Irene Koroluk is a Tasmanian artist whose practice draws from her connections with the natural environment. Through her work, she aims to capture and reveal beauty and diversity in the landscape. Drawing on her imagination, memory and personal experiences from her travels and explorations, Irene captures both stillness and movement through detailed and layered interpretations of the places she encounters.
Primarily working in textiles, Irene creates tactile and detailed art quilts, often using mixed media in her compositions. Her practice also encompasses drawing, print making, photography and painting.
Interested in the fragility and transitory nature of the landscape, her work aims to instil the value and importance of appreciating and protecting natural habitats, highlighting the places and species that touch and replenish her soul.
CV
Education
2017 Bachelor of Fine Arts, printmaking, UTAS
1995 Master of Environmental Studies, UTAS
Awards
2023 Recipient, Stitching and Beyond. City of Hobart Community Grant Program, Tas
2022 Recipient, Stitching and Beyond. Community Grants Program, Kingborough Council, Tas
2022 Juried. Art Evolved: Intertwined, SAQA Global Exhibitions, Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, Montana 2023, Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Art Museum, La Conner, Washington 2023/2024, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, Massachusetts 2025
2022 3rd prize. Art Quilt - Advanced/Professional, Island Quilts Tasmania, MAC02, Hobart, Tas
2022 Finalist. Dare to Differ, Gallery M, Adelaide
2022 Juried. Australia Wide 8, Touring Exhibiton: Warwick Art Gallery QLD, Dysart Art Space QLD, Naracoorte Art Gallery SA,
World Theatre QLD, Joel Gallery Vic, Kyabram Town Hall Vic, Cannery Arts Centre WA
2022 Finalist. Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize (emerging), Gordon, NSW
2022 Finalist. John Villiers Outback Art Prize, Outback Regional Gallery and Waltzing Matilda Centre, Winton, QLD
2021 Recipient. Creative Support Small Grants Fund, Arts Tasmania
2021 People's Choice Award x 3, Out of Hand, Long Gallery, Salamanca, Hobart, Tas
2021-2025 Juried. Fur, Fangs, Feathers & Fins, Saqa Global Exhibition, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Arizona, USA , Detroit Zoo 2024
2021 Juried. Fibre Art Now, Emerging Artist Showcase, Massachusetts, USA
2021 Finalist. Art Quilt Australia 2021, Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, Nowra, NSW, Yarra Ranges Regional Museum, Lilydale, Vic
2021 Juried. SAQA Virtual Gallery - Impressions of Oceania From Around the World, Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc., Hebron, CT, USA
2021 Finalist. 6th Biennial Golden Textures Contemporary Art Quilt Exhibition, Central Goldfields Art Gallery, Maryborough, Vic
2021 Finalist. John Villiers Outback Art Prize, Outback Regional Gallery and Waltzing Matilda Centre, Winton, QLD
2020 Finalist. The Heysen Prize for Landscape, Hahndorf Academy, Hahndorf, SA
2020 Juried. 2 works. The New Quilt 2021, Hawkesbury Regional Art Gallery, Windsor, NSW
2020 SAQA Juried Artist Member. Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc., Hebron, Connecticut, USA
2020/2021 Finalist. One Step Further, Kyabrum, Vic
2020 Finalist. 2 works. Australian Textile Art Award, Melbourne, Vic
2020 Finalist. Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane
2019 Curator's Choice Award & Finalist. 2 works. Australian Quilts in Public Places, Metamorphosis, Whitehorse ArtSpace Gallery, Melbourne
2019 Finalist. Hornsby Art Prize, Hornsby, Sydney
2019 Finalist. 2 works. Foot Square, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane
2019 Finalist. Clip Award, Perth Centre for Photography, Perth
2018 Finalist. Henry Jones Art Prize, Henry Jones Hotel, Hobart
2018 Finalist. Pro Hart Outback Art Prize, Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, NSW
2018 Winner & second prize (emerging), Buda Contemporary Textiles Exhibition, Buda Historic Home and Garden, Castlemaine, Vic
2018 Finalist. Petite Miniature Textiles 2018, Wangaratta Art Gallery, Vic
2018 Finalist. Ebb and Flow, Tasmanian Art Quilt Prize, Maritime Museum of Tasmania, Hobart
2015 Finalist. History Her Story, Tasmanian Art Quilt Prize, Narryna House, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
2015 Viewer’s Choice 3rd prize. Autumn Challenge Quilters Easter Showcase, Brighton Civic Centre, Tas
Solo Exhibitions
2024 The Outback, the Coast and the In-between, Outback Regional Gallery, Winton, QLD (upcoming)
2018 Lost Worlds, Onewall Artspace, Acacia Grove, Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart
Group Exhibitions
2022 BigCi Open Day, Bilpin, NSW
2022 Island Quilts, MAC02, Hobart
2021 Margaret Oppen Prize for 2021, My World, Gallery 76, Concord West, NSW
2021 Out of Hand, Lightbox, Salamanca, Hobart
2021 d'Arcy Doyle Art Awards, Mudgeeraba Memorial Hall, QLD
2019 Out of Hand, Long Gallery, Salamanca, Hobart
2019 Clip Awards Digital Showcase, Perth Cultural Centre Screen, Perth
2019 Women’s Word, Kingborough Community Hub, Kingston, Tas
2019 Abstracting Time 3, Sidespace Gallery, Salamanca, Hobart
2018 Abstracting Time Petite, Onewall Artspace, Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart
2018 Travelling Exhibition for Ebb and Flow: Bay of Fires Winter Art Festival, Gallery Parnella, St Helens; Wonders of Wynyard Gallery;
Gone Rustic Studio & Gallery, St Marys; Island Quilts Silverdome, Launceston, The Goods Shed, Hobart
2017 Women of the Island, Wild Island Tasmania, Salamanca, Hobart
2017 Abstracting Time 2, Sidespace Gallery, Salamanca, Hobart
2016 Abstracting Time, Sidespace Gallery, Salamanca, Hobart
2016 Travelling exhibition for History Her Story: Wonders of Wynyard Gallery; Bay of Fires Winter Art Festival, Gallery Parnella, St Helens; Gone Rustic Studio & Gallery, St Marys; Tasmanian Quilt Expo, Hobart Show Grounds Pavilion
2015 University of Tasmania Graduation Show, Hunter St Campus, Hobart
2014 What’s Up? Long Gallery, Salamanca, Hobart
Bibliography
SAQA, 2023 Portfolio, SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly (upcoming)
SAQA, 2023 Portfolio, SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly, Issue 30, p. 66
SAQA, 2022 Notecards (upcoming)
Dianne Williams 2022, Artist Portfolio, Art Quilting Studio, Spring Issue, pp. 26-37
SAQA, 2022 Fur, Fangs, Feathers and Fins, Catalogue
SAQA, 2022, Portfolio, SAQA Art Quilt Quarterly 2022, Issue 26, p. 72
Fibre Art Network 2021, Emerging Artist Showcase, Fibre Art Now, Volume 10, Issue 3, Summer/Fall, p. 26
SAQA 2021, Member Gallery Emergence: Cautious Steps, SAQA Journal, Volume 31, No.4, p. 17
Simone Marsh 2021, An Out of Hand exhibition, Kingborough Chronicle, Issue No 597, September 14, p. 1
The Hobart Magazine 2021, artwork image, September, Issue 26, p. 25
Dianne Firth (editor) 2021, Art Quilt Australia 2021, Catalogue, University of Canberra
The Quilters Guild of NSW Inc 2021, The New Quilt Catalogue 2021
Lynda Worthington (editor), Australian Textile Art Award 2020, ArtWear Publications Pty Ltd
Australian Quilters Association Inc, 2019 Australian Quilts in Public Places, Metamorphosis
Collections
SAQA's Online Collection, Hebron, Connecticut, US
Whitehorse Art Collection, Boxhill, Vic
Private collections in Australia and internationally
Professional Activity
2022 Artist in Residence, BigCi (BILPIN International Ground for Creative Initiatives), NSW
2021 Overview and Artist Insights, artist talk, Art Quilt Australia 2021
2021 An Accidental Artist, Lightning Talk presenter, SAQA 2021 Conference: Oceans Apart, Connected by Art
2021 Meet the Artist Zoom Event, artist talk, The New Quilt 2021
2021 Artist in Residence, Henry Jones Art Hotel, Hobart