about alice pulvers
Alice was born in Tokyo, Japan and grew up in both Tokyo and Kyoto with her two younger sisters, also artists, and her older brother. She was educated in Japanese schools until she moved to Sydney in 2000 and is bilingual and bicultural in Japanese and English. When Alice was 15, she travelled to Paris, and the art she saw there made a strong and lasting impression on her. She has subsequently travelled in Europe with Sophie, particularly spending time in Germany and again in France. Alice and her two younger sisters painted and drew from a young age; and although the three artists have evolved quite distinct artistic styles, their bond as professional artists continues. Alice studied immunology and genetics at university and at the same time took courses at the Julian Ashton Art School and at COFA in Sydney. While at university, Alice and Sophie had the opportunity to spend five weeks at the National University of Singapore as part of an exchange program for science students; and in 2012, Alice spent three weeks in Shanghai with Sophie. Alice’s visit to Shanghai and visits to traditional Chinese gardens inspired her to paint a large work in gouache on paper depicting the stone pavements and carvings she saw.
Alice has been a finalist in numerous art prizes and has been a semi-finalist in the national Doug Moran Portraiture Prize 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. She has also been a finalist in the Hunters Hill Art Prize in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and a finalist in the Mandorla Art Prize in WA in 2015. Recently, Alice has been a finalist in the 2018 Mosman Art Prize, the 2018 Portia Geach Art Prize and a semi-finalist in the 2019 BP Portraiture Prize in London. Alice paints in gouache on paper and also in oils. Her artistic style has evolved over time, but a consistent feature of her work is the inclusion of all manner of animals, birds and plants in her compositions. Alice’s work strongly reflects, in colour and composition, her childhood in Japan, surrounded by traditional and contemporary Japanese art. In her compositions, Alice overlays many layers of colour and pattern, and her works do not generally have a symmetry drawn from the European artistic tradition.
(Above: 'Abstract Landscape' 'oil on canvas by Alice Pulvers)
Alice has been a finalist in numerous art prizes and has been a semi-finalist in the national Doug Moran Portraiture Prize 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. She has also been a finalist in the Hunters Hill Art Prize in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and a finalist in the Mandorla Art Prize in WA in 2015. Recently, Alice has been a finalist in the 2018 Mosman Art Prize, the 2018 Portia Geach Art Prize and a semi-finalist in the 2019 BP Portraiture Prize in London. Alice paints in gouache on paper and also in oils. Her artistic style has evolved over time, but a consistent feature of her work is the inclusion of all manner of animals, birds and plants in her compositions. Alice’s work strongly reflects, in colour and composition, her childhood in Japan, surrounded by traditional and contemporary Japanese art. In her compositions, Alice overlays many layers of colour and pattern, and her works do not generally have a symmetry drawn from the European artistic tradition.
(Above: 'Abstract Landscape' 'oil on canvas by Alice Pulvers)
ABOUT sophie PULVERS
Sophie was born in Tokyo, Japan and grew up in both Tokyo and Kyoto with her two sisters, also artists, and her older brother. She was educated in Japanese schools until she moved to Sydney in 2001, is bilingual and bicultural in Japanese and English and continues to be a frequent visitor to Japan. Sophie and her older and younger sisters are professional artists. From an early age, sharing their childhoods in Japan, they all drew and painted together and this relationship, founded in their artistic careers, is unusually intense and close. Sophie has a university background in environmental science, and her love of the natural world is reflected in her work, in which she most often paints animal subjects. While at university, Sophie had the opportunity to spend five weeks at the National University of Singapore with her sister Alice as part of an exchange program for science students; and in 2012, Sophie and Alice spent three weeks in Shanghai. Sophie’s work, like the work of her two sisters, reflects the experiences of her childhood growing up surrounded by both traditional and contemporary Japanese art as well as her experiences travelling overseas. Sophie’s vibrant and idiosyncratic use of colour reflects her formative years in Japan. Japanese artists, particularly fabric artists and contemporary artists, utilise intense colour, often overlaying contrasting patterns and colour schemes in a way that is uncommon in Western art.
Sophie has been a semi-finalist in the national Doug Moran Portraiture Prize in 2015 and has also been a finalist in the Hunters Hill Art Prize in 2015, 2016 and 2017. She was also a finalist in the Mosman Art Prize 2016.
Recently, Sophie has been re-interpreting the animal subject etchings and paintings of the 15th/16th-century German artist Albrecht Durer. She has also created a series of large works inspired by the renowned 18th-century Japanese artist Ito Jakuchu.
Sophie has been a semi-finalist in the national Doug Moran Portraiture Prize in 2015 and has also been a finalist in the Hunters Hill Art Prize in 2015, 2016 and 2017. She was also a finalist in the Mosman Art Prize 2016.
Recently, Sophie has been re-interpreting the animal subject etchings and paintings of the 15th/16th-century German artist Albrecht Durer. She has also created a series of large works inspired by the renowned 18th-century Japanese artist Ito Jakuchu.
ABOUT Lucy PULVERS
Lucy was born in Kyoto, Japan and grew up in both Tokyo and Kyoto with her two older sisters, also artists, and her older brother. She was educated in Japanese schools until she moved to Sydney in 2001 and is bilingual and bicultural in Japanese and English. In 2014, she was awarded the Thea Proctor Scholarship by the Julian Ashton Art School where she studied for four years. Lucy paints in both oil and watercolour. She has been a finalist in the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 Hunters Hill Art Prize; was a finalist in the 2017 and 2018 Portia Geach Portraiture Prize; and a semi-finalist in the 2018 BP Portraiture Prize held annually at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Lucy recently spent a year in the UK and travelled in Europe, particularly spending time in Germany. This was an intense period of looking at art, as well as painting and drawing while living in London. This period marked a distinctive development in Lucy’s personal artistic style. A large self-portrait painted in oil on linen while living in London was selected for inclusion in the 2019 Mosman Art Prize. A large watercolour by Lucy was selected for inclusion in the 207thannual exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours held in the prestigious Mall Galleries in central London. In 2020, three large watercolour paintings by Lucy were once again selected to be exhibited in the 208th Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours annual exhibition. One large self-portrait was awarded the ‘President’s Choice Award’.
Lucy is essentially a figure painter and portrait artist. All of her artistic work is rooted in her relationship to line and drawing as the foundation of all her paintings, both in watercolour and oils. This is one way in which her childhood and on-going relationship to Japanese artistic culture, both traditional and modern, is evident in her work. Lucy’s work is intense, both in line and colour, and is focused on the expression of mood and emotion. In her work, Lucy strives to capture the way the human mind in all its emotional and moral complexity is made visible to the eye.
Lucy is essentially a figure painter and portrait artist. All of her artistic work is rooted in her relationship to line and drawing as the foundation of all her paintings, both in watercolour and oils. This is one way in which her childhood and on-going relationship to Japanese artistic culture, both traditional and modern, is evident in her work. Lucy’s work is intense, both in line and colour, and is focused on the expression of mood and emotion. In her work, Lucy strives to capture the way the human mind in all its emotional and moral complexity is made visible to the eye.