Dr Michelle Cawthorn

Dr Michelle Cawthorn

Casual Academic

PhD Fine Arts (UNSW), MFA (UNSW), BFA Hons (UNSW), BArtED (UNSW)

Arts,Design & Architecture
School of Built Environment

Michelle Cawthorn is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice is grounded in drawing and intersects with painting, sculpture and installation. Her work intertwines autobiography and fiction and is informed by an autoethnographic approach to artmaking which engages with memory as an agent of creativity in studio-based practice. 

Cawthorn has exhibited in a wide range of contexts throughout her career including by selection (prizes and awards), by curation, and by invitation. She has staged 12 solo exhibitions and participated in over 60 national joint and group exhibitions since 2003. She has exhibited her work in public galleries and museums, including her 2015 solo exhibition Bittersweet at Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre and recently Songbird at Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, NSW in 2021. Other curated group exhibitions include Jamberoo Mountain Road, Shoalhaven Regional Gallery (2018) and Imagine, Gippsland Art Gallery (2018).

Michelle Cawthorn is represented by OLSEN Gallery, Sydney.

  • Creative Works (non-textual) | 2021
    Cawthorn M, 2021, A Conversation in Three Parts, SPLASH Contemporary Watercolour Award, McClelland Sculpture Park & Gallery, 28 August 2021 - 07 November 2021, medium: Watercolour, Indian ink, acrylic wash, graphite and archival pen on Hahnemühle paper, at: https://www.mcclellandgallery.com/current-exhibitions/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2021
    Cawthorn M, 2021, Interloper, Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize, Ravenswood School for Girls, Sydney, 14 May 2021 - 30 May 2021, medium: Archival pen, Indian ink, acrylic wash and collage on Hanhnemühle paper
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2021
    Cawthorn M, 2021, Songbird, Songbird, Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, 12 Berry Street, Nowra, NSW, 10 July 2021 - 28 August 2021, at: https://shoalhavenregionalgallery.com.au/exhibitions/exhibition-details/songbird
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2020
    Cawthorn M, 2020, Double Crescent Blood Moon, Hazelhurst 20|20, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre, 728 Kingsway, Gymea NSW, 21 November 2020 - 31 January 2021, medium: Oil and archival pen on polyester, at: https://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/Community/Hazelhurst/Exhibitions/Hazelhurst-20-Years
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2020
    Cawthorn M, 2020, Sprinkler on a hot summer’s day, Fisher's Ghost Art Award 2020, Campbelltown Arts Centre, 1 Art Gallery Road, Campbelltown, NSW, 31 October 2020 - 11 December 2020, medium: Oil and archival pen on polyester, at: https://c-a-c.com.au/fgaa-2020/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2020
    Cawthorn M, 2020, The Textiles Room; On the way to the flat, and Mr Whiteley's Floor Plan, Collectivus, OLSEN Gallery, 63 Jersey Road, Woollahra, Sydney, 05 February 2020 - 29 February 2020, medium: Archival pen, watercolour and white gouache on Hahnmühle paper, at: https://www.olsengallery.com/ex-works.php?exhibition_id=727
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2019
    Cawthorn M, 2019, Dirty Denim, Fisher's Ghost Art Award 2019, 1 Art Gallery Rd, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, 26 October 2019 - 05 December 2019, medium: Oil and archival pen on polyester, at: https://c-a-c.com.au/fishersghost/#
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2019
    Cawthorn M, 2019, Garden at Manchester Road, Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize, Ravenswood School for Girls, Sydney, 01 June 2019 - 09 June 2019, medium: archival pen, watercolour, acrylic, Indian ink, white gouache and graphite on Hahnemühle paper, at: https://www.ravenswoodartprize.com.au/artprize/2019-finalists
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2019
    Cawthorn M, 2019, Manchester Road, Manchester Road, Olsen Gallery, 63 Jersey Road, Woollahra, Sydney, 24 July 2019 - 17 August 2019, medium: drawing, watercolour, painting, ceramics, at: https://www.olsengallery.com/ex-works.php?exhibition_id=709
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2018
    Cawthorn M, 2018, Empty Gesture, Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing 2018, Adelaide Perry Gallery, Sydney, 03 March 2018 - 29 March 2018, medium: Pen, graphite, watercolour, white gouache, liquid graphite, Indian ink and acrylic wash on Hahnemühle paper, at: https://www.plc.nsw.edu.au/microsites/adelaide-perry-gallery/adelaide-perry-prize-for-drawing/the-2018-perry-prize
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2018
    Cawthorn M, 2018, Golden Hole (left) – 1000 + extra ball, Splash McClelland Contemporary Watercolour Award, McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery, 390 McClelland Drive, Langwarrin, Victoria, Australia, 01 December 2018 - 17 March 2019, medium: Pen, watercolour, white gouache, graphite, liquid graphite, Indian ink and acrylic on Hahnemühle paper, at: https://www.mcclellandgallery.com/past-exhibitions-2/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2018
    Cawthorn M, 2018, The Bubbler - Jackpot, Fisher's Ghost Art Award 2018, Campbelltown Arts Centre, 1 Art Gallery Road, Campbelltown, 27 October 2018 - 13 December 2018, medium: Pen, watercolour, white gouache, graphite, liquid graphite, Indian ink and acrylic on Hahnemühle paper, at: http://c-a-c.com.au/fishersghost/
    Creative Written Works | 2018
    Frost A; Wolifson C, 2018, Michelle Cawthorn | Sensuous Symbolism, Cawthorn M, (ed.), ISSUU.COM, https://issuu.com/michellecawthorn/docs/michelle-cawthorn_issuu
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2017
    Cawthorn M, 2017, A Wandering Thought, Ravenswood Art Prize, Ravenswood School for Girls, Sydney, 04 August 2017 - 12 August 2017, medium: pen, graphite, watercolour and white gouache on Hahnemühle paper
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2017
    Cawthorn M, 2017, Daughter, Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre, Sydney, 20 May 2017 - 16 July 2017, medium: pen, graphite, watercolour and white gouache on Hahnemühle paper, at: http://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/Community/Hazelhurst/Exhibitions/Previous-Exhibitions/2017/Hazelhurst-Art-on-Paper-Award-2017
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2017
    Cawthorn M, 2017, Eunice, Sir John Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 29 July 2017 - 22 October 2017, medium: pen, graphite, watercolour and white gouache on Hahnemühle paper, at: https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/sulman/2017/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2016
    Cawthorn M, 2016, Bedhead and Pussy, The Charged Object, Gallery Lane Cove, 164 Longueville Road, Lane Cove, Sydney, 09 March 2016 - 09 April 2016, medium: sculpture, textiles, at: https://www.gallerylanecove.com.au/the-charged-object
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2016
    Cawthorn M, 2016, Playpen, Playpen, Egg & Dart, Shop 2, I - 3 Raymond Road, Thirroul, 02 September 2016 - 30 September 2016, medium: Drawing, sculpture, at: https://www.egganddart.com.au/exhibitions/2016/9/2/playpen-michelle-cawthorn
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2016
    Sharp PR; Cawthorn M, 2016, This is not a solo show, This is not a solo show, Verge Gallery, Sydney University, 30 June 2016 - 30 July 2016, medium: sculpture and photography, at: https://verge-gallery.net/2016/06/30/july-at-verge-gallery-june-30-july-30/

Cawthorn has been the recipient of competitive domestic grants including NSW Artist's Grant (NAVA) and a Bundanon Trust Artist in Residence Fellowship. She has also received an Australian Postgraduate Award and an Australian Government Training Research Program Scholarship.

Cawthorn has been a finalist in a range of national prizes since 2008 including, the Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award (2017, 2015, 2013), the Splash McClelland Contemporary Watercolour Award (2021, 2018), the Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize (2021, 2020, 2019, 2017) and the Fishers Ghost Art Award, one of Australia's longest continuous art prizes (2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2014).

She has twice been winner of the Hazelhurst Art on Paper, Friends of Hazelhurst Local Artist Award (2017 and 2013) and twice received Highly Commended in the Tim Olsen Drawing Prize (2018 and 2014), the premier prize for drawing at UNSW Art & Design. In 2017 she was a finalist in the prestigious Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW.   

She has been commissioned to make works for Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and her artwork is held in a number of public Australian collections including ARTBANK.