Peter Tilley
Selected Biography
- 2015-18 PhD, Newcastle University, NSW
- 2008-10 Master of Philosophy (Fine Art), Newcastle University, NSW
- 1978-79 Certificate of Art, Newcastle School of Art & Design, NSW 1975-77 Studied Sculpture, Private Tutor
- 1973-75 Ceramics (p/t) – Newcastle School of Art & Design, NSW 1946
Born in Williamstown, VIC
Solo Exhibitions
- 2020 The Shadow Speaks, MAY SPACE, Sydney
- 2019 Recent Acquisitions, Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Sydney
The Tangible and the Shadow, MAY SPACE, Sydney - 2018 Seeing the Shadow, MAY SPACE, Sydney
Seeing the Shadow, The University Gallery, Newcastle, NSW - 2016 A Dirty Business (with Andy Devine), Newcastle Art Gallery, NSW
- 2015 Second self, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
- 2014-16 Black Harvest (with Andy Devine), Touring exhibition, Moree Plains Gallery; Cessnock Regional Art Gallery; Glasshouse Regional Gallery, Port Macquarie; Muswellbrook Regional Art Centre; Manly Art Gallery & Museum
- 2014 Figure in the landscape, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
- 2013 Black Harvest (with Andy Devine), Cooks Hill Galleries, NSW
- 2012 On the Nature of Things, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
- 2011 Gallery East, WA
A Passage Through Time, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney - 2010 Postgraduate Exhibition, The University Gallery, Newcastle NSW
Something Other Than Itself, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney - 2009 Midway Along the Path of Life, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Gallery East, WA
Dickerson Gallery, Melbourne, VIC - 2007 Place and Circumstance, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Gallery East, WA - 2006 Journey Past and Present, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
- 2005 Dickerson Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
The Passage of Time, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney - 2004 Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
- 2003 Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Dickerson Gallery, Melbourne, VIC - 2002 Dickerson Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
- 2001 Nick Mitzevich Gallery, Newcastle NSW
- 2000-1 Parallels & Crossovers: An Artistic Relationship, Peter & Lezlie Tilley 1991-2000, Touring Show curated by Anthony Bond, Maitland City Art Gallery, NSW; Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, NSW; Manning Regional Art Gallery, NSW; New England Region Art Museum, NSW; Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, NSW; Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
- 1999 Access Contemporary Art Gallery, Sydney
- 1997 Access Contemporary Art Gallery, Sydney
- 1996 Access Contemporary Art Gallery, Sydney
- 1994 Access Contemporary Art Gallery, Sydney
- 1992 Access Contemporary Art Gallery, Sydney
- 1990 Melbourne Contemporary Art Gallery, VIC
Access Gallery, Sydney - 1989 Access Gallery, Sydney
- 1988 Gryphon Gallery, Melbourne VIC
- 1987 Von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle NSW
- 1985 Gabriel Gallery, Footscray Community Arts Centre, VIC
- 1984 Butchers Exhibit, Sydney
Selected Mixed Exhibitions
- 2020 (scheduled) Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Sydney
(Finalist) Sculpture in the Vineyards, Wollombi Valley Sculpture Festival, NSW - 2019 (Finalist) Georges River Art Prize, Hurstville Museum and Gallery, NSW
Sydney Contemporary, Carriageworks, Sydney. - 2019 Winter Solstice Sculpture Exhibition ‘Response’, Hunter Region Botanic Gardens, NSW
Shelf Life, MAY SPACE, Sydney - 2018 Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Sydney
Concerning Peace, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, NSW
Memoranda, University of Newcastle Gallery, NSW
MUGGED!, MAY SPACE, Sydney - 2017 Ceramic Revisions II, MAY SPACE, Sydney
The Phantom Show, Newcastle Art Gallery, NSW; Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Sydney
MAY SPACE: FOURTEEN, MAY SPACE, Sydney - 2016 “Yeah. Cheers. Thanks a lot”, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Highlights from the MRAG Collection, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, NSW
Sculpture 2016: Bronze, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney - 2015 30 Years | 30 Artists | 30 Works, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Untitled Show, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Signature, The University Gallery, The University of Newcastle
Sculpture by the Sea Decade Club, Macquarie Group, Sydney Visible Storage, Artbank, Sydney
Sculpture 2015: Sculpture Park, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney - 2014 Elephant in the Room, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Sculpture in the Vineyards, NSW
(Finalist) Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award, Deakin University Art Gallery, VIC
Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Sydney NSW
Hidden, Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney
Sculpture, Newcastle University, NSW
Landscape, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Sculpture 2014, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney - 2013 Sculpture in the Vineyards, Hunter Valley, NSW
Sculpture Inside, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Sydney
Mighty Small, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney - 2012 Sculpture in the Vineyards, Hunter Valley, NSW
Reflective Dialogues, The University of Newcastle Gallery
In The Mirror, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, WA
Major Artists, Major Works, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Sculpture 2012, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney - 2011 Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Sydney
Preparation for the Final Journey, Newcastle Art Space Body Language, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, WA
Kooindah Acquisitive Sculpture Prize Exhibition, NSW
Rookwood Sculpture Walk, NSW
Sculpture 2011, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney - 2010 Green, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Sydney
Sculpture in the Vineyards, Wollombi, NSW
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, WA
Sculpture 2010, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney - 2009 Sculpture by the Sea + Sculpture Inside, Sydney
40 x 40 x 40, Dickerson Gallery, Melbourne VIC
Sculpture by the Sea, Aarhus, Denmark
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, WA
The Flower Show, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney - 2008 Sculpture by the Sea + Sculpture Inside, Sydney
Narrative, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Memento Mori, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, WA
Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, VIC - 2007 Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, WA
Sculpture by the Sea + Sculpture Inside, Sydney - 2006 Sculpture by the Sea + Sculpture Inside, Sydney
Applied Arts – Form + Function, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
SMALL, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, VIC
The Figure In Question, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, NSW - 2005 Sculpture by the Sea + Sculpture Inside, Sydney
Sculpture 2005, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Couples/Collaborators + Other Partnerships, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney - 2004 Sculpture by the Sea + Sculpture Inside, Sydney
Sculpture 2004, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
The Frank Saxby Bequest Invitation Art Acquisitions Prize, Manning Regional Art Gallery, Taree
Chalk and Cheese, Newcastle Art Space, NSW
Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Bld, VIC - 2003 Sculpture 2003 – Dangerous Toys, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
Kinetica, Maitland City Art Gallery, NSW - 2001 Well Connected: Dobell + Company, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery
- 2000 Sculpture 2000, Access Contemporary Art Gallery, Sydney
Contemporary Sculpture, 2 artists, Penrith Regional Gallery, Sydney
A Contemporary Perspective -An Exploration of Medium, Port Stephens Community Arts Centre; Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre; Maitland City Art Gallery, NSW
Elements of Sculpture, 2 artists, Tamworth Region Gallery
Melbourne Art Fair 2000, Royal Exhibition Building - 1998 Steel Works – A Regeneration, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery
The Rose, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, NSW
Stretched, 5 artists, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, NSW - 1997 Newcastle National Ceramic Award, Newcastle Regional Art Gallery
- 1996 Artistic Relationship, Maitland City Art Gallery
- 1994 Survey of Men Artists of the Hunter Region, Maitland City Art Gallery
The First Eleven, Faculty of Art & Design Gallery, University of Newcastle, NSW - 1993 New Art Eight, Access Contemporary Art Gallery, Sydney
- 1992 Access to Adelaide, 7 Sculptors – BMG Fine Art, Adelaide SA
Stanthorpe Heritage Arts Festival, QLD
Objective Subjects – Subjective Objects, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, NSW
ACAF•3 Sculpture Exhibition, Royal Exhibition Building, VIC - 1991 3 Artists, Recent Works, Maitland City Art Gallery, NSW
- 1990-8 Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Royal Exhib. Building, VIC
- 1990 The Artistic Relationship, Maitland City Art Gallery, NSW
Shifting Ground, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Sydney Myer Australia Day Ceramics Award, Shepparton Gallery - 1988 Sculpture Now, Maitland City Art Gallery, NSW
- 1986 Fletcher Jones Invitational, Warrnambool Art Gallery, VIC
Hunter Valley Sculptors, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, NSW
AWARDS/PRIZES/COMMISSIONS - 2019 Winner, Major Acquisitive Prize, Sculpture on the Farm
- 2018 Winner, RUPIO Prize, Sculpture on the Farm
- 2016 Acquisitive (w/ Andy Divine), Newcastle Club Foundation Painting Prize
- 2015 Winner, Hunter Region Botanic Gardens Sculpture Prize
- 2014 Winner, Hunter Region Botanic Gardens Sculpture Prize
- 2012 Winner, Friends of the University 2012 Acquisitive Prize for the University Collection, Newcastle University
- 2011 Winner, In Situ 11 Sculpture Prize, Mosman
- 2010 Sculpture in the Vineyards, Noyce Brothers Wines Sculpture Award
- 2000 Acquisitive, Hunter Valley Ceramic Award, Muswellbrook Regional Gallery
- 1998 Newcastle AH & I Association Special Prize
- 1997 Major Public Sculpture Commission – Maitland Mercury for the City of Maitland
- 1993 Major Sculpture Commission, Gilbert & Tobin, Sydney
Newcastle AH & I Association Sculpture Prize
Miniature Prize, Shoal Bay Art Prize, NSW
Hunter Valley Ceramic Award, Muswellbrook Regional Gallery - 1992 Pottery Prize, Festival of Port Stephens Art Exhibition
Acquisitive, Tomago Aluminium Sculpture Prize
Newcastle AH & I Association Sculpture Prize
Maitland Art Prize, Maitland City Art Gallery
Acquisitive, Ceramic Prize, Stanthorpe Heritage Arts Festival
Acquisitive, Costain Ceramic Award, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery - 1979 Von Bertouch Galleries Prize
Published/Reproduced – Selected
- 2019 “The Sculpture on the Farm event drew 2000 visitors”, Dungog Chronicle, 29 October
- 2018 Hynes, Victoria. “Out of the Shadows”, World Sculpture News, Vol 24, No 2, Spring, p.28-31
Stowell, Jill. “Brilliant Tilley”, Newcastle Herald, 31 Mar, p.34 - 2016 Barnes, John. “Newcastle Club Painting Prize 2016: The winner of the city’s newest major art prize”, Newcastle Herald, 18 Nov
- 2015 Stowell, Jill. “Two minds on one dusty concern”, Newcastle Herald, 24 Jan, p.34
- 2014 Cormack, Lucy. “Clock’s ticking as sculpture show returns even bigger and better”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 Oct, p.4-5
- 2013 “Surf, Sand and Vision”, Atelier, February, p.102
“Sculpture 2013”, SMH – Spectrum, 19-20 January, p.21 - 2012 Fortescue E. “Bearing fruit”, Daily Telegraph, 27 Oct, p.7
Edwards, A. “Sculptor doubles appeal”, Newcastle Herald, 25/10, p18
Hopcroft, Helen. “Peter Tilley and the Garden of Death”, Art Monthly, October, p.17-9
Stowell, J. “Hidden meanings”, Newcastle Herald, May19, p.18
“Sculpture by the Sea (SxS)”, Sculpture, vol.31, no.4, p.25 - 2011 Hill, Michael and John McDonald. Sculpture by the Sea, the First Fifteen Years 1997-
- 2011, Media 21 Publishing, p.119
“Sculpture in the Vineyards”, Hunter Valley Breathe #31, p.44 - 2010 Stowell Jill. “Choice Viewing”, Newcastle Herald, Mar 20, p.11
- 2009 Stowell, J. “Brilliant Darkness”, Newcastle Herald, Jun 20, p11
Lyons Melissa. “Sculptor onto a shore thing”, Newcastle Herald, March 29 - 2008 Catalogue, 50 Years of Muswellbrook Shire Collection 1958-2008, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, p107-109
- 2007 Stowell, J. “Exploring new terrain”, Newcastle Herald, 22/9, p30
NSW Scoop Traveller, #2, Jul-Dec, p.75
C+A, issue 5, March, p.10
Wasley, Alice. “The Planner”, SMH, 3-4 Nov, p.6 - 2004 TV Feature, “Sculpture 2004”, Today show, TCN9, Jan 28
- 2003 Catalogue. Hidden Treasures, The Maitland Collection, Maitland Regional Gallery, p39
“The Week’s Best”, Metro, SMH, Sept 12-18, p.2
Human Rights Defender, vol. 12, issue 3, p.15
2002 “Exhibitions, critic’s picks”, Metro, SMH, June 28-July 4. p.27 - 2001 SMH, Metro, Sept 21-27
Stowell, Jill. “Visible feast”, Newcastle Herald, Aug 18, p.15 - 2000 Catalogue, Contemporary Sculpture by Leslie Oliver and Peter Tilley, Penrith Regional Gallery & Lewers Bequest, NSW
Stowell, Jill. “Locals in the frame”, Newcastle Herald, Aug 26
Stowell Jill. “Weekend Feature”, Newcastle Herald, July 8
Smee, Sebastian. SMH, Metro, Sept 24-30
Watson, Bronwyn. SMH, Sept 21
Ryan, M. “Harmonious marriage”, Newcastle Herald, Nov 11, p26
1999 Sydney Morning Herald, Sept. 21
Metro, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 – 30 Sept - 1998 Thinking Business, Uni of Newcastle Publication, Issue No.11
Page, Donna. “Exhibition views steelworks closure through artists’ eyes”, Newcastle Herald, March 30, p4 - 1995 Thorpe, DW. Who’s Who of Australian Visual Artists
- 1994 McCulloch, A & S. Encyclopedia of Australian Art, Allen & Unwin
- 1993 Drury, Nevill. New Art Eight, Craftsman House
Drury, Nevill. New Sculpture, Craftsman House - 1992 “New Art”, Interiors Magazine, Vol.6 No.1, Feb/Mar, p17
Kidd, C. “Sculpture Features at Access”, State of the Art, Mar, p13
Hill, Peter. “Sculpture at the Third Australian Contemporary Art Fair”, Asian Art News, Nov/Dec p62 - 1990 Thompson, I. “Iconic Assemblages”, Craft Arts, #18, Mar/Jun
Chesterfield-Evans, Jan. “Artemis”, Newcastle Gallery Society Magazine, Vol.20 No.3, July/Sept
Shifting Ground, Newcastle Artists, AGNSW, Aug 15-19
Germaine, M. Artists & Galleries of Australia, Craftsman House
Represented
- Arts ACT; Artbank; Manly Art Gallery & Museum, NSW; Newcastle Art Gallery, NSW;
- Warrnambool Art Gallery,VIC; Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, NSW; Maitland City Art Gallery, NSW; Stanthorpe Art Gallery, QLD; Muswellbrook Regional Gallery, NSW;
- University of Newcastle Collection; Cottesloe Council, Perth, WA; Clayton Utz, Sydney;
- Hunter Valley Private Hospital; Hunter Urban Division of General Practitioners; Tomago Aluminium Collection, NSW; Newcastle Club, NSW; private collections, Denmark, Australia.