Biography
Grant Stevens is an Australian artist based in Sydney. Working predominantly with computer graphics, moving image, and photography, his practice explores the various ways that digital technologies and conventions of representation mediate our inner worlds and social realities. He has exhibited widely in Australia and internationally, and held numerous solo exhibitions in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the United States. His work has also been curated into many group exhibitions at publicly funded museums and contemporary art spaces, nationally and internationally. In 2007, Stevens received his PhD from the Queensland University of Technology and has subsequently held a number of academic positions. He is currently Deputy Head of School (Art) at UNSW Art & Design, where he leads programs in Fine Arts, Media Arts, Art Theory, and Curating and Cultural Leadership. He is represented by Sullivan + Strumpf, Sydney, and Starkwhite, Auckland.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Horizon of Happiness, Sullivan + Strumpf, Sydney, 2023.
The Forest, Sullivan + Strumpf, Sydney, 2020.
The Mountain and The Waterfalls, Starkwhite, Auckland, 2018.
You Have Within You Right Now Everything You Need To Succeed, Sullivan + Strumpf, Sydney, 2018.
The Sun Set, Art by Accident, Murray Art Museum Albury, 2017.
What You Seek Is Seeking You, Sullivan + Strumpf, Sydney, 2016.
Dark Mess, Boxcopy, Brisbane, 2015.
What We Had Was Real, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington, 2014.
Hold Together, Fall Apart, Starkwhite, Auckland, 2014.
Supermassive, Screen Space, Melbourne, 2014.
Supermassive, LA Louver, Venice, California, 2013.
Tranquility Falls, Gallery Barry Keldoulis, Angel Place, Sydney, 2013.
Seriously, Relax, Gallery Barry Keldoulis, Sydney, 2012.
Burst, PICA, Perth, 2010.
Horizons, Gallery Barry Keldoulis, Sydney, 2010.
Wobbly, Gallery Barry Keldoulis, Sydney, 2009.
Fazed, Starkwhite, Auckland, 2009.
No Bad Days, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2008.
Really Really, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, 2008.
Education, Education, Gallery Barry Keldoulis, Sydney, 2007.
Cliché and Collusion: Video Works by Grant Stevens, Museum of Art, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 2007.
Going Steady, Starkwhite, Auckland, 2007.
The Switch, Il Ponte Contemporanea, Rome, 2007.
New Ideas for Cake, The Block, Brisbane, 2006.
Cut to the Cheese: Selected Works, Museum of Brisbane, Brisbane, 2006.
The Switch, Lismore Regional Gallery, Lismore, 2006.
I Like Ike, Gallery Barry Keldoulis, Sydney, 2005.
When There’s Love, Metro Arts, Brisbane, 2005.
Like Two Ships, Kings ARI, Melbourne, 2005.
Some Want It All, Gallery Barry Keldoulis, Sydney, 2004.
Dazed and Praised, Pestorius Sweeney House, Brisbane, 2004.
Selected Group Exhibitions
Swelter, Caboolture Regional Art Gallery, Caboolture, 2022 (curated by Hannah Williamson)
Where the World Falls Away, Te Atamira, Queenstown, New Zealand, 2022
Above the Canopy, Town Hall Gallery, City of Boroondara, Melbourne, 2022 (curated by Rachel Keir-Smith)
friends, relations, lovers and ancestors, SCA Gallery, Sydney, 2022 (curated by Sydenham International)
Choose Happiness, Murray Art Museum Albury, 2021 (curated by Serena Bentley)
Slow Moving Waters, TarraWarra Biennial 2021, TarraWarra Museum of Art (curated by Nina Miall)
This Brittle Light: Light Source Commissions 2020-2021, Buxton Contemporary, Melbourne, 2020-2021, online and physical exhibitions (curated by Melissa Keys).
Making Art Work, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2020, online and physical exhibitions (Ephemeral Projects Curators: Tulleah Pearce and Nicholas Aloisio-Shearer).
Hope in the Dark, Gertrude Glasshouse, Melbourne (curated by Mark Feary), 2020.
Digital 3 - Retro Ed., Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, 2020.
Hope Dies Last: Art at the End of Optimism, Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne (curated by Mark Feary), 2019.
Oceans From Here, Gosford Regional Gallery, touring exhibition from the Australian Centre for Photography (curated by Allison Holland), 2019.
After Technology, UTS Gallery, Sydney (curated by Stella Rosa McDonald and Eleanor Zeichner), 2019.
Yours Internally, Margaret Lawrence Gallery, Melbourne (two person exhibition with Kiron Robinson, curated by David Sequeira), 2018.
Prelude to Oceans From Here, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney (curated by Allison Holland), 2018.
Evolver, LA Louver, Venice, CA, 2018.
Transboundaries: Art + Connection, QUT Art Museum, Brisbane, 2018.
Out of the Ordinary, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2017.
GOMA Q: Contemporary Queensland Art, QAGOMA, Brisbane, 2015.
In Motion, Starkwhite, Auckland, 2015.
My Feet Would Hurt If They Still Existed, Alaska Projects, Sydney (curated by Finn Marchant and Nicholas Shearer), 2015.
Striking Contrasts, touring exhibition, various venues including Bathurst Regional Gallery, NSW, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre, NSW, Grafton Regional Gallery, NSW (curated by dLux Media Arts), 2014.
The Wandering: Moving Images from the MCA Collection, touring exhibition, various venues including Cairns Regional Gallery, Qld, Artspace Mackay, Qld, Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University, ACT, Wollongong City Gallery, NSW, 2014.
It’s Timely, Blacktown Arts Centre, Sydney (catalogue) (curated by Paul Howard and Gary Carsley), 2014.
Bazinga!, Starkwhite, Auckland (curated by Robert Leonard), 2013.
We Used to Talk About Love, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (catalogue) (curated by Natasha Bullock), 2013.
City of Hobart Art Prize, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, 2013.
Desire Lines, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne (curated by Juliana Engberg), 2012.
Speak to Me, Experimenta 5th International Biennial of Media Art, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne (curated by Abigail Moncrieff), 2012.
Greatest Hits Volume 3, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (curated by Anna Zammit), 2012.
National Artists’ Self-Portrait Prize, University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane, 2011.
The New Arcadia, Lismore Regional Gallery, Lismore, 2011.
VideoRow, The Torrence Art Museum, Los Angeles, California, 2011.
Let the Healing Begin, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (curated by Robert Leonard), 2011.
Big Tree Foot, J & Z Gallery, Shenzhen, China, 2010.
City of Hobart Art Prize, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 2010.
In Order Out, Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne, 2010.
Speaking in Tongues, Nature Morte Berlin, Germany, 2009.
The more you ignore me, the closer I get, University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane, 2009.
Word, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Sydney, 2009.
Some Text Missing, CAST, Hobart (curated by Sarah Jones), 2009.
Total Nowhere Emotion Expansion, Brisbane Festival (curated by Vivian Ziherl), 2009.
Ornament is a Crime, Gallery 1927, Los Angeles, 2008.
The Dating Show, IMA @ TCB, Brisbane (curated by Robert Leonard), 2008.
Typecast, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne (curated by Marilyn & Sons), 2008.
neo-goth: back in black, University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane (curated by Alison Kubler), 2008.
Artisti, Il Ponte Contemporanea, Rome, 2008.
The Leisure Class, the Australian Cinematheque, Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2007.
Bad Brains, a little blah blah, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 2007.
New Deities: Art and the Cult of Celebrity, Devonport Regional Gallery, Devonport, Plimsoll Gallery, Hobart, 2007.
Anne Landa Award, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2006.
Man/Trouble, Downtown Art Space, Adelaide, 2006.
Like Two Ships, Elastic residence, London, 2005.
Prime 2005: New Art From Queensland, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 2005.
2004: Australian Culture Now, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (catalogue), 2004.
Octopus 5, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne (curated by Nicholas Chambers) (catalogue), 2004.
Zeitgeist, Australian Centre of Photography, Sydney, 2004.
Gravity, MAAP Festival, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore (catalogue), 2004.
Selected Screenings and Commissions
Light Source Commissions, Buxton Contemporary, Melbourne, 2020.
UTS Broadway Screen Commission, University of Technology Sydney, 2020.
Public Art Screens, i/o/lab, Stavanger, Norway, 2014.
MAF Video, Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne, 2014.
Video Contemporary, Sydney Contemporary, Sydney, 2013.
Mingling, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, 2012.
Kick Off, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast, 2011.
Move Primary, Art In Motion, Kaldor Public Art Projects, 2011.
Next Wave Time Lapse, Federation Square’s Big Screen, Melbourne, 2010.
Selected Press
Keys, Melissa. “This brittle light”, This brittle light: Light Source commissions 2020-21, ex. cat., Buxton Contemporary, Melbourne, 2021, pp.8-12.
McFarlane, Kyla. “Fawn in the Forest: Grant Stevens”, This brittle light: Light Source commissions 2020-21, ex. cat., Buxton Contemporary, Melbourne, 2021, pp.34-36.
Ross, Toni. “Dignifying Slowness in a Hyperactive World”, Slow Moving Waters: TarraWarra Biennial 2021, ex. cat. TarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville, Victoria, 2021, pp.125-128.
Hughes, Helen. “TarraWarra Biennial 2021”, Artforum, Summer 2021.
Nguyen, Giselle Au-Nhien. “This Brittle Light: Light Source Commissions 2020-2021”, Art Guide Australia, 8 April 2021.
Brophy, Philip. “Grant Stevens: Fawn in the Forest”, Memo Review, November 2020.
Miall, Nina. “Grant Stevens: The Forest”, Sullivan + Strumpf, June 2020.
Hughes, Natalya. “A Walk Through The Forest with Grant Stevens and Natalya Hughes”, podcast, 17 June 2020.
Snaith, Tai, and Ayres, Ed. “We might be reaching the end of optimism, but Art lives on”, The Art Show, ABC Radio National, 23 October, 2019.
Stephens, Andrew. 2019. “Hope and fear collide in art for the end of days”, The Age, 4 October, 2019.
Jenkins, Hannah. 2019. “After Technology”, Running Dog. 15 March, 2019.
Hurrell, John. 2018. “When Artifice Creates Nature”, Eyecontact. 28 September, 2018.
Sequeira, David. 2018. "Yours Internally", catalogue essay, Margaret Lawrence Gallery, Melbourne.
Ross, Toni. 2018. "Grant Stevens". Artforum, Summer 2018.
Catt, Lisa. 2017. "Artist Interview: Grant Stevens". Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 11 October, 2017.
Reid, Melinda. 2015. Oblivion, rainforests, and happiness. Exhibition catalogue, Boxcopy, Brisbane, 2015.
Letourneau, Luke. 2015. “The Hanging: My Feet Would Hurt If They Still Existed”. In FBI Radio. 4 December, 2015.
Hurrell, John. 2015. “The Pleasures of Movement”. In Eyecontact. 22 July, 2015.
Arozqueta, Claudia. 2015. “In Motion”. In Art Agenda. 29 July, 2015.
Tappenden, Alice. 2014. “Grant Stevens in Wellington”. In Eyecontact. 9 August, 2014.
Cardy, Tom. 2014. “When words collide”. In The Dominion Post, Wellington review Tuesday 1 July, 2014.
McNamara, T.J. 2014. “The inadequacies of language”. In NZ Herald. Saturday 19 July, 2014.
Hurrell, John. 2014. “Grant Stevens in Auckland”, Eyecontact. 16 July, 2014.
Webb, Penny. 2014. “Tapping the heart of glass.” In The Age, Friday 20 June, 2014, p.30.
Frost, Andrew. 2014. “It’s Timely review: Australia’s long lost radicalism revisited”. In The Guardian, Friday 2 May, 2014.
Gibb, Susan. 2014. “We Used to Talk About Love: Balnaves Contemporary Photomedia”. In Eyeline, Issue 80, 2014, pp.96-97.
Ferrell, Robyn. 2014. “Between Cliché and Rapture, We Used to Talk About Love: Balnaves Contemporary Photomedia”. In Eyeline, Issue 80, 2014, p.97.
Pagel, David. 2013. “A serene state of mind in orbit”. In The Los Angeles Times, February 6.
Mudie, Ella. 2013. “Love might not come easily to art, but…” in RealTime Arts, Issue 114.
Jaspers, Anneke. 2013. “Grant Stevens” in We Used to Talk About Love, ex cat., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, pp.124-125.
Bullock, Natasha. 2013. “We Used to Talk About Love – and Photography” in We Used to Talk About Love, ex cat., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, pp.9-35.
Hurrell, John. 2013. ”Life’s Universal (Hackneyed?) Dilemmas”, Eyecontact.
Millner, Jacqueline. 2012. Grant Stevens: Seriously, Relax. ex. cat. Gallery Barry Keldoulis, Sydney.
Kraus, Chris. 2011. “Turtles, Torture and Vapour”, in Grant Stevens: Are You Upset With Me?, Institute of Modern Art and Gallery Barry Keldoulis: Brisbane and Sydney, pp. 83-87.
Pennings, Mark. 2011. “Cliches, Communication and the Meaning of Existence”, in Grant Stevens: Are You Upset With Me?, Institute of Modern Art and Gallery Barry Keldoulis: Brisbane and Sydney, pp. 7-13.
Kent, Rachel. 2009. MCA Collection: New Acquisitions 2009, ex. cat., Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.
Harvey, Nicola. 2009. “Word”, Frieze (online), August 2009.
Hurrell, John. 2009. “The Edges of Sincerity”, Eyecontact, August, 2009.
Garner, Nick. 2009. “Grant Stevens: Interview”, Das Superpaper, Issue 4, March 2009, pp.7-10.
Kelly, Sean. 2009. “Some Text Missing”, Artlink, vol. 29, no. 4, 2009.
Hogg, Vivian. 2008. “Grant Stevens: In conversation”, Eyeline, Issue 67, 2008, pp.16-24.
Frost, Andrew. 2008. “Warning: this artist is messing with your head”, Australian Art Collector, Issue 44, April-June 2008, pp. 108–113.
Fitzgerald, Michael. 2008. “RIPE: ANZ Private Bank and Art & Australia Contemporary Art Award”, Art & Australia, Vol 45, No.3 Autumn 2008 p. 496.
Oliva, Achille Bonito. 2008. Artisti Solitari - Uno Sguardo dal Ponte sul Terzo Millenio, Silvana Editori, Rome, Italy.