ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a multi-disciplinary Australian artist, interested most keenly in abstract depiction of the landscape.
Working in Birrabirragal, Bidjigal and Gadigal country, I explore the rhythms of a wild, coastal world, both above and below the waves. It is a world of swiftly changing moods, of ancient weathered cliffs, of oddly elegant flora and sea creatures, all slanted through with shifting sunlight.
Using a mix of sculpture, painting and printmaking along with elements from the natural world, I work to convey the colours, shapes and patterns that I see and feel here. The viewer will not be able to identify the place but it feels somehow familiar, if a little disorienting.
Often, I want to convey the swimmer’s feeling of being absorbed into an elemental force of nature. It is because of this that my abstracted works challenge traditional western landscape concepts like a stable horizon and linear perspective. The western tradition fixes the viewer in space and time. However as an ocean swimmer, I see the landscape from a moving viewpoint above a world with no horizon.
Even when we’re not in the ocean, we don’t see the world from a static perspective - we are constantly looking around and shifting our viewpoint. As I’m walking in the Australian bush, my gaze shifts from soaring cliffs to the lichen patterns on rocks beneath my feet, from sun dappling shadows on tree trunks to pebbles in burbling creeks.
Eleanor Hall
@eleanorhall.art
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Education___________________________________________
National Art School, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting major), 2020-23
Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism, Masters of Science of Journalism, 1989
University of Sydney, Facilities of Arts and Law, BA Hons History (First Class), 1988
Harkness Fellowship, to work and study in the United States, 1986
Oxford University, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Fellow, 2009
Stanford University, Hoover Institution, Media Fellow, 2012
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Exhibitions___________________________________________
IGNITE, Women for Change Charity Art Show, The Sibyl Centre, Women’s College, Sydney University, February 2025
The Space Between, an exhibition of NAS graduates, Mosman Rowers, July 2025 (pending)
Chasing the Light, solo show, Gallery 371, September 2025 (pending)
Gang Eclectic, an exhibition of National Art School graduates, Raglan Gallery, October 2024.
IGNITE, Women for Change Charity Art Show, The Sibyl Centre, Women’s College, Sydney University, February 2024
National Art School Bachelor of Fine Arts Graduation Show, Sydney, December 2023
Margaret Olley Drawing Week Exhibition, National Art School, Sydney, March 2023
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Commissions______________________________________
IRONBARK TRIPTYCH, MLC Centre, 25 Martin Place, Sydney, April 2024.
A commission from KSIB Associates for three paintings for the head office of the new company. The works also featured at the May launch of the company and are used on KSIB letterhead, logo and associated design elements.
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Prizes____________________________________
Finalist, Waverley 9 x 5 Landscape Prize, 2024
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Art Related Work/Publications/ Community Engagement/ Public events__________
Organiser and MC, Charity Art Auction IGNITE, Women for Change, Sydney University Sibyl Centre, February 27 2025
Organiser, Printmaking Workshop, with Michael Kempson and Sara Bowen, pending 2025
Artist Talk, Sydney Contemporary, Arthouse Gallery, 2022
with Belinda Fox & Neville French about their installation FALL
Organiser and MC, Charity Art Auction IGNITE, Women for Change, Sydney University Sibyl Centre, February 22, 2024, and
Artist Talk, Manly Art Gallery and Museum, 2017
with Belinda Fox & Neville French about their collaborative exhibition TILT
Speaker/moderator, Mosman Art Gallery, 2012
Launched the Hilda Rix Nicholas Exhibition
Interview, Edmund Capon, Director Art Gallery of NSW, ABC Radio, 2010
Interview, Philip Bacon, “Remembering Margaret Olley”, ABC Radio The World Today, 2011
Moderator, Sydney Writers Festival, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
2019, 2020, 2021
Co-Founder, Women for Change Charity, 2016- present
Moderator, St Albans Writers Festival, 2016
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Journalism Work History__________
Presenter, The World Today, ABC Radio, 2001-2020
Host, The Drum, ABC Television, 2015-2020
Reporter, AM, PM, The World Today, ABC Radio, 2000-01
Reporter, Foreign Correspondent, ABC Television, 1999
Washington Correspondent, ABC Television, Washington DC, 1998
Political Correspondent, 7.30 Report, ABC TV, Canberra, 1996 -98
Political Correspondent, Lateline, ABC TV, Canberra,1994 -96
Reporter/Producer, Lateline, ABC TV, Sydney, 1993 - 94
Reporter, 7.30 Report, ABC TV, Sydney,1991 - 93
Presenter / Reporter, 7.30 Report, ABC TV, Darwin, May - Nov. 1990
Researcher / Reporter, 7.30 Report, ABC Television, Sydney, 1990
Producer, Discover the World of Science, Chedd-Angier Production Co., Boston, June-August 1988
Researcher, WGBH TV, PBS Boston, Jan - June 1988
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Journalism Scholarships/ Fellowships/ Awards_____________________________
Judge, Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism, 2014, 2016, 2017
Winner, European Union Travelling Journalism Scholarship, 2012
Winner, Donald McDonald Scholarship to study at the Reuters Institute at Oxford, 2009
Finalist, Walkley Awards, Radio Feature, Documentary or Broadcast Special 2007
Winner, Department of Foreign Affairs Travelling Scholarship, April 1994
Winner, National Trust Heritage Award 1993
Judge, University of Technology Sydney 3 minute thesis competition 2014, 2016
Member, America Australia Leadership Dialogue 2012
Eleanor in her studio working on Chasing the Light I
Eleanor Hall is a multi-disciplinary artist working on Gadigal, Bidjigal and Birrabirragal country in Eora/Sydney, Australia. She graduated from the National Art School with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, in 2024.
Hall’s practice is informed by her daily encounters with the natural world, particularly the ocean and coastal headlands and heathlands of Eora country.
As an ocean swimmer, she is often underneath the water and her abstracted works challenge traditional western landscape concepts like a stable horizon and linear perspective. Using a mix of sculpture, painting and printmaking along with elements from the natural world, she seeks to convey the rhythms, shapes and patterns that she sees and feels. The viewer will not be able to identify the place she depicts but it feels somehow familiar, if a little disorienting.
Prior to formalizing her artistic practice, Eleanor Hall worked as a broadcast journalist. While her focus was political and economic affairs, she engaged with the art world during that time and continues to conduct artist talks and forums, most recently at Sydney Contemporary in 2022 and at the Manly Museum and Gallery in 2017.
Her work is held in private and corporate collections in Australia and Singapore.