Sarah Hickey is a Brisbane-based painter whose contemporary figurative works explore archetypes, mythology and memory. Drawing on folklore, art history and personal experience, her paintings inhabit the space between the seen and unseen, weaving together women, birds, animals, flora and recurring iconography into richly layered visual narratives. Through these imagined worlds, Hickey considers themes of duality, spirituality, transformation, and our enduring relationship with place, ancestry, and the living presence of the natural world.
Hickey holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Education from Griffith University and has maintained a parallel career as a practising artist and Visual Arts educator for over two decades. She has presented more than ten solo exhibitions and has been selected as a finalist in numerous national art prizes, including the Sunshine Coast National Art Prize, Percival Portrait Prize, Brisbane Portrait Prize, Kennedy Art Prize and Clayton Utz Art Award. She is represented by Grainger Gallery, Canberra, and her work is held in private collections throughout Australia and internationally.
CV
Bachelor of Visual Arts in Fine Art, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, 1997.
Bachelor of Education in Secondary Education, Griffith University, 2002.
Residencies:
2025 - Greywood Arts Residency, Killeagh, Ireland.
2017 – Tweed River Regional Gallery, NSW, Australia.
2017 – Graniti Art Project/Murales, Sicily, Italy.
Awards:
2025 - Finalist Callinan Chambers Art Prize, Brisbane
2024 - Finalist Sunshine Coast National Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Gallery
2024/2022/2020 - Finalist The Percival Portrait Awards, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
2023/2022/2019/2017/2016/2011 - Finalist in the Clayton Utz Art Awards, QLD
2022 - Semi-Finalist The Doug Moran Portrait Prize
2020 - Semi-finalist The Lester Art Prize, WA
2020 - Finalist Brisbane Portrait Prize, QLD
2019 - Finalist in The Kennedy Arts Prize, SA
2019 - Finalist in the Southern Buoy Portrait Prize, VIC
2019/2018/2017/2016/2015/2014/2013 - Finalist Lethbridge 10000 Small Scale Art Award, QLD
2018/16 - Finalist in the RQAS Queensland Figurative Art Prize, QLD
2018 - Winner of the Mixed Media Category at Rotary Art Spectacular, QLD
2019/2018/2017/2016/2015/2014/2013 - Finalist Lethbridge 10000 Small Scale Art Award, QLD
2016 - Finalist Kirribilli Centre 40th Anniversary Art Prize, NSW
2016/2015 - Finalist SHE Art Awards, Walker Street Gallery, Dandenong, VIC
2014 - Finalist Redland Art Awards, QLD
2014 - Finalist Moreton Bay Region Art Award, QLD
2012 - Finalist Kenilworth Painting Prize, QLD
2012 - Finalist and recipient of the People's Choice Award Marie Ellis OAM Prize for Drawing, QLD
2012 - Finalist Mandorla Art Award, WA
2012 - Finalist Xstrata Percival Portrait Award, QLD
Solo Exhibitions
2024 - Of Days and Deities, Grainger Gallery, Sept 2024, Canberra
2020 - Home, Hearth & Harbingers, Brisbane, Qld.
2019 - Kindred, Boom Gallery, Geelong, VIC
2018 - Camouflage, Lethbridge Gallery, Paddington
2017 - Interior Jungles, Lethbridge Gallery, Paddington
2015 - Vessel, Graydon Gallery, New Farm
2014 - Roost and Brood, Graydon Gallery, New Farm
2013 - Viscera, Graydon Gallery, New Farm
2012 - Tabernacle of Skin, Lust For Life Gallery, Fortitude Valley
2011 - Horned Lace Idols, White Canvas Gallery, Fortitude Valley
2010 - Menagerie at White Canvas Gallery, Fortitude Valley
Group Exhibitions
2024/2022/2020 – The Percival Portrait Awards, Townsville
2023 - Spring Jardin and Falling Flowers, Grainger Gallery, Canberra
2022 - Spring Song, Grainger Gallery, Canberra
2020 - Finalist’s Exhibition Brisbane Portrait Prize, Brisbane
2020 - Finalist’s Exhibition The Kennedy Arts Prize, Adelaide
2019 - Finalist’s Exhibition in the Southern Buoy Portrait Prize, Mornington, VIC.
2019/2018/2017/2016/2015/2014 - Lethbridge 10000 Small Scale Art Award, Paddington.
2019/2017/2016/2011 - Clayton Utz Art Awards, Brisbane.
2016/2015 - SHE Art Awards, Walker Street Gallery, Dandenong.
2014 - Finalists Exhibition Redland Art Awards.
2014 - Finalists Exhibition Moreton Bay Art Awards.
2012 - Kenilworth Art Award - Exhibition of Finalists, Kenilworth.
2012 - Marie Ellis OAM Award - Exhibition of finalists, Jugglers Art Space, Fortitude Valley.
2012 - Toyota Community Spirit Emerging Art Awards, Melbourne.
2011 - Folk Art / Fine Art, BSG, Melbourne.