Kim Carpenter

It became clear from the age of 4 when drawing on the walls, pavement and whatever I could get my hands on that I had a precocious artistic gift.
In my early years I was mentored by the legendary Australian artist John Olsen and went on to have my first exhibitions at the Holdsworth Galleries – at the time the largest art galleries in the Asia-Pacific.
I initially dedicated my art to what became a highly-distinguished successful career as a designer - and later director and devisor - in the performing arts. I was founder and Artistic Director of my own multi-award-winning unique visual theatre company Kim Carpenter’s Theatre of Image (1989-2019).
Now I devote my singular focus to my artistic vision in my paintings and drawings. Although not keen to be labelled, my work is most-often described as surreal, figurative, fantastical, poetic and beautiful.
I see myself as a visual storyteller and, as such, I am interested in characters/people and the world they inhabit. Often I research a particular subject or life story. For example a recent exhibition was based on the life of Oscar Wilde entitled WILDE: Life And Fantasy. I am interested in creating works that are not only visually seductive to the viewer but have something to say or ...

John Olsen's Bakery Art School, Sydney
Motley Theatre Post-graduate Design Course, Sadler's Wells Opera and English National Opera London
Diploma in Theatre Production, National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Sydney

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
WILDE – Life & Fantasy, Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Sydney
The Happy Prince, ARO Gallery, Sydney
Art For The Theatre, Danks Street Gallery, Sydney
Pixel And Friends, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Page To Stage: Lulie The Iceberg, The Japan Foundation Gallery, Sydney
Untitled, Holdsworth Gallery
South of France, Holdsworth Gallery collage and mixed media

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
World Pride Amplified 2023, Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Sydney
Keats Portrait Exhibition Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf
Summer Sojourn 2021 End of Year Group Exhibition Art Atrium, Sydney
Costume At The Turn Of The Century (1990-2015), Moscow
Designs For The Future, Australian Centenary of Federation
1993 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, Prague
Sydney Theatre Company Design Exhibition, S. H. Irwin Gallery,
Australian Production Designers Guild exhibition, Sydney Opera House
Theatre Designs, Wright Hepburn Gallery, London.
Theatre Designs, The Coliseum, London.
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
The Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
National Library, Canberra