NOEL MCKENNA (B.1956)
Noel McKenna is one of Australia's most successful contemporary artists. Creating works that capture moments that are comical, often uncomfortable and usually normal, McKenna provides the viewer with images layered in meaning.
Many of his works are more than just the image. For most of his oils, McKenna creates the frames they rest in and the frame itself becomes a part of the work. In doing so McKenna ensures the viewer will view the work the way he intends the work to be seen.
Noel McKenna was born in 1956 in Brisbane. In 1974-75 Noel McKenna studied architecture at the University of Queensland. McKenna went on to study at the Brisbane College of Art and later at the Alexander Mackie College in Sydney.
McKenna has been a regular finalist in both the Wynne and Sulman Prizes exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, winning the Sulman in 1994. The Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales have also awarded McKenna the Trustees Watercolour Prize in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2002.
McKenna's international reputation has been growing for years. In 1998 McKenna had a solo exhibition at the total Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul in South Korea. This was followed by other international exhibitions in Bowen Galleries, Wellington, New Zealand, John Batten Gallery in Hong Kong, Yamaki Art Gallery in Osaka, Japan and recently Noel McKenna was represented at Art Basel Hong Kong 2014 where his his solo show "Discoveries" sold out on opening night.