David Collins: Inland

Having lived all his life on the east coast of Australia, David Collins is drawn to the colour, vast spaces, stillness and light of the inland landscape. In his new series of work, Inland, Collins travels away from the coastal waterways of his Hawkesbury River home through the grazing lands of the Lachlan Valley to the desert mining town of Broken Hill.

Drawing on time spent at the Broken Hill Art Exchange in 2023, Collins’ new works play easily with the desert dust in sweeping hues of terracotta and rust red. Peppered with saltbush, weathered rock formations and abandoned mining equipment, like a deserted film set, these paintings breathe with the rhythm of the desolate landscape. In contrast, the gentler works from his residency with The Corridor Project in the beautiful Lachlan Valley meander over granite rock formations in subtle tones of pinks and yellow.

Collins works with very fluid mediums and thin layered paint. Each successive layer is applied rapidly and is a response to everything that has gone before it. His calligraphic brush strokes create a flow in the work, in the expression of line and mark making as well as in his chosen subject. In this sublime new collection, Inland, Collins plays on the brink of abstraction but never loses touch with the power and presence of the landscape.

David Collins has exhibited an extensive body of work since the early 90′s and has been the recipient of a number of notable artist residencies including the Australian Wildlife Conservancy Residency, Mt Zero QLD and Nock Art Foundation Residency, Queenstown, NZ. He has been a finalist in numerous awards including the Calleen Art Award (2023, 2022, 2018), Paddington Art Prize (2020), Salon des Refusés (2015, 2005) and the Wynne Prize (Highly Commended 2013). His work is held in private collections in Australia and Internationally.