Quick Facts
Biography
Luke Cornish (born 1979) is an Australian stencil artist, also known under the moniker E.L.K. In 2012, Cornish became the first stencil artist to become a finalist in the prestigious Archibald Prize, the largest portrait award in Australia. Previously, he has awarded the Australian Stencil Art Prize in 2010 (as well as runner-up in 2009), was a finalist for the 2011 Metro Art Award, and a short film based around his journey of entering the Archibald was nominated in Australia's Tropfest Awards. Other notable achievements include being selected for 2012's Project 5 charity auction, a large involvement in 2011's Outpost Project, receiving the 2013 Chuchill fellowship, and numerous solo and group shows in Australia, the USA, Europe and Asia.
Career
Growing up in Canberra, Cornish worked blue-collar jobs before picking up stencil art as a hobby in the early-2000s. All of his work is done by hand through cutting out sheets of recycled acetate with a scalpel. Some of Cornish's stencils contain over 80 layers. The subject of his Archibald entry, the infamous ex-priest Father Bob Maguire, contains over 30 layers and was influenced by Cornish's association of him with his own grandfather. An atheist, religious iconography occurs frequently in his work. Cornish's portrait of the controversial Catholic priest achieved a new auction record for a work by an Australian street artist selling for A$34,160 during the Bonhams Australia Important Australian Art auction in late 2013.
Cornish currently lives and works in Sydney. His work is held in public and private collections around the world, most notably his portrait of former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, which was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery of Australia in 2013.
Exhibition history (solo shows)
- 2014: Louder than words, Stolen Space, London
- 2014: Clusterfuck, Metro Gallery, Melbourne
- 2014: Sex & Death, w/ Will Coles, Art Equity, Sydney
- 2013: Before Afghanistan, Art Equity, Sydney
- 2012: Not with it..., Metro Gallery, Melbourne
- 2011: Look what you made me do...., Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
- 2011: This is why we can't have nice things..., Oh really Gallery, Newtown, Sydney
- 2010: How you like me now Bitch?, Front Gallery, Canberra
Awards and collections
- 2014: Bond University Collection, QLD
- 2014: Corrigan Collection
- 2013: Churchill Fellowship, Awardee
- 2013: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra (acquisition)
- 2013: Sulman prize, Finalist
- 2012: Moran Portrait prize, semi-finalist
- 2012: Archibald prize, Finalist
- 2012: Tropfest, shortlisted
- 2011: Metro Art Prize, Finalist
- 2010: Australian Stencil Art Prize, Winner
- 2009: Ballarat Gallery of Modern Art (acquisition)
- 2009: Australian Stencil art prize, Runner up
- 2008: Melbourne Stencil Festival, Peoples choice