Sarah Contos is an Australian artist known for her collages and

installation Installation may refer to: * Installation (computer programs) * Installation, work of installation art * Installation, military base * Installation, into an office, especially a religious (Installation (Christianity) Installation is a Christian li ...

s. She has been a finalist in a number of art prizes, and was the inaugural recipient of the $100,000

Ramsay Art Prize 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 ...

at 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 ...

Education

In 1998 Contos completed a Diploma of Fine Arts in Art, Design and Multimedia at the Central Metropolitan College of TAFE in

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. In 2004, she completed a Bachelor of Design for Performance at

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition. WAAPA (commonly pronounced "whopp-a") operates as a part of ECU, located at the ECU campus in ...

and worked as a theatre costume and

set design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly train ...

er. She completed a Masters of Art (Painting) at the College of Fine Arts (now

UNSW Art & Design The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

Career and practice

Contos' artworks incorporate

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not t ...

screen printing Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open me ...

, found objects, and painting in a practice best described as collage,

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and installation-focused. In 2009, Contos moved to Sydney to pursue her career as an artist. In 2015, she gained representation with gallerist

Roslyn Oxley Roslyn Oxley is an Australian gallerist and art dealer. With her husband Tony Oxley, she owns and operates Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, which opened in March 1982 with an exhibition by Gareth Sansom. In January 2013, Roslyn Oxley, together with Tony ...

. In 2018 Contos completed a residency at

Cité Internationale des Arts The Cité internationale des arts is an artist-in-residence building complex which accommodates artists of all specialities and nationalities in Paris. It comprises two sites, one located in the Marais and the other in Montmartre. Approximatel ...

in Paris and presented an installation for the Balnaves Contemporary Series at 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 t ...

called ''Nikola Tesla Sends Theda Bara to Mars.'' In 2019, Contos was one of four artists who created site-specific installations for the Sofitel Darling Harbour for Sydney Contemporary. Contos explores identity, eroticism, femininity, materiality, popular culture and history. She describes her life in relation to contradictions, saying: “I make quilts for art but never for warmth. I watch cooking shows but never cook. I want to cover my home in florals, but it ends up in wine stained sequins”. Contos' practice is studio-based. Australian artist and curator Daniel Mudie Cunningham reflected on a studio visit with the artist by saying, "Imagine a happy-sad catastrophe of colour and movement; an inviting lair where tactile sculptural forms appear embalmed in recycled teenage tears".

Recognition

In 2011, she was among six recipients of the Marten Bequest scholarship. In 2013, she was a finalist in the

John Fries Award Copyright Agency Ltd (CAL) is an Australian not-for-profit public company that facilitates reuse of copyrighted material by third parties, collecting fees and delivering the payments to the creators. Its business names include Viscopy, Rightspor ...

and one of three inaugural recipients of the 4A Beijing Study Program, alongside Tully Arnot and Jensen Tjhung. In 2014, her work ''Personification of Past and Future Mythologies (Double-Headed Barry)'' was included in the Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize. In 2017, Contos won the inaugural $100,000

at the Art Gallery of South Australia with her work ''Long Kiss Goodbye''.

Collections

*Campbelltown City Council collection *

Heide Museum of Modern Art The Heide Museum of Modern Art, also known as Heide, is an art museum in Bulleen, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1981, the museum houses modern and contemporary art across three distinct exhibition buildings and is ...

References

External links

* at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery * at Station Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Contos, Sarah 21st-century Australian artists Living people 21st-century Australian women artists Year of birth missing (living people)