Ronelle Reid
Connecting through conversations of nature’s shared plights and virtues
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Ronelle Reid is an artist who draws her inspiration from her love for animals, and uses ink, oils, and watercolours to create detailed visual narratives exploring the relationships between animals and their habitats. Her style is a combination of colourful naturalist work with quirky compositions, which pair species that do not coexist or share habitats.
Through her art, Ronelle invites viewers to question why the rules of land, air and sea no longer apply, and why fish happily swim through the antlers of a bongo antelope and butterflies flutter around a moray eel. She has spent countless hours studying animals in museums, using the taxidermic displays to understand and convey their forms. However, her experience with animal welfare during her work with RSPCA gave her a new perspective, which she now incorporates into her work.
Ronelle combines her formal education in painting, screen, and printmaking to plan each composition, purposefully breaking the rules of taxonomic categorisation. Her work draws attention to the interconnectedness between species and invites viewers to see how they are being forced to adapt in rapidly changing ecosystems, or risk extinction. These pairings also invite people to engage with the character and personality of individual animals, challenging them to see them as more than just objects to be studied and classified.
Being aware that Australia has one of the highest rates of extinction globally, and that much of its rich biodiversity is found exclusively on this continent, Ronelle's next series will inspire people to learn more about vulnerable native animals and encourage them to do more to protect them. Her quirky, naturalist portrayals preserve and highlight the beauty and diversity of animals in Australia, inviting us to imagine the loss of kookaburras, koalas, and wallabies forever.
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AWARDS, GRANTS & RESIDENCIES
Recipient Aether Brewing Artist Amplifier Initiative I 2024Speaker, Illustration panellist, Logan Writers Festival I 2023
Regional Arts Development Fund, Arts QLD and Logan Arts Council, Australia | 2024
Finalist Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery I 2024
Finalist, Echo, Side Gallery | 2023
Finalist, Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery | 2023
Finalist, Foot Square Aspire Gallery | 2022
Finalist, Inverell Art Prize, Inverell | 2022
Finalist, Whitsundays Art Prize, Townsville | 2022
Artist in Residence. Remember the Wild, Victoria I 2022
Artist in Residence, Devils@Cradle, Tasmania I 2022
Finalist, Camberwell Art Show, Melbourne I 2022
Finalist, Omnia Art Prize, Melbourne I 2022
Finalist, Clayton Utz Art Prize, Brisbane | 2021
Finalist, Whitsundays Art Prize, Townsville | 2021
Gallery Finalist, Lethbridge 20000, Lethbridge Gallery, Paddington | 2021
Finalist, Gallipoli Art Prize, Merrylands, NSW | 2021
Finalist, John Villiers Outback Art Prize, Waltzing Matilda Centre, Winton | 2021
1st Prize (Drawing), Aspects Art Show, Goondiwindi | 2021
Artist in Residence, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary | 2020
Regional Arts Fund, Regional Arts Australia, Flying Arts Alliance | 2020
Finalist, Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Award | 2020
Regional Arts Development Fund, Arts QLD and Logan Arts Council, Australia | 2020
BEMAC Creative Booster Pack | 2020
Liquitex Sponsor Prize, Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery | 2020
Finalist, The Naracoorte National Art Prize | 2019
Melville Heysom Memorial Award | 1998
Asia Artslink Studio Residency, Manila Philippines | 1997
Karl and Gertrude Langer Memorial Award | 1996
SELECTED EXHIBITIONSBrisbane Grammar Art Show Brisbane | 2024
Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane I 2024
Foot Square, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane I 2023
Linden Postcard Show, Linden New Art, Melbourne I 2023
Echo, Side Gallery, Brisbane I 2023
Mini Mix and Match, Quirky Fox, Hawera, New Zealand I 2023
The Art of Nature, Logan Art Gallery Lighting project, Logan I 2023
Poetry in Motion, Artburst Studios, International Online I 2023
Downlands Art Exhibition, Toowoomba QLD | 2023
Nundah Art Show, Nundah Festival I 2023
Roam, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane I 2023
Camberwell Art Show, Melbourne VIC I 2023
Tower Art Show, Marist College, Brisbane QLD I 2023
Art Red Hill Mornington Peninsula Victoria | 2023
Brisbane Grammar Art Show Brisbane | 2023
Tower Art Show Brisbane | 2023Aspects Art Show Goondiwindi | 2023
All in the details, CStudio Gallery, Newcastle NSW I 2023
Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane QLD | 2023
Burn, Side Gallery, Brisbane QLD I 2022
Foot Square, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane QLD | 2022
Inverell Art Prize, Inverell Art Gallery, Inverell NSW | 2022
Downlands Art Exhibition, Toowoomba QLD | 2022
Whitsundays Arts Prize, Coral Sea Marina Resort, Whitsundays QLD | 2022
Still Life, Verandah Studio and Gallery, Belmont VIC I 2022
Quirky Critters, The Old Auction House Gallery, Kyneton VIC I 2022
The Natural Wonders of the Rainforest, Maleny QLD I 2022
Lethbridge 20000 (Online), Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane QLD I 2022
Camberwell Art Show, Melbourne VIC I 2022
Omnia Art Prize, Melbourne VIC I 2022
Incognito Art Show, Sydney, NSW I 2022
Facets at Fairholme, Toowoomba QLD I 2022
International Animals in Art Logan Art Gallery QLD I 2022
Tower Art Show, Marist College, Brisbane QLD I 2022
Brisbane Grammar Art Show, Brisbane Grammar, Brisbane QLD I 2022
Aspects Art Show, Goondiwindi QLD I 2022
Toowoomba Grammar Art Show, Toowoomba QLD I 2022
Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane QLD | 2022
Zoic, Old Auction House, Kyneton VIC | 2021
Small Wonders, Quirky Fox, New Zealand | 2021
Outside In Exhibition, St Vincents Hospital, Brisbane QLD | 2021
Downlands Art Exhibition, Toowoomba QLD | 2021
Tower Art Show, Marist College, Brisbane QLD I 2022
Whitsundays Arts Festival, Airlie Beach, Whitsundays QLD | 2021
Clayton Utz Art Prize, Clayton Utz Law Firm, Brisbane QLD | 2021
Lethbridge 20000, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane QLD | 2021
Stand Still, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane QLD | 2021
Quota Art Prize, Jimboomba QLD | 2021
Gallipoli Art Prize, Merrylands, NSW | 2021
John Villiers Outback Art Prize, Winton QLD | 2021
Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane QLD | 2021
Aspects Art Show, Goondiwindi QLD | 2021
Brookfield Art Show, Brisbane QLD | 2021
Pause Button, The Old Auction House , Kyneton VIC | 2020
Downlands Art Exhibition, Toowoomba QLD | 2020
Take Flight, The Old Auction House , Kyneton VIC | 2020
Wandering with the Wild (Online), Aspire Gallery, Brisbane QLD | 2020
Lethbridge 20000 (Online), Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane QLD | 2020
All Creatures and Wild Things, RQAS, Petrie Terrace Gallery, Brisbane QLD | 2020
QWASI- International Animals in Art, Logan Art Gallery, Logan QLD | 2020
Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane QLD | 2020
Creative Relief, Aurecon Building, Brisbane QLD | 2020
Bump in the Night, The Old Auction House, Kyneton VIC | 2019
The Naracoorte National Art Prize, Naracoorte SA | 2019
Diminutive, The Old Auction House, Kyneton VIC | 2019
Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane QLD | 2019
Nundah Art Show, Nundah Festival, Brisbane QLD | 2018
Ipswich Art Awards, Ipswich QLD | 2018
RAW Showcase, The MET, Brisbane QLD | 2018
Fresh Cut, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane QLD | 1997
Toe-Hold, Metro Arts, Brisbane QLD | 1997
Materials, QCA Gallery, Brisbane QLD | 1996
Solitary Confinement (Co-curated), Boggo Road Gaol, Brisbane QLD | 1996
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Animalia, Tiny Tree, Brisbane QLD I 2022
Urban Menagerie, Logan Art Gallery, Logan QLD | 2021
Anthropomorphism, The Art Factory Gallery, South Brisbane QLD | 2007
Noah’s Inventory, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane QLD | 1997
PUBLIC ARTWORKS
Colours of Croydon Project, Logan City Council | 2023
Kooka Art Trail, Paddington Village Precinct Project, Brisbane City Council | 2022
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Visual Art with Honours Griffith University, Qld College of Art | 1997
Studied Printmaking at the Brisbane Institute of Art | 1993
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