Image: Bundanon, New York
Shaun Gladwell and Ben Quilty will discuss Arthur Boyd’s work and his portrayal of the human figure in ‘Figures In A Landscape’, a public conversation at Bundanon Art Museum in Illaroo, New South Wales, on 20 September 2026. The talk will be led by curator Sophie O’Brien and is scheduled to begin at 11am.
Presented as a conversation between two leading Australian artists and friends, the programme will consider Boyd’s practice through the lens of contemporary artistic work. According to Bundanon, the discussion will examine how Boyd’s representations of the human figure continue to inform approaches to art and retain resonance in contemporary practice.
The event is part of a broader programme at the Bundanon Art Museum, which is located at 170 Riversdale Road, Illaroo, in the Shoalhaven region of New South Wales. The venue’s current listings also connect the talk with ‘Man On Fire’, an exhibition bringing Arthur Boyd’s work into dialogue with a significant new commission by Shaun Gladwell. Entry to the Art Museum, Homestead and Arthur Boyd Studio is included with the event ticket for the day.
Quilty is known for an expressive painting style marked by thick impasto, smudging and a physically direct treatment of the picture surface. His work frequently uses unsettling or iconic imagery to explore relationships between personal experience and cultural meaning. He has exhibited in Australia and internationally, was a finalist in the Wynne and Archibald prizes, and won the Archibald Prize in 2011. His work is held in major public and private collections across Australia.
Gladwell works across painting, photography, installation, performance and video, with human movement central to his investigations of urban, natural and extended-reality environments. His video works often place bodies in motion—whether skateboarding, surfing or dancing—in relation to the landscapes around them. His practice also considers the range of human experience, from play and creativity to geopolitical conflict, and asks how people function within collective social and political structures.
‘Figures In A Landscape’ is priced at $18 for adults and $12 for concession attendees, while family tickets cost $40 and Bundanon members attend free. The listed event location is Bundanon Art Museum, 170 Riversdale Road, Illaroo, NSW. Accessibility requests can be submitted during the booking process.
