Australian painter, printmaker

(b. 1975, Sydney, NSW)

Many of the paintings and etchings of Luke Sciberras are based upon the landscapes around Hill End, NSW, where the artist lives and works. In the 19th century Hill End was a gold mining town. Its topography still carries the scars of mining, which in its ochre rawness were first painted by Friend, Olsen and Drysdale – and now by Sciberras who has a different more poetic touch. Whether painting Hlll End, or locations within Australia's arid interior, Luke Sciberras captures the ebb and flow of the seasons and adapts his earthy palette to describe their subtle atmospheric changes. Sweeping brushstrokes simplify forms, and deftly follow the terrain’s natural contours. In his more recent work, Sciberras paints on a larger scale. His confident stroke has become more expressive, his paint application looser and less refined as he searches out the land’s abstract essence. Sciberras is a graduate from the National Art School, Sydney, completing a BA (Fine Arts) in 1997. He is represented in Victoria by the James Makin Gallery.