Celia Perceval
“A good painting should never just be seen once, it should always draw you in and reveal something new. Just like the landscape itself.”
Celia Perceval is an Australian painter known for her immersive engagement with the natural environment. For decades, she has ventured deep into the bush, working en plein air in remote locations far from the comforts of the studio. Her artistic process is grounded in stillness, patience, and physical presence: “The longer you sit in one remote spot in the bush, the more you become part of it,” she explains. Rather than imposing order on the landscape, Perceval seeks to become attuned to its rhythms allowing the terrain to speak through her brushwork. Her approach is not one of control but of quiet surrender, responding to what remains of the wilderness with reverence and restraint. Over the years, she has become recognised for her powerful depictions of the Australian landscape, with works held in regional and private collections across the country and overseas.
Perceval’s paintings are not simply visual impressions of place; they are multisensory evocations of being within it. Her brushwork hums with the movement, scent, and sound of the bush producing works that are alive with atmosphere and emotional depth. “I feel like I’m painting what’s left of that landscape. I wish we could just be part of it,” she says. In this way, her art resists the notion of landscape as a passive backdrop, instead asserting it as a living, breathing entity. With each canvas, she invites viewers to return again and again, uncovering new dimensions over time.
About the Artist
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*1959, lives and works on the Sapphire Coast, NSW
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Selected Solo Exhibitions
2024
Linton & Kay Galleries — Perth, Australia2021
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia2017
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia2010
Linton & Kay Fine Art Gallery — Perth, Australia
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia2007
Linton & Kay Fine Art Gallery — Perth, Australia2006
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia2004
Linton & Kay Fine Art Gallery — Perth, Australia
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia2002
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia1999
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia
Galleria Aniela — Kangaroo Valley, Australia1996
Gould Galleries — Melbourne, Australia1995
Holdsworth Galleries — Sydney, Australia1993
Holdsworth Galleries — Sydney, Australia
Gould Galleries — Melbourne, Australia1992
Gould Galleries — Melbourne, Australia1991
Cooks Hill Gallery — Newcastle, Australia1990
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia1987
Border Arts Festival — Wales, UK1986
Border Arts Festival — Wales, UK1985
The Marches Gallery — Wales, UK1984
Abercrombie Gallery — Melbourne, Australia1983
Qantas Gallery — London, England1980
Abercrombie Gallery — Melbourne, Australia
Barry Stern Galleries — Sydney, Australia1979
Australian Galleries — Melbourne, Australia1978
The Marches Gallery — Wales, UK1977
Phillip Bacon Galleries — Brisbane, Australia1976
Australian Galleries — Melbourne, Australia1975
Bonython Gallery — Sydney, Australia1973
Australian Galleries — Melbourne, Australia1972
Cremorne Gallery — Sydney, Australia1971
London Hilton Art Gallery — EnglandSelected Group Exhibitions
2025
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia
Linton & Kay Galleries — Perth, Australia2024
Linton & Kay Galleries — Perth, Australia
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia2021
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia2019
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia2017
Linton & Kay Galleries — Perth, Australia2016
Wagner Art Gallery — Sydney, Australia
Linton & Kay Galleries — Perth, Australia1991
Australian Landscape Painters — Wagner Art Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Australian Art in Hong Kong — Hong Kong1988
Wilderness Society Exhibition — Melbourne, Australia1983
Border Arts Festival — Wales, UK1982
Convent Gallery — Daylesford, Australia1981
Qantas Gallery — London, England1979
The Marches Gallery — Wales, UK
New South Wales House — London, England1966
Civic Gallery — Canberra, Australia -
Public Collections
• Bendigo Regional Art Gallery
• New England Regional Art Gallery
• Armidale City Art Gallery
• Croft Castle, Shropshire, England
Private Collections in England, Ireland, France, Portugal, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia & America
