Yvette Coppersmith, painter, was born in Melbourne in 1980. She completed a degree in Fine Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2001.
Painting has long been Coppersmith’s medium of choice with an emphasis on portraiture through which the viewer is able to connect not only with the represented subject but also with the artist. Small details such as the shape and colour of hair, skin blemishes and the contours formed through a simple smile, are of great significance for Coppersmith in her work. These fragments combine to form a kind of knowledge concerning both the human condition and inter-subjective relationships.
Her works also represent a constant questioning or reflection upon the genre of portraiture itself. According to Coppersmith, “In contemporary times, a self-portrait relates to the need to be seen – a need validated by our narcissistic culture. It also allows for the control of one’s image, which women are lacking within the male-driven barrage of consumer advertising” (pers. corres.).
In a 2010 exhibition, 'Loft Suite,’ held at the Chalk Horse Gallery, Sydney, Coppersmith’s paintings took as their focus, not human subjects, but instead the interior of an artist’s studio. In this instance, space became the subject of inquiry and investigation through which Coppersmith constructed a Baudelairean context around which the lives of individuals and creative events took place.
Coppersmith has exhibited for the past nine years in Sydney and Melbourne. She has held solo exhibitions at Linden St Kilda Centre for Contemporary Art (2004, 2006), Blindside Artist Run Space (2008), Metro Gallery (2008), Horus and Deloris (2009) and Chalk Horse Gallery (2010). Her group shows include 'The Outsider’ (2010) at Trocadero Art Space, Footscray; 'Linden Postcard Show’ (2009, 2010) at Linden St Kilda Centre for Contemporary Arts; 'Memento Mori’ (2007) at blkmrkt Gallery, Southport, QLD; 'Selecta’ (2005) at Westspace, Melbourne; 'End of the Year Show’ (2005) at Axes Art Space, Camberwell and 'Me Mine Ours’ (2002) at Red Gallery, North Fitzroy.
Coppersmith has been a finalist in competitions such as the Archibald Prize (2008, 2009), the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (2002, 2006, 2007), the Portia Geach Memorial Award (2003, 2007, 2008) and the Metro 5 Art Award where she was the inaugural winner in 2003 and a finalist (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007). She was included in the 2010 edition of Who’s Who of Australian Women . Coppersmith has also been commissioned to paint several portraits for distinguished figures such as Justice Rosemary Balmford and Clive Gregory. Her works are held in a number of public and private collections, including Benalla Art Gallery, Benalla; the Supreme Court of Victoria; and Holding Redlich Lawyers, Melbourne.
- Writers:
- Chalk Horse Gallery
- Date written:
- 2010
- Last updated:
- 2011
