'Starr conveys a vigorous New Wave sensiblity..'.

'... painterly panache with pop attutiude'

Marie R. Pagano (Gallery and Studio magazine NewYork)

 

Biography

Starr is fast becoming a paragon of contemporary Australian art, both here and around the world.

With successful exhibitions around Australia as well as in New York and Singapore, she is carving a niche for herself, with an instantly recognizable and thoroughly original style.

Her work explores the warmth and passion of life as an artist, responding to intense experiences of the abundant light in the Australian landscape and the sensuous potential of the human form.

Starr captures in paint what the camera seeks to fix in a moment of time. Her works secure what is elusive and mutable in our relationships to places and the people who inhabit them. Starr’s paintings are intensely personal and are as much the work of a devotee of popular culture as they of the artist/observer.

Starr creates works that become contemporary icons. Her subject matter is both familiar and universal in appeal. The lush layered surfaces are worked with fast-saturated colour and her signature calligraphic line that traces time and energy.
 
Starr is a voyeur who has created a unique signature style, creating narrative series and individual works that have become highly collectable, held in collections in London, New York, Los Angeles, Singapore and throughout Australia.

 

Education

1988- 1989 Fine Art Extension Course – Scholarship - Kedron State High School
1990- 1994 Bachelor of Visual Art – Fine Art – Griffith University – Queensland
1995          Fashion Design (Illustration) – Gateway Tafe - Brisbane
1998          New Enterprise Incentive Scheme – Business Management Course

Corporate Commissions, Residencies and Awards

CSIRO (Canberra)
Department of Transport (Qld)

Xerox (Qld) – West End Offices Brisbane  
Security Mailing (Sydney and Brisbane)   
CMT and Mitlan (Qld) 

Limited Edition Prints for Xenor Pty Ltd   (four prints commissioned for Australia wide release)

Specially commissioned works for book covers:
‘Introduction to Marketing’ (Dann and Dann) 2005 John Wiley and sons Australia
‘Consumer Behaviour’ (Solomon, Dann, Dann, Bennett) 2006 Pearson Publisher  

Wine labels for Vinex P/L for use on the ‘Two Souls’ range of wines exported to the USA.

Nak Hair Products – Campaign centred on Starr’s self portrait ‘Not all There’

Residencies

Darwin NT – May 2006
Kangaroo Valley NSW – June 2007

Selected Gallery Representation

Overseas
Agora Gallery - New York USA
Galerie Dauphin - SINGAPORE

Australia
Red Hill Gallery – Brisbane QLD
Framed Gallery – Darwin NT
Galerie Aniela – Kangaroo Valley NSW
Lynne Wilton Gallery – Melbourne VIC
Moulton Galleries – Mosman and Mona Vale – Sydney NSW

Exhibitions

1998 – Group exhibition at Metro Art Space – Brisbane
1999 – Pop Art Exhibition – Universal Bar/Restaurant – Brisbane

2001 – ‘Splash’ – Dickson Street Studio – Wooloowin
2001 – ‘Emerging Artists’ – Red Hill Gallery – Brisbane – (featuring John Beeman, Colley Whisson, Richard Bogusz and others)
2001 – ‘In the Garden’ – Starfish Gallery – Woody Point

2002 – ‘Designing Women’ – Red Hill Gallery – Brisbane
2002 – ‘Introduction Down Under’ – Galerie Dauphin – Singapore (featuring Judith Laws and Rex Backhaus-Smith)
2002 – ‘Standing on a Beach’ – Solo Exhibition – Cool-Art Gallery – Sunshine Coast
2002 – ‘Reach for the Sky’ – Solo Exhibition – Starfish Gallery – Woody Point
2002 – ‘Spring Art Festival’ – Red Hill Gallery – Brisbane – (featuring Des Spencer, Andy Baines and others)

2003 – ‘I Can Be Colourful’ – SOLO – Red Hill Gallery – Brisbane
2003 – True Blue (group exhibition) – Framed Gallery – Darwin

2004 – SOLO – Galerie Dauphin – Singapore
2004 – Group Exhibition – Agora Gallery – New York USA
2004 – SOLO – Red Hill Gallery – Brisbane

2005 – SOLO – Galerie Dauphin – Singapore
2005 – SOLO – Red Hill Gallery – Brisbane
2005 – Group – Lynne Wilton Gallery - Melbourne
2005 – ‘Checkers’ Group – Framed Gallery – Darwin
2005 – Judge/Featured Artist – Nundah Art Prize - Brisbane
2005 – Group Exhibition – Hope Island QLD

2006 – Group Exhibition – ‘Australian Style’ – Galerie Dauphin Singapore
2006 – Group Exhibition – Agora Gallery – New York USA
2006 – SOLO – Framed Gallery Darwin
2006 – SOLO – Emporium Gallery Brisbane
2006 – Group Exhibition - ‘Postcards from the Edge’ – New York USA

2007 – Group Exhibition – Los Angeles USA
2007 – Group Exhibition 'Balconies Courtyards and Gardens' – Framed Gallery - Darwin
2007 – SOLO – Red Hill Gallery – Brisbane

Charities

Greenpeace
MS Research Australia
St Vincent DePaul
Cerebral Palsy League of Queensland

Selected Publications

25/7/07 - 'Starr arts to raise $30,000?' - Northwest News
18/7/07 - 'Exhibition showcases Starr Quality' - Northside Chronicle
27/5/07 - 'Learning to follow her Dreams' - Catholic Leader
13/5/07 - 'Artist to Dig up a Surprise' - Catholic Leader
6/10/06 - 'Variety Show' - Brisbane News
11/6/06 - 'Financial Security can be a real Art' - Sunday Mail
9/6/07 - 'Starr drawn to fight against Illness'
April 2005 - 'Turning textbooks into Art' - Sunday Mail
15/6/04 - TV Appearance - Brisbane Extra Feature
Jan 2004 - 'The Art of Investing' - Wealth Creator Magazine
17/2/02 - 'On the Town' (fashion spread) - Sunday Mail
3/2/02 - 'Rockstar of Feature Walls' - Sunday Mail
1/11/01 - 'Starfish Starr' - Redcliffe Peninsula Post
2/10/01 - 'Funky Art' - Factor x - Sunday Mail
4/9/97 - 'Oils sure ain't Oils' - Sunday Mail