Rebecca Pierce
|
|
|
| ||||||||
|
|
|
| ||||||||
|
|
|
About Rebecca
As a means to fund her studies in law, Australian designer and artist, Rebecca Pierce began her foray into the Australian fashion market with quirky t-shirt designs.
The uniquely Australian prints inspired by the rich colours of the nation, its fauna and flora and well-known landmarks were so well received that what had begun as a sideline developed into a full-scale operation. Along with the success of her business Rebecca’s artistic talents have also been widely acclaimed both on the local front and internationally.
Born 1963 Sydney NSW Australia, Rebecca’s career as an artist began at the age of four when she entered her first externally judged art competition. Throughout her schooling she either won or was placed in state competitions and annually received commendation at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show. As a teenager Rebecca’s Major H.S.C Art -work, a lobster morphing into a Sherman Tank with lipstick gun barrels, was selected to tour with today’s equivalent of Art Express.
Rebecca’s professional career has been similarly highlighted by achievement. In 1984 and 85 she won Victorian and National Awards for her tee-shirt designs. International recognition came in 1992 when she was selected from hundreds of artists worldwide to design for the charity Peter Pan Japan on behalf of The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London.
In 1993, the Australian Olympic Bid Committee sought Rebecca’s artistic talent, to produce designs for silk scarves and amend the ‘Flash’ artwork for ties, to be given as gifts to the I.O.C delegates. She has also created artwork for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, M.B.F, Don Spencer, Angus and Coote, Japan Grey Line, Care Australia, Childflight, JTB and N.S.W Roads and Traffic Authority.
The year 2000 saw continued expansion for Rebecca both personally and professionally. She has continued to develop and produce exclusive concept designs for many companies including Ayers Rock Resort Management, Crown Casino Melbourne, Nuance Global Traders and Taronga Zoo.
Rebecca’s long term commitment to the children’s charity N.A.P.C.A.N, of which she is the artistic director, was also recognised when she received an award for service, presented by the then Governor General, Sir William Deane.
A major focus for 2001 was Australia’s Centenary of Federation 1901 - 2001, where alongside indigenous painters she was the Principal Artist. Rebecca’s work with The Centenary of Federation Merchandising Committee resulted in specific artworks for companies such as Wedgwood, Drizabone, The Royal Australian Mint Canberra and around twenty other selected Licensees. Rebecca’s stand alone art pieces have gained domestic and international recognition from the onset, having taken part in her first mixed exhibition in 2001.
In the past four years Rebecca’s focus has been on painting, drawing and licensing .She has exhibited in many group exhibitions, competitions and displays, and completed two successful solos in Sydney Australia and Beverly Hills California. Her sales and commissions have spread extensively into homes and commercial premises across the globe. The successful showing of her art at the 2003 New York Artexpo has seen an extreme growth in galleries purchasing, commissioning and consigning works on an ongoing basis.
Back to back successful exhibitions highlighted 2004. In May 2005 Rebecca was awarded the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to child protection through Good Beginnings and the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect as the designer of community awareness materials. For 2005, seven exhibitions - two solo, four mixed(one of these in Hong Kong) and a two artist exhibition in Singapore.
2006 began with many commissions one of these being for 60 of the rooms of Hamilton Island Resort, Queensland and a number of private overseas commissions .Three exhibitions highlighted 2006, including a solo in May at Gallery at the Wentworth, Sydney. 2007 featured four solo exhibitions in Australia and a number of major commissions. 2008 has seen three successful solos in Singapore, Melbourne and Sydney.
There are four major solos planned for 2009, three in Australia and one overseas and a mixed exhibition in China. Rebecca’s striking work varies from the truly Australian “day at the beach” to stunning floral arrangements and surreal landscapes – all reliant on vivid unusual colour combinations and the often thick and intense application of paint that often renders the subject almost three dimensional.
EXHIBITIONS AND REPRESENTATIONS
EXHIBITIONS – SOLO
- 2009 Cooks Hill Galleries - Newcastle “Stories on Stories”
- 2008 Wentworth Gallery Four Points - Sydney
- 2008 Blacksphere Gallery – Melbourne
- 2008 Galerie Dauphin - Singapore
- 2007 Gallery 53 - Cairns
- 2007 Gallery at The Wentworth - Sydney
- 2007 Blacksphere Gallery - Melbourne
- 2007 Cooks Hill Galleries - Newcastle
- 2006 Gallery at The Wentworth - Sydney
- 2005 Cooks Hill Galleries
- 2005 Gallery 53 Cairns
- 2004 Cooks Hill Galleries - Newcastle “Melting Pot”
- 2003 Cooks Hill Galleries - Newcastle
- 2002 Vista Blue – North Sydney
- 2001 Pacific Mercantile Bank – Beverly Hills USA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
- 2008 Blacksphere Gallery Christmas Exhibition
- 2008 ABD The Gallery Christmas Party
- 2008 ART Sydney - Gallery Oscar 23rd October
- 2008 Finalist Banool Conservation Art Prize
- 2008 Spring Exhibition – Gallery Oscar
- 2008 Finalist BMDI ‘Touch of Red Competition’ Melbourne
- 2008 ART Brisbane – Gallery Oscar 29th May – 1st June
- 2007 Blacksphere Gallery Christmas Exhibition
- 2007 ART at CHRISTMAS – Gallery Oscar - November
- 2007 ART Sydney – Gallery Oscar 25th - 28th October
- 2007 Finalist BMDI ‘Touch of Red Competition’ Melbourne
- 2007 Cystic Fibrosis Australia’s 65 Roses Day Gallery Art Event and Auction
- 2007 Gallery Oscar Art Show – Turramurra NSW
- 2007 LK Galleries – Perth – New Years Mixed Exhibition
- 2006 Gallery Oscar – Christmas Exhibition
- 2006 ArtSingapore Expo - Singapore
- 2006 Good Beginnings Exhibition – Rushcutters Bay, Sydney – 2 Artists
- 2006 Finalist THE HILLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL Art Prize
- 2006 Finalist BMDI ‘Touch of Red Competition’ Melbourne
- 2006 Art Gallery Collections - Surfers Paradise, Queensland
- 2005 Red Hill Gallery – Brisbane – Christmas Exhibition
- 2005 Art Gallery Collections - Surfers Paradise, Queensland
- 2005 Galeria Aniela, Kangaroo Valley – exhibition – 3 Artists
- 2005 Opera Gallery Hong Kong
- 2005 Opera Gallery Singapore – Second International Exhibition – 2 Artists
- 2004 St Joseph’s College 28th Annual Art & Craft Exhibition
- 2004 CCC Complex – Easter ’Passion’ Exhibition
- 2004 Red Hill Gallery “The Designing Women of 2004” – 3 Artists
- 2003 Willoughby Art Prize final selection
- 2003 House of Phillips Fine Art – Mosman
- 2003 2nd Prize Great South Land Art Award
- 2003 Royal Easter Show NSW – Still Life
- 2003 Artexpo New York – Javits Convention Center
- 2002 Hills – The Flower Mart
- 2002 Display Unit Exhibit No.2 – Seaforth Panorama Opening
- 2002 Red Hill Gallery – Brisbane – Christmas Exhibition
- 2002 The Gallery - CCC Complex ‘She Worships’ Exhibition
- 2002 Display Unit Exhibit - Seaforth Panorama Opening
- 2002 Willoughby Art Prize final selection
- 2002 Capricorn Coast Art Festival
- 2002 Royal Easter Show NSW – Still Life
- 2002 Norton Gallery – McMahons Point NSW
- 2001 Sceggs Darlinghurst Art Show 2001 Exhibit
- 2001 Norton Gallery – McMahons Point NSW (4 artists)
- 2001 Frances Keevil Gallery – Woollahra NSW
- 1980 Selected to exhibit HSC Art in today’s equivalent of Art Express
AWARDS
- 2008 Finalist BMDI ‘Touch of Red Competition’ Melbourne
- 2007 Finalist BMDI ‘Touch of Red Competition’ Melbourne
- 2006 September – Finalist THE HILLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL Art Prize
- 2006 September – Finalist BMDI ‘Touch of Red Competition’ Melbourne
- 2005 Awarded the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to child protection through Good Beginnings and the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect as the designer of community awareness and educational materials
- 2003 Finalist Willoughby Art Prize
- 2003 2nd Prize Great Southland Art Award
- 2002 Finalist Willoughby Art Prize
- 2001 Good Beginnings Macquarie Bank Foundation National Awards Appreciation Award awarded at Parliament House Canberra
- 2000 Awarded The Reed Gift Award – Category : Apparel
- 1993 Awarded Thomson World Trade Exhibitions Gift of the Year – Category : Garments
- 1984 Awarded Develop Victoria Council Award T shirt design
HIGHLIGHTS
- 2005 Awarded the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to child protection through Good Beginnings and the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect as the designer of community awareness and educational materials
- 2005 Hong Kong – February - Third International Exhibition
- 2005 Singapore – January - Second International Exhibition
- 2003 One of a panel of judges by invitation of The Royal Australian Mint Canberra for Primary School Designs National Coin Competition
- 2003 Successful showing at New York Artexpo
- 2000 Created Limited Edition Collector Designs for Wedgwood and The Royal Australian Mint Canberra
- 2000 NAPCAN Certificate Of Appreciation awarded by The Honourable Sir William Deane
- 1999 Contracts for exclusive concepts with Crown Casino, Ayers Rock Resort Management, Nuance Global Traders and Taronga Zoo
- 1999 Appointed as Principal Artist for Australia’s Centenary of Federation (1901-2001)
- 1993 Contracted by The Sydney 2000 Olympic Bid to design and produce silk scarves for the IOC Delegates and amend the ‘Flash’ for ties
- 1992 Selected as artist for the charity Peter Pan Japan
- 1988 Appointed as Artistic Director for NAPCAN-National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
- 1980 Completed HSC .Accepted into Law and Architecture
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Bulletin Magazine Cover 1991 on behalf of NAPCAN - ’Listen to Children’ Campaign
- ‘The Play School Red Book’ ‘Little Red Engine’ Illustration hardback edition 1985
- ‘The Play School Red Book’ ‘Little Red Engine’ Illustration released in paperback 1996
- Profile Magazine Issue 22 Oct-Dec 2001
- North Shore Times ,Cumberland Newspaper Group ,August 2 2002
- North Shore Times ,Cumberland Newspaper Group ,August 9 2002
- Mosman Daily ,Cumberland Newspaper Group ,November 21 2002
- Newcastle Herald ,June 30th 2003
- Newcastle Herald ,The Art Reviewer ,July 5 2003
- Newcastle Herald , Weekender , October 9 2004
- Manly Daily , Cumberland Newspaper Group , January 26 2005
- North Shore Times , Cumberland Newspaper Group ,March 11 2005
- Illawarra Mercury , THE WEEKENDER , March 26 2005
- Cairns City Life Magazine , “Rebecca Pierce Returns” , August 2005
- Cairns Post ,Timeout, ‘States of Transcendence’ , Thursday August 11 2005
- Northern Beaches Community Paper , Cairns ,August 2005
- Play School ‘The Rainbow Book’ – ‘Little Red Engine’ Illustration published 2005
- Hunter Lifestyle Magazine, Edition 20, June:July 2006, Pages 44,46 and 48
- House Beautiful United Kingdom, P.71 , March 2007
- The Cairns Post timeout, Thursday, December 13 2007
- Hills Shire Times ‘Six of the best to hang around for wee battlers’ August 19 2008
- North Side Courier page 26 August 19 2008
- Qantas News ‘Spring exhibition’ August 2008
TELEVISION AND RADIO
- WIN Channel 9, North Queensland Regional News Feature ,August 18 2005
- ABC Far North Radio ‘The Art Show’ August 2005
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS ABROAD
California, New Jersey, Italy, London, New Zealand, Korea, New York, Florida, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Philadelphia, Germany, Texas, Dubai and Arizona
CORPORATE COMMISSIONS
- BSM Baggage Sortation Management (Australia) Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia
- Hamilton Island Resort
CORPORATE COLLECTIONS WITHIN AUSTRALIA
- Edna Cuthburtonson Solicitors, Cairns, Australia
- Lionel Busquets Prestige Real Estate
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS WITHIN AUSTRALIA
NSW, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Victoria
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS 2009
- 2009 Blacksphere Gallery – Melbourne – solo exhibition
- 2009 ABD the Gallery - Perth
- 2009 Gallery at The Wentworth – Sydney – solo exhibition
- 2009 Gallery Dauphin – Singapore – solo exhibition
Top of page