About The Artist

Email    rwellisch@me.com

Instagram    @rachael_wellisch

Rachael Wellisch is an Australian artist using natural indigo dye, textiles, and installation in response to environmental concerns. Graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Art with Honours in 2016 from Griffith University (Brisbane, QLD), she received awards for academic excellence every year of her studies including ‘Fine Art Student of the Year’ in 2011. Currently a post-confirmation doctoral candidate at Griffith University, she is also a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society. Winner of the St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital Art Prize (QLD) in 2016, and Recycle Rework Remake (NT), in 2021, she has been selected and commended in multiple national and international art awards. She has undertaken artist residencies in Shankill Castle, Ireland, and House Conspiracy in Brisbane, during 2017, as well as Art Quarter Budapest in Hungary, during 2018. Rachael was awarded an Arts Queensland Grant in 2018, a National Assistance Program for the Arts Grant in 2020, and has exhibited in Australia, across Europe and in Japan. Her work is held in the St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital collection, the Westin Hotel in Perth, Crown Towers in Sydney, National Library of Australia, Canberra, and is also held in private collections within Australia, UK, France and Ireland. 

I respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which I work and live, the Jagera and Turrbal people and pay respect to Elders past and present. I recognise and respect their cultural heritage, beliefs and relationship with the land. I extend this respect to all first nations people.

Education  

2024    Doctor of Visual Arts Candidate (post confirmation), Griffith University

2016     Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours), Griffith University

Solo Exhibitions

2023 Material Metaphors, Harmony Square Centre, Dandenong, VIC

2022 Polymorphic Magic, Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland, QLD

2020 Tangible Blues, Pine Rivers Art Gallery, Strathpine, QLD

Monuments, Craft VIC Vitrine, Melbourne, VIC

2019 A Blue Landscape, Redland Art Gallery Red Box, Brisbane, QLD

2016    Between Blue at This Must Be The Place, Bakery Lane, Brisbane, QLD

            All The Spaces Between, Sunspace, Noosa, QLD

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024 International Art Textile Biennale, Australian Design Centre, Darlinghurst, NSW

5th Tamworth Textile Triennial, Jam Factory, Adelaide, SA

2023 5th Tamworth Textile Triennial, Tamworth, NSW

Community Cloth, McNichols Art Gallery, Denver, USA

International Festival of Sustainable Art, Drap-Art Pop Up, Barcelona, Spain

International Art Textile Biennale, East Gippsland Art Gallery, VIC

Tondi | Tondo, KEPK Gallery, Brisbane, QLD

Paper, Geelong Art Space, Geelong, VIC

Spectrum, Art Lovers Gallery, Southport, QLD

FORM; Interrupted, Waiting Room Gallery, Brisbane, QLD

Natural Impressions, Museu Têxtil online exhibition and publication, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Echo, Side Gallery, Brisbane, QLD

2022 Textile Art of Today 6, Pesti Vigadó Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

Textile Art of Today 6, Tatra Gallery, Poprad, Slovakia

Baltic Mini Textiles, Muzeum Miasta Gdyni, Gdynia, Poland

Petite Miniature Textiles exhibition, Wangaratta Art Gallery, VIC

Small, SunCity Gallery, Noosaville, QLD

North Sydney Art Prize Exhibition, Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability, Waverton, NSW

Lake Art Prize Finalists Exhibition, Museum of Art and Culture, Lake Macquarie, NSW

Byron Arts Magazine Finalists Exhibition, NRCG, Ballina, NSW

Textile Art of Today 6, Moravian Museum, Uherské Hradište, Czech Republic

Textile Art of Today 6, Museum Historyczne, Bielsko-Biala, Poland

Women See Change, PhotoAccess, Canberra, ACT

Touch, Crackpot Gallery, Freshwater, NSW

Intellectual Beauty, Museu Têxtil online exhibition and publication, Sao Paulo, Brazil

2021 Scythia, The 10th International Mini Textile Art Exhibition, Ivano-Frankivs’k, Ukraine

Textile Art of Today 6, Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia (Sep - Nov)

Print Exhibition, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan

Compact, Alternating Current Artspace, Windsor, VIC

Fort Earth, Marfa Gallery, Abbotsford, VIC

Recycle, Rework, Remake, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin, NT

Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize Finalists Exhibition, Curl Curl, NSW

QCA HDR Retrospective, POP Gallery, Fortitude Valley, QLD

Rock Paper Scissors, Red Gallery, Melbourne, VIC

Flora, Heritage Hill Gallery, Dandenong, VIC

Minnawarra Art Award Finalists Exhibition, Armadale, WA

The Darkest Night, The Old Bar Gallery, Fitzroy, VIC

Glimpse, Side Gallery, Red Hill, QLD

The Sea From Here, Online Exhibition, curated by David Cass

Crafted & Curated, ThroughObjects Online Exhibition, curated by Rita Trindade

2020 Print Exhibition, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan

Vacay, GALA Gallery, Rockhampton, QLD

Near, LocalActual, Melbourne, VIC

Environmental Crisis, Gerald Moore Gallery, London, UK

Byron Arts Magazine Finalists Exhibition, NRCG, Ballina, NSW

Lake Art Prize Exhibition, Museum of Art and Culture, Lake Macquarie, NSW

Blackstone Works on Paper Prize Finalists Exhibition, Newcastle, NSW

First Light, The Maud St Photo Gallery, Brisbane, QLD

Loom, Side Gallery, Brisbane, QLD

priNT2020, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin, NT

Boiling Point, The Third Quarter, Brisbane, QLD

2019    Cluster London, Old Truman Brewery Gallery, London, UK

It’s A Wrap, White Rhino Artspace, Sydney, NSW

Conduit, Morgue Gallery, Chelsea College of Art, London, UK

Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown, NSW

Sydney Northern Beaches Art Prize, Creative Space, Curl Curl, NSW

Tether, Sawtooth ARI, Launceston, TAS

Small Works Online Exhibition, Trestle Gallery, NY, USA (June-Dec)

Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award, Wangaratta Art Gallery, VIC

           Wild Remembering, Onespace, Brisbane, QLD

           Salvaged Space, Whitebox, Brisbane, QLD

2018    Dislocation, Basement Gallery, Vienna, Austria 

            Moment & Method, Pop Gallery, Brisbane, QLD

Wild Remembering - performance, Mayfair Gallery, Darwin Fringe Festival, Darwin, NT 

Wild Remembering, Webb Gallery, Brisbane, QLD

2017    Transformance, Shankill Castle, Kilkenny, Ireland

            Mikala Dwyer & Justene Williams Masterclass Exhibition, Whitebox, Brisbane, QLD

            St Andrews War Memorial Hospital Prize-Winners Exhibition, Brisbane, QLD

            As We Unfold, The Pod, Brunswick St Mall, Brisbane, QLD

            Around, Spiro Grace Art Rooms, Brisbane, QLD

            Drawing Blue, House Conspiracy, Brisbane, QLD

2016    Mint, Pop Gallery, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD

           Transversing, Webb Gallery, QCA Southbank, Brisbane, QLD

           The Ambience Store Project 4, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, QLD

Sugar & Bones II, Public Art Installation with Hayley McFarlane, Vibrant Laneways Project, King George Square, Brisbane, QLD

Something Like This But Not This, The Laundry Art-space, East Brisbane 

           Less, The Laundry Art-space, East Brisbane, QLD  

Sugar & Bones, Public Art Installation with Hayley McFarlane,, Vibrant Laneways Project, Hutton Lane, Brisbane QLD

2015    http://Re-productive, QCA Project Gallery, Brisbane, QLD

            Life Art Worldwide Arts Expo, Lightspace, Brisbane, QLD

2014 Me+You+Us+Them, Project Gallery, Brisbane QLD

2011 Student group exhibition, Charles Darwin University

New Territories, 24-Hour Art, Darwin NT

Awards and Residencies

2023 Finalist, Tamworth Textiles Triennial, touring 3 years

2022 Finalist, North Sydney Art Prize, Waverton, NSW

Finalist, Lake Art Prize, Lake Macquarie, NSW

Finalist, Byron Arts Magazine Art Prize, NSW

Finalist, International Art Textile Biennale, touring 2 years

2021 Winner, Recycle Rework Remake, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin, NT

Outstanding Achievement Award, Kobe City Education Board, Japan

Highly Commended, Art Edit Self Represented Art Prize

Finalist, Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize, NSW

Finalist, Minnawarra Art Award, Armadale, WA

2020 National Assistance Program for the Arts Grant

Finalist, Lake Art Prize, Lake Macquarie, NSW

Finalist, Byron Arts Magazine Art Prize, Ballina, NSW

Finalist, Blackstone Works on Paper Prize, Newcastle, NSW

2019    Finalist, Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown, NSW

Finalist, Northern Beaches Art Prize, Creative Space, Curl Curl, NSW

Finalist, Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award, Wangaratta, VIC

2018    Arts Queensland Grant, Queensland Arts Showcase Program

            Art Quarter Budapest Residency, Budapest, Hungary

2017    House Conspiracy Artist Residency, West End, Brisbane

            Shankill Castle Artist Residency, Kilkenny, Ireland

2016    Winner, St Andrews War Memorial Hospital Award 

2015    Finalist, Lethbridge 10,000 Small Scale Art Award

Griffith Award for Academic Excellence from Griffith University

2014 Griffith Award for Academic Excellence from Griffith University

2013 Griffith Award for Academic Excellence from Griffith University

2012 Griffith Award for Academic Excellence from Griffith University

2011     Awarded ‘Fine Art Student of the Year’ by Charles Darwin University

Publications

2023 Interview, in InTheArts Magazine, Issue 1, Buy print copy here

Cover and Exhibition review, of “Community Cloth” group exhibition, in Denver Art Review Inquiry + Analysis Magazine, Link here

Catalogue, The 5th Tamworth Textile Triennial: Residue + Response: Connecting histories and futures

Catalogue, International Art Textile Biennale, Fibre Arts Australia, Buy digital copy here

Catalogue, Natural Impressions, Museu Textil, Buy print copy here

2022 Interview, in ArteMorbida Textile Arts Magazine, Interview here

Cover and Feature, in Artists Responding To: Contemporary Art, Culture and Activism, Winter 2022, Issue 1.

Upfront Feature, In Green Magazine, Issue 87.

Catalogue, Petite Miniature Textiles Exhibition, Petite Textiles Catalogue

Catalogue, Intellectual Beauty, Museu Textil, Buy print copy here

2021 ‘Art In The Modern Age’ Interview https://issuu.com/rawassembly/docs/sustainable_sourcing_by_rawassembly-_jan-april_202/1?ff

Cover and Feature, in The Woven Tale Press Magazine, Vol IX. #5: Link here

Textile Art of Today VI, Catalogue - Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic

2019 ‘Art As Activism’ Review: https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/news/2019/03/11/art-as-activism/

2018 The Art of the Westin Hotel, artist survey book, Perth WA

The Conspirator, artist survey book by House Conspiracy, Brisbane, QLD

2017 ‘As We Unfold’ Review: http://www.fineprintmagazine.com/unfold-in-view/?rq=unfold in view

2016  ‘Less’ Review: http://inresidence-ari.com/less-at-the-laundry/ 

             ‘Sugar & Bones II’ Featured on Channel 7's The Great Southeast