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NAS Retake: Robert Owen

NAS Connect

NAS Retake: Robert Owen

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Next up for NAS Retake we have NAS alumnus Robert Owen. This week, we took a deep dive into the artist’s practice and looked at how music influences his work.

Study for Manta 6/1 (or panel #6) is from the series Music for the Eyes, which was inspired by Arvo Pärt’s work Spiegel im Spiegel and Für Alina. It runs in a sequence of mirror phrases, patterns, structures and sensations. He is interested in the ‘chromatic quality’ of music. Owen says ‘Music has played an important role in my practice; the jazz clubs in Darlinghurst in the 1950s became part of my education alongside the National Art School’.

Owen was taught at the National Art School by sculptor Lyndon Dadswell who encouraged Owen’s enthusiasm to think and feel through materials, through gravity and movement, through space, light, colour and form.

The work Feeling form (blind carving) is a work made from the period when Owen was a student at the National Art School between 1958 and 1962. “A number of these were made as ‘homework’, a Frank Lumb exercise in carving. Whittling away blindfolded with a pocket knife until a satisfactory form emerged from the hands” – Robert Owen.

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Keep your eyes peeled on our page as we feature new works and artists straight from the NAS Archive and Collection. Follow the hashtag on Instagram to stay up-to-date with our latest posts.

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We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the Prudence MacLeod Prize.

The Prudence MacLeod Prize, which will continue for a further three years, supports a recent National Art School graduate to undertake a six-month residency at @acme.art, London.

Supported by the Lansdowne Foundation, the Prize provides an emerging artist with an opportunity to step forward into an expanded, international context at a vital time in their career. The artist will live and work in London, one of the world`s great art cities, in a supportive artist community. This important opportunity will enable the artist to forge professional international contacts, explore London`s art world and rich cultural resources, and produce a new body of work.

The recipient of this Prize will receive:
– Return travel to London. To be arranged for the artist by NAS.
– Studio accommodation and workspace at Acme Studios for 6 months.
– Living stipend of $AUD3,500 per month for 6 months. Total $AUD21,000.

Application deadline: Sunday 1 February 2026, 11.59pm
Residency: Monday 6 July – Friday 18 December 2026

The Prudence MacLeod Prize is open to eligible NAS alumni who have graduated within the past five years and meet the selection criteria.

Learn more 🔗 in bio.

—
Acme Fire Station, 30 Gillender Street, 1999 © Acme Archive

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Dec 11

Open post by nas_au with ID 17852100045598290
We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the Prudence MacLeod Prize. The Prudence MacLeod Prize, which will continue for a further three years, supports a recent National Art School graduate to undertake a six-month residency at @acme.art, London. Supported by the Lansdowne Foundation, the Prize provides an emerging artist with an opportunity to step forward into an expanded, international context at a vital time in their career. The artist will live and work in London, one of the world's great art cities, in a supportive artist community. This important opportunity will enable the artist to forge professional international contacts, explore London's art world and rich cultural resources, and produce a new body of work. The recipient of this Prize will receive: – Return travel to London. To be arranged for the artist by NAS. – Studio accommodation and workspace at Acme Studios for 6 months. – Living stipend of $AUD3,500 per month for 6 months. Total $AUD21,000. Application deadline: Sunday 1 February 2026, 11.59pm Residency: Monday 6 July – Friday 18 December 2026 The Prudence MacLeod Prize is open to eligible NAS alumni who have graduated within the past five years and meet the selection criteria. Learn more 🔗 in bio. — Acme Fire Station, 30 Gillender Street, 1999 © Acme Archive

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the opening of The Grad Show!

Find works by this year`s cohort exhibited throughout the NAS campus until 14 December. Open daily from 11am — 5pm and until 9pm on Fridays.

View online via 🔗 in bio.

—
Video: Tim Connolly

View Instagram post by nas_au

Dec 5

Open post by nas_au with ID 18085817414025392
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the opening of The Grad Show! Find works by this year's cohort exhibited throughout the NAS campus until 14 December. Open daily from 11am — 5pm and until 9pm on Fridays. View online via 🔗 in bio. — Video: Tim Connolly
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