Madeleine Kelly (b. Freising, Germany 1977), resident artist at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (2025-26), makes work that engages with human encounters with “nature” and elemental forces. Bringing together figuration and abstraction, her practice is a mixture of the cosmic and the material that explores the many, often ineffable, points of contact between people, animals and plants such that the material world is transformed in rich and absorbing fantasy. Her paintings can best be described as visual and tangible emanations of science, myth, and magical realism in literature: poetic and paradoxical yet always grounded in sensory, lived experience. While painting remains core to her practice, it often acquires or expands its significance in its interrelationship with other mediums, such as textiles, glass and so on, in which there is regularly a happy collision between the tactile and the ephemeral.
Madeleine Kelly exhibits nationally and internationally, including the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art (Australia), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Australia), The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW, Australia) and Archive Massiv Leipzig Spinnerei (Germany). She has recently exhibited in the Archibald Prize 2025 and new works in The National 4, at The AGNSW, curated by Beatrice Gralton. Kelly has held residencies at the Cité internationale des Arts (France), Leipzig International Art Program (Germany), YATOO Korean Nature Artists’ Association and the Paphos Theatre Excavation Site (Cyprus). She has won the Churchie Art Prize and the Sunshine Coast Art Prize. Her curatorial project ‘Birds and Language’ was presented at Wollongong City Gallery and a co-edited online edition of the same theme is published in Unlikely Journal. Kelly majored in Fine Art at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, in 1999, and her practice-led PhD was conferred by the same institution in 2013. Kelly is senior lecturer at Sydney College of the Arts, The University of Sydney.
EMPLOYMENT
2018—present Senior Lecturer in Visual Arts (Painting), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of Sydney
2013-17 Lecturer in Painting (convenor), Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts, University of Wollongong
2004-12 Part-time lecturer, Painting Department, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University
PRIZES
2018 Winner, Sunshine Coast Art Prize Judge: Dr Campbell Gray $25 000
2004 Winner, Churchie Exhibition of Emerging Art Judge: Dr Rex Butler $5000
RECENT FUNDING
2025 CREATE NSW 25/26 Professional Skills Development (Next Steps) grant round for Künstlerhaus Bethanien exhibition $10 000
2024 CREATE NSW Project Funding for Individuals/Groups 23/24 Archiv Massiv solo exhibition $30 000
2015 Australia Council Development Grant Leipzig International Art Program Residency, Germany (2016) $20 000
2011 Australia Council New Work Established Grant Hollow Mark, solo exhibition, Griffith University Art Gallery (7 October – 13 November) $20 000
SELECT SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026 The First Killing of a Butterfly, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany 11 June – 9 August
2024 Entangled flashes / Verwickelte blitze, Spinnerei Archiv Massiv, Leipzig, Germany (27
July – 31 August)
2020-21Madeleine Kelly: Open Studio, Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), (10 October 2020 – 31 January)
2019 Spin out, spun in, Milani Gallery, Qld (2–23 February)
What the centre cannot hold: new works by Madeleine Kelly, Ipswich Regional Gallery, Qld (13 July – 8 October)
2018 Forms of Agency, c3 Contemporary Art Space, Abbotsford, Melbourne, Vic. (31 January – 25 February)
2017 Diversity and Demise: Encounters with pelagic birds and sub-linguistic form, Wollongong City Gallery, NSW (11 February – 14 May)
2011 Hollow Mark, Griffith University Art Gallery, Qld (7 October – 13 November)
2010 The Crevice, Milani Gallery, Brisbane, Qld (9–25 September)
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2015-2025
2026 ‘Birds wall’ Queensland Art Gallery Collection Galleries, QAGOMA (15 August 2025 – 15 March 2026); Edge City, Wollongong City Gallery, (28 March – 18 October), curated by Daniel Mudie-Cunningham.
2025 Wonderstruck, QAGOMA, (27 June – 27 Nov) curated by Tamsin Cull and Laura Mudge; The Archibald Prize 2025, Art Gallery of NSW, curated by Beatrice Gralton (10 May – 17 August); Journeys to Cyprus, Centre of Visual Arts Research, Nicosia (29 April – 12 May) Cyprus, curated by Diana Wood-Conroy; Avian Assembly, Singleton Arts and Cultural Centre (17 May – 3 August) coordinated by Madeleine Kelly; Dreamz, Sydney College of the Arts Gallery, (13 March – 12 April) curated by Liam Garstang; Seeing Things, Wollongong Art Gallery, curated by Daniel Mudie-Cunningham (22 March – 3 August); Collecting the Future GUAM, Qld, Curated by Lizzie Riek (29 May – 16 August).
2023 Plant Communitas, Sidney Nolan Trust, (3 August – 30 September) The Rodd Presteigne, Wales, curated by Patricia Brien; In the arms of unconsciousness: Women, Feminism and the Surreal, Hazelhurst Arts Centre (1 July – 10 September) curated by Carrie Kibler; The National 4 Australian Art Now, Art Gallery of NSW (24 March – 23 July), curated by Beatrice Gralton.
2020 Full Face: Artists’ Helmets, QAGOMA (28 November 2020 —26 April 2021), curated by Samantha Littley.
2019 I thought I heard a bird, Craft ACT, Canberra (21 March – 11 May), curated by Raquel Ormella.
2018 Sedimente, Spinnerei Werkschau (Halle 12), Leipzig, Germany (8–24 March), curated by Anna-Louise Roland.Geelong Contemporary Art Prize, Geelong Gallery (9 June – 19 August); Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Gallery (15 August – 14 October) (Winner).
2017 Paradigma Blickwechsel – neue arbeitswelten (Paradigm Exchanging Glances – New Labor worlds) Tapetenwerk Leipzig, Germany (13 October – 11 November), curated by Anna-Louise Roland.
2016 The Waiting Room, Artbank Sydney curated by Daniel Muddie Cunningham.
2015 GOMA Q: Contemporary Queensland Art, QAGOMA Brisbane, Qld, curated by Peter McKay (11 July – 11 October).
Showings of my work from 2005 – 15 include the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Sherman Galleries, Sydney; QUT Art Museum, Brisbane; UQ Art Museum, Brisbane; Museum of Brisbane, and Crane Arts Philadelphia, USA.
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2024 Kelly, Madeleine, At Home with Painting, Sydney College of the Arts Gallery, Sydney, NSW (7 March – 20 April)
2021 Kelly, Madeleine, Birds and Language (20 November 2021 – 13 February 2022) Wollongong City Gallery
2020–21 Kelly, Madeleine, ‘Threads’ in Madeleine Kelly: Open Studio, Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Qld (10 October 2020 — 31 January 2021)
TALKS AND INTERVIEWS
2025 Diana Wood Conroy and Madeleine Kelly in conversation with Lindsay McDougall, the ABC Illawarra Drive Show, Arts & Culture segment, 16 July.
2025 Madeleine Kelly response to Paul Martin Vision Culture 1: Colour Science, first seminar in the Vision Culture series, convened by Mark Ledbury and Nick Croggon 5 March 2025, Power Institute, University of Sydney.
2024 Madeleine Kelly ‘Geometric language’, North Building, lower level 2, Meers Hall, in Louise Bourgeois: Tides and currents symposium, 10 March, Art Gallery of NSW. Hosted by Léa Vuong.
2023 Madeleine Kelly ‘The floating brain’, Australian Animals Studies Organisation (AASA) ’23 as part of Birds and Language Panel (co-convened with Jen Valender), 28 November, Australian Animals Studies Organisation (AASA), The University of Sydney.
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
Kelly, Madeleine, ‘Vectoring deep time: Birds & Language’ in Unlikely Journal, issue 8, https://unlikely.net.au/issue-08/vectoring-deep-time
Kelly, Madeleine, ‘Liveliness: Can sympoietic painting save forms of life?’ ACUADS Conference 2020: Crisis & Resilience: art and design looks ahead. Australia: Australian Council of University Art & Design Schools, 2020. 1–13.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY (Last 10 years)
2025 Irwin, A ‘Black boxes and Interlopers’ an essay accompanying Dreamz, Curated by Liam Garstang SCA Gallery, Sydney College of the Arts, Thursday 13 March – Saturday 12 April
2025 Phoon, C M ‘How to conjure a bird’ Vault: Australasian Art & Culture , 22 August
2025 McKay, L J ‘Who Are You? Avian Assemblages’, exhibition catalogue, pp. 7–19.
2024 Exhibition catalogue O’Neill, E (ed.) (2024) Madeleine Kelly: Entangled Flashes / Verwickelte Blitze, The University of Sydney. Texts by Madeleine Kelly, Clare Murphy Dr. Sara Troster Klemm. Catalogue design by Small Tasks
2024 Fielke, G, ‘Sonny’ in Memo Review, 23 March https://www.memoreview.net/reviews/sonny-by-giles-fielke
2023 Wolifson, C ‘Exquisite Corps’ in In the arms of unconsciousness: Women, feminism and the surreal (exhibition catalogue), pp. 18-25
2023 McDonald, J ‘The surreal deal: Art inspired by the unspeakable’ in The Sydney Morning Herald July 29
2023 Spruyt, T ‘Artist Text’ in The National 4 Art Gallery of NSW Website
2023 Gralton, B, ‘Exhibition begins a timely conversation’ in The Australian, Friday March 31, Inquirer p.12.
2023 Gralton, B, ‘We need to talk’, in Look Magazine, April – May 2023, Art Gallery of NSW Members pp 42 – 47.
2021 Gaynor, A, ‘Preview: Birds and Language’ in Artist Profile, issue 57, pp. 172–73.
2020 Mitchell, B, ‘A Natural Affinity’, QAGOMA
Guthrie, Kim, ‘Madeleine Kelly: Can U Dig it?’ in Artist Profile, issue 50, pp. 100–05.
2019 Martin-Chew, L, ‘Rise of the New Woman’ in New Woman, exhibition catalogue, Museum of Brisbane, pp. 9–13.
2018 Purdon, F, ‘Turn up the heat’ in U on Sunday, The Courier Mail, 16 September, p. 20; Crossen, Louise, ‘Alumnus takes out national art award’, https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/news/2018/09/13/art-alumnus-takes-out-national-award/
2017 Smith, J, Diversity and Demise: Encounters with pelagic birds and sub-linguistic form, exhibition catalogue, Wollongong City Gallery (11 February – 14 May), Wollongong, NSW.
COLLECTIONS
| Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane | |||
| Ipswich City Art Gallery | |||
| UBS Art Collection, Sydney | |||
| KPMG Corporate Collection, Sydney | |||
| Wollongong City Gallery | |||
| Caloundra Regional Gallery | |||
| Gadens Lawyers, Brisbane | |||
| UBS Art Collection | |||
| University of Queensland Art Museum | |||
| Griffith University Art Collection | |||
| University of Wollongong Art Collection | |||
| Queensland Children’s Hospital
Artbank, Sydney
|