Shanti Shea An (b. 1993, Adelaide, Australia) is an artist living and working in Sydney, Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts (First Class Honours) and a Master of Art History & Curatorial Studies (Advanced), and is currently pursuing a practice-led PhD at the School of Art and Design at the Australian National University. Her practice is concerned with how images are read and translated when submitted to the process of painting. The images she works with are drawn from a range of sources—mass media, art history, and personal photographs—with the act of painting suggesting a kind of equivalence across these categories. She deals with ambiguity and multiplicity in images, with many of her paintings suggesting something that has been taken out of context, interrupted, or suspended in mid-air. Characterised by an atmosphere of deceptive calm or quiet unease, the paintings linger on narrative gaps and potential openings. Shanti has held solo exhibitions and has participated in group exhibitions across Australia. Alongside her studio practice, she is also a Sessional Lecturer and Tutor at the Australian National University.

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Education
MA (Art History and Curatorial Studies, by Research), Australian National University, 2019
BVA (Painting, First Class Honours), Australian National University, 2016

Solo exhibitions
2023 The world folding in upon itself, ANCA Gallery, Canberra
2023 Back to front, Airspace Projects, Sydney
2017 No Newness, The Front Gallery, Canberra
2016 Other Loves, Canberra Contemporary Art Space Manuka, Canberra

Group exhibitions
2023 Mosman Art Prize Finalists Exhibition, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney
2022 Don’t be a Stranger, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
2022 Fountains & Follies, curated by Woody Mellor, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
2020 Fuzzy Logic, Tributary Projects, Canberra
2019 Looks like music, sounds like painting, curated by Ruth Waller, gallery of small things, Canberra
2019 Fragments, The Front Gallery, Canberra
2019 Hot Property, Tributary Projects, Canberra
2018 This View, Tributary Projects, Canberra
2018 The Radical Familiar, curated by Ashanti Fogden, Piermarq, Sydney
2018 Spectrum, curated by Natasha McDonald, Prompt Gallery, Canberra
2018 Concrete., Degenerate and Six Gallery, Canberra
2018 Art Letter Home – Artist Manuscripts and Letters, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province
2018 Ruby Honours 1, Canberra Contemporary Art Space Manuka, Canberra
2017 Sightlines, Collab Gallery, Sydney
2017 Nobody’s Baby, The Ladies Network and Central Park, The Workspace, Sydney
2017 At the End of the World, .M Contemporary, Sydney
2016 Graduating Exhibition, Australian National University School of Art Gallery, Canberra

Prizes and grants
2023 Mosman Art Prize (Finalist)
2022 Eloquence Art Prize (Winner)
2019 Masters Prize for Excellence, Australian National University
2018 Endeavour Mobility Grant, funding for short-term study in Rome and Paris
2016 University Medal, Australian National University
2016 Peter and Lena Karmel Prize
2016 .M Contemporary Emerging Artist Award
2016 The Front Gallery and Café Exhibition Award
2016 EASS Acquisition Award
2016 ANU School of Art Drawing Prize (Finalist, Highly Commended)

Press
Interview with Elsa Meunier
When Words Fail: Shanti Shea An On Why She Paints, interview with Rosie Flanagan, Ignant Magazine

Writing
Further Reading: Geoff Raby Collection of Chinese Art, La Trobe Art Institute, La Trobe University

Conference papers
2021 Centre/Margin: Interruptions and Asymmetries in Painted Reading, Art Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference, Sydney, December 2021

Public lectures
2022 Encounters and Destinations: Henri Matisse and Hilda Rix Nicholas, Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University

Teaching
2018-23 Sessional Tutor and Lecturer (Painting, Art History & Theory, Foundation Studies), ANU School of Art & Design