Route Guides: Art Highlights at Affordable Art Fair Brisbane 2025

Gallery Alchemy is a home to many notable artists who have been recognised on a national stage for their talents. Sally Stokes is recognised as one of the Top 100 collectible artists for three consecutive years and is also Finalist in both the Sulman prize and the Salon des Refusés. Peta West is another talented artist in Gallery Alchemy’s stable and a 2024 winner of the National Contemporary Art Prize, Canberra.

Represented by Sarah Birtles Art + Advice, Phillip Edwards is an artist from Daylesford in the Victorian central highlands. He studied Fine arts at The Victorian Collage of Art in the early 1990s graduating with a Bachelor in fine art painting. He was awarded the Trustees watercolour prize as a finalist of the 2018 Wynne landscape prize at the gallery of New South Wales. With 30 years art practice, and multiple solo shows and group exhibitions in and around Melbourne, he continues to refine both his painting and sculptural practice. Phillip will be painting live through the duration of the fair so make sure to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into his refined creativity.

Red Hill Gallery proudly represents our campaign artist and winner of the Royal Overseas League Travelling Scholarship, artist Nick Olsen.Exhibiting yearly since 1990, Nick’s artworks have been in the collections of institutions and universities including, Gold Coast Regional Gallery, Ipswich Regional Gallery, Redcliffe Regional Gallery, QUT Gallery ( Alumni) and Museum of Brisbane .

Colina Wymarra was born on Thursday Island and is the daughter of Edward Wymarra (a Gudang Yadhaykenu man from Cape York) and Kaunur Wymarra (nee Maza) a Dauareb Komet woman from Mer Island in the Torres Strait. In 2023 she was awarded the Remote Area Artist Award in the QRAA finals with subsequent exhibitions with University of Queensland and the Judith Wright Centre. Colina’s work has recently been picked up by the International Publishing House Simon and Schulster for an upcoming book to be released later this year (2024). Colina will be coming to the fair with Wentworth Galleries.

The Shibori textiles are a true highlight of the fair. Each artwork showcases pleated silk, meticulously hand-bound, dyed, and arranged to craft unique visual and textural appeal. The silk flows gracefully across the piece, skilfully stitched to evoke a sense of movement.

Represented by Salt Contemporary Art and live creating over all four days at the fair is our next spotlighted texture artist, Jane Du Rand. Originally trained as an architect, Jane’s practice extends to large-scale ceramic and mosaic installations, with her intricate designs incorporated into the architecture of civic and private buildings around the world. Made by hand in her Brisbane studio before being shipped overseas and assembled on site, these installations allow du Rand to fully reflect the environment in which they’re situated.

Good Work Gallery showcases artists who push the boundaries of materiality, using their mediums as conduits of meaning. In a world of the readymade and mass produced, the importance of the handmade is crucial to each artist’s practice. Reminiscent of a jigsaw puzzle, every different piece Misha Harrison’s artworks has been drawn onto the wood, cut, painted and finished to fit into its place. Through the use of nostalgic and sentimental elements sourced from all over Australia, Tanya Stubbles captures memories through texture.

Collectors who appreciate texture will be drawn to Melony Kara Smirniotis’s thick impasto paintings at Gallery 11:11. Her art features layers of tactile markings that play with light, creating a dynamic viewing experience.

The Hadley’s Art Prize, valued at $100,000, is the world’s most prestigious landscape art award. Greenbridge Gallery founder Joe Blundell was a finalist the same year he debuted his artist-led gallery stand at the Affordable Art Fair. Joining Joe is acclaimed artist Nat Ward who was a finalist in many of Australia’s most prestigious prizes including the Hadleys, Ravenswood, and Geelong Contemporary Art Prize. We are proud to share Nat has also recently won ‘The John Villiers Outback Prize’. Greenbridge Gallery is a contemporary fine art space showcasing Australian artists, with a strong focus on landscape painting and fine oil painting.

Celebrated for over 27 years of partnership in both love and creativity, Ulan and Rachel’s sculptures explore nature’s beauty and complexity, winning over 20 People’s Choice Awards along the way. Together they founded ‘Blue Umbra‘, which highlights a curated selection of contemporary art and sculpture.

Gallery NWC is a new gallery space managed by Nationwide Curating, whose mission is to support local artists and bridge the gap for regional artists by enabling them to have their work viewed outside of their hometowns. The gallery features many detailed and awe-inspiring artworks that we encourage art lovers to add to their collections.

Chloe Watego, Lauren Rogers, Nathan Rogers-Falk, Nikita Fitzpatrick-Newly, and Sue Mitchell take centre stage in this year’s Spotlight on First Nations Art, a must-visit for visitors seeking to add contemporary artworks to their collection. Experience live painting and weaving, set against the backdrop of hand-painted mural, Flourish: Stories of Meanjin, by Lauren Rogers. 

Aboriginal Contemporary (Sydney) and Yamma Ganu (Moree) have both spent years building trusted relationships with Aboriginal owned and operated art centres and share a commitment to ethical practices that financially support communities. The gallery exhibits both established and emerging artists.

Brad is an Australian Indigenous artist from the Saltwater people of Bundjalung Country, a region spanning southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales. His artistic journey began at the family dining table, where he and his daughter explored their heritage through art. From these humble beginnings, his work has grown, leading to collaborations with some of Australia’s most respected names and brands and the creation of gallery, Brad Turner Creative.

VANDAL LTD is located in the bustling city of Auckland, New Zealand, specialises in post-graffiti and contemporary works. Featured artist Rachel Rush has art in various private collections in New Zealand and Internationally including the Wallace Collection.

A life-long love of painting and studying Visual Arts at RMIT inspired Kirsten Jacksons vibrant career as an abstract artist. Kirsten’s works can be found gracing the glossy pages of magazines like Home Beautiful, Inside Out, Real Living and Modern Home Magazine and her paintings were hand-selected to adorn the walls of nearly every room in Southbank’s Aria Hotel. French-born, Catherine Hiller studied art in Paris before embarking on a successful career in advertising in the UK. After 11 years in the UK, she moved to Australia in 2004 and has been living in Melbourne since. She has had solo and group shows in France, England and Australia and her work is represented in private collections in the Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia. Together these two abstract painters alongside Susan Moore, form Jacksonhiller a contemporary art collective.

With a gallery space located on Edward Street in Brisbane’s vibrant CBD, Lisa Taylor King blends paint, glazes, gold leaf, and mixed media to craft striking impressionist and abstract works echoing half-remembered vistas and emotional responses.

Stevens Street Gallery is a vibrant art space located in the heart of the historical township of Yandina on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Supporting artists and designers from the Sunshine Coast and Southeast QLD corner from various creative fields, Stevens Street Gallery has quickly become one of the most popular emerging and collaborative art spaces in the region providing a place to connect, supporting a large collective of local artists.

Known for its iconic ‘little feature wall’, Aspire Gallery curates a wonderful selection of small but mighty artworks perfect for a saloon-style hang under $500! Each visit feels like a treasure hunt as you explore the vast array of affordable and diverse artworks. No wonder the Affordable Art Fair team loves it, with many members collecting the perfect piece for their walls from this much-loved Brisbane-based gallery.

Artist Andria Beighton from CAL Collective created the ‘Tinnies’ series offering a delightful collection of small canvases, each priced at $330. Her work beautifully explores a lifelong passion for textiles, homewares, and architectural design spanning from the 1930s to the 1970s, gracing her paintings with an unmistakable nostalgic charm.

The Toowoomba Gallery drew a crowd at our 2024 Brisbane and Sydney fairs with a bright hang of artworks under $1000. With artworks from landscapes to still lifes at varying price points, a budget-conscious buyer is sure to be delighted at the range on offer. 

Access Arts is Queensland’s leading organisation creating opportunities in the visual arts for people with disability or disadvantage. Working alongside artists and other industry organisations, Access Arts drives a creative dialogue around how an inclusive arts ecology enriches our arts industry.

The Gold Coast, renowned for its stunning beaches and vibrant lifestyle, offers more than just sand and surf, it’s also home to so many talented and inspiring artists. This online art gallery aptly named Gold Coast Gallery of Art, presents a collection that not only showcases the talents of artists but exploring works that feel optimistic, inspiring, and hopeful.