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NAS Retake: Todd Fuller

NAS Connect

NAS Retake: Todd Fuller

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For this month’s edition of NAS Retake, we take a look at the work of NAS alumnus, Todd Fuller.

‘I first came to the National Art School as a 17-year old during the HSC intensive program, which proved a highly transformative experience. When I am in the studio, or teaching a class, or even just talking about drawing, the words of my lecturers still guide me. My love of drawing was incubated here, where I learned to see this art form as a religion, a science, a language, a symphony and a way of life’. (Fuller, 2018)

Fuller graduated from NAS in 2010 with a Bachelor of Fine Art in Sculpture (Honours). He now teaches drawing at NAS, as well as lecturing, curating and performing on campus.

His practice combines animation, sculpture, drawing, performance and painting, yet is still very much underpinned by his love of drawing. The work Chapel (with whom I was united by every tie), is a recent work depicting the roof of the Chapel, the central building on the NAS campus. The drawing is one from a series made for Fuller’s animated film about the life and death of Darlinghurst Gaol prisoner Andrew George Scott, known as Captain Moonlite. The chapel represents a view seen by Moonlite at the gaol. The building was designed by Mortimer Lewis and built in 1847-72, and was originally designed as a surveillance tower for the gaol. However it was soon realised that guards would be vulnerable in a central tower. Its usage was changed to be a chapel and bathhouse, and its floor plan forms a perfect circle. Today the former chapel is used by the Drawing Department as a studio space.

Artists’ books come in all shapes and sizes: some are spiral-bound, some are sewn, some have tear-off pages, some have quality paper, some are cheaper lined notebooks. More often than not, they contain creased, crossed out and missing pages, with dog-eared corners, and extra drawings or collages stuck in.

In 2019, Todd Fuller donated five sketchbooks to the National Art School Collection which relate directly to his hand-drawn animations that grapple with ideas of love and loss. They also document his experiences with new sites and histories as he undertook residencies in Paris and Rome between 2011-13.

There are 65 sketchbooks in the NAS Archive and Collection, with the earliest examples dating back to Marion Eich’s anatomical and architectural books from 1926-27. Other early sketchbooks belonging to Gwenna Welch, Freda Rush and Lorna Nimmo are important documents that show NAS students’ ideas, memories and observations in the early days of the art school. The sketchbooks of Douglas Dundas, Dorothy Thornhill, Robin Norling, Jocelyn Maughan and Guy Warren contain quick sketches from the studio and excursions, as well as detailed anatomical studies and drawings of fellow students and teachers.

More recent donations by Merilyn Fairskye, Sophie Cape, Catherine O’Donnell, and Reg Mombassa offer valuable insight into their artistic journeys. The sketchbooks are deeply personal, filled with notes, memos, paint tests, names, influences, telephone numbers, addresses and all manner of lists.

Want to find out more?

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.

Images: Todd Fuller, Chapel (with whom I was united by every tie), 2018, chalk, charcoal and acrylic on timber, (40 cm diameter), National Art School Collection, donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program via the artist, 2019; Todd Fuller, Sketchbook Paris 2, 2011, pencil, crayon, charcoal, chalk and collage on paper, 21 x 29 cm, National Art School Collection, donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program via the artist, 2019 © the artist; Todd Fuller, Sketchbook Rome, 2013, pencil, crayon, charcoal, chalk and collage on paper, 21 x 29 cm, National Art School Collection, donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program via the artist, 2019 © the artist

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Due to the overwhelming interest in The Neighbour at the Gate, we are excited to announce that the NAS Gallery is now open on Sunday, for the duration of the exhibition.

Head to the link in bio to plan your visit.

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Aug 1

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Due to the overwhelming interest in The Neighbour at the Gate, we are excited to announce that the NAS Gallery is now open on Sunday, for the duration of the exhibition. Head to the link in bio to plan your visit.

Ever wondered what it’s like studying at the National Art School?

Find out at our Open Day on Saturday 6 September, 10am to 4pm.

Considering art as a career or simply curious about what happens behind the school’s historic sandstone walls? Save the date on Eventbrite (link in bio) to see what life is like for students at NAS by participating in studio demonstrations, chatting to our academic staff and visiting the NAS Gallery and student exhibition spaces across our campus.

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Jul 30

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Ever wondered what it’s like studying at the National Art School? Find out at our Open Day on Saturday 6 September, 10am to 4pm. Considering art as a career or simply curious about what happens behind the school’s historic sandstone walls? Save the date on Eventbrite (link in bio) to see what life is like for students at NAS by participating in studio demonstrations, chatting to our academic staff and visiting the NAS Gallery and student exhibition spaces across our campus.

The National Art School was saddened to hear of the recent death of artist and NAS alumnus Bruce Goold (1948-2025).

Born in Newcastle in 1948, from 1961- 65 Bruce attended Sydney Grammar School, where he studied art with ceramicist and potter Gordon McCausland. This was followed by a year at the National Art School, Newcastle. Here he experimented with various mediums and made his first linocut. He then studied at the National Art School, c. 1967-68.

Bruce was a member of the artist collective Yellow House between 1970-72. The former Clune Gallery in Kings Cross was transformed by Martin Sharp and a group of fellow artists, who painted the exterior bright yellow and covered its internal walls with murals, portraits and decoration. Artists such as Brett Whiteley, Peter Wright, Bruce Goold, Greg Weight and Peter Kingston turned the building into an artwork, while visiting bands and celebrities made it a regular fixture of the Sydney scene.

Known principally as a printmaker, Goold created coloured linocuts and woodblocks including many images of Australian flora and fauna, as well as South Pacific inspired esoteric and symbolic subjects. He held solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne and internationally in London and Ireland. He received major commissions for poster, logo and interior design and worked as a designer for Mambo from 1992.

A retrospective exhibition, Bruce Goold, Artist, Designer, Printmaker, curated by Therese Kenyon, was held at Manly Art Gallery & Museum in 2008.
The National Art School extends its sympathies to Bruce’s family and many friends.
—
Greg Weight, `Bruce Goold`, 1998, NAS Collection

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Jul 28

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The National Art School was saddened to hear of the recent death of artist and NAS alumnus Bruce Goold (1948-2025). Born in Newcastle in 1948, from 1961- 65 Bruce attended Sydney Grammar School, where he studied art with ceramicist and potter Gordon McCausland. This was followed by a year at the National Art School, Newcastle. Here he experimented with various mediums and made his first linocut. He then studied at the National Art School, c. 1967-68. Bruce was a member of the artist collective Yellow House between 1970-72. The former Clune Gallery in Kings Cross was transformed by Martin Sharp and a group of fellow artists, who painted the exterior bright yellow and covered its internal walls with murals, portraits and decoration. Artists such as Brett Whiteley, Peter Wright, Bruce Goold, Greg Weight and Peter Kingston turned the building into an artwork, while visiting bands and celebrities made it a regular fixture of the Sydney scene. Known principally as a printmaker, Goold created coloured linocuts and woodblocks including many images of Australian flora and fauna, as well as South Pacific inspired esoteric and symbolic subjects. He held solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne and internationally in London and Ireland. He received major commissions for poster, logo and interior design and worked as a designer for Mambo from 1992. A retrospective exhibition, Bruce Goold, Artist, Designer, Printmaker, curated by Therese Kenyon, was held at Manly Art Gallery & Museum in 2008. The National Art School extends its sympathies to Bruce’s family and many friends. — Greg Weight, 'Bruce Goold', 1998, NAS Collection

Got a young artist at home?

Art Club Term 3 is now open for enrolment — and we’ve got an exciting painting program lined up. This term, kids will explore styles like Expressive Acrylics and Contemporary Watercolour, all while building their confidence and creativity.

Monday afternoons, led by artist and educator Grant Bellamy.

Visit the link in bio to learn more and enrol.

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Jul 17

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Got a young artist at home? Art Club Term 3 is now open for enrolment — and we’ve got an exciting painting program lined up. This term, kids will explore styles like Expressive Acrylics and Contemporary Watercolour, all while building their confidence and creativity. Monday afternoons, led by artist and educator Grant Bellamy. Visit the link in bio to learn more and enrol.
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