Claudia Greathead

Painterly enigmas and strange narratives characterise Claudia Greathead’s imagery, which has emerged from old and recent family photographs, travel, and her singular journey. Her paintings speak to the mysteries of family, nature, and animals, and she describes paint as the way in which she has always negotiated her way. “I’m a bit of a black sheep and I’ve used painting, since I was a little girl, as a way of dealing with that.” In her paintings, elaborately-robed figures stand in dark interior spaces, flowers erupt from a vase, thick paint morphs from figures to flowers, a girl sleeps beside a bridge, and a draped candelabra glows beneath a full moon. In these works, paint and its speculative possibilities are endless.

A graduate of Queensland College of Art in 2014, Greathead has been a finalist in the Churchie National Emerging Art Prize (2015, 2014), reached the semi-final of the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (2016), and has established a significant presence in the Brisbane Artist Run Initiative scene.