Human Grocery Store, 2018,
Aerosol on canvas, 92 x 122cm
(canvas size only)
AUD $15,000
AVAILABLE
Icon, 2017
Limited Edition giclee print on acid free archival paper
Signed, dated and numbered by the artist
112 x 84 cm
(Edition of 25)
AUD $500 (UNFRAMED)
AVAILABLE
Wake Up, 2012
Giclee print on cotton arches paper,
122 x 71cm
(Edition of 50)
AUD $450 (UNFRAMED)
AVAILABLE
Father Bob, 2012
Limited edition archival pigment print on paper,
102 x 82 cm, Edition of 50
AUD $450 (UNFRAMED)
AVAILABLE
Dora En Aleppo, 2017
Limited edition giclee print on acid free archival paper
Signed, dates and numbered by the artist
90 x 112 cm
Edition of 25
AUD $500 (UNFRAMED)
AVAILABLE
Dora In Aleppo, 2017
Limited Edition giclee print on acid free archival paper
Signed, dated and numbered by the artist
84 x 112 cm
Edition of 25
AUD $500 (UNFRAMED)
AVAILABLE
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
Luke Cornish is an Australian artist creating unique, powerful images from handmade stencils. His rise within the contemporary art world has been meteoric, becoming the first artist to be nominated for the Archibald Prize and the Sulman prize with a portrait created entirely out of stencils. A former blue-collar worker from Canberra, Cornish’s apathy and boredom during his mid-twenties encouraged him to start experimenting with stanley knives and spraypaint cans. Nearly ten years later, Cornish has literally carved his name into the public’s mind.
Using up to 85 layers of carefully hand-cut acetate, he sprays layer upon layer of aerosol paint until his images bear a striking photographic resemblance: this is a new form of hyper-realism that is unlike what has been seen before. Formally known as E.L.K, he uses the tools of a street artist to create decadent, detailed works that envelop the viewer. There is an honesty to Cornish’s work, slicing back the layers and reconstructing his muses with astonishing deftness. The emotions that permeate through the eyes of his portraits have great depth, the shadows created by the stencils highlighting their anguish. His subjects all seem to share the same hardship and determination that Cornish himself has experienced, lending to a sense of dire reality in the unreality of his images.
After a few small exhibitions across Australia, Cornish’s abilities began to attract public attention. Over the past five years he has been granted many awards, including being selected as a finalist in the Metro Art Prize of 2011, winning the Australian Stencil Art prize in 2010, the most popular stencil at Melbourne Stencil Festival in 2008, and creating a shortlisted Tropfest film on the making of his Archibald portrait. And finally, the Archibald itself. This represents a shift in the contemporary art world, as Cornish’s controversial nomination has proven that stencilling is a viable fine art form that is now competing with more traditional methods.
He has continued to refine his craft, striving to push the boundaries of his medium and creating picture-perfect stencils. Cornish has nuzzled his way into the fine art world, showing that even if the pen is mightier than the sword, the scalpel might win out overall.
In 2013, he achieved the highest ever auction result in Australia for street art for his Archibald piece of Father Bob at Bonhams.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 (in)appropriate, Metro Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
2018 The Sea, Lock up Gallery, Newcastle, New South Wales
2018 No place like home, Tuggeranong art centre, Canberr
2017 Road to Damascus, Nanda Hobbs, Sydney, New South Walesa
2017 Zero to the Left, Metro Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
2016 Nanda Hobbs, Sydney, New South Wales
2016 Concrete Jungle, Metro Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
2014 Charlie Foxtrot, Metro Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
2013 Before Afghanistan, Art Equity, Sydney, New South Wales
2012 Not with it…, Metro Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
2011 Look what you made me do…., Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
2011 This is why we can’t have nice things, Oh Really Gallery, New South Wales
2010 How you like me now Bitch? Front Gallery, Australian Capital Territory
GROUP SHOWS
2020 Rise Exhibition, Carriageworks, Sydney
2019 Primed, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
2017 For Syrias Children, fundraising exhibition
2017 Sign of the times, Gold Coast Art Gallery, QLD
2016 Stencil, Next Gallery, Paris
2015 Stencil Master, Urban art festival, Amsterdam
2015 Fine lines, Sydney story factory fundraiser, Sydney 2015 Brave new world, nanda/hobbs, Sydney
2015 Bricks to canvas, Aarwun gallery, Canberra
2015 YourKidCan'tDoThis, Ambush Gallery, Sydney (curator) 2015 Contents Under Pressure - Stencil Art in Australia 2003-2010, Burrinja Gallery, Melbourne
2015 Public, Perth 2015- First Landing to Last Post, Parliament house, Canberra
2015 Wonderwalls, Port Adelaide
2015 Project 504, Sydney
2014 Public Street art festival, Perth
2014 RightNow, Liechardt, Sydney
2014 ADIDAS Stan Smith show, Melbourne
2013 Sulman prize, Art Gallery of NSW
2012 A cut above 2, Espionage Gallery, Adelaide
2012 Archibald prize, Art Gallery of NSW
2012 E.L.K x ADNATE "killing it", Molecule gallery, Melbourne
2012 Project 5, Sydney
2012 Melbournes burning, Paradise hills, Melbourne
2012 Young guns, Linton and kay, Perth
2012 Climate change, Metro Gallery, Melbourne
2011 Surface Tension, Ambush Gallery, Sydney
2011 All stars show, Espionage gallery, Adelaide
2011 Things to come, Metro Gallery, Melbourne
2011 Facelook portrait show, Dark horse experiment, Melbourne
2011 The new feild, Dark horse experiment, Melbourne 2011 Metro art award, exhibition of finalists, Melbourne 2011 A cut above, Espionage gallery, Adelaide
2011 Sidewayz Art Exhibition, Sydney
2011 up close (colour by numbers), Sydney
2011 Expo for Mattia, Naples, Italy
2011 up the bend, Rancho Notorious, Melbourne
2011 Paste up exhibition (ragad art kalliatsis), Hungary 2010 Space Invadas, National Gallery of Australia (merchandise in Giftshop)
2010 Don't push mong, China heights, Surry hills, Sydney 2010 Australian Stencil art Prize, Oh Really gallery, Newtown, Sydney
2010 Don't push mong, Canberra
2010 Pop rocks, Urban Uprising gallery, Sydney
2010 Sweet streets, 1000 pound bend, Melbourne
2010 Friends with knives, crewest gallery, Los Angeles 2010 Urban art 10A, BSG, Melbourne
2009 Old Skoolin, Art whino, Washington/Los Angeles
2009 Get Trucked, per square metre, Melbourne
2009 Melbourne Stencil Festival, Melbourne
2009 YourKidCantDoThis, Sydney Show, North Bondi
2009 Urban Art Agenda #3, Ballarat, Melbourne and Brisbane Powerhouse
2009 September, Dirty Pilot Group show, LA, USA
2009 Spin that thing, vinyl show, Famous when dead Gallery, Melbourne
2009 In2change Exhibition, Belconnen Community Centre 2009 YourKidCantDoThis, Melbourne Show
2009 YourKidCantDoThis' Canberra Show, Legislative assembly
2009 "Stencil" Art Whino Group show, National Harbour, MD, USA
2009 Australian Stencil Art prize, Exhibition of finalists (runner up)
2008 Spray 1387, Tehran, Iran
2008 Melbourne Stencil Festival
2008 Cacophony Group show, Manuka
2007 Cacophony Group show, The Front Gallery
2007 M16 Group show, M16, Canberra
AWARDS & COLLECTIONS
2019- Kennedy prize, Finalist
2019- Archibald prize, Finalist
2018- Salon de Refusés, SH Ervine Gallery, Sydney
2017- Salon de Refusés, SH Ervine Gallery, Sydney (Holding Redlich Peoples Choice Award)
2016- Australian War Memorial, Canberra (acquisition)
2016- Calleen art award, Cowra Regional Gallery, Finalist
2015- Brisbane Art Prize, Finalist
2015- Deakin small sculpture pize, Finalist
2015- Moreton Bay Regional Art award, Finalist
2015- Calleen art award, Cowra regional gallery, Finalist
2015- Gold Coast Art Gallery, QLD (acquisition)
2014- Black Swan Prize, Finalist
2014- Bond University Collection, QLD
2014- Corrigan Collection
2013- Churchill Fellowship, Awardee
2013- National Portrait Gallery, Canberra (acquisition)
2013- Sulman prize, Finalist
2012- Moran Portrait prize, semi-finalist
2012- Archibald prize, Finalist
2012- Tropfest, shortlisted
2011- Metro Art Prize, Finalist
2010- Australian Stencil Art Prize, Winner
2009- Ballarat Gallery of Modern Art (acquisition)
2009- Australian Stencil art prize, Runner up
2008- Melbourne Stencil Festival, Peoples choice
PUBLICATIONS
2017- Art Almanac, July 2017
2017- Art edit Magazine, Issue 13
2016- VNA magazine, Issue 33
2015- StreetArt Basel and region, Die hot-spots I'm Dreiländereck (Kai Hendrik Schlusche)
2015- Surface (Søren Solkær) 2014- Planet Banksy (KET) 2013- Street Art Melbourne (Lou Chamberlain)
2012- Stencil Repubic (Olly Walker, Laurence King publishing)
2010- Art monthly Australia (cover)
2008- Art monthly Australia
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