Neville PILVEN
GA L LE R I ES
l S Y DNE Y
During the warmer months Melbourne artist, Neville Pilven, spends a lot of time
painting at his cottage on the fringe of the Wimmera in Western Central Victoria. His
cottage-studio is located in a quiet rural area once mined for gold. Pilven’s semirealist landscape paintings border on the poetic, with historic folk references
employed as pictorial iconography; an old tank, a remnant of a fence, or a dam. His
sombre palette and a sense of emotional connection to the landscape, veil a deeper
questioning upon the forces that shape nature and our place as people in the
landscape—a theme that resonates with the landscape paintings of Russell
Drysdale.
Born in 1939, Pilven studied at the National Gallery Art School and the George Bell
School (drawing). In the mid-1960s, Pilven left Australia for several years of
European travel, study and painting, to England, Spain and Hydra Island, Greece. In
1972, he studied printmaking at Morley College, London, before returning to Australia
in 1973, to settle in Melbourne. He was a finalist in the John McCaughey Invitation
Art Prize, 1979, National Gallery of Victoria. Neville has held twenty solo exhibitions,
many with leading Melbourne galleries. He has undertaken commissions for Myer,
Telstra Australia and National Panasonic. His work is in collections including Artbank,
Latrobe University, Ansett, Westpac, National Bank, Telstra Australia, Ridley, Potter
Warburg and private collections in UK, USA, Australia and Japan.
Neville Pilven
Born Melbourne
1959-61
Studied National Gallery Art School
1960
Studied drawing George Bell School
1965
Travelled to England – painted/studied
1966
Travelled to Spain – painted/studied
1967
Returned to Australia
1970-72
Lived/painted in Hydra, Greek Islands
1972
Studied Printmaking, Morley College, London
1973
Returned to Australia, established home studio in Melbourne
Solo Exhibitions
2009
Pollock Gallery, Richmond
2009
Soho Gallery, Sydney
2008
Pollock Gallery, Richmond
2007
Soho Galleries, Sydney
2007
Art Gallery of Ballarat
2005
Pollock Gallery, Richmond
2002
Pollock Gallery, Richmond
2000
A.R.T. Gallery Eden, Melbourne
1997
A.R.T. Gallery Eden, Melbourne
1994
Steps Gallery, Carlton
1992
Stuart Gerstman Galleries, Richmond
1991
Australian Airlines, Tullamarine
1991
Stuart Gerstman Galleries, Richmond
1990
Stuart Gerstman Galleries, Richmond
1985
Stuart Gerstman Galleries, Richmond
1978
Solander Gallery, Canberra
1977
Warehouse Gallery, Melbourne
1975
Manyung Gallery, Mt Eliza
1973
Ansdell Gallery, London
1971
Joseph Brown Gallery. Melbourne
Selected Group Exhibitions
2004
Pollock Gallery, Richmond
2004
Manyung Gallery, Mt Eliza
1977
Ararat Regional Gallery, Victoria
1972
Joseph Brown Gallery
Invitation Art Prize Participation
1977
Victoria
John McCaughey Invitation Art Prize, National Gallery of
1976
Sir William Angliss Memorial Invitation Art Prize
1974
Travelodge Invitation Art Prize, Canberra
Commissions
1993
National Panasonic, Scoresby
1986
Telstra Australia Collection
1976
Myer Melbourne
Collections
Artbank
Latrobe University Collection
Ansett Collection
Westpac Collection
National Bank Collection
Telstra Australia Collection
Ridley Collection
Potter Warburg Collection
Private collections in UK, USA, Australia and Japan
Bibliography
Artist Profile, Flight Deck Magazine, Australian Airlines Publication, No 49,
June, 1991.
Alan McCulloch, Encyclopedia of Australian Art, 1770- 1980, Vol 2.