SHOUFAY DERZ DOWNLOAD BIO / CV [PDF]
Lives and works in Sydney, Australia
Nationality: Australian/GermanShoufay Derz is a Sydney based artist of both German and Taiwanese ancestry. Through the mediums of photography, sculpture and video installation her recent artwork is a personal reflection on death and the meaning of emptiness.
Intensely process-driven, elemental and alchemical, her recent work harnesses the life-cycle of silk moths, glass and pure indigo pigment. Derz explores how absence is articulated through marks of presence and how the visual artist uses the known to depict the unknown just as the writer uses words to express the ineffable. Her elegiac photographs and videos are both a lament on the transience of life and a celebration of its mystery.
Depart without return was acquired by the Art Gallery of South Australia and featured in the 2014 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Dark Heart curated by Nick Mitzevich. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, residencies and grants including two Australia Council grants. In 2003 she won the prestigious 52nd Blake Prize for Religious Art for her mysterious and abstract photographic series Linking back. She has exhibited her works widely, both throughout Australia and abroad, held solo exhibitions at Artereal Gallery, Sydney; Delmar gallery, Sydney and Gallery 4a, Asia-Australia Arts Centre, Sydney. Her work has been included in major group exhibitions at The Museum of Modern Art (shanghai), OCTA Museum of Contemporary Art (Shenzhen) and The Esplanade (Singapore).
Derz is undertaking a Phd at Sydney College of Arts, University of Sydney and holds a Masters of Fine Arts by research (Media Arts) at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales. Since 2008 she has lectured in Photomedia at the College of Fine Arts, University of NSW and currently teaches Photography and Art history at Sydney institute of TAFE.
ACADEMIC
2014 PhD candidate, University of Sydney
2008 Teacher, Photography / Art History, Sydney Institute TAFE
- continuing
2013 Sessional Lecturer, School of Media Arts, College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales
- continuing
2011 Master of Fine Arts by Research (Media Arts), University of New South Wales
2003 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours), University of New South Wales
2007 Casual Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities and Education, University of Technology
1998 Diploma of Fine Arts with Distinction (Photography/Printmaking), Northern Sydney TAFE
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013 Shoufay Derz, Artereal Gallery
Depart without Return, Winter festival, Taipei Artist Village, Taiwan
2012 Negatives, Queensland Centre for photography
2011 Depart Without Return, Cofa Space, Sydney
2007 Shoufay Derz, Delmar Gallery, Sydney
Transportation Love Song: Inseparable, Art and disability, M1 Singapore Fringe Festival
Radii Heart. AWE space II, University of New South Wales. Sydney
Entanglement, special project collaboration with Owen Leong. Westspace, Melbourne
2006 Break-up curated by David Teh and Jasper Knight , Half dozen festival, China town public art project, Asia-Australia Arts Centre, Gallery 4a, Sydney
2004 Radii Heart, Sherman Galleries, Sydney
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITION
2014 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: DARK HEART curated by Nick Mitzevich, Art Gallery of South Australia
Wondermountain curated by Joanna Bayndrian, Penrith Regional Gallery
New Contemporaries curated by Nick Tsoutis, SCA galleries
Models for the Afterlife curated by Catherine Benz, Delmar Gallery
Conquest of Space curated by Andrew Frost, COFA Galleries
The 38th Alice Prize, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
Is this Art? curated by dLux Media Arts, Artereal Gallery
Unveiled curated by Emma Benichou, Gallery Smith Project Space
2014 Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
2013 Phantom Limb (with Owen Leong and Cyrus Tang)curated by Speculum projects, UTS Gallery
Pigeon Auction curated by Toni Bailey, Casula Power House
Hazelhurst Art on Paper Art Award, Hazelhurst Regional Art Gallery
Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
61st Blake Prize Tour, Australian Jewish Museum, Melbourne
2012 Light Sensitive, works from the Verghis collection. Touring to Moree Plains Gallery, Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, Hawkesbury Regional Art Gallery, The Glasshouse Regional Gallery, Tamworth Regional Gallery, Grafton Regional Gallery, Shoalhaven City Arts Centre.
Shelf Life 2012 curated by Catherine Benz, Delmar Gallery, Sydney
The 37th Alice Prize Exhibition, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs
2011 Shelf Life 2011 curated by Catherine Benz, Delmar Gallery, Sydney
Annual members show 2011, Asia-Australia Arts centre, Gallery 4a, Sydney2010
2010 An Insight, Trinity Grammar School Art Collection, curated by Catherine Benz, Delmar Gallery
Annual members show 2010, Asia-Australia Arts centre, Gallery 4a, Sydney
Shelf Life 2010, Delmar Gallery
2009 The Spirit Within: Australian Contemporary Art, Parliament of World Religions, Melbourne , curated by Rosemary Crumlin, Isobel Crombie, Helen Light
Light Sensitive, works from the Verghis collection, curated by Richard Perran, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery
The Liverpool City Art Prize, Casula Power Arts House, Casula
Life of Staff, See Street Gallery
2008 Asian Traffic, selected works on tour: Today Art Museum, Beijing; Zendai Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai; OCTA Museum of Contemporary Art, Shenzhen
Annual members show 2008, Asia-Australia Arts centre, Gallery 4a, Sydney
2007 The 34th Alice Prize Exhibition, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs
2004 One of, Festivus 04. Sherman galleries, Sydney
Asian Traffic: Phase 6, Official Parallel Event of the Biennale of Sydney, curated by Binghui Huangfu, Asia-Australia Arts Centre, Sydney2003 52rd Blake Prize for Religious Art, Touring Blake Exhibition 04(selected works). Grafton Regional Gallery, Stanthorpe Regional Art gallery, Australian Catholic University (ACU) National, Strathfield, NSW and Melbourne
Ulterior, with Sam Smith & David Westerman, Firstdraft Gallery, Sydney
2002 51st Blake Prize for Religious Art, The Touring Blake Exhibition selected works: Tamworth Regional Gallery, Devonport Regional Gallery, Coffs Harbor Regional Gallery, ACU National, Strathfield NSW and Melbourne Vic
Under the Sun, EPS Gallery, University of New South Wales, Sydney
GRANTS / AWARDS / PRIZES
2014 Finalist, The 38th Alice Prize, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
Finalist, 2014 Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
2013 Sainsbury Sculpture Grant
Australian Postgraduate Award to undertake Phd, University of Sydney
Finalist, William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize
Recipient, AIR Taipei International Artist Residence Fellowship
Recipient, Arts NSW Travel Grant
Finalist, Hazelhurst Art on Paper Art Award 2013
Finalist, Fisher's Ghost Award, 2013, Campbelltown Arts Centre
NAVA NSW Artist’ Grant
2012 Highly Commended, 61st Blake Prize for Religious Art. S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
Highly commended, The 37th Alice Prize, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs
National Association for the Visual Arts NSW Artists’ Grant
Finalist, 50th Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown Arts Centre
Finalist, Muswellbrook Photographic Award, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre
Semi Finalist, Moran Contemporary Photographic prize
2011 Australia Council ArtStart Grant
Finalist, Fisher’s Ghost Art Award 2011, Campbelltown Arts Centre
Finalist, The Substation Contemporary Art Prize, The Substation, Melbourne
2008 The Viktoria Marinov Award in Art Postgraduate Scholarship
Winner: Churchie National Emerging Art Award. Judges Special Mention Prize2007 Australia Council New Work Grant
Janet Holmes à Court Artists Grant and Visual and Craft Artists' Grant
Finalist, Lomograpix07, Blender Gallery, Sydney. 2006
Finalist, The 34th Alice Prize.
2003 Winner, The 52nd Blake Prize for Religious Art. Judges: Judith Carroll, Jeffrey Kamins, Hilarie Mais and Nick Vickers
Finalist, Helen Lemprière Traveling Art Scholarship. Artspace
2002 Recipient, Apple Scholarship, University of New South Wales
Finalist, 51st Blake Prize for Religious Art. Casula Power Arts House
COLLECTIONS
Art Gallery of South Australia
The Balnaves Foundation
BresicWhitney Art Collection
Alice Spring Art Foundation Art Collection
Society of the Arts, Trinity Grammar School Art Collection, Delmar Gallery
University of Sydney Union Art Collection, Sydney, Australia
Represented in private Collections, Australia and internationally
RESIDENCIES
2013 AIR Taipei International Artist Residence, Taipei Artist Village, Taiwan
2012 Self-initiated residency, Taklamakan desert, China.
2011 Self-initiated residency, Ambrym, Vanuatu
2007 Artist in Residence, Trinity Grammar School, Sydney
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andrew Frost, Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Dark Heart exhibition catalogue , 2014
’Dark Heart success’, Australian Arts Review, May 19, 2014
’Dark Heart art acquired by gallery’, Adelaide Independent news, 13 May 2014
Models for the afterlife, Exhibition Catalogue
Joanna Bayndrian, Wondermountain Exhibition Roomsheet, 2014
Luise Guest, 'Subverting the Sublime: Wondermountain at Penrith Regional Gallery', Daily Serving , 14 March 2014
Shireen Khalil, 'Works from an era past', Inner West Courier, 8 April 2014 Page 48
Luise Guest, 'The space between Us' — Matter and Meaning in the work of Shoufay Derz, 2013
Barbara Dowse, Artereal Gallery Exhibition essay, 2013
Andrew Frost, 'Concerns about climate change shaping new Australian art', The Guardian, 7 November 2013
Maria Tumarkin, Blake Prize opening speech notes at the Jewish museum of Australia, 2013
Dr Lindy Lee, Speculum Projects, "Phantom Limb", catalogue essay, 2013
Speculum Projects, "Phantom Limb", catalogue essay, 2013
Adrian Phoon, "Phantom limbs, family ties", 2013
Shona Kervinen, "Ties that bind", Brink - Sydney Morning Herald, (19 September 2013): 2
Professor James Arvanitakis , "Pigeon Auction" Catalogue essay, 2013
Luise Guest, 'Pigeon Auction: Suburban secrets', Daiiyserving international publication on contemporary art, 7 June 2013
Nadia de Ceglie & Rod Patterden, Blake education Kit, (Dec 2012)
Owen Leong, ‘Spirit worlds’, issue 14, Peril magazine (September 2012)
Rosemary Crumlin, 'Time and silence for meaning', Gesher, Vol. 4 No.2, pp. 27-29
Rosemary Crumlin, The Blake Book, 162-163, 2011
Rosemary Crumlin. The Spirit within Australian contemporary Art, catalogue essay, 2009
Fiona Edmonds Dobrijevich, Falling in: Poetics of Wonder, Creativity and Uncertainty Conference paper, University of technology, 2008
Twenty, Sherman galleries 1986–2006 (2006): 84
David Teh. "Half Dozen presents...Year of the Dog: Chinatown Public Art Project, Shoufay Derz", (January, 2006): 3
Barbara Messer. “Student profile”, International Research Student Prospectus – COFA, UNSW (2006):24
‘Artist case study: Shoufay Derz’, Using Learning Technologies in learning and teaching Visual Arts. CD ROM, Australian Independent schools, Sydney (2005)
Peter Sheelan AO. “The Touring Blake Exhibition”, catalogue essay, ACU National Gallery (2004): 2
Peter Hill. "Join the red dots", Spectrum - Sydney Morning Herald (September 25, 2004): 18
Joyce Morgan. "Watch this face, Shoufay Derz", The (Sydney) Magazine - Sydney Morning Herald, Issue 11 (March 2004): 30
“Art of Questioning, Artist Shoufay Derz”, Time Out Arts - Mainly Daily (December 05, 2003): 39
Peter Sheelan AO. “Blake 2003 essay”, catalogue essay, ACU National Gallery (2003): 2
Dominique Angeloro. "Traveling circus", Metro - Sydney Morning Herald (August 15-21, 2003): 22
Lenny Ann Low. "Blake Winner's Dark Reflection", Sydney Morning Herald (November 13, 2003): 4
Cathy Pryor. "Poetry of the rib takes out the Blake", The Australian (November 13, 2003): 4
Chris Kearney. "COFA artist takes out Blake Prize", Uniken, Issue 10 (Dec ember 2003): 7
Peter Hill. "An Art of God", Spectrum - Sydney Morning Herald (December 6-7, 2003): 10
Jo Bosben. "Student runs away with Prize", Blitz Magazine (Winter issue, 2002): 9
Louise Maral. "Black and Blake in partnership", The University of Sydney News – UniArts (Nov. 28, 2003): 7.
C Kidd. Artnotes NSW - Blake Winner, Art Monthly, Issue 166 (Dec 2003)