BIO
Heidi Yardley was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1975. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art majoring in painting in 1995 at Monash University. From 1996 to 2000 she was a committee member and artist in residence at Roar Studios, an artist run initiative in Brunswick Street Fitzroy. Yardley also completed an Honours Degree in Drawing at RMIT in 1999 and a Graduate Diploma in Education in 2002. Yardley has taught Portraiture, Painting and Drawing at Roar Studios, Swinburne University and the Melbourne School of Art.
Since 1998 Heidi Yardley has held nine solo exhibitions and has exhibited extensively in group exhibitions throughout Australia. She has been a finalist in a number of prize exhibitions including The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship (2000, 2002, 2004), The Hutchins School Art Prize (2000), The Mosman Art Prize (2001), The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (2009) and The City of Albany Art Prize (2010). Yardley has been invited to exhibit in significant group exhibitions including The MLC Aquisitive Art Exhibition (2004, 2005), Exploration 7 at Flinders Lane Gallery (2007), Neo-Goth – Back in Black at The University of Queensland Art Museum (2008), Post Chrysalis at Sullivan and Strumpf (2008), The University of Queensland National Artists’ Self-Portrait Prize and NOTFAIR, a satellite Art Fair curated by Sam Leach, Tony Lloyd and Ashley Crawford (2010). In 2007 Yardley gained representation with Jan Murphy Gallery in Brisbane and since 2009 has also been represented by Scott Livesey Galleries in Melbourne. Yardley’s work has featured in a number of publications including a feature article in Eyeline Magazine by Ashley Crawford in 2009, Ampersand Magazine, Monster and Midget and the catalogue ‘Neo-Goth Back in Black’ with articles by Louise Martin-Chew, Ashley Crawford and Alison Kubler. Yardley’s work has been acquired extensively by Private Collectors in Australia and overseas and has also been acquired by major institutions including The University of Queensland Art Museum, The BHP Billiton Collection, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery and The Methodist Ladies' College Collection.
Heidi Yardley transforms found and self-created images into paintings of familiar yet complicated scenes and portraits. The paintings often play on nostalgia, memory and personal and cultural histories, exploring emotions such as desire and loss. The works become removed from any specific time or place but rely on the dialogue between each work to create meaning, requiring the viewers personal recognition. Associations and contradictions are at play creating the sense of a memory difficult to recall or the fragmented stills of a film. Recent work has explored the subject of the Supernatural including the Occult, magic and ritual. Other works explore nostalgia and domesticity, particularly referencing the 1970s and 80s, as well as the ephemeral nature of youth and rebellion.
Collections
The University of Queensland Art Museum
BHP Billiton Collection
Methodist Ladies' College Collection
Australia Felix Foundation
St Leonard's College
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat, Victoria
Private Collections in Australia and Overseas
Art Awards
Finalist, The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, 2009
Finalist, Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, 2004, 2002, 2000
Shortlisted, Mosman Art Prize NSW, 2001
Finalist, The Hutchins School Art Prize, TAS, 2000
Shortlisted, Nillumbik Art Award, 1997
Pat Corrigan Artists Grant, 1999
St Leonards College Art Prize, 1997
Education
Graduate Diploma in Education, Melbourne University, 2002
Bachelor of Fine Art Honours, Drawing, RMIT, Melbourne, 1999
Bachelor of Fine Art, Monash University, Caulfield, 1995
Bibliography
Feature article by Ashley Crawford, Eyeline Magazine issue 68, pp 33-35, 2009
Danger that lies beneath, Charly Ogilvie, The Canberra Times, May 18, 2007
'Talent Emerges, Not Necessarily on Cue', Robert Nelson, The Age, October 27, 2000
'Critic's Choice', Jeff Makin, Herald Sun, October 17, 2000
'The Art of Concept and Convention', Robert Nelson, The Age, December 3, 1999
Neo-Goth Shadow Looms Large, catalogue essay for Neo Goth: Back in Black
by Louise Martin-Chew, UQ Museum, 2008
The Goth Within, catalogue essay for Neo Goth: Back in Black by Ashley Crawford, UQ Museum, 2008
Image Above Nature, Vogue Australia, August, 2008
Harsh Light Inspires Dark Themes, Helen Musa, The Canberra Times, April, 2007
Off the wall, Belle magazine, August, 2006
Image Intoxication, The Hutchins Art Prize catalogue, 2000
European Inspiration Australia Felix catalogue, April 3-13, 1998
Silent Fall, Catalogue essay by Brendan Wall, Linden Gallery, 1998
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2010 Gift for the Darkness, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane QLD
2009 Light Possesion, Scott Livesey Galleries, Armadale VIC
2009 Black Mirror, Gallery 2, Grantpirrie, NSW
2008 Supernatural, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
2007 Darklands, Stephanie Burns Fine Art, Yarralumla, ACT
2004 Vacation, Intrude2 Gallery, Fitzroy, VIC
2000 Urban Myth, Goya Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
1999 Tethered, 69 Smith Street Gallery, Fitzroy, VIC
1998 Winter-Tales of Unrest, Roar Studios, Fitzroy, VIC
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010 NOTFAIR, Satellite Art Fair curated by Sam Leach, Tony Lloyd & Ashley Crawford, VIC
Kings x Kings, Kings ARI, Melbourne, VIC
The City of Albany Art Prize, Vancouver Arts Centre, Albany, W.A
2009 The University of Queensland, National Artists Self Portrait Prize, Brisbane Queensland
2009 Artists for Kids Culture, Brightspace, St Kilda, VIC
2009 For Pete's Sake, Peter Walsh fundraising auction, Deutscher and Hackett, VIC
2009 The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, State Library of NSW,
touring nationally
2008 NEW - Selected Recent Acquisitions, University of Queensland
Art Museum, QLD
2008 Group Show 08, Scott Livesey Galleries, Armadale, VIC
2008 Neo Goth Back in Black, University of Queensland Art Museum, QLD
Post Chrysalis, Sullivan and Strumpf Fine Art, Paddington, NSW
2007 Small Works, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
Introducing- Kirra Jamison, Rhys Lee, Sarah Ryan, Heidi Yardley,
Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
What Lies Beneath, Upstairs Flinders, Melbourne, VIC
Exploration 7, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
Stockroom Exhibition, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2006 Small Works, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane QLD
Ellen Mileo Contemporary Art Prize, 69 Smith Street, Fitzroy, VIC
Contemporary, Stephanie Burns Fine Art, Canberra, ACT
Deafness Foundation Charity Art Auction, Dantes Gallery, Fitzroy, VIC
Off The Wall, Art Melbourne 06, Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton, VIC
2005 The World We Live In, Y.E.A.H fundraiser, Melbourne Museum, VIC
MLC Acquisitive Art Exhibition, MLC, Kew, VIC
Chiaroscuro, Goya Galleries, Docklands, VIC
2004 Fantastic and Visionary Art, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat, VIC
Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship 2004 Finalist's Exhibition,
Brett Whiteley Studio, Surry Hills, NSW
Neoteric Atmosphere, The Foundry, North Fitzroy, VIC
MLC Acquisitive Art Exhibition, MLC, Kew, VIC
2003 The Postcard Show, Linden Gallery, St Kilda, VIC
2002 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship 2002 Finalist's Exhibition,
Brett Whiteley Studio, Surry Hills, NSW
2001 A Charcoal Sea II, Goya Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman, NSW
The Land of Milk and Honey, Emerging Victorian Artists,
Adelaide Central Gallery, Adelaide, SA
2000 The Hutchins School Art Prize Finalist's Exhibition, The Long
Gallery, Salamanca Place, TAS
Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship 2000 Finalist's Exhibition,
Brett Whiteley Studio, Surry Hills, NSW
MLC Acquisitive Art Exhibition, MLC, Kew, VIC
Invention, Switchback Gallery, Monash University, Gippsland
1999 A Charcoal Sea, Goya Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
RMIT Drawing Graduate Exhibition, Preview Gallery, Collingwood, VIC
New Horizons, international art exhibition, Mass Gallery, Nth Fitzroy, VIC
1998 Overview, Linden Gallery, St Kilda, VIC
Primary, 69 Smith Street, Fitzroy, VIC
Cl@sh, Emerging Artists Exhibition sponsored by the Australia
Council, Roar Studios, Fitzroy, VIC
Australia Felix, Regional Visual Arts Festival, Benalla, VIC
Silent Fall, Emerging Artist's Exhibition, curated by Malcom
Bywaters, Linden Gallery, St Kilda, VIC