Born:
1984, Camden, Australia.
Education:
2003-06 BFA with Honours, National Art School, Sydney.
Selected Solo / Two person Exhibitions:
2018
Soliloquy Workshop, The Commercial, Sydney.
2017
TUG OF WAR (rope) : TUG OF LOVE (bon-bon) with Matthew Tumbers, KNULP, Sydney.
2016
Stray Geranium, The Commercial, Sydney.
2015
The Reader's Voice, Heide Museum of Modern Art, curated by Linda Michael, Melbourne.
FINCHES, The Commercial, Sydney.
2014
Dip or Skinny Dip, The Commercial, Sydney.
Studio Leak, Shepparton Art Museum, curated by Elise Routledge, Victoria.
Cigarette cm, TCB art Inc., Melbourne.
2013
Masters Resting, KALIMANRAWLINS, Melbourne.
2012
Bass Principles, BREENSPACE, Sydney.
Piano Removalist, BOXCOPY, Brisbane.
Blue Period with Matthew Tumbers, SOCIETY, curated by Susan Gibb, Sydney.
2010
Man Rose, BREENSPACE, Sydney.
2008
Slow Dancing, Locksmith Project Space, Sydney.
Hey, hey, hey, my, my, my, gone, gone, gone, MOP Projects, Sydney.
2007
I want my pants ripped off by someone wild, MOP Projects, Sydney.
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2018
The National: Part One, curated by Steven Alderton & Judith Blackall, National Art School, Sydney.
The Horse, curated by Noel Mckenna, Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney.
Unreal City, curated by Sarah Rees, Firstdraft, Sydney.
The drawing is just not there, curated by Patrice Sharkey & Christopher LG Hill, Westspace, Melbourne.
2017
Grounded: Contemporary Australian Art, National Art School, curated by Judith Blackall, Sydney.
Sydney Contemporary, presented by The Commercial, Carraigeworks, Sydney.
Game, Bowerbank Ninow, Auckland, New Zealand.
2016
Un-Leg, 55 Sydenham rd, curated by Nick Strike, Sydney.
Painting. More Painting, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, curated by Max Delany, Annika Kristensen & Hannah Matthews, Melbourne.
Auckland Art Fair, presented by The Commercial, The Cloud, Auckland.
2015
DEADPAN, Goulburn Regional Gallery, curated by Abigail Moncrieff.
Sydney Contemporary, presented by The Commercial, Carriageworks, Sydney.
Writing Art, Artspace, curated by Scott Donovan, Sydney.
21st Century Heide: The Collection since 2000, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne.
TPOLR, The Commercial, Sydney.
Outside Thoughts, Contemporary Art Tasmania, curated by Wes Hill, Hobart.
Six people in a room, KNULP, Sydney.
2014
No fond return of love, I.C.A.N, Sydney.
OUI we, The Commercial, Sydney.
2013
The Knock-Off Show, SLOPES, curated by Liang Luscombe & Brooke Babington, Melbourne.
RELATIONSHIPPAL - Mitch Cairns, Susan Jacobs, Tim Silver, BREENSPACE, Sydney.
Ten out of Ten, curated by Ron & George Adams, MOP Projects, Sydney.
2012
Sprezzatura, OK Gallery, Perth.
The Drawing Room, BREENSPACE, Sydney.
2011
Eastern Seaboard, curated by Reuben Keehan & Melanie Oliver, Artspace, Sydney.
2010
Alpha Romeo - Mitch Cairns, Christopher Hanrahan, Nigel Milsom, curated by Matthys Gerber, Peloton, Sydney.
They call them Pirates out here, curated by David Elliot, MCA, Sydney .
2009
What I think of When I think about dancing, curated by Lisa Havilah and Susan Gibb, Campbelltown Arts Centre.
Adam, Adam, Mitch, Nigel & Ron – Big Painting, Fraser Studios, Sydney.
Reality Check, curated by Daniel Mudie Cunningham, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery.
Colleagues & Peers, The Cosmic Battle for your Heart, Sydney.
The Shilo Project, curated by Chris McAuliffe, Ian Potter Museum, Melbourne
2008
30th Anniversary Exhibition, Wollongong City Gallery.
Rimbaud/Rambo, Neon Parc, Melbourne.
Rookie Show, curated by Barbara Flynn, Deloitte Building, Sydney
I am a Good Boy, curated by Elise Routledge, Firstdraft, Sydney.
2007
Victory! Triumph!, performance with Agatha Gothe-Snape, Firstdraft 21st Anniversary.
2006
Plastic Myth, curated by James Steele, Firstdraft, Sydney.
Selected Awards and Prizes:
2017
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Winner.
Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, Finalist, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria.
2015
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Highly Commended.
2014
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Highly Commended.
2013
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Finalist.
Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, Juniper Hall, Sydney, Finalist.
2012
Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, Winner
2005
Clitheroe Foundation Honours Painting Scholarship, Winner.
Collections:
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Artbank
Deloitte Collection
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.
Wollongong University
Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne.
The National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.
Monash University Museum of Art
Private Collections
Bibliography:
Annemarie Lopez, Artists of Tomorrow: Australian Art Review, Issue 10 March-June, 2006
James Steele, TwentyLove,: Firstdraft 20th Anniversary, October, 2006.
Kerrie Davies, New Work: Art World Magazine # 1 February/March, 2008.
Anneke Jaspers, Runway #11: Conversation, 2008.
Shane Haseman, Written & Recorded by Ringo Starr, catalogue essay, BREENSPACE, 2008.
Agatha Gothe-Snape & Shane Haseman, MAN ROSE, catalogue essay, BREENSPACE, 2010.
Rachel Fuller, Piano Removalist, catalogue essay, BOXCOPY, Brisbane 2012.
Danny Ford, Heavy Lifting: Piano Removalist, BOXCOPY, Brisbane, 2012.
www.shiftfocuswithoutwarning.com/2012/03/04/heavy-lifting-mitch-cairns-piano-...
Andre Hemer, Painting without Irony. Review: Bass Principles, BREENSPACE. www.eyecontact.com 2012
Susan Gibb, Sensitive Art, Bass Principles, catalogue essay, BREENSPACE, 2012.
Erik Jensen, Blue Period, Review, Runway #15, 2012
Susan Gibb, Collector’s Love - Art Collector #63, 2013.
Owen Craven, Emerge: Mitch Cairns – Artist Profile #22, 2013.
Ash Kilmartin, Condensity, catalogue essay, TCB art inc, Melbourne, 2014.
Matthew Holt, Midnight all day: notes on Mitch Cairns new work, catalogue essay, The Commercial, Sydney, 2015.
Dan Rule, Poetics & Pragmatics, Vault Magazine #11, 2015.
Cathy Peake, If this were a conventional book, catalogue essay, The Reader's Voice, 2016.
John Cruthers, catalogue essay, Stray Geranium, Sydney, 2016.
