Wanda Gillespie is a contemporary artist working in sculpture, installation and public art. Renowned for her interactive small and large scale abacus sculptures as well as her wood carved figurative and portrait sculpture, she is driven by a belief in the spiritual potency of physical matter. Her work explores themes of history, time, truth, and the mystical, drawing inspiration from ancient artifacts and the harmonious patterns and perfection of nature's mathematics.
Throughout her career, Gillespie has honed her craft as a woodcarver, crafting evocative portrait sculptures that blend intricate detail with abstract expression. Her fascination with the abacus has become a central focus of her practice, exploring concepts of value and spirituality within its ancient form, illuminating intersections where the material and the sacred intertwine. Gillespie has established a significant practice with numerous solo exhibitions, awards and residencies. Her work has been included in several noteworthy museum exhibitions including An Alternative Economics at the Institute of Modern Art, Numinosity at Contemporary Art Tasmania, and Future Inheritance: 20 Speculative Objects for a Time to Come for the National Gallery of Victoria Design Week.
She has been finalist and highly commended in many sculpture prizes including the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, Molly Morpeth Canaday 3D Award, National Contemporary Art Award, Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award, Waiheke Small Sculpture Prize, John Fries Memorial Prize, the Blake Prize, and the National Sculpture Prize. She received the Art and Australia Credit Suisse Private Banking Contemporary Art Award in 2014. Her solo projects have been funded by the Australian Arts Council, City of Melbourne, Arts Victoria, Creative New Zealand, and Heart of the City (Auckland Council). Substantial solo exhibitions include Crossing the Rubicon, Sanderson Contemporary, The Reckoning, Waiheke Art Gallery, The Ministry for Mystical Reckoning, Stockroom Gallery, Higher Thinking, Vivian Gallery, Higher Thought Forms, Sanderson Contemporary , Levitation Practice, MARS Gallery, the Ceremonial Processions of Dreamers, Lindberg Galleries, the Antarctic Kingdom of Gondwanaland, Craft Victoria and Fehily Contemporary, Into the Void, Linden Contemporary Centre for the Arts, and Tana Swiwi, Westpace, Melbourne. Wanda has taken several artist residencies in Indonesia through Asialink and arts Victoria and was artist in residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France, through the Art Gallery of New South Wales.