Alex Seton (born 1977) is an Australian artist, known for his contemporary use of marble carving. He also works in sculpture, photography, video and installation. He has been a two-time finalist in the

Wynne Prize The Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. As one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne. Now held concurrently with the Sir John Sulman Prize ...

, won the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, and been named as the Art Gallery of NSW Director’s Choice Winner at

Sculpture by the Sea The Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Sydney and Perth is Australia's largest annual outdoor sculpture Art exhibition, exhibition. This exhibition was initiated in 1997, at Bondi Beach and it featured sculptures by both Australian and overseas ...

three times. In 2015, Seton was awarded a Grand Jury prize at the Fondation François Schneider ‘Contemporary Talents’ competition. He was the Inaugural Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence, Margaret Olley Art Centre, Tweed River Art Gallery, Murwillumbah, in 2014; and in 2012 participated in the Omi International Arts Center residency program in New York. Seton lives and works in Newtown, an inner suburb of Sydney, Australia.

Early life and education

Seton was born in

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

. He is one of four brothers, one of whom, Ben Seton, is an actor. He was raised in Sydney and attended the exclusive school St. Ignatius Riverview. His family's rural property is at

Wombeyan Caves The Wombeyan Caves are caves that have formed in marble, in the Wombeyan Karst Conservation Reserve, New South Wales, Australia. Wombeyan Caves is a tourist attraction and local holiday area, as well as a reserve for endangered species, such as ...

located in the

Southern Highlands (New South Wales) The Southern Highlands, also locally referred to as the Highlands, is a geographical region and district in New South Wales, Australia and is 110 km south-west of Sydney. The region comprises the Local Government Area, local government area ...

. This rural upbringing saw him raised near the Wombeyan Caves Marble Quarry, which operated continuously from 1915 – 1997 before being closed due to decreasing demand and environmental concerns. Seton has credited this early exposure to marble with his interest in the medium. His mother left Cairo in the 1960s after it had become a socialist republic under

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

's government to settle in Australia. Growing up listening to stories of displacement fostered a strong interest in migration and his mother's relocation to Australia, something he continues to explore through his art works. Seton honed his craft through internships and residencies with Italian carving studios, an experience that continues to influence his work. He graduated in Art History and Theory from the

College of Fine Arts The School of Fine Arts or College of Fine Arts is the official name or part of the name of several schools of fine arts, often as an academic part of a larger university. These include: The Americas North America *Alabama School of Fin ...

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

, in 1998.

Career

Seton is known for his use of marble and traditional carving techniques in contemporary ways, which has positioned him as one of Australia’s foremost living sculptors. He frequently works directly with contemporary political issues, such as Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers, and questions of conflict and nationhood. In 2017, his work Refuge was included in the

Kochi-Muziris Biennale The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is an international exhibition of contemporary art held in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. It is the largest art exhibition in the country and the biggest contemporary art festival in Asia. The Kochi-Muziris Bienn ...

(India) following exhibition in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 2016 as part of The Journey at Galerie Paris Beijing. 2017 also saw a survey exhibition of Seton’s works about asylum seekers at

Newcastle Art Gallery The Newcastle Art Gallery, formerly the Newcastle City Art Gallery and Newcastle Region Art Gallery, is a large public art museum in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. History Founded in 1945 with an art collection consisting of 123 wor ...

, called The Island. In 2014 he participated in the Adelaide Biennial: Dark Heart, producing the large sculptural installation Someone died trying to have a life like mine, twenty-eight life inflatable jackets made in marble. The installation referenced an event of May 2013, in which 28 life jackets were found washed ashore the

Cocos Islands The Cocos (Keeling) Islands (), officially the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (; ), are an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean, comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka and rel ...

, a known departure point for

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

attempting to reach Australia by boat. The work garnered critical and popular acclaim, and was acquired by the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

. In 2011 the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

acquired and commissioned the ongoing work As of today (2011–14), which is composed of one folded marble flag for every Australian casualty in

Operation Slipper The Australian contribution to the War in Afghanistan (2001-present), war in Afghanistan has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015–2021). Australian Defence Force (ADF) operations and the size of the force ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. This work reflects Seton’s interest in

Australian politics The politics of Australia operates under the written Australian Constitution, which sets out Australia as a constitutional monarchy, governed via a parliamentary democracy in the Westminster tradition. Australia is also a federation, where pow ...

, ideas of

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

and the symbols attributed to them. Seton has also regularly shown at art fairs both in Australia and internationally. He has exhibited in the last five

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and Art HK fairs, as well as participated in Sydney Contemporary, Art International Istanbul, Art Stage Singapore, Art Paris, and Art Stage Jakarta. In 2012 Seton showed his solo exhibition Elegy on Resistance at Art HK, featuring as its centerpiece Soloist (2012), a lone hooded figure sitting cross-legged. Soloist garnered Seton considerable mainstream appeal, having been shared extensively on sites like

Reddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...

Awards and prizes

* 2016:

Art Gallery of NSW The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

, finalist * 2016: Talents Contemporains, Fondation François Schneider, winner * 2016:

Fleurieu Art Prize The Fleurieu Art Prize is a non-acquisitive award open to Australian visual artists aged 18 years and older. The prize encompasses any two- or three-dimensional artwork submissions that follow an annual thematic concept and includes a monetary g ...

, Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, finalist * 2014: Il Henraux International Sculpture Award, Querceta, Italy, finalist * 2014: University of Queensland National Artists’ Self Portrait Prize,

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

, People’s Choice award * 2014: Inaugural Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence, Margaret Olley Art Centre, Tweed River Art Gallery, Murwillumbah * 2013: University of Queensland National Artists’ Self Portrait Prize, University of Queensland, finalist * 2013:

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

, finalist * 2012: Art OMI Australia,

Art OMI Art Omi, formerly Omi International Arts Center, is a non-profit international arts organization located in Columbia County in Ghent, New York. The organization provides residencies for writers, artists, architects, musicians, dancers and chore ...

International Artists Residency, New York, USA * 2009: Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, Sydney, winner * 2009:

, Art Gallery of New South Wales Director’s Choice Award, Sydney, winner * 2009: Prometheus Visual Arts Award, The Prometheus Foundation, Gold Coast, winner * 2008: Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, Sydney, special commendation * 2007: Hanyu International Sculpture Cup, Shenzhen, China * 2007: The Flying Fruit Fly Circus Residency, Albury Regional Gallery, Albury * 2006: Helen Lempriere Sculpture Award, People’s Choice Award, Sydney, winner * 2005: Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, People’s Choice Award, Sydney, winner * 2005: McClelland Sculpture Survey and Award, Langwarrin, finalist * 2004:

, Art Gallery of New South Wales Director’s Choice Award, Sydney, winner * 2004: The Riverview Art Prize, Sydney * 2003:

, Art Gallery of New South Wales Director’s Choice Award, Sydney, winner * 2003:

, John Fairfax Young Artist’s Subsidy, Sydney * 2002:

, The Australian Unrepresented Sculptor Award, Sydney, winner * 2002:

, The Young Sculptor’s Honorable Mention, Sydney * 2002: The Sculptors Society, Sydney, Second Prize * 1997: Nescafe Big Break Award, runner up * 1994: Mosman Youth Prize First Prize and Anne Ferguson Award, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney * 1994: Art Express,

, Sydney

Collections

Seton’s work is held in numerous collections including the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

;

Artbank Artbank is an Australian art rental program established in 1980 by the Australian Government. The program supports contemporary Australian Visual artists, artists by purchasing their Art, artworks and renting them to public and private sector cli ...

;

Bendigo Art Gallery Bendigo Art Gallery is an Australian art gallery located in Bendigo, Victoria. It is one of the oldest and largest regional art galleries. History The gallery was founded in 1887. The gallery's collection was first housed in the former Bendig ...

; the Danish Royal Art Collection, Copenhagen; HBO Collection, New York;

Art Museum;

Queensland University of Technology The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...

; Albury Regional Gallery; the Patrick Corrigan Collection, Sydney; and the

Society; as well as numerous private collections nationally and internationally.

References

External links

Alex Seton artist website

Sullivan + Strumpf artist page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seton, Alex 1977 births Living people Australian male sculptors 21st-century Australian sculptors 21st-century Australian photographers University of New South Wales alumni