Kathrin Longhurst

Artist Profile

Kathrin Longhurst's high-realist, figurative painting practice intentionally transforms difficult encounters of oppression and adversity into powerful and positive messages of hope and change. Having grown up in former communist East Germany, Longhurst's family escaped to Sweden when she was 15. The experience of this displacement, compounded by the jarring contrast between living within a totalitarian regime and that of a Western capitalist democracy was the spark that ignited Longhurst's enduring commitment to issues of social justice and freedom of speech.

Having travelled extensively throughout Europe and Asia before finally settling in Australia, Longhurst possesses a unique understanding of human rights issues, the role of women and girls in society, as well as a keen awareness of the seductive power of advertising and the media. Her skilfully rendered images of women in states of defiant self-awareness layer themes of sexuality, propaganda and body image stereotypes to deconstruct and reassess the mechanisms at play within a given society. ‘Propaganda is all around us. It’s not specific to a period of time, a country or a regime…it’s everywhere’. This ingrained knowledge of political conditioning overtly operates within much of Longhurst's visual language and is the driving force behind her passion to use art to question, challenge and reinvent the ethics and values of today's contemporary culture.

'With this exhibition, the artist defiantly places her subjects on the frontlines of this battlefield. Featuring her signature large-scale canvases, deft skills with the brush, and a bold view of the feminine archetype as both nurturer and warrior, she weaves a common thread of resilience and survival.'
Excerpt from catalogue essay by Kate McAuley 2024

'As an artist, Longhurst continues to be a relentless advocate for the feminist cause - and there is no better time to be working in this sphere than now. Thanks to the ground swell of the global #metoo movement and advocates and sexual assault survivors such as Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins, the discourse surrounding the rights of women and girls has been plucked from the margins and once again entered into Australian mainstream conversation. In the past, commentators have indicated to Longhurst that her art is too obvious; a suggestion that has only resigned the artist to amplify her message further. Change does not come about a result of subtlety and suggestion.'
Excerpt from catalogue essay by Kate McAuley 2022

VIEW: Kathrin Longhurst exhibited a series of large scale portraits in SETTLED/UNSETTLED: Art on refugee, asylum-seeker and migrant experiences, at Manly Art Gallery & Museum in July 2022

WATCH: The announcement of Kathrin Longhurst as the winner of the 2021 Packing Room Prize winning artwork Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW. Kathrin was a finalist in the much-loved Archie with her stunning painting of the multi-award winning musician extraordinaire, Kate Ceberano.

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Artist CV

German-Australian figurative artist Kathrin Longhurst has been exhibiting her arresting, provocative paintings since 2004. Her work has been included in a number of international exhibitions in Europe and the USA and she has held 20 successful solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland. She was the winner of the 2021 Packing Room Prize for the Archibald Prize, winner of the 2020 Northern Beaches Art Prize and winner of the 2017 Portia Geach People’s Choice Award.

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