Resident Artists

I need WarmthMertim Gokalp is a Sydney based artist of Turkish origin who has been recently granted a distinguished talent visa by the Australian Government to allow him to live and work in Australia. He has moved to Sydney in 2009 and since then he has been working from his studio in Balmain.

Mertim’s training at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts Academy, Istanbul, has prepared him well for a career in portraiture, and in the five years that he has been living in Sydney he has been selected as a finalist in all the top portrait exhibition here: the Archibald Prize in 2013; the Doug Moran Portrait Prize in 2012; and the Black Swan Art Prize in 2011. In addition he has hung in other regional shows like the School of Visual Arts, New York, 2012 with an Honorable Mention; and the Sydney Hunters Hill Regional Art Prize, Winner in 2012; and Highly Commended in 2011.

RussianTanksKathrin Longhurst grew up in Communist East Germany, moving to Sweden in 1987 and then travelling extensively throughout Europe, Asia and America. She settled in Australia in 2000 where her artistic career has flourished. A classically trained figurative painter, Longhurst began taking life drawing classes at the age of 14 and continues to develop her knowledge of the human form. Her work is strongly influenced by her childhood in the GDR, referencing the propaganda posters depicting working-class women. Yet Longhurst subverts the ideological principles of these posters by infusing the fictional women she paints with a glamour and sexiness she so longed to see as a child.

Australian artist and sculptor, Shazia Imran is best known for her expressive mixed media pieces. She draws her inspiration from her travels, exploring the infinite expressiveness of her subjects through watercolours, acrylics and mixed media. Her works have been exhibited internationally and hang in private collections in...