<![CDATA[WANDA GILLESPIE

<![CDATA[WANDA GILLESPIE - News]]>Wed, 15 Jul 2026 18:39:33 +1200Weebly<![CDATA[Between Us Figurative Art Exhibition at Depot Art Space]]>Mon, 01 Jun 2026 03:22:57 GMThttps://www.wandagillespie.com/news/between-us-figurative-art-exhibition-at-depot-art-spaceBETWEEN US
I'm excited to share my sculpture Portrait in a South Easterly has been curated into a group figurative art exhibition in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland).

DEPOT Artspace presents BETWEEN US, a collective exhibition featuring 28 contemporary artists working across figurative art and portraiture. Guest co-curated by Karlalise Hortsmans and Tracey Coakley, the exhibition brings together a diverse range of practices that reflect the richness of identity and lived experience in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Through an expansive selection of works, BETWEEN US highlights the plurality of voices shaping contemporary figurative art, offering audiences an opportunity to engage with personal narratives, shared histories, and the complexities of human connection.

The exhibition seeks to expand audience appreciation for figurative art and portraiture, fostering greater expression and deeper connection within our communities.

May 16 @ 10:00 am – June 27 @ 4:00 pm
DEPOT Artspace
28 Clarence St, Devonport

Open Late: Thursday 4th June, 4pm – 7pm

]]><![CDATA[NGV Melbourne Design Week 2026]]>Mon, 18 May 2026 01:02:37 GMThttps://www.wandagillespie.com/news/ngv-melbourne-design-week-2026NGV Melbourne Design Week 2026

Step inside the studios of the Victorian Woodworkers Association and meet the five current Artists in Residence – Freddy Mata Mendoza, Wanda Gillespie, Emily McRae, Caleb Biffanti, and Margot Feast.
This open-studio exhibition offers a rare glimpse into contemporary woodworking practice, from early sketches and prototypes to finished works. Over three days — 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of May — visitors are invited to explore works in progress, completed pieces, and the varied processes that drive each maker’s practice. An opening event will be held on Saturday 23rd May 6-8pm.
Across furniture, fine joinery, sculpture, and playful experimental forms, the exhibition highlights the handmade, the exchange of ideas, and the creative community shaping the world they want to build, one piece at a time.
Date: Saturday 23rd May 2026
Time: 6-8 pm
Location: Victorian Woodworkers Association – Wood Design Centre
5 Tyrone St, North Melbourne VIC 3051
Snack food and drinks will be provided

]]><![CDATA[Bundanon Artist Residency]]>Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:10:53 GMThttps://www.wandagillespie.com/news/bundanon-artist-residencyBundanon Artist Residency

I’m privileged to be enjoying an artist residency at the infamous Bundanon Art Museum and historic homestead of the Australian painter Arthur Boyd and his family. Set in the hills just out of Nowra NSW, we are surrounded by bushland and wildlife including many goanna, birds, and kangaroo. I'm working in a light filled studio space in a complex alongside other visual artists, writers, musicians and dancers. It's been great to get out of my usual routine and focus more on drawing. Furthering my enquiries into code and language, I have been working on a fictional mystical alphabet and the eye exam chart for this alphabet. I am preparing new designs for my newtons cradles and working on ideas for new narrative pictorial relief carvings, potentially inspired by the narrative paintings of Boyd that include characters from ancient myths set in the Australian landscape.

]]><![CDATA[Wollongong Art Prize]]>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 20:56:48 GMThttps://www.wandagillespie.com/news/wollongong-art-prizeWollongong Art Prize - 6 Dec - 1st March
I’m excited to share that my figurative wood carving Holding Hope has been selected for inclusion in the Wollongong Art Prize at Wollongong Art Gallery. Chosen from over 1,000 entries, I feel very honoured to have my work presented in this significant regional exhibition.
Holding Hope speaks to resilience in the face of disaster—whether political or environmental. The sculptural form was inspired by driving through the fire-affected landscapes of Shoalhaven, NSW, and Victoria, where blackened bark is gradually animated by fresh green shoots.
This work marks the beginning of a larger body of related carvings that I am developing for an upcoming solo exhibition at Linden New Art later this year.
Wollongong Art Prize
Wollongong Art Gallery, 46 Burelli Street, Wollongong NSW Australia
6 December – 1st March | Tues – Friday, 10am – 5pm, weekends 12 - 4pm

]]><![CDATA[Maquette Sculpture Award - McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park]]>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 20:25:42 GMThttps://www.wandagillespie.com/news/maquette-sculpture-award-mcclelland-gallery-and-sculpture-parkMaquette Sculpture Award - McClelland Gallery & Sculpture Park - 22nd Feb
I've been meaning to share that my sculpture Abacus Eeee has been included in the inaugural Maquette Sculpture Award at McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park. It has been a great honour to have my work selected amongst some of the nations finest living sculptors. Abacus Eeee is from my mystical alphabet series created last year for my solo exhibition at Craft Victoria. I am working on more letters and ways to extend this series, as I move from mathematic code of the abacus to language as code.

Maquette Sculpture Award
Wed – Sun, 10am – 5pm 390 McClelland Drive, Langwarrin, VIC Australia
22 November – 22 February | Wed – Sun, 10am – 5pm

]]><![CDATA[Looking up // Scott Lawrie Gallery //Edinburgh Fringe Festival]]>Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:55:05 GMThttps://www.wandagillespie.com/news/looking-up-at-scott-lawrie-gallery-for-edinburgh-fringe-festivalThe Sage in Looking Up Edinburgh,
Scott Lawrie Gallery

It’s been a busy time in the studio, and I’m delighted to finally share that my work The Sage is part of Looking Up, a curated group exhibition at Scott Lawrie Gallery in Edinburgh. The show is presented as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
“What does it mean to look up? Toward the stars, the divine or the drones? Looking Up brings together two parallel yet overlapping narratives: fascinating work from artists across the Pacific region, exploring ancestral knowledge, inherent traditions and sacred cosmologies; and darker meditations on military technology, surveillance and the machinery of modern conflict. At its heart, this exhibition asks whether reverence and violence can coexist in the same sky – and what happens when they do. By holding space for both spirituality and spectacle, Looking Up becomes a quiet reflection on power, legacy and endurance.” — Edinburgh Fringe

Scott Lawrie has also written a compelling essay on the exhibition’s themes, which you can read here.

Looking Up
Scott Lawrie Gallery, 2 Chuckie Pend (lane behind the Filmhouse), Edinburgh
1–25 August | Mon–Sat, 11am–6pm

]]><![CDATA[The Shape of Being and Becoming]]>Tue, 15 Jul 2025 22:34:44 GMThttps://www.wandagillespie.com/news/the-shape-of-being-and-becomingThe Shape of Being and Becoming - Waiheke Art Gallery - Aotearoa

This Friday my solo exhibition, The Shape of Being and Becoming, will open at the Waiheke Art Gallery, alongside an exhibition of Fiona Pardington photography.

The Shape of Being and Becoming traces eleven years of sculptural practice, circling back to its origin — a mother carrying a child on her shoulders. This gesture, revisited in a new work, becomes both anchor and compass: a symbol of enduring weight, care, and transformation.

The Shape of Being and Becoming, Waiheke Art Gallery, 2 Korora Road, Waiheke Island, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Open 10am - 4pm everyday

The exhibition runs from July 18th to August 17th

]]><![CDATA[May 22nd, 2025]]>Thu, 22 May 2025 08:24:33 GMThttps://www.wandagillespie.com/news/may-22nd-2025The Kinetics of Thought - NGV Melbourne Design Week 2025 - Abbotsford Convent

This weekend I will be presenting a solo exhibition of my abacus pieces and a new Newtons Cradle Sculpture as part of the National Gallery of Victoria's Melbourne Design Week. The exhibition is a pop up and open Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th from 10 - 5 at in the Mural Hall at the Abbotsford Convent. I'll be there gallery sitting and would love to chat.
More information about the exhibition https://designweek.melbourne/event/the-kinetics-of-thought-tactile-sculpture-and-contemporary-wood-design/

]]><![CDATA[Of Counting and Devotion at Craft Victoria]]>Wed, 05 Mar 2025 08:03:00 GMThttps://www.wandagillespie.com/news/of-counting-and-devotion-at-craft-victoriaOf Counting and Devotion at Craft Victoria
On Monday I installed new work at Craft Victoria in the vitrine space. The exhibition is now open to the public and an official opening event will take place on Thursday March 20th at 6pm alongside the opening of exhibitions in the main gallery space.

The beads, once simple markers of value, retain their dual function as tools of devotion, recalling the prayer beads of various spiritual traditions. At the heart of the exhibition, The Sage emerges - a hand carved face formed from a local burl. He is the orchestrator, weaving meaning from numbers and symbols, a master of hidden knowledge and sacred patterns.

The exhibition runs until April 28th

]]><![CDATA[December 06th, 2024]]>Fri, 06 Dec 2024 08:23:55 GMThttps://www.wandagillespie.com/news/december-06th-2024Victorian Woodworkers Association artist in residence.
I am incredibly excited to announce that I have been awarded a place in the Victorian Woodworkers Association Artist Residency Program. This prestigious three-year residency offers a unique opportunity to access state-of-the-art woodworking machinery, a fully equipped workshop, and a vibrant community of fellow woodworkers. Alongside five other talented artists in residence, I will have the chance to immerse myself in a collaborative environment, where we can inspire and learn from one another. During this residency, I look forward to refining my craft and working towards upcoming exhibitions.

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