Painter and printmaker Salvatore Zofrea was born in Italy, arriving in Australia in 1956 at the age of 9. After leaving school and working for several years, he attended the Julian Ashton Art School (1961-3).
Over the past 40 years, he has held solo exhibitions throughout Australia, and internationally in Rome. His work has also been featured in group exhibitions at the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Zofrea’s large commissioned works include his ‘150 Years of the Sydney Morning Herald’ mural (1979), the State Bank of New South Wales mural (1985) and a fresco for the Sydney Opera House Trust (1993).
In 1979, his ‘Psalm23’ was acquired by the Vatican, Rome, for its collection.
In 1982 he received a Power Bequest award of 6 months residence in Paris, and a Churchill Fellowship in 1986 to study fresco technique in Florence with master of fresco Leonetto Tintori.
Zofrea has won the Sulman Prize three times (1977, 1979 and 1982) and is a many-times finalist in the Archibald and Wynne prizes.
In 1992 the late Art Gallery of NSW director, Edmund Capon, arranged for a selection of Zofrea’s ‘Psalms’ series be displayed in the Art Gallery of NSW and to tour NSW Regional Art Galleries. In 1996 he was made a Cavaliere (Knight) by the Italian Government for services to the Arts.
From 1994 to 1999 he created the ‘Appassionata’ series of 100 autobiographical woodcuts, exhibited at the Art Gallery of NSW, and touring nationally prior to being acquired by the Gallery. In 2000, the National Portrait Gallery of Australia exhibited his ’50 Portraits’ which then toured NSW Regional Galleries.
In 2014, he was awarded an Order of Australia (OAM) for services to the Arts.
Currently, Zofrea is working on his ‘Four Circles’ series, depicting Australian wildflowers in their natural light at various times of the day – morning, midday, afternoon and evening. Each circle consists of 25 panels, each one being 153cm high x 122cm wide, totalling 30 metres in overall length.
Seven monographs on his life and work have been produced and four films, including Richard Mordaunt’s Salvatore Zofrea – Master of Light (2016).
Salvatore Zofrea is represented by Australian Galleries, Sydney and Melbourne.
PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS
Image above: Days of Summer 2008-23 hand-coloured woodcut with lapis lazuli on paper edition unique 44 x 59 cm “…I was …
Image: Salvatore Zofrea. Photograph (detail) courtesy of Stephen Oxenbury/ Artist Profile and Orange Regional Gallery Salvatore Zofrea: The Drawn Line, …
Image: Christine Wrest-Smith, Portrait of Salvatore Zofrea. Congratulations to Christine Wrest-Smith who has been announced a Finalist in the Percival Portrait Painting …
In the Arnhem Land community of Ngukurr, elder Clarry Rogers is worried plans to allocate water to new gas fracking and …
This beautiful painting from Marina Strocchi‘s current exhibition, The vineyards of Madden’s Lane was one of a selection of the …
Image above: Still Life: West Australian gum blossoms 1985 synthetic polymer paint on hardboard 122.7 x 91.5 cm Vicki Varvaressos, …
John Wolseley The life of inland waters – Durabudboi river (detail) 2015 – 2018 watercolour, graphite and woodcut on paper …
Image above: Rona Green Petal 2023 hand coloured linocut edition 57 38 x 28 cm Photography by Tim Gresham Printmaker …
Image above: Kevin Mortensen and Stuart Purves at Australian Galleries Melbourne, 2016 All at Australian Galleries are deeply saddened to …
Image above: Sue Anderson Swift 2022 multi coloured lithograph edition 12, 59 x 42cm unframed The Victorian Forest Alliance recently held …
Congratulations to Camie Lyons on her latest commission of sculptures and works on paper for the Trenery flagship store in …
Image: Jenny Rodgerson Self portrait with mudras 2023 oil on linen 165 x 107 cm Congratulations to Michelle Hiscock and …
Image above: Martin King in Morocco “I have been wanting to revisit Morocco ever since my last trip in 2015. …
