Hawaiian Island Doll - Extra Large Painting

Kerry was born in Wudinna, a remote and tiny dusty town in South Australia, in 1972. This was a time and culture where women weren't allowed in the local pub and were expected to quit work when they got married. She distinctly recalls seeing articles about Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol as a teenager but thought the art world was a world where she couldn't belong - girls were supposed to marry farmers and have children. After a diversion into a "sensible career" and motherhood, Kerry went back to her passion and was conceptually trained through the South Australian School of Art in 2012, with a Bachelor of Visual Art, Specialisation Painting. During her studies, she turned to her love of stencil-making and action painting techniques with acrylic paint and created her own style. Kerry won the UniSA Medal for her outstanding academic and artistic results, and in 2013 her artwork was selected by top South Australian art-aficionado's, including the then Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia, Nick Mitzevich (now director of the National Gallery of Australia), to participate in The Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition - an incredible honour for any SA graduating tertiary art student. Today she works as an underwater photographer and painter from her home studio in Fish Creek, Victoria, Australia. She has participated in many group and solo shows. Her artwork is held in private collections in New Zealand, The United States, Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong, and throughout Australia. She was selected as a Finalist in the Royal South Australian Society of Arts Portrait prize in 2013, and as a Finalist in the 2021 Bluethumb Art Award. From May to June 2024 she was hosted for a two-month residency in Germany, which was followed by her first international solo show. She was also selected as a Finalist for The Percival Photographic Portrait Prize 2024. Her mission is to uplift women with her art – this is the engine that fires her entire practice.