Carly le Cerf
Painting
I am a contemporary landscape painter, committed traveller and observer of interior, rugged Australian landscapes. I find infinite inspiration in the wide-open space, stark light, and majestic landforms of Australia, expressing its sublime beauty in marks simultaneously figurative and emotive. Encaustic wax and oils are my dominant mediums enabling me to build up texture and create organic, earthy effects which replicate the landscapes I visit. The organic nature of the wax features its unpredictability bringing forth unmapped possibilities. The work is the process - carving and incising, layering and melting, deconstructing trees, hills and sky into colour, lines, form and space. I strive to depict the beauty that evokes a multi-sensory response in the viewer and provokes considered thoughts on connection to the Australian Landscape and identity of a terrain.
Photo by Bo Wong
Biography
Carly Le Cerf is a contemporary West Australian artist who works with encaustic wax and oil painting techniques to produce sublime portrayals of the Australian landscape. Her processes are highly attuned and are informed by regular excursions to regional and remote regions of Australia. Carly completed her Degree in Visual Arts, Painting and Printmaking, at Edith Cowan University, WA in 2000. Since 2008, Carly’s work has been widely exhibited in significant exhibitions in WA, NSW, Victoria and also Berlin (2020). In 2022 and 2024 her work was presented in the Sydney Contemporary, South West Art Now at Bunbury Regional Art Gallery, and she held highly successful solo exhibitions at both Michael Reid Gallery (NSW) and Gallows Gallery (WA). Carly Le Cerf exhibited Paintings of The Pilbara at New England Regional Museum (NERAM) in 2021 in her first major museum exhibition. Represented by Michael Reid Sydney, Carly Le Cerf is a rising artistic voice who has attracted significant collectors’ attention for her subliminal portrayal of Australia’s diverse topography. Carly has been a finalist in numerous art prizes including, Collie Art Prize (2024), Melville Art Awards- Second Prize (2022), Cossack Art Awards (2020, 2022), Ravenswood Women’s Art (2019), Minnawarra Art Prize- Acquisitive Prize Winner (2017) and the Great Southern Art Award - Overall Winner (2015). Her work is represented in public, and private collections in Australia and internationally.
Carly le Cerf is represented by Michael Reid Sydney.
For all inquiries regarding Carly’s work, please contact the gallery:
danielsoma@michaelreid.com.au
Insta: @carlylecerf