhibited in the Blake Prize for Religious Art (1987, 1988, 1991, 1994, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010). This achievement highlights the often spiritual nature of many of the artist’s works; Briscoe has constantly sought to touch on ideas of ritual and spirituality. In works such as Sacrificial (1994) and Sarcophagus (1995) Briscoe makes use of iconography from ancient cultures and rites. For instance, Sacrificial's gold foil references burial traditions of the Celtic peoples of her homeland, and its geometric shapes suggest Pacific carvings. It was also during this time that the artist attained her Master of Fine Art from College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, (1989-91) and began teaching at a wide array of Sydney and Newcastle universities. Briscoe exhibited in the Wynne Prize in 1997, 1998, and 1999, reflecting a move back into more geologically-focused paintings of rock and nature. Although she has sought to highlight the beauty of natural formations the artist has not overlooked the issue of environmental degradation. Landscape focused works such as Limestone Rockface Split (2010) and Rockface Geikiee Gorge #2 (2010) run along this vein. These paintings mimic the structure of geology, while retaining Briscoe’s abstract improvisation of colour. During this time Briscoe exhibited widely in rural areas (the Calleen Art Prize at Cowra) as well as in Melbourne (2003) and Brisbane (1995). The artist’s work is held in private and public collections including Newcastle Regional Art Gallery, New England Regional Art Gallery, Art Bank, Parliament House in Canberra, and the University of New South Wales. Briscoe has exhibited in the Kenumba Drawing Award, the Fleurieu Peninsular Prize, the Tattersalls Club Landscape Prize, to name a few.
In 2010 the artist was living in inner-Sydney. Briscoe exhibits regularly in Australia. Her work is held in public collections in Australia and overseas.
- Writers:
- De Lorenzo, Catherine
Note:
Leal, Patrick
Note:
- Date written:
- 2010
- Last updated:
- 2011
- Status:
- peer-reviewed
