Sydney painter Leslie Rice is known for his dark gothic works that hark back to classical European painting. He has brought his own approach and produces works on velvet, which although itself an ancient medium, is not practiced widely in a contemporary context.
Rice’s elusive artworks demand viewers experience the work in person, a rarity in times where artworks are so often mediated by online experience. His works reveal their depth and intensity upon close inspection, with his visions of fantasy, myth and religion emerging from inky velvet surfaces.
The only artist to have won the prestigious Doug Moran National Portrait Prize twice, once in 2012, and once in 2007, Rice has been recognised with awards throughout his practice, having been included in the Archibald Prize, Sulman Prize, Black Swan Prize for Portraiture and the Blake Prize.
For his exhibition, No Oil Painting, he has produced a series of acrylic on velvet paintings and drawings on paper. Rice continues to interweave classical imagery with kitsch subject matter to develop a body of work that investigates the boundaries of painting.
