Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep. 23    Yvette Coppersmith

Yvette Coppersmith stands as one of Australia's most distinctive contemporary artists.

Her career has been marked by a profound exploration of portraiture, identity, and the human condition. She has challenged traditional boundaries between painting and photography while examining themes of gender, representation, and psychological depth. 

She graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts and won the inaugural Metro Prize in 2003 and has previously been selected as a finalist in the Darling Portrait Prize, Arthur Guy Memorial Award, Geelong Contemporary Art Prize, the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the Portia Geach Memorial Award. 

And, in 2018, after multiple Archibald finalist hangings, she became the 10th woman to win the Archibald Prize for her painting Self Portrait, after George Lambert. 

It’s been said that her sophisticated exploration of portraiture has contributed to a renewed interest in this traditional genre. I can vouch for the fact that it has had that effect on me.  

It was a fascinating discussion where we spoke about her amazing portrait of Gillian Triggs which (somehow) didn’t win the Archibald and, of course, her self-portrait the following year, which did! We talked about her fascinating process and how she creates these portraits that seem to me to go well beyond the surface image. 

Her work is held in numerous public and private collections and she is represented in Australia by Sullivan + Strumpf. 

 Head to the link in my bio to hear this podcast conversation. 

Images

1.        YC. Supplied by artist. Taken at Hong Kong Art Basel, 'Heirloom' solo show

2.        Yvette Coppersmith Self-portrait, after George Lambert (winner Archibald                   prize 2018) oil and acrylic on linen 132 x 112 cm

3.        John Safran (Archibald finalist 2009) oil and acrylic on plywood 120 x 180                   cm

4.        Professor Gillian Triggs (Archibald finalist 2017) oil on linen 137.5 x 110 cm

5.        Banded Field, 2022, Oil on jute, 99cm x 122cm, Finalist Ravenswood                             Women’s Art Prize

6.        Self-portrait with Egret, 2018 Oil on linen 107 × 87 cm