André de Vanny

ANDRÉ DE VANNY (b. 1984, Melbourne, VIC) explores the tension between the abject and the sublime, drawing on the ethereal qualities of early Renaissance painting and the visual language of contemporary abstraction. His practice is deeply physical, incorporating cycles of disintegration and repair that reflect the human experiences of trauma, resilience, and healing.

Working outdoors and in direct response to the elements, de Vanny employs a processdriven approach that includes scoring, staining, folding, stitching, sanding, and stapling materials ranging from fine linen to heavy-gauge canvas and reclaimed timber. These layered interventions allow the surface to accumulate traces of time, gesture, and material transformation.

Grounded in a strong drawing practice, he continues to investigate markmaking through dynamic works on paper alongside paintings on heavily treated canvas grounds. His recent turn toward figurative abstraction emerged from time spent working in New York City during an international studio residency, where the intensity and energy of the urban environment informed a new direction in his practice.

de Vanny graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting, First Class Honours) from the National Art School in 2023, where he was awarded the James Ballem Elsley Memorial Prize for Drawing. Following graduation, de Vanny was selected by the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA) to represent the National Art School in Hatched: National Graduate Exhibition 2024. Since his debut solo exhibition, The Diving Tree, at Curatorial+Co. in 2025, his work has been included in a number of group exhibitions across NSW and nationally, as well as a major solo installation at Brookfield Place, Sydney. De Vanny has undertaken residencies at Press West, Queenstown (TAS) and Combustive Arts, Brooklyn (NY), further expanding his interdisciplinary practice.