Nani Puspasari

Visual Artist & Illustrator
based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia

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Contact
hello@designani.com
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Artist Statement

Nani’s diverse artistic practice encompasses painting, graphics, installation, and ceramic sculpture, exploring the intersection of childhood memories, identity, migration, and cultural hybridity. Her work delves into emotions of innocence, anxiety, loss, and sorrow. Drawing inspiration from the vibrant colours and intricate patterns of traditional Asian art and the bold forms of Western art, her work engages with the complexities of cultural in influences.

Nani Puspasari
Chinese Indonesian-born Australian artist
based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia

Education

2010 Master of Fine Art, RMIT, Melbourne
2008 Master of Design (Communication), Swinburne, Melbourne
2003 Bachelor of Visual Communication Design, UKPetra, ID

Selected Awards + Grants + Residencies

2024 Finalist, (11th) The Korea-Australia Arts Foundation Prize
Finalist, Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize
Finalist, North Queensland Ceramic Awards
Finalist, Emerging Artist Award 2024 by Fortyfivedownstairs
Residency, Raku - Symposium BIODIVERSITY, Mils, Tyrol, Habsburgs, Austria
Residency, RMUTT University, Thanyaburi, Thailand
2023 Sculpture Highly Commended, Hornsby Art Prize
Finalist, Muswellbrook Art Prize (Ceramic)
Residency, SoYun Art Space, Haenam, South Korea
Residency, Jeonnam International SUMUK Biennale, South Korea
Finalist, Little Things Art Prize (Ceramic)
Finalist, TRAILS Sculpture Prize
2021 Finalist, (8th) The Korea-Australia Arts Foundation Prize
Grant, Sustaining Creative Workers initiative, RAV
Grant, Small Project Grants, City of Yarra
2020 Residency, 15th Arts Festival, Poh Chang Academy of Arts, Bangkok
Grant, National Assistance Program for the Arts, Sidney Myer Fund
2019 Residency, Jeonnam International SUMUK Biennale, South Korea
Residency, RMUTI International Art Workshop 2019, Korat, Thailand
Merit, 3x3 International Illustration Award No.16
2018 Fine Art Prize, Japan Illustration Award
2017 Best of Best, Hiii Illustration Award (Commercial)
2016 Runners up, Creative Quarterly 46 (Illustration)
2015 Residency, Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, Bali, Indonesia
Shortlisted, Premio Combat Prize (Graphic Arts)
2013 Shortlisted, Create Design Award (Illustration)
Silver, Illustrator Australia Award
Finalist, Lethbridge Art Award (Painting)
2008 Winner, Bank of Queensland Encouragement Award (Painting)

Solo Exhibitions

2024 Childhood Cheeks, Grown-Up Madness, Manningham Art Gallery
Invisible Playground, Vitrine Gallery, CRAFT VIC
2023 More Birthday Cake, SOL Gallery, Melbourne
2022 Adulthood, Alternative Current Space, Melbourne
2021 Macan, Black Cat Gallery, Melbourne
2019 Between Somewhere, Black Cat Gallery, Melbourne
2017 Garden Soul, Off The Kerb Gallery, Melbourne
2011 Girl & Animal, First Site Gallery, Melbourne

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024 The New Generation: Asian Heritage in Ceramics, Bunjil Place Gallery
Small Pleasures, Gallery Lowe and Lee, Sydney
Biodiversity, Galerie Im Schalterhaus, Mils, Austria
Divergence, Sol Gallery, Melbourne
Dragon Dream, Haengchon Art Museum, Haenam, South Korea
2023 Hornsby Art Prize, the Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre, Hornsby, NSW
The Taste of Haenam, Daeheungsa, Haenam, South Korea
Immersed Mountains and Serene Waters, Mokpo Culture and Art Centre, South Korea
Muswellbrook Art Prize Exhibition, NSW
Gather|Together, Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart, Tasmania
Welcome Home, Honey Bones Gallery
TRAILS Sculpture Prize, Portland CBD, South West Coast, VIC
Gems: So Far, Divisions Gallery at Pentridge, Melbourne
Senhwa (Black Rabbit), Haengchon Art Museum, South Korea
2022 Deckade, Backwoods Gallery, Melbourne
Local 2022, Outre Gallery, Melbourne
2021 Jeonnam International SUMUK Biennale, South Korea
2021 KAAF Art Prize Award Exhibition, Sydney
2020 Time Change, RMUTT, Thanyaburi, Thailand
2019 Gong-jae & The Artists’ Self Portrait, Haengchon Art Museum, Korea
Femina Extravaganza, Black Cat Gallery, Melbourne
2018 Illustrating Life III, Beijing, China
2015 Premio Combat, Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori ex Granai di Villa Mimbelli, Liverno, Italy
2013 4th Annual Belle Arti Prize, Chapman & Bailey Gallery, Melbourne
2012 Dino Wars, Jurassic Lounge, Australia Museum, Sydney
2011 Nursery Rhymes, Urban Cow Studio Gallery, Adelaide
2010 The Space that Measures Distance, Chinese Museum, Melbourne
Drawgasmic, The Mad Art Gallery, Saint Louis, USA
2008 A Walk of Art, The Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, Melbourne
Fifth Annual SNAP TO GRID, APWArts Gallery, Los Angeles
BRAngerous Women Art Exhibition, CCCL, Sby, ID
2007 Fine Art East Java 2007, Taman Budaya, Sby, ID
07 Joint, Busan, South Korea
Fine Art: Wanita (h), Gallery Surabaya, Sby, ID
Graphic Art Modern, Taman Budaya, Sby, ID

Public Art Works

2023 Coles South Melbourne, Melbourne - mural
2022 Lunar Banner (Tiger), Sydney Lunar Festival, City of Sydney
2021 Me and UooUoo: The RCH150 Anniversary Art Trail by The Royal Children's Foundation Hospital
2010-now Mural, private/ commercial commissions

Collections

Muswellbrook Shire Art Collection, Australia
Haengchon Cultural Art Foundation(ACAF), South Korea
Haenam Culture & Arts Centre, South Korea
Poh Chang Academy of Art, Bangkok, Thailand
Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, Thailand
Private Collections: USA, Australia, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia

Selected Press

2023 ABC Art-Works season.03 ep.12
2018 The artist creates fantasies that challenge women’s reality, Vice ID
2018 Melbourne Art, Uppercase 36, magazine
2017 Home Living, featured on The Herald Sun p.24-25, 30
2016 An Obsession to Create, Tempo, March page 14-20
2015 An Artist Called Nani, interview by Helen Brown
2012 Book: Arbeitende Orte (German Edition)
2011 Culture, Nylon Mag Ed.Dec p.64
more press