Gareth Sansom is an artist, teacher and provocateur who has placed painting at the centre of his artistic production. A major figure in the Australian avant-garde moment, he is known for merging themes of pop-culture, personal iconography, sex and sexual transgression and film through his psychological landscape and 20th-century abstraction.
Gareth Sansom
Sansom was appointed Head of Painting at the Victorian College of the Arts from 1977–1985, and Dean School of Art at the Victorian College of the Arts from 1986–1991. He was an artist-in-residence at the University of Melbourne in 1985, when he resumed his full-time painting practice with a series of large works on canvas. He held a retrospective, Gareth Sansom: Paintings 1956–1986, at the University Gallery, University of Melbourne in 1986, Gareth Sansom: Welcome to My Mind at the Ian Potter Museum of Art, the University of Melbourne in 2005 and Gareth Sansom: Transformer at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, in 2017.
Selected group exhibitions include Today Tomorrow Yesterday, MCA, Sydney (2016); Painting. More Painting, ACCA, Melbourne (2016); Magic Object, Adelaide Biennial, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide (2016); POP to Popism, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (2014); Melbourne Now, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2013); Visions Past and Present, Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne (2012); Artwork to Tapestry, TarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville, Victoria (2011); We Call Them Pirates Out Here, MCA, Sydney (2010); Gallery A Sydney 1964–1983, Campbelltown Arts Centre, NSW and Newcastle Art Gallery, NSW (2009); Preserving the Past, Enriching the Future – Hugh Williamson’s Legacy, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2008); and Cross Currents: Focus on Australian Art, MCA, Sydney (2007).
Sansom’s works are held in numerous public and private collections, nationally and internationally, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand and Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane.
Born 1939, Melbourne, Australia. Currently lives and works between Melbourne and Sorrento, Australia.
Education
1959 - 64
- Studied at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Selected Artist Residencies
1989
- Artist in Residence, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi
1985
- Artist in Residence, The University of Melbourne
1982
- Visiting Artist, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Holland
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2023
- New Paintings and Works on Plywood, Milani Gallery, Brisbane
2022
- Gareth Sansom, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
2021
- Recent works on linen and plywood, Milani Gallery, Brisbane
2019
- It's now or never, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
2017
- Gareth Sansom: Transformer, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
2016
- New Paintings, Station Gallery, Melbourne
2015
- Four Paintings, Milani Gallery, Brisbane
- Just Painting, Roslyn Oxley9, Sydney
2013
- New Paintings, Milani Gallery, Brisbane
2012
- Alternative Persona, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Melbourne
- Recent Paintings, Milani Gallery, Brisbane
- Roslyn Oxley9, Sydney
2011
- New Paintings, John Buckley Gallery, Melbourne
2010
- New Paintings, Milani Gallery, Brisbane
- Roslyn Oxley9, Brisbane
2009
- Gareth Sansom, John Buckley Gallery, Melbourne
2008
- Recent Work, Milani Gallery, Brisbane
2007
- New Paintings, John Buckley Gallery, Melbourne
2005
- The Ian Potter Museum of Art, The University of Melbourne
- John Buckley Fine Art, Melbourne
2004
- John Buckley Fine Art, Melbourne
2003
- John Buckley Fine Art, Melbourne
2002
- John Buckley Fine Art, Melbourne
2001
- John Buckley Fine Art, Melbourne
2000
- John Buckley Fine Art, Melbourne
1997
- Muka Gallery, Auckland, NZ
1996
- West Space Inc., Footscray, Victoria; Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney
1994
- Villa Delirium, Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne
1993
- Sherman Galleries, Goodhope, Sydney
1991-92
- Seventh Triennale, New Delhi, India
1991
- Recent Work, Luba Bilu Gallery, Melbourne
- Seventh Triennale, New Delhi, India
- Recent Work, Roslyn Oxley9, Sydney
- Australian Tour: University of Melbourne, Canberra School of Art Gallery, South Australian School of Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, Bunbury Art Gallery, University of Tasmania Fine Arts Gallery, University of Tasmania - Launceston, Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre, Mildura Arts Centre, Wagga Wagga City Art Gallery, Campbelltown City Art Gallery, Shepparton Art Gallery
1990
- Out of India, Roslyn Oxley9, Sydney
1989
- Roslyn Oxley9, Sydney
1987
- Victorian College of the Arts Gallery, Melbourne
- Roslyn Oxley9, Sydney
1986
- Gareth Sansom: Paintings 1956-1986, University Gallery, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne
- Gareth Sansom: Recent Paintings, Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne
- Gareth Sansom: Works of the 60s and 70s, Charles Nodrum, Melbourne
1983
- Realities Gallery, Melbourne
- Roslyn Oxley9, Sydney
- Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane
1982
- Roslyn Oxley9, Sydney
- Realities Gallery, Melbourne
- Prinseneiland, Amsterdam, Holland
- Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane
1979
- Studio Exhibition, Napier Lane, Richmond, Melbourne
1978
- Survey Exhibition, 1964-78, RMIT Gallery, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne
1977
- Warehouse Gallery, Melbourne
1975
- Sweeney Reed Gallery, Melbourne
- Warehouse Gallery, Melbourne
1973
- Sweeney Reed Gallery, Melbourne
1970
- Gallery A, Melbourne
1968
- South Yarra Gallery, Melbourne
1966
- Gallery A, Melbourne and Sydney
1965
- South Yarra Gallery, Melbourne
1963
- Argus Gallery, Melbourne
1959
- Richman Gallery, Melbourne
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023
- Thin Skin, Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne
2022
- Courage and Beauty: The James C. Sourris AM Collection, QAGOMA, Brisbane
2016
- Magic Object: 2018, Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Adelaide
- Painting, More Painting, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
- Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
2015
- Propositions Three, Milani Gallery, Brisbane
- Pop to Popism, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
2014
- Liminal Narratives, The Gallery, Bayside Arts & Cultural Centre, Brighton, Victoria
2013
- Melbourne Now, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- New 2013, University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane, Queensland
- Mixtape, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- Censored, Fehily Contemporary, Victoria
2012
- Visions past and present, The Ian Potter Museum of Art, The University of Melbourne
- Volume 1, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
- Melbourne Art Fair, Roslyn Oxley9, Melbourne
- Art with TEXT, THIS Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA
2011
- Artwork to Tapestry, TarraWarra Museum of Art
- Shoes Too, White Canvas Gallery, Brisbane, Queensland
- ARTHK11, Hong Kong International Art Fair
- Artist Artists, Benalla Regional Gallery, curated by Robert Hirschmann
- TEN YEARS OF CONTEMPORARY ART: The James C Sourris AM Collection, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Queensland
- Forever Young, curated by Linda Michael, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Victoria
2010
- TarraWarra Modern, TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria
- Basil Sellers Art Prize, The Ian Potter Museum of Art, The University of Melbourne,
- Melbourne Art Fair 2010, Melbourne
- Stick it! Collage in Australian art, NGV Australia
- Canadian Pharmacy, Neon Parc, Melbourne
- We Call Them Pirates Out Here: MCA Collection selected by David Elliot, MCA, Sydney
- Contemporary Encounters, NGV Australia
- Berlin Art Fair, Berlin Germany
- Change, curated by Max Delany MUMA, Melbourne
- The Naked Face, NGV Australia
2009
- Gallery A Sydney 1964-1983, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Newcastle Region Art Gallery
- Quirky, Newcastle Art Gallery, New South Wales
- Building a Collection: Recent Acquisitions of Prints and Drawings, National Gallery of Victoria
- The Shilo Project, The Ian Potter Museum of Art, The University of Melbourne
- Group Show, Roslyn Oxley9, Sydney
2008
- The Contemporary Collage: Australian collage and assemblage, John Buckley Gallery
- The Led Zeppelin World Tour (A Lismore Gallery touring exhibition), Mornington Peninsula Art Gallery
- Melbourne Art Fair 2008, Melbourne
- Preserving the past, enriching the future ~ Hugh Williamson’s legacy, National Gallery of Victoria
- Recent acquisitions, Newcastle Art Gallery,New South Wales
2007
- Cross Currents: Focus on Australian art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
- Eye to Eye, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Victoria
- Bodies and Minds, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
- Arthur Guy Memorial Art Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
- From Here to Eternity, S.H.Ervin Gallery, Sydney; Benalla Art Gallery, Victoria; (plus, Hamilton Art Gallery; Castlemaine Art Gallery; Anne + Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia, 2008; and Maitland Regional Gallery, 2009)
- Abstraction 6, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2006
- Snapshot, John Buckley Gallery, Melbourne
- The Tallis Foundation National Works on Paper, Mornington Peninsula Art Gallery
- A Man's World, Museum of Brisbane, Queensland
- Australian Drawing Part 1, John Buckley Gallery, Melbourne
- Fletcher Jones Art Prize, Geelong Art Gallery
- For Matthew and Others: Journeys with Schizophrenia, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney
2005
- Tales of the City, Australian Galleries, Melbourne
- Citibank Photographic Portrait Prize finalist, AGNSW
- Wynne Prize finalist, AGNSW
- This and Other Worlds: Contemporary Australian Drawing, National Gallery of Victoria at Federation Square
- 'I'm travellin' light'...'No, no you don't travel light' [Tindersticks, self titled 1995], Spacement Gallery
- "Twentieth Century", Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
2004
- Freaks, Fiends, and Folly, Bright Gallery, Melbourne
- The Citigroup Private Bank Australian Photographic Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales
- The Sulman Prize, AGNSW
- The Spirit of Football, NGV
- Recent Acquisitions, National Gallery of Victoria at Federation Square
- Arthur Guy Memorial Art Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery
- Geelong Art Prize, Geelong Art Gallery
2003
- X Melbourne, Contemporary Art Space Canberra, Sydney College of the Arts
- The Citigroup Private Bank Australian Photographic Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales
Modern Australian Paintings, Charles Nodrum Gallery Melbourne - Arthur Guy Memorial Art Prize, Bendigo, Victoria
2002
- Nocturne, Mornington Peninsula Art Gallery, Geelong Art Gallery
- National Works on Paper, Mornington Peninsula Art Gallery (Acquired)
- Nick Cave:The Good Son, Mornington Peninsula Art Gallery
2001
- Painting – an arcane technology, Ian Potter Gallery, The University of Melbourne
2000
- Proof Positive, Gold Treasury Museum, Melbourne
- Modern Australian Painting, Charles Nodrum Gallery Melbourne
- Thinking Aloud, Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney
- Exquisite Corpse, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
- Geelong Art Prize, Geelong Art Gallery, Victoria
- Desire, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne
1999
- Impressions, Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne
1998
- The Mecenet Collection, Sherman Galleries Goodhope, Sydney
- The Mentors, Deans of the VCA School of Art, George Adams Gallery, Melbourne
- Proof Positive, Carnegie Gallery, Hobart
- Australian Contemporary Art Fair
1997
- Australian Printmaking in the 90’s, Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne
- Art and Furniture of the 60’s, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
1996
- The Clemenger Triennial Exhibition of Contemporary Australian Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- ART at UNSW: Collecting from a University's Perspective; Selected Acquisitions 1991-95, University of New South Wales, Sydney
- Love, Carlisle Motel, St Kilda, Victoria
- AFL EXPO, Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Victoria (Curated by Robert Lindsay)
Synergy, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
1995
- The Loti and Victor Smorgon Gift of Contemporary Australian Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
- Modern Australian Paintings, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
- Australian Watercolours; Selected Works from the Collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Kedumba Drawing Prize, Leura, New South Wales
1994
- Charles Nodrum Gallery,Melbourne
- Art Asia Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong (Nov 17-21)
1993
- On Paper, Sherman Goodhope, Sydney, Solander Gallery, Canberra
- Asia Pacific Triennial, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
- Political Bedrooms, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane
- Contemporary Australian Printmaking, Sherman Hargrave, Sydney
- On Paper, Solander Gallery, Canberra
- Still Life, Temple Gallery, Melbourne
- Virtuosi - Youth Music Australia Portfolio of Prints, Sherman Hargrave, Sydney
- Modern Australian Paintings
- Love and Ruin, Art and St Kilda in the Twentieth Century, St Kilda Town Hall, Melbourne
- Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Melbourne
- Persona Cognita, Museum of Modern Art at Heide
- Contemporary Australian Tapestry, Australian Embassy, Paris
1992
- OZPOP (with Colin Lanceley, Richard Larter and Mary Moore), Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
- Contemporary Australian Drawing, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Works on Paper by Australian Contemporary Artists, R.M.I.T. Gallery, Melbourne
- Third Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne
- Review 1992, Luba Bilu Gallery, Melbourne
1991
- Modern Australian Painting, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
- Off the Wall, In the Air: A Seventies Collection, Monash University Gallery and Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
- Diverse Visions, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
- Australian Painting, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
- Interpretations - The Woven Language of the Victorian Tapestry Workshop, Ian Potter Gallery, University of Melbourne, and Australian touring - 1991/97
1990
- Mass Media Mixed Media, Painters Gallery, Sydney
- Out of Asia, Heide Gallery, Melbourne
- Second Contemporary Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne
- Word as Image, Art as Text, Monash University Gallery, Melbourne
- Defective Models, Australian Portraiture 19th and 20th Century, Monash University Gallery, Melbourne
- SPECIAL...it's been used before..., Luba Bilu Gallery, Melbourne
1989
- Imaging AIDS, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
- Prints and Australia: Pre-Settlement to Present, Australian National Gallery, Canberra
- Intimate Drawing, Coventry Gallery, Sydney
- A Tribute to Rod Withers, Reconnaissance Gallery, Melbourne
- Irony Humour and Dissent, Manly Art Gallery, Sydney
- Modern Australian Painting, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
- Freestyle, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1988
- The Ammunition Show, Victorian College of the Arts Gallery, Melbourne
- From the Southern Cross, A View of the World c.1940-1988, Australian Biennale, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- First Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne
- Drawings 1970's-1980's, Australian National Gallery, Canberra
- Australian Art Post - 1960, Deutscher Gertrude Street, Melbourne
New Work, Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne - The Cocktail Party, Roslyn Oxley9, Sydney
1987
- Modern Australian Masters, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- From Field to Figuration, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- John McCaughey Memorial Art Prize, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- Painters and Sculptors - Diversity in Contemporary Australian Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
- Gallery Survey, Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne
- The ANZ Bicentennial Commissioning Series, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- Collage Survey, Holdsworth Gallery, Sydney
1986
- 6th Biennale of Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Modern Australian Paintings, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
- Works on Paper, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
- Slouching Towards Bethlehem, 200 Gertrude Street, Melbourne
- Selections from RMIT Collection, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne
1985
- Visual Tension, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
- Realities Salutes Victoria's 150th Birthday, Realities Gallery, Melbourne
- 6 Drawings, Tasmanian School of Art Gallery, University of Tasmania, Hobart
- Survey Exhibition, Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne
- Twenty Paintings from the 1960's, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
1984
- Vox Pop: Into the Eighties, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- Recent Australian Painting, A Survey 1970 -1983, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
1983
- Australian Perspecta, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1982
- Collage, Regional Development Exhibition, Visual Arts Board, Australia Council
- 4th Biennale of Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1981
- Frame of Reference, George Paton Gallery, The University of Melbourne
- McCaughy Prize, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- Selections from CAE Collection, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne
- Spectres of our Time, Royal South Australian Society of the Arts Gallery, Adelaide
- Realities Gallery, Melbourne
- Recent Acquisitions, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1980
- Self Portrait/Self Image, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne
- Recent Acquisitions, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Victoria
1979
- Images, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne
1978
- Recent Acquisitions, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Victoria
- Baldessin Memorial Exhibition, Realities Gallery, Melbourne
1977
- Collage, Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane
- Georges Prize, Melbourne
1975
- Artists' Artists, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- Recent Drawings, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- Ten Caufield Artists, Monash University Gallery, Melbourne
- Georges Prize, Melbourne
1973
- Travelling Exhibition of Australian Art, New Zealand
1970
- Travelling Exhibition of Australian Art, South East Asia
1968
- Georges Prize, Melbourne
1967
- Group Exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington
- Georges Prize, Melbourne
1966
- Carnegie Collection, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- The Nude in Australian Art, Gallery A, Melbourne
- Young Melbourne Painters, Gallery A, Sydney
- McCaughey Prize, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1965
- McCaughey Prize, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- Recent Acquisitions, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- New Generation, MOMAD, Melbourne
- Decade, Storey Hall, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne
- Georges Prize, Melbourne
1964
- CAS Exhibition, Argus Gallery, Melbourne
1964
- Survey Exhibition, MOMAD, Melbourne
1963
- CAS Exhibition, Argus Gallery, Melbourne
1962
- Italian Travelling Scholarship Exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Collections
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- National Art Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
- Museum Of Contemporary Art, Sydney
- Australian National Gallery, Canberra
- Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
- Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
- Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
- Artbank, Sydney
- TarraWarra Museum of Art
- Museum of Modern Art at Heide, Victoria
- Geelong Art Gallery, Victoria
- Shepparton Art Gallery, Victoria
- Benalla Art Gallery, Victoria
- Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Victoria
- Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
- Mornington Peninsula Art Gallery, Victoria
- Wollongong City Art Gallery, New South Wales
- Newcastle Region Art Gallery, New South Wales
- Latrobe Valley Regional Collection, Victoria
- Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne
- Monash University, Victoria
- University of Melbourne, Melbourne
- University of New South Wales, Sydney
- Western Australian University Art Gallery, Perth
- UQ Art Museum, University of Queensland
- Griffith University, Queensland
- Ormond College, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne
- Ballarat College of Advanced Education, Victoria
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane
- Loti and Victor Smorgon Collection of Contemporary Australian Art (MCA, Sydney)
- McClelland Gallery, Langwarren, Victoria
- Horsham Regional Gallery
- Price Waterhouse Coopers, Australia
- Swan Hill Regional Gallery
- BHP Billiton Collection, Melbourne
- Dr Paul Eliadis Collection of Contemporary Art
- One Art Collection
- Wesfarmers Collection
- Private collections in Australia, Europe, India, NZ, and USA
Selected Grants and Awards
1975
- Visual Arts Board, Special Projects Grant
1976
- Visual Arts Board, Travel Grant
1979
- Victorian Ministry of the Arts, Tram Project
1981
- Visual Arts Board, Standard Grant
1982
- Visiting Artist Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Holland
1984
- Hugh Williamson Prize, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
1984
- Visual Arts Board, Standard Grant
1986
- Henry Salkauskas Art (Purchase) Award
1987
- ANZ Bicentennial Commissioning Series
1989
- Victorian Tapestry Workshop Commission
1991
- VII - The Indian Triennale, New Delhi
1993/94
- Collie Fellowship, Australian Print Workshop, Melbourn
1994
- Virtuosi - Youth Music Australia Portfolio of Prints
2006
- John Tallis Acquisitive Award, Mornington Peninsula Art Gallery
2008
- John McCaughey Memorial Prize, National Gallery of Victoria
2012
- Dobell Prize, Art Gallery of NSW
Selected Reviews
- Hannon, Bill, "Savagery and Subtlety", The Bulletin, 25 May, 1963
- Warren, Alan, "Pop Art That's Romantic Too", The Sun, 21 April, 1965
- Smith, Bernard, "Provocation and Courage on Canvas", The Age, 21 April, 1965
- McCulloch, Alan, "Striking Painting", The Herald, 21 April, 1966
- McCaughy, Patrick, "He Really Reflects World Events", The Age, 22nd June, 1966
- Warren, Alan, "New Art Form in Paste and Paint", The Sun, 22nd June, 1966
- Lynn, Elwyn, "Turmoil in the Void", The Australian, 30 July, 1966
- Warren, Alan, "Artist Tries a Change", The Sun, 8 April, 1970
- Makin, Jeff, "Sansom's Now More Dynamic", The Sun, 5 September, 1973
- Makin, Jeff, "Bumps and Grinds Make a Fine Show", The Sun, 26 February, 1975
- Makin, Jeff, "Gareth Has Put in the Lot", The Sun, 19 November, 1975
- Gilchrist, Maureen, "From Expressionism Back to Images", The Age, 19 November, 1975
- McCulloch, Alan, "Bizarre Force", The Herald, 20 November, 1975
- Gilchrist, Maureen, "Compelling Sansom Offers an Electric Experience", The Age, 6 April, 1977
- Sturgeon, Graeme, "Wilder Shores", The Australian, 19 April, 1977
- Eagle, Mary, "Pop Goes the Easel", The Age, 12 April, 1978
- Millar, Roland, "Identity Search", The Australian, 20 April, 1978
- Rooney, Robert, "Sansom Looks to the Past", The Age, 21 March, 1979
- Sturgeon, Graeme, "Fire and Fury in a Richmond Back Alley", The Australian, 29 March, 1979
- Maloon, Terence, "Sansom is Riveting", Sydney Morning Herald, 6 March, 1982
- McIntyre, Arthur, "A Very Photographic Biennale", The Age, 14 April, 1982
- Rooney, Robert, "Private Obsessions Sansom's Strength", The Age, 5th May, 1982
- Millar, Ronald, "The Artist Exposed", The Herald, 6 May, 1982
- Holloway, Memory, "Sansom Cool and Nasty (Alert)", The Age, 27 April, 1983
- Rooney, Robert, "Sansom: Escaping the Monster", The Australian, 22 March, 1986
- Millar, Ronald, "Pictures That Put You on Edge...” The Herald, 21 March, 1986
- Catalano, Gary, "An Array of Obscure Facts", The Age, 21 March, 1986
- McDonald, John, "Non Conformist's Mad Movie of Life", The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 August, 1987
- Lynn, Elwyn, "A Vision of Dedicated Lives", The Australian, 22 August, 1987
- Allen, Christopher, "Art can help with political will and vision", Sydney Morning Herald, 11 May, 1990
- Rooney, Robert, "Pilgrims of the Inner Site", The Australian, 26 November, 1988
- McDonald, John, "The Good, The Twee, and Old Boofhead", Sydney Morning Herald, 27 May, 1989
- Rooney, Robert, "Quirky Delicacy alongside Questionable Taste", The Australian, 1 June, 1991
- Heathcote, Christopher, "Sansom Exhibition Raises Critical Problems", The Age, 29 May, 1991
- Burke, Janine, "Borderline Position", Australian Society, July, 1991
- Grishin, Sasha, "Sansom Opens Up in New Form", Canberra Times, 22 July, 1991
- Fern, Lynette, "Even Bald Heads", Sydney Morning Herald, 23 August, 1991
- Neylon, John, "Autobiographical", Adelaide Review, October 1991
- Osborne, Margot, "India's Impact on the Artist", The Advertiser, 10 October, 1991
- Simon, Matthew, "Sansom in India: Artist in the Flesh", Broadsheet, Vol.20 No.4, December, 1991
- Bolton, Ken, "Inbuilt Bad-Faith", Artlink, Vol.II No.4, Dec. 1991
- Timms, Peter, "Painting by Numbers - Melbourne Report, 1991", Art & Australia, Vol.24 No.4 1991
- George Petelin, "Riches From the East", The Weekend Australian, 11 - 12 September, 1993
- Allan, Christopher,"Gareth Sansom at Sherman Galleries", Asian Art News, Vol.3 No.6 Nov/Dec 1993 p.116-17
- Hill, Peter, "Into The New Asia-Pacific Art Age", Asian Art News, Vol.3 No.6 Nov/Dec 1993 p.74
- Nicklin, Lenore & Mendelssohn, Joanna, "Bunch of Tens", The Bulletin, 7 December, 1993
- Doyle, Celestine, "Asia-Pacific Triennial", Craft Arts International, 1993-94
- Grishin, Sasha, "Outstanding work meets international standards", The Canberra Times, 26 February, 1994
- Rooney, Robert, "Distant Notes Compare Well", The Australian, 16 April, 1994
- Heathcote, Christopher, "Seers and visionaries should not be missed", The Age, Melbourne, 11 May 1994
- Rooney, Robert, "Gender benders all dressed up, but Daffy steals the show", The Australian, 5 November, 1994
- Joanna Mendelssohn, "Kedumba Drawing Award", The Australian (Sydney) 13 October 1995
- Robert Rooney, "Melbourne Art, TECCA", The Australian, 22 March, 1996
- Robert Nelson, “Fairs and prizes enhance art’s allure”, The Age, Melbourne, 4 October, 2000
Peter Timms, “Party like there’s no tomorrow”, The Age, 6 December, 2000 - Robert Nelson, “Canvassing a theory of painting”, The Age, 18 February, 2001
- Anna Clabburn, “Powerful Narratives”, The Australian, 16 February, 2001
- Chris Reid, “Painting: reinvigorating the arcane”, RealTime 42 April-May 2001
- Jeff Makin, “Only a paper world”, Herald Sun, 8 July, 2002
- “Voices of a Generation”, The Age, 3 April, 2004
- Ashley Crawford, “Gareth Sansom – Don’t Look Now”, The Sunday Age - agenda, August 29, 2004
- Backhouse,Megan, “Layers of agitation”, The Age, August 28, 2004
- Crawford, Ashley, "Tales of the City", The Sunday Age Preview, January 30, 2005
- Ashley Crawford, "This and Other Worlds: Contemporary Australian Drawing",
- The Sunday Age Preview, September11th, 2005
- Megan Backhouse, "Gareth Sansom", The Age Melbourne Magazine: Galleries, Issue #12 October 2005
- Ashley Crawford, "Welcome to My Mind", Australian Art Collector, Issue 34, October-December 2005
- Jeff Makin, "Shocker turns master", Herald-Sun, 24 October 2005
- Ashley Crawford, "Gareth Sansom: Welcome to my mind" Sunday Age Preview, Dec 11, 2005
- Sebastian Smee, "Works of perpetual motion to needle staid Melbourne" The Australian, Dec 15, 2005
- Mixed Media, Megan Backhouse, "A win on paper" The Age, June 16, 2006
- The BUZZ, "Rapt in paper", Herald Sun, June 13, 2006
- Drawing on life lessons - Jeff Makin, Herald Sun, Monday, August 7, 2006
- Sebastian Smee, "In the mind's eye", The Weekend Australian, Oct 21-22, 2006
- Ashley Crawford, "Sansom and the post-punk intellect", The Age, July 4, 2007
- Sebastian Smee, "Beauty and Brains", The Australian, October 13, 2007
- Sasha Grishen, "Work of tribal elders takes centre stage", Sunday Canberra Times, October 28, 2007
- John McDonald, "A palette of local colour", The Sydney Morning Herald, November 3-4, 2007
- Sebastian Smee, "Forget me not", The Australian, April 5, 2008
- Edward Colless, "Bad boy makes an exquisite corpse", The Australian, June 25, 2009
- Peter Hanlon, "Picture this: taking art into the sporting arena", The Age, August 7, 2010
- Sasha Grishen, "New Realities", Canberra Times, July 29 2010
- John McDonald, "A nose for wild invention", Sydney Morning Herald, July 31, 2010
Selected Interviews
- Hannon, Bill, "Melbourne Painters, a Bulletin Portfolio", The Bulletin, 5 December, 1964
- Staff Reporter, "Gareth's Easel Did Not Go 'Pop' !", The Sun, 22 April, 1965
- Wright, Claudia, "Claudia Wright Meets Gareth Sansom", The Herald, August, 1968
- Milson, Wendy, "Gareth Sansom - Artist Worried by his 'Symbols'", The Age, 23 April, 1977
- Hawker, Phillipa, "An Artist Involved", The Age, May 1982
- Staff Reporter, "A Little Bit of Ballarat", The Courier Ballarat, 7 July, 1984
- Murdoch, Anna, "Sansom's Burning Urge to Paint", The Age, 8 September, 1984
- Howard, Jane, "Sansom's Plan to Attack Myths About Art", The Australian, 8 May, 1985
- Leonard, Christopher, "The Art of Teaching", Vogue Living, October, 1986
- McIntyre, Arthur, "Sansom Tests Nature of Art", The Age, April, 1987
- Lancashire, Rebecca, "Sansom Returns to Full Time Painting", The Age, 27 May, 1991
- Heathcote, Christopher, "Responding to India", Art Monthly, June 1991
- Lowe, Geoff, "Interview with Gareth Sansom", Seventh Triennale, India, catalogue, 1991
- Stephens, Andrew, "Prints provide new adventure in creativity", The Age, 13 April, 1994
- Burchall, Greg, "Drawing Fragments Together", The Age, 1 May 1996
- Julian Holcroft, “Gareth Sansom”, LIKE magazine, December, 2000
- Ashley Crawford, “Relaxed but not comfortable”, The Age, April 13, 2001
- Ashley Crawford, “The Artist as an Older Man”, The Age, September 13, 2003
- Gabriella Coslovich, "Sansom wins $100,000 art prize", The Age, February 2008
- Annemarie Kiely, "Gareth Sansom: A Fine Figure", Vogue Living, July/August 2009
Selected Bibliography
- Horton, Mervyn, Present Day Art in Australia, 1968
- Bonython, Kym, Australian Painting of the Sixties, Rigby, 1970
- Luck, Ross, A Guide to Modern Australian Painting, Melbourne, 1969
- Bonython, Kym, Australian Painting, 1970-1975, Rigby, 1976
- Smith, Bernard, Australian Painting, Oxford University Press, 1972
- Bonython, Kym, Australian Painting 1975-1980, Rigby, 1980
Catalano, Gary, The Years of Hope, Australian Art and Criticism, 1959-1968, Oxford University Press, 1981 - Sturgeon, Graeme, "Gareth Sansom", Art & Australia, December 1977
- Wright, William, "Vision in Disbelief", Catalogue Essay, 4th Biennale of Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1982
- Burke, Janine, Self Portrait/Self Image, Catalogue Essay, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, 1981
- Burke, Janine, Gareth Sansom, Collage, Catalogue Essay, Regional Development Programme, Australia Council, Sydney, 1982
- Murphy, Bernice, "Recent Paintings in Australia", Flash Art, Milan January, 1983
- Murphy, Bernice, Australian Perspecta 1983, Catalogue Essay, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1983
- Lindsay, Robert, Vox Pop: Into the Eighties, Catalogue Essay, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1983
- Radford, Ron, Recent Australian Painting, A Survey 1970-1983, Catalogue Essay, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 1984
- 6 Drawing, Catalogue Essay, Tasmanian School of Art Gallery, University of Tasmania, Hobart, 1985
- Lindsay, Frances, Gareth Sansom, Catalogue Essay, The University of Melbourne, 1986
- Lindsay, Robert, From Field to Figuration, Catalogue Essay, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1987
- McIntyre, Arthur, Australian Contemporary Drawing, Boolarong Publishers, 1988
- Lindsay, Frances, "Antipodean Antecedents: An Accent on the Present", Catalogue Essay, Australian Biennale, 1988, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1988
- Szulakowska, Urszula, Alchemy and the Avant-Garde: Some Contemporary Australian Artists, Cauda Pavonis, Washington State University, U.S.A., 1988
- Smith, Bernard, The Critic as Advocate, Selected Essays 1948-1988, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1989
- Carroll, Allison, Out of Asia, Catalogue Essay, Heide Park and Art Gallery, Melbourne, 1990
- McIntyre, Arthur, Contemporary Australian Collage and it's Origins, Craftsman House, 1990
- Chanin, Eileen, (Ed.) Contemporary Australian Painting, Craftsman House, 1990
- Maloon, Terence, Seventh Triennale, India, Catalogue Essay, Australian Exhibitions Touring Agency, 1991
- Smith, Bernard & Smith, Terry, Australian Painting, Oxford University Press, 1991
Oz Art Now No.1, 1991 - Broinowski, Alison, The Yellow Lady, Oxford University Press Australia, 1992
- Carrol, Alison, "Art's Subtle Invaders", 21C-The Magazine of the Commission for the Future Winter/Spring, 1991
- Drury, Nevill, Images in Contemporary Australian Painting, Craftsman House, 1992
- Hall, Doug, Australia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art , Catalogue, Queensland Art Gallery, 1993
- McCulloch, Alan, and McCulloch, Susan, Encyclopedia of Australian Art, 1994
- Drury, Nevill, Images 2: Contemporary Australian Painting, Craftsman House, 1994 9.
Grishin, Sasha, Contemporary Australian Printmaking: An Interpretive History, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1994 - Engberg, Juliana,"The Museum of Selves", Persona Cognita, Catalogue, Museum of Modern Art at Heide, 1994
- Pennings, Mark, "Images of an Emotional Game", in Hidden Treasures - A Visual History of Australian Football, Catalogue, Robert Lindsay, Melbourne, 1996
- Julian Holcroft, “Gareth Sansom”, LIKE magazine, December, 2000.
- Bala Starr &Natalie King, “Painting: An Arcane Technology”, Catalogue, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne, 2001
- Alison Barclay, “New Coat of Colour” , Herald Sun, Melbourne, 2001
Australian Art in the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Australia, 2002 - John Buckley “Nocturne”, Mornington Peninsular Art Gallery, 2002
- Linda Michael, Monash University Collection: Four Decades of Collecting, MUMA, 2002
- Roger Butler+Anne Virgo, ‘place made’ –Australian Print Workshop, National Gallery of Australia, 2004
- Bernard Smith, Two Centuries of Australian Art from the Collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, Thames & Hudson, 2004
- Bala Starr, "Welcome To My Mind - Gareth Sansom, A Study of Selected Works 1964-2005", The University of Melbourne, 2000
- Anne Kirker "Dude Ranch Dada" Art Monthly, December 2006
- McCulloch Alan; McCulloch, Susan and Childs, Emily McCulloch, The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art, 2006
- Julie Ewington, Brought to Light II: Contemporary Australian Art 1966-2006, Queensland Art Gallery, 2007
- John McDonald and Ian Lloyd, STUDIO: Australian Painters on the Nature of Creativity, 2007
- Sonia Payes, UNTITLED. Portraits of Australian Artists, Macmillan Art Publishing, 2007
- "Contemporary - Art Gallery of NSW Contemporary Collection", AGNSW, 2006
- John Stringer, Cross Currents: Focus on Australian Art, Catalogue, MCA, 2007
- Geoff Wallis, " Eye to I, Catalogue", Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, 2007
- Harriet Edquist, Elizabeth Grierson, "A Skilled Hand and Cultivated Mind - A Guide to the Architecture and Art of RMIT University", RMIT, 2008
- Ashley Crawford, "Gareth Sansom", Art World, August/September 2008
- Ashley Crawford, "Gareth Sansom", Australian Art Review, August - October 2008
- Vivien Gaston, "The Naked Face: Self Portraits", Catalogue, NGV 2010
- Geoff Wallis, "gareth sansom - on being of the moment", magazine of the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery Association, Autumn 2012
- Ashley Crawford, "Standout Exhibitions", Australian Art Collector, January/March 2012
- Kelly Gellatly, "101 Contemporary Australian Artists", NGV Publication 2012
- Ashley Crawford, “Gareth Sansom: Mind Grenades”, VAULT magazine, 2015
