About
This is a blog by Melbourne artist Grant Nimmo BORN MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA 1979 After graduating art school in Melbourne frustrated and disappointed in 2002 I left the city for Tasmania. Having no money to move overseas as many of my friend’s had done, I chose the small island at the most southern end of Australia to live as a Wildman in the forest. The boat fair was relatively cheap and the option of returning home defeated was not a difficult task, which suited me at the time (as I was not the most highly motivated human being). I still loved the city but I needed a break from it. I put my possessions into my parent’s garage, gave note to my real estate agent, put some things in a bag and left. Upon sitting on the deck of the Spirit of Tasmania smoking a cigarette I was soon approached by a girl who after a brief conversation offered me a lift and a bed to sleep in at a place called Cygnet, a small logging town at the southernmost tip of Tasmania in the Huon Valley. I stayed here on the dirty floor next to the pet dogs at her friend’s farm which was in essence a hippy commune. The friends were serious hippies and they were very self sufficient which I liked. I didn’t fit in there though, because I didn’t have the right clothes. So I made my way by hitch hiking to the states sprawling national parks. Here I found a cabin in the forest and set up for the winter time. Every two weeks I would leave for the two day walk out to the nearest park entrance, where I would buy rations of food and then set on back towards the forest. I would spend the 14 hours of darkness at night shivering and playing patience under a candle, and during the sleep deprived and hungry days I would explore the forest and mountains losing myself in confusion whilst thinking about ghost stories, goblins and ex girlfriends. Some days it was snowing, other days the sun shone and everything was fresh. I spent 6 months here, only occasionally seeing other people in the form of wayward bushwalkers, who probably thought I was strange. By the summer, as the trails of the national parks became more and more populated by bush walkers and my thin beard had become long a scraggly I had left the state and hitch hiked my way to the warmer northern states, and then slowly made my way back home to Melbourne. Although I only spent 6 months as a Wildman I still think about that way of living a lot. It’s romantic when I am in my hauled up in my studio above the dirty busy streets of Melbourne’s inner city listening to Pink Floyd and joking around with my friends.
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Grant Nimmo completed a Bachelor of Fine Art at Monash University in 2002 and a Postgraduate Diploma of Education at the University of Melbourne in 2005. Since then he has participated in a number of group exhibitions in Melbourne and Sydney, recently presenting his work at Gertrude Contemporary and various artist run spaces including TCB Art Inc. Seventh and Rearview Gallery. Nimmo was a finalist in the 2009 Metro Art Award, the 2010 Paul Guest Drawing Prize at Bendigo Regional Gallery and the Salon Des Refuses at the National Trust Gallery, Sydney. He has also been a long sitting board member at Seventh Gallery. His first solo exhibition, Inside the Black Robe, was presented in Sydney at Evan Hughes Gallery in 2009 and his first solo exhibition in Melbourne if you are a big tree, we are a small axe, was held in 2010 at Anna Pappas Gallery. The exhibitionThis is woven piper: paintings for the funnel, was held in Melbourne in 2011. Most recently he has exhibited internationally at the 2011 Korean International Art Fair in Seoul, Korea. Nimmo lives and works in Melbourne and is represented in various private collections in Australia as well as Artbank. GRANT NIMMO BORN MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA 1979 EDUCATION 2005 POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA OF EDUCATION FACULTY OF EDUCATION MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY, VICTORIA 2002 BACHELOR OF FINE ART FACULTY OF ART AND DESIGN MONASH UNIVERSITY, CAUFIELD, VICTORIA SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2011 THIS IS WOVEN PIPER: PAINTINGS FOR THE FUNNEL: ANNA PAPPAS GALLERY MELBOURNE VIC 2011 GOBLIN W/ ADAM JOHN CULLEN: TCB ART INC MELBOURNE VIC 2010 NO THANKS NO THANK YOU: REARVIEW GALLERY MELBOURNE VIC 2010 IF YOU ARE A BIG TREE, WE ARE A SMALL AXE: ANNA PAPPAS GALLERY MELBOURNE VIC 2009 INSIDE THE BLACK ROBE: EVAN HUGHES GALLERY SYDNEY NSW SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2011 THE REST IS SILENCE: DEATH BE KIND MELBOURNE 2011 KOREAN INTERNATIONAL ART FAIR: HALL A & B COEX SEOUL KOREA 2010 GALLERY ARTISTS SURVEY: ANNA PAPPAS GALLERY MELBOURNE VIC 2010 ANNA PAPPAS AT MELBOURNE ART FAIR: EXHIBITION BUILDING MELBOURNE VIC 2010 SUPERMARKET FOR ALWAYS MOVING: GERTRUDE CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE MELBOURNE VICTORIA 2010 ANNA PAPPAS GALLERY AT DANKS ST: DANKS STREET GALLERY SYDNEY NSW 2009 THE BIG DRAWING EXHIBITION: EVAN HUGHES GALLERY SYDNEY NSW 2009 FIRST SHOW: EVAN HUGHES GALLERY SYDNEY NSW 2008 INTRODUCING…: EVAN HUGHES GALLERY SYDNEY NSW 2007 NATURA: FORTYFIVE DOWNSTAIRS MELBOURNE VICTORIA PRIZES 2011 SALON DES REFUSES FINALIST NATIONAL TRUST GALLERY SYDNEY NSW 2010 FINALIST PAUL GUEST DRAWING PRIZE BENDIGO REGIONAL GALLERY BENDIGO VICTORIA 2009 FINALIST THE METRO ART AWARD METRO GALLERY MELBOURNE VICTORIA PRESS 2011 GRANT NIMMO PRUE GIBSON AUSTRALIAN ART REVIEW SEPTT/OCT 2011 2011 THE IDEA OF NATURE PENNY WEBB ART GUIDE AUSTRALIA MARCH/APRIL 2011 2011 AROUND THE GALLERIES DAN RULE THE AGE A2 22/4/2011 2010 SUPERMARKET PIP WALLIS UN MAGAZINE ISSUE 4.2 2010 AROUND THE GALLERIES DAN RULE THE AGE A2 01/05/2010 2010 THE ARTS, WHATS ON TIM RICHARDS THE AGE 15/4/2010 PUBLICATIONS 2011 THIS IS WOVEN PIPER: PAINTINGS FOR THE FUNNEL ISBN 9780646551722 COLLECTIONS ART BANK VARIOUS PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AUSTRALIA Grant Nimmo is currently represented in Melbourne by Anna Pappas Gallery. for any enquiries please email at info@annapappasgallery.com or +613 8598 9915 |
