What’s on the Calendar: January–June 2026 | Exhibitions, Awards & Landscape Painting
The first half of 2026 feels like a continuation and a deepening of my practice with a rich period of exhibitions, travel, and sustained attention to the Australian landscape that continues to shape my painting practice. Across these months, my calendar is structured around gallery exhibitions, art awards and collaborative projects, alongside time spent walking, looking, and responding directly to the Australian landscape.
January - the conclusion of ‘Summer Salon’ exhibition at Straitjacket Gallery
The year begins with the conclusion of ‘Summer Salon’ at Straitjacket Gallery. Group exhibitions like this are always wonderful. It is an opportunity to see how individual contemporary art practices sit alongside one another, and how shared time can subtly connect diverse works. There’s something fitting about closing out summer in this way. I’m grateful to Straitjacket for the opportunity to exhibit and begin the year in such thoughtful company. Exhibition concludes Jan 30.
February - Defiance Art Award Finalist Exhibition
In early February, I’m honoured to be a finalist in the Defiance Art Award, with the exhibition opening on 7 February in Sydney. Being selected for this national art award feels particularly meaningful. The Defiance Art Award recognises work that carries conviction both conceptually and materially and it’s reassuring to have my paintings included within this conversation.
Being a finalist feels like a gift. I’m looking forward to meeting the other artists, sharing this work within such a considered group, and I’m deeply thankful to Defiance Gallery for the care, generosity and support they bring to this award. I hope to see you at the opening on 7 February.
March - HMRI Art Series Art Auction & Events
In the first half of the year, I’m also taking part in the HMRI Art Series which is an art auction and program of events that brings artists and scientists together to raise funds for the Hunter Medical Research Institute. The series features curated artworks and public events that sit at the intersection of creative practice and scientific research, with all fundraising supporting HMRI’s vital medical research.
It’s a meaningful environment to share work: one where art becomes a point of connection, conversation and generosity, extending beyond the studio into the community. March 13-15 at Earp Distillery Newcastle .
May - The Corridor Project Artist Residency
In May, I’ll be returning to the Corridor Project artist residency. My previous experience there was magical with a slowing down and adaptation of my process plus an awakening of a drawing practice I’d forgotten. Being immersed in a specific landscape, with time to observe its rhythms and subtleties, reinforces how essential direct engagement with the landscape is to my process as a landscape painter.
This return visit feels like a continuation rather than a repetition. I’m interested in what reveals itself on a second encounter and what has shifted in the landscape, and what has shifted in me. I’ll be sharing the residency with a group of talented fellow artists which I’m really excited about!
June - Land as Witness Exhibition, The Moree Gallery
In early June, a suite of new landscape paintings will be presented at The Moree Gallery. This body of work sits under the evolving concept of Land as Witness.
These paintings consider the land not as passive scenery, but as a silent observer, holding memory, change and time. As development continues to reshape many of the places I paint, the work asks quiet questions:
What does the land see? What does it endure? What might be lost, and what still insists on being seen?
Working across a cohesive body of work allows me to think more deliberately about rhythm, scale and repetition and how each painting functions individually, while contributing to a larger narrative within contemporary Australian landscape painting.
Between Projects; Looking, Walking, Responding
Outside of these key exhibitions and projects, the first half of 2026 will be shaped by travel and exploration across Australia. The Australian landscape remains a profound source of inspiration always expansive, resilient and increasingly vulnerable.
Responding to landscape is not only an aesthetic pursuit, but an ethical one. To paint is to pay attention; to pay attention is, in some small way, to care. Preservation begins with noticing.
As the year unfolds, I’m committed to staying present with our beloved Australian landscape. Letting it lead, listening carefully, and allowing the work to emerge from that relationship.
Yours in art,
Rebecca
