JUSTIN O'BRIEN: Icons

Smith & Singer are delighted to announce Justin O’Brien: Icons, a landmark exhibition of twelve significant works by the celebrated Australian artist.  This momentous event marks the first major commercial exhibition of O’Brien’s work in Sydney in more than three decades. 

Renowned for his luminous palette and spiritual iconography, Justin O’Brien’s oeuvre occupies a singular place within Australian and development of Australian art.  O’Brien’s paintings – distinguished by vibrant colours, stylised figures and contemplative symbolism – reflect a lifelong engagement with beauty, spirituality and human emotion.  O’Brien’s artistic vision was profoundly shaped by his wartime experiences, where exposure to European art and personal hardship and suffering forged his distinctive style. 

Justin O’Brien: Icons presents a highly considered and distilled survey of the artist’s work from the 1940s to the 1980s, providing rare insight into his highly individual, reflective compositions.  As Kenneth Hood observed during the National Gallery of Victoria’s 1987 tribute exhibition: ‘Always carefully and formally composed, it is the colour which first overwhelms us in Justin O’Brien’s paintings.  The juxtaposition of colours and tones is unexpected, even violent, yet the effect is never forced or gratuitous.  Justin O’Brien’s paintings are a celebration; a celebration of devoutness and piety, of the eloquence of flowers, the beauty of the young and the joys of the world.’

To enquire about the exhibition, please contact our specialists below.

EXHIBITION

Sydney

30 Queen Street
WOOLLAHRA NSW 2025
Tel: +61 (0)2 9302 2402
C[email protected]

23 JUNE – 12 JULY 2025
MONDAY – SATURDAY
10 AM – 5 PM