OBARZANEK, SIMON
Born 1968, Israel
1989 Bachelor of Photography at RMIT, Melbourne
AWARDS AND PRIZES
2011 The Substation Contemporary Art Prize, Westie Award, The Substation Centre for Art and Culture, Melbourne, winner
2010 Turner Galleries Artist in Residence Program, Perth
2010 Royal Bank of Scotland Emerging Artist Award, Sydney
2009 Emerging Artist New Work Grant, Australia Council for the Arts
2009 Josephine Ulrick & Win Schubert Photography Award, Gold Coast City Gallery, Gold Coast
2008 William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
2008 National Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
2008 Second Melbourne Airport Innovators Award, Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts, Melbourne, winner
2007 William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
2007 City of Hobart Art Prize, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
2007 Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Photographic Prize, Gold Coast City Gallery, Gold Coast
2007 National Photographic Purchase Award, Albury Regional Art Gallery, Albury
2006 City of Perth Photo Media Award, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth
2006 The Inaugural William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
2006 Conrad Jupiters Art Prize, Gold Coast City Gallery, Gold Coast, acquisitive prize winner
2005 The Citigroup Private Bank Australian Photographic Portrait Prize 2005, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, high commendation
2005 Schweppes Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2005 National Photographic Purchase Award, Albury Regional Art Gallery, Albury
COLLECTIONS
Artbank
Gold Coast City Gallery, Gold Coast
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Private collections Australia and overseas
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2011 Untitled Movement No 2, Sullivan + Strumpf Fine Art, Sydney
2010 Untitled Movement No 1, Turner Galleries Perth, Perth
2008 Simon Obarzanek, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
2008 Simon Obarzanek, 80 Faces, at the Institute of Modern Art @ TCB
2007 10pm – 1am, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne
2007 Innovators, Linden – Centre for Contemporary Arts, Melbourne
2006 80 faces, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne
2006 80/137 Faces, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
2005 Portraits, Max Bernstein Gallery, Melbourne
2002 Simon Obarzanek 96-02, Max Bernstein Gallery, Melbourne
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012 SSFA12, Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney
2011 Face in a Crowd: New Portraiture, Ipswich Art Gallery, Ipswich
2010 SSFA10, Sullivan + Strumpf Fine Art, Sydney
2009 Untrained, Lucy Guerin Inc., performed at The Meat Market, Melbourne and Sydney Opera House, Sydney
2008/2009 Order and disorder: Archives and photography, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
2008 Melbourne Art Fair, Karen Woodbury Gallery at the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
2006 Light Sensitive, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
2005 Figures of Question, Ord Minnett, Melbourne
2003 Commonwealth Place Contemporary Australian Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rann, Kirsten. 'Unperfect Bodies', Photofile, No. 91 December 2010-March 2011, p 32-41
Spencer, R. 'Pair Picture Perfect', The West Australian, April 9, 2010
Rainworth, D. 'Photography', The Age, The Arts, 3 March 2010, p 19
Monash Gallery of Art, Simon Obarzanek, Annual Report 2007/2008, pp.18 & 21, 2009
Back cover (image), Photofile, Issue #85, December 08 – March 09, 2008
Hart, Melissa. 'Best and fairest', Artnotes, Victoria, Art Monthly Australia, September, Issue #213, p.58, 2008
Coslovich, Gabriella. 'Australia’s creative talent smiling all the way to the (Art)bank', News, The Age, 9 August, 2008, p 11
‘Simon Obarzanek’ Art World, Issue 4, August/September 2008
Hart, Melissa. 'Shanghai surprise', Artnotes, Victoria, Australia Art Monthly, August, Issue #212, p.58, 2008
Zagala, Stephen. 'Disfiguring Hubris, Simon Obarzanek', Monash Gallery of Art exhibition catalogue, 2008, p 2-3
'The face beneath portraiture', Profile, MGA Newsletter, #31 Winter 2008, p 6-9
'Simon Obarzanek', Flash Art, At the Galleries: Melbourne, Jan/Feb, 2007, p 63
Conran, Lesley, Night Life, Artist Profile, Summer Edition 2007, p 46
Nelson, Robert, 'Frieze frame: grim portrait of nightlife women', The Age, Metro, 15 Aug, 2007, p 18
Colless, Edward. 'Simon Obarzanek: 10pm – 1am', Australian Art Collector, Previews, Jul-Sep, 2007 p 27
King, Natalie. 'Simon Obarzanek, At the Galleries: Melbourne', Flash Art, Jan – Feb, 2007, p 63
'Simon Obarzanek', Preview, Photofile, Issue 77 Autumn ,2006, p 12
Webb, Penny. 'Preview', Visual Arts, The Age, Melbourne Magazine, 15 Oct, 2006, p 43
Crombie, Isobel. 'Light Sensitive: Contemporary Australian Photography from the Loti Smorgon Fund', exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2006, p 90-91
'The Inaugural William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize', exhibition catalogue, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne, illustration on cover, 2006
Crawford, Ashley. 'Figures of Question: Simon Obarzanek, Damiona Bertoli, Justine Khamara', The Age, 14 November 2005
National Photographic Purchase Award, exhibition catalogue, Albury Regional Art Gallery, Victoria, 2005, p 17
Schweppes Photographic Portrait Prize 2005, exhibition catalogue, National Portrait Gallery, London, 2005, p 71
The Citigroup Private Bank Australian Photographic Portrait Prize 2005, exhibition catalogue, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005, p 34
'Simon Obarzanek', Galleries, Photofile Magazine, Winter Issue, 2004, p 27
Keaney, Magda. 'Commonwealth Place: Contemporary Australian Portraits', exhibition catalogue, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 2003, p 4-5
Storer, Russell. & Palmer, Daniel (eds.), 'Big: Australia', Big Magazine, Issue 44, New York, November 2002, p 68-75
Barclay, Alison 'On Face Value', Herald Sun, 10 November, 2002