BIO
Liz Payne is an artist living and working in the inner city of Sydney, Australia. Her vibrant and distinctive work explores abstraction through colour, shape & form with a combination of mediums including paint, embroidery and beading. With occurring themes of symmetry, symbolism and the power of pattern being explored the works simultaneously grab the viewers attention from afar whilst also drawing them closer to explore the meticulously detailed and intricate textures, painstakingly layered upon and hand stitched from within her Sydney studio.
Liz’s colourful aesthetic evolved through her strong background in visual arts, design, and years of honing in on her craft. Liz holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts degree from the University of Western Sydney, a Certificate IV in Graphic Design from Shillington College (followed by a career working as a designer across numerous international magazine publications) and a background growing up experimenting with stitch, fabric, wool and textiles from a young age. It is this accumulation of different practices that makes Liz’s work break the stereotypes of craft, and there is always a pursuit of breaking the rules of expectation, evident in some of Liz’s large scale embroidered artworks, of which can take months (even years) to complete.
Regularly exhibiting her work in Australia and abroad, Liz sells her pieces online and has began expanding her range of one of a kind pieces to include necklaces, earrings and other pieces of wearable art. As each piece is meticulously embroidered and beaded by hand, no two pieces are ever the same - ensuring each piece is a one-off collectable.
A W A R D S & A C H I E V E M E N T S
FINALIST Reimagine Art Prize for 'Hanging by a Thread'
FINALIST Bowral Sculpture Prize for 'Tangled'
HIGHLY COMMENDED Little Things Art Prize at Saint Cloche Gallery for 'Escapism' 2017
Collaboration with GORMAN CLOTHING for the AUTUMN '17 Collection
Collaboration with GORMAN CLOTHING for the Winter '19 10 years Collaboration Collection
WINNER Etsy Design Award (Art, Illustration, Papergoods category) 'Not Afraid' 2015
FINALIST Wangaratta Textile Award 'It's What's on the Inside that Counts' 2015
FINALIST Cambridge Street Gallery 'Who is Looking at You? Portrait Prize', 'Self Portrait Looking at Door' 2015
HIGHLY COMMENDED Belle Arti Prize 'Eyem' 2014
FINALIST Craft NSW Emerging Artist Craft Award 'Embody' 2014
E D U C A T I O N
Certificate IV in Computer Graphic Design, Shillington College, Sydney 2003
Bachelor of Visual Arts, University of Western Sydney, Sydney 1999 - 2002
High School Certificate, Meriden School, Sydney 1998
E X H I B I T I O N S
2021
Remagine Art Prize finalist, Hornsby, NSW
Bowral Art Gallery Sculpture Prize finalist, Bowral
2020-2021
Isolate Make: Creative Resilience in a Pandemic group exhibition at The Australian Design Centre, Sydney as part of Sydney Festival
2019
Gorman: 10 Years of Collaboration Celebration exhibition at Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
2018
The End.... Again group exhibition, Newcastle
Fenton & Fenton Peace of Art exhibition, Melbourne
'Stitch Cult' group exhibition, Artisan QLD, Brisbane
'Entwine' group exhibition at NSVA Gallery, Northbridge, Sydney
2017
Balmain Art & Craft Show, Balmain, Sydney
'Visible Light' group exhibition at Sheffer Gallery, Darlington, Sydney
Little Things Art Prize, Saint Cloche Gallery, Paddington, Sydney
Sydney Children's Hospital Pattern & Colour spring exhibition, Sydney
Thread + Colour 2, William Street Gallery Paddington, Sydney
2016
Fenton & Fenton Peace of Art Exhibition, Melbourne
Balmain Art & Craft Show Balmain, Sydney
Artist Open House Fremantle, WA
The Other Art Fair, Sydney
Thread + Colour, William Street Gallery Paddington, Sydney
2015
The Other Art Fair, Sydney
Hands group exhibition, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
Create - Friends of the Australian Ballet Bloche Point shoe exhibition, Melbourne
Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award, Melbourne (Finalist)
Strike Away exhibition, San Francisco
Who is Looking at You? Portrait Prize, Cambridge Street Gallery, Melbourne (Finalist)
Supergraph, Melbourne
2014
Belle Arti Prize, Melbourne (Highly Commended)
Fenton & Fenton Peace of Art exhibition, Melbourne
Craft NSW Emerging Artist Craft Award, Sydney (Finalist)
RAW group exhibition, Sydney
Lethbridge 10,000 Small Scale Art Award, Brisbane (Online Finalist)
Supergraph, Melbourne
2013-12
Brunswick Street Gallery 40 x 40 exhibitions, Melbourne