Frontier' Antarctica 2022

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Renowned Australian landscape painter Ken Knight has been said to follow the grand tradition of Streeton and Roberts.

In the 4 decades he has been painting, every canvas is made plein air, right in the heart of wherever his mobile studio takes him. Rigging up 'Troopy', an army jeep bedecked with oils, his French easel and his trusted saw (for spontaneous re-sizing), Knight is an all-terrain painter accustomed to long days chasing the light while re-inventing the line.

In over 60 solo shows, his passion for the natural world has forged a contemporary style with a gutsy gestural signature. Broad strokes and energised composition revive the places we know well and the far reaches we are likely to never see. In this spirit, Knight's most recent expedition was to Antarctica in February 2020. His goal to create 75 artworks in 7 days was a quest that changed him.

Given so few artists have made the trip so far south, 'Frontier' Exhibition is a rare series of paintings given they are generated not from photography but that palpable sense of place. Available for sale for the first time, Knight is happy if the works also raise vital environmental issues. 'I absolutely embrace raising awareness for climate change and the consequent impact on the wilderness,' he says. 'It is the most sacred place'.