Ornamental Sarah Mufford
22 - 28 June 2026
Ornamental
Ornamental presents a new body of work byAustralian artist Sarah Mufford, comprising large scale paintings accompanied by a siteresponsive wallpaper installation. Drawing from over a decade of research and fieldwork,this exhibition explores the cultural and visual language of ornament and geometric abstraction, situating traditional design systems within a contemporary painting practice. The works navigate the rich decorative traditions found across South EastAsia, Iran, India, and Southern Spain. By integrating Eastern andWestern design histories, Mufford’s geometric abstractions challenge the perceived division between ornament and structure. The wallpaper component extends her paintings into the spatial field,reflecting on how surface pattern and architecture shape visual experience.
- Sarah Mufford
Front Cover: Rumi, 2025, Polymer acrylic, pigmented ink and graphite on raw canvas, 122 x 122 cm.
Image Credit: Sarah Mufford
Photo Credit: Jay Black
Rill, 2026, Pigmented ink, acrylic polymer, acrylic spray paint, flashe and graphite on canvas, 137 x 137 cm, $7,200
Charbagh II, 2025, Pigmented ink, acrylic polymer, flashe and graphite on canvas, 137 x 137 cm, $7,200
II, 2025, Pigmented ink, polymer acrylic, and
Islimi
and graphite on
polyester, 137 x 274 cm, $11,900
Photo Credit: Jay Black
Neshan, 2023, Polymer acrylic, flashe and graphite on polyester, 137 x 137 cm, $7,200
Rumi, 2025, Polymer acrylic, pigmented ink and graphite on raw canvas, 122 x 122 cm, $6,700
Khataei, 2024, Polymer acrylic, spray paint, flashe and graphite on canvas, 122 x 122 cm, $6,700
Raga, 2023, Polymer acrylic, flashe, pigmented ink and graphite on cotton duck canvas, 122 x 122 cm, $6,700
Leheriya, 2023, Polymer acrylic, flashe and graphite on canvas, 122 x 122 cm, $6,700
Islimi, 2025, Pigmented ink, graphite, and polymer acrylic and graphite on raw cotton duck canvas, 107 x 107 cm, $5,400
Vegetal Rumi, 2025, Pigmented ink, graphite, and polymer acrylic and graphite on raw cotton duck canvas, 107 x 107 cm, $5,400
, 2025, Pigmented ink, polymer acrylic, flashe and graphite on cotton duck canvas, 107 x 107 cm, $5,400
Medallion
Rumi II, 2025, Pigmented Ink, polymer acrylic, mica pigment and graphite on raw cotton duck canvas, 107 x 107 cm, $5,400
Zellige I
2026
Watercolour, coloured pencil, polymer acrylic on linen
31 x 31 cm
$700
Zellige II
2026
Pigmented ink, polymer acrylic and aquarelle on raw canvas
37 x 37 cm
$950
Medallion III 2026
Pigmented ink, polymer acrylic and graphite on raw canvas
37 x 37 cm
$950
Medallion II 2026
Pigmented ink, polymer acrylic and graphite on raw canvas
40 x 40 cm
$950
ink, polymer acrylic and aquarelle on raw canvas
37 x 37 cm
ArabesqueVII
2026
Pigmented
$950
AboutSarah Mufford’s art practice is grounded in a long-standing fascination with geometry, pattern, and the cultural histories embedded in ornament. Her paintings and installations explore how systems of design — from Islamic tilework to Western architectural decoration — reflect shared human impulses toward order, beauty, and transcendence. Working primarily with water based media, Mufford’s process combines intuitive mark-making with the precision of measured geometry, creating layered abstractions that sit between mathematics and meditation.
Biography
Born in Bellingen, New South Wales, Sarah Mufford is an Australian contemporary artist currently based on Gumbaynggirr Country on the North Coast. Her 30-year practice has been shaped by extensive research and travel across Iran, India, Southern Spain, and Southeast Asia, where she has studied architectural ornamentation, pattern, and pre-Islamic and Islamic design traditions. This cross-cultural engagement underpins her interest in ornament as both a structural and symbolic language. Mufford studied at the Australian National University, Canberra School of Art, and completed postgraduate studies at the University of Technology Sydney. She has exhibited widely across Australia, with recent solo exhibitions at Nulla Nulla Regional Gallery, Yarrila Arts and Museum, Liverpool Street Gallery Project Space, and AirSpace Projects. Group exhibitions include Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, Glasshouse Regional Gallery, and Byron School of Art Project Space. Her work has been recognised in major awards including The Sunshine Coast National Art Prize and Redlands Art Award (2024) Alice Prize (2022, 2024), Libris Awards (2022), Hazelhurst Art on Paper (2018, 2020, 2022), and Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award (2018, 2023).
Her research-led practice has been supported through residencies in Italy and a range of collaborative and curatorial projects. In 2022, she led the three-year White Bluff Project — an Art + Science initiative with Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery. Her work is represented in the State Library of NSW and numerous private collections across Australia and internationally.
