Chris O'brien
Biography
Chris O'Brien is a multi-disciplinary artist working in painting, printmaking, sculpture and video. He is interested in depicting vessels that can conceptually inhabit himself and his friends.
Chris O’Brien is a multi-disciplinary artist who works in painting, printmaking, and sculpture. He has been involved in publishing small graphic novels and is presently writing a never-ending urban story on his passion for old houses located in Melbourne and its surrounds. Predominantly concerned with representing domestic dwellings in varying states of decrepitude, he anthropomorphises them and populates them with characters who themselves are weaved into the broader narrative of the house. O'Brien thrives on personal connections with his subjects, which inform the work from the early research stage through to production and exhibition of the completed work. O'Brien’s most recent work shifts away from traditional sculpture into soft sculpture. The organic forms of cacti inspire the brightly coloured, sewn and stuffed fabric objects. O’Brien reinterprets the typical shape of these flowering plants, creating imaginative and colourful forms that on mass become a rich soft sculpture garden. The use of vibrant fabrics including felt and wool evoke certain sensations such as comfort, playfulness and warmth.
Chris O’Brien has worked in the Arts Project Australia studio since 2002 and presented his solo exhibition at Arts Project Australia in 2007. He has been involved in many collaborations and group exhibitions including at the Margaret Lawrence Gallery, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne (2013), Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (2006, 2008 & 2010) and in the Pearls of Arts Project Australia: The
Stuart Purves Collection, National touring exhibition (2007-2009). His work is held in private collections throughout Australia.Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2018 Mayor of the Town, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
2007 Marjorie Street, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Group Exhibitions
2019
Annual Gala, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
A Boy’s Own Story, The Johnston Collection, Melbourne
Yo Melbourne, We’re From Philly!, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Affordable Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
The Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award, Wangaratta Art Gallery, Victoria
Our life, Our World, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
2018
Annual Gala, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
All our relations, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Spring1883, The Hotel Windsor, Melbourne
Auto Body Works, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Petite Miniature Textiles Biennial, Wangaratta Art Gallery, Victoria
POP!, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
AIR17, Australian Tapestry Workshop, Melbourne
Under Pressure, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
2017
Annual Gala, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Spring Fling, Arts Project Australia Pop-up Gallery, Collins Place, Melbourne
Victorian Craft Awards 2017, Craft, Melbourne
Unproductive Thinking, Deakin University Art Gallery, Melbourne
Home & the fabric of the familiar, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
2016
Annual Gala, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Landmarks, Counihan Gallery, Melbourne
Arts Project Australia CBD Pop- up Gallery, Collins Place, Melbourne
Clay: it’s a matter of substance, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
2015
Annual Gala, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
It takes more than 140 characters to write a novel, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Nests, Northcity4, Melbourne
Altered Vistas, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
That’s Funny, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Drawn Together, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Home, locations around Arts Centre Melbourne, the city and the surrounds
2014
Annual Gala, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Sit Down, Shut Up and Watch, Film & New Media Festival, South Australia
Now the heart is filled with fold as if it were a purse,
Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Connected, Yarra Gallery, Federation Square, Melbourne
Small Universe, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne
6° of Separation, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Renegades: Outsider Art, Moree Plains Gallery, Moree, NSW
Renegades: Outsider Art, The Arts Centre Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise, QLD
2013
Annual Gala, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Convergence, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Repeat. Restate… Reiterate, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Third/Fourth, Margaret Lawrence Gallery, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne
World In My Eyes, C3 Gallery, Abbotsford, Melbourne
Renegades: Outsider Art, KickArts Contemporary Arts, Cairns QLD
Classic Albums, Tanks Art Centre, Cairns, QLD
2012
Annual Gala, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
The Great un Reveal, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Melbourne Art Fair 2012, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
Classic Albums, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Shift Step Stir, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
In the making, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
2011
Annual Gala, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
The Machine, Gallery One, Craft Victoria, Melbourne
Subterranean, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Stock Exhibition, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
2010
Annual Gala, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Third Dimension, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Portrait Exchange, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Melbourne Art Fair 2010, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
Sweet Relief, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Connected 10, Melbourne Central, Melbourne
Pacifica, Gallery Impaire, Paris, France
The Agents, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne
Myscape, Trongate & Collins Gallery, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland
Canvas Stock Exhibition, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
2009
Annual Gala, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Connected 09, Black Box, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne
Here and Away, Northern Exposure 09, Northcote Town Hall, Melbourne
Location Location Location! Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Pearls of Arts Project Australia: The Stuart Purves Collection,
Orange Regional Gallery, NSW
2008
Annual Gala, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Behind the Scenes, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Melbourne Art Fair 2008, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
Pearls of Arts Project Australia: The Stuart Purves Collection, Ivan Dougherty Gallery,
College of Fine Arts, UNSW Sydney
2007
Studio Days, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Pearls of Arts Project Australia - Stuart Purves Collection, Penrith Regional Gallery &The Lewers Bequest, Sydney
Studio Days, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Connected07, The Atrium, Federation Square, Melbourne
2006
In Everyone’s Company, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Melbourne Art Fair 2006, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
2005
Wrapped: Selected Works from the Studio, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Leo Cussen with Selected Artists, Australian Galleries, Collingwood
Artists’ Books, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
connected05, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Moving Colours, Northcote Town Hall, Melbourne
Hitch a Ride, Arts Project, Melbourne
2004
connected 04, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Printed Matter, Arts Project, Melbourne
Canvas, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Christmas Survey, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
2003
A Sense of Place, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Personal Mythologies, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
2002
What about you, Monkey Bum? Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Collections
National Gallery of Victoria, as gifted by Stuart Purves
Private Collections
Showing the single artwork
