MARY TONKIN
In fresh air
12 – 30 May 2026
MARY TONKIN
Opening Night
Tuesday 12 May 20 26 6pm – 8pm
15 Roylston Street Paddington NSW 2021
Exhibition Dates
Tuesday 12 May – Saturday 30 May 2026
Open 7 days 10am – 6pm
sydney@australiangalleries.com.au australiangalleries.com.au
T 02 9360 5177
Cover: Broken, Kalorama 2025 oil on linen 214 x 274 cm
Artwork photography: Matthew Stanton
In fresh air
I don’t think it is necessary to paint en plein air to make meaningful paintings. So much of the work I love, current and historic, is or was made in the studio, from reference material, memory and sensation. However, in my own practice (for now) it seems vital. It is a deep joy and privilege to stand in the bush each day, to simply attend to all that there is and all that arises. The act of painting that experience necessitates an attentive curiosity, a kind of loving that affords a deep experience of each particular form, the manner and nature of how each interlaces with those around it, how they are revealed in the particular light or air. Painting that attending feels like palpating the forms, the air, the light - such a delight! I work across the day, usually over many days or months. Over time the painting makes its own demands; conveys what light, colour, form and structure need to take precedence. There is no constancy - light, forms, the temperature of the air and thoughts shift. What remains is the residue of attending, an accumulation of attempts to convey something of being present in each moment.
Mary Tonkin, 2026
Into my arms, Kalorama
x
Into my arms, Kalorama 2024 pencil on paper 90 x 250 cm
on linen 50 x 60 cm
Around the back, Kalorama
Turmoil, Kalorama 2025 oil on linen 183 x 214 cm
Photography: Mark Ashkanasy
80 x 88 cm
Turmoil, Kalorama 2025 pencil on paper
Photography: Mark Ashkanasy
Turmoil, Kalorama 2025 in progress in the studio
Around the edge, Kalorama I 2024
watercolour, gouache, pencil and collage on birch ply
60 x 120 cm
Around the edge, Kalorama II 2024
watercolour, gouache, pencil and collage on birch ply
60 x 120 cm
Around the edge, Kalorama III 2024
watercolour, gouache, pencil and collage on birch ply
60 x 120 cm
Around the edge, Kalorama IV 2024
watercolour, gouache, pencil and collage on birch ply
60 x 130 cm
pencil on paper
29 x 28 cm
Dicksonia, Kalorama II
pencil on paper
29 x 25 cm
Dicksonia, Kalorama III
pencil on paper
29 x 25 cm
Dicksonia, Kalorama IV
Between showers, Kalorama
Bell jar, Kalorama
on linen
Broken, Kalorama
Broken, Kalorama 2025 pencil on paper
78 x 100 cm
Broken, Kalorama 2025 in progress in the studio
pencil on paper 28 x 25 cm
Where ferns frolic, Kalorama
pencil, watercolour, gouache and collage on aquabord
20 x 20 cm
Desert oaks, Newhaven 2025 pencil and watercolour on paper
28 x 38 cm
Bloodwood, Newhaven 2025 pencil on paper
25 x 38 cm
Bloodwood, Newhaven 2025 pencil and watercolour on paper 29 x 19 cm
By a thread, Kalorama 2025 pencil, watercolour and gouache on aquabord 20 x 20 cm
By a thread, Kalorama 2025 pencil and watercolour on paper
38 x 29 cm
By a thread, Kalorama I
oil on birch ply 60 x 60 cm
By a thread, Kalorama II
oil on birch ply 60 x 60 cm
By a thread, Kalorama III
oil on birch ply 60 x 60 cm
By a thread, Kalorama IV
oil on birch ply 60 x 60 cm
Arachne, Kalorama 2026
oil on linen
278 x 224 cm
Showing at S. H. Ervin, ‘Salon des Refusés’ 2026
Arachne (study), Kalorama
oil on linen 109 x 86 cm
109 x 86 cm
Arachne, Kalorama 2025 pencil on paper
By the edge, Kalorama I
oil on birch ply
60 x 60 cm
By the edge, Kalorama II
oil on birch ply
60 x 60 cm
By the edge, Kalorama III
oil on birch ply
60 x 60 cm
By the edge, Kalorama IV
oil on birch ply
60 x 60 cm
flush, Kalorama
The days are warming, Kalorama
x 61 cm
The days are warming, Kalorama II
oil on linen 60 x 58 cm
Into my arms, Kalorama 2024-25 in progress in the studio
Back cover: Turmoil, Kalorama (detail) 2025 oil on linen 183 x 214 cm
