Ian Friend
Ian Friend creates subtle and evocative works on paper using pigment, ink and gouache from his studio in Ipswich, Queensland. With a fascination for alchemy between materials and an obsession with hand-made art papers, sourced worldwide, Friend’s works are made from the finest materials and developed using techniques which have been refined over many decades. Though materiality is an integral part of his practice, his works also reflect a rich engagement with jazz, poetry and architecture. Friend has developed work in response to contemporary poet Jeremy Prynne, and with composer Martin Friedel, among others.
Born in Eastbourne, England, Friend migrated to Melbourne, Australia in 1985 and has since lectured in drawing and painting in several Australian universities while maintaining his art practice and exhibiting in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Friend is represented in numerous international public collections, among them The British Museum and Tate Gallery, London, Arts Council of Great Britain. Within Australia he is represented at the Art Gallery of South Australia, National Gallery of Australia and the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, National Gallery of Victoria, Queensland Art Gallery, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston plus a host of university and regional galleries around the country.
Exhibiting artist Arryn Snowball joined Alain Guillemain for In Conversation at Jan Manton Gallery.
Exhibiting artist Ian Friend joined Alain Guillemain for In Conversation at Jan Manton Gallery.
Samuel Beckett - |Poems – Ian Brinton, Ian Friend, Richard Humphreys – Launch, Jan Manton Gallery – 15th June 2024.
Congratulations to Ian Friend who is a finalist in the Queensland Regional Art Awards (QRAA) 2023 with the work Freycinit. The Queensland Regional Art Awards (QRAA) is an annual visual arts prize and exhibition for established and emerging artists living in regional and remote Queensland with a record prize pool of over $140,000…
Ian Friend, Natalie Lavelle, and Robyn Stacey’s works have been featured in Belle Magazine’s spread of a reinvented three-level riverside apartment in Brisbane’s New Farm.
Intimate Immensity is an exhibition of works by Ian Friend opens at The Condensery, Somerset Regional Art Gallery. On exhibition at The Condensery, Somerset Regional Art Gallery from 7 October - 3 December 2023.
Ian Friend’s solo exhibition Intimate Immensity on exhibition at the University of the Sunshine Coast 10 June - 12 August 2023.
The gallery is delighted to see the donation of ‘Cybele’ by the late Robyn Daw, artist, curator, and educator in the QUT Art Museum. The donation was made by Dexter Daw Friend and Ian Friend in memory of the late Robyn Daw.
Jan Manton Gallery is pleased to present Holdings 2022, a group exhibition curated by Gallery Assistant, Sarah Meehan.
Matter Over Mind, Mind Over Matter was a discussion on the converging and intersecting practices of an artist, a poet and a mindfulness practitioner…
“The afternoon is white and hot. Underneath the gabled roof of Ian Friend’s Californian Bungalow home, a soft breeze passes through. His studio, which takes residence in the front…”
In anticipation of Ian Friend’s first solo exhibition The Days Run Away, the JMG team recently visited Ian’s studio to learn more about his artistic practice…
Jan Manton Gallery is very excited to announce we are now representing the brilliant Ian Friend...
Available Works
New works
From the archive
Ian Friend
Lux Æterna IV (for Robyn Daw)
2022
Watercolour, gouache, and crayon on Arches paper
152 x 102 cm
$9,900
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