Selected exhibitions

Julien Playoust


Playoust’s practice comes from a lifelong discipline of drawing from life, reading, and researching the masters. Over the past 2 decades, he has worked from a permanent painting studio in Sydney, splitting his time between the studio and the bush. His practice focuses primarily on plein-air and narrative studio drawing and painting.

Working from preliminary sketches, photos, memory and montages, Playoust’s work explores themes of landscape and labour, person and place, and our common human experience: moments when we yield to our existence and bend the knee to nature.

Playoust lives on the lands of the Gamaragal clan of the Eora nation in Manly and Wiradjuri country near Orange in central west New South Wales. He has travelled extensively in Australia, America, Asia and Europe.

He has degrees in architecture (1991) and business (1996), and has since completed several short courses at the National Art School, Sydney.

Trees & rock face

Oil on board
45.5x61cm
2026

Available artworks

  • 2026, Scieppan Gallery - solo show

  • 2026, Kedumba Drawing Award – finalist

  • 2026, Defiance Gallery – Defiance Award – finalist

  • 2025-26, Cowra Regional Art Gallery - Central Belonging Art Award, finalist 

  • 2025, Cowra Regional Art Gallery - Vibrations in Australian Drawing, group exhibition

  • 2025, Defiance Gallery – Paper - group show

  • 2025, Defiance Gallery - solo show

  • 2021-26, Orange Regional Gallery – Here Now, group exhibitions

  • 2024-25, Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Northern Beaches Environmental Art Prize - finalist

  • 2024, Grace Cossington Smith Gallery – solo survey exhibition

  • 2023, Macquarie University Art Gallery - Vibrations in Australian Drawing, group exhibition

  • 2022, Grace Cossington Smith Gallery - Art Award – Finalist

  • 2021, Campbelltown Art Gallery – Fisher’s Ghost Art Award - Finalist 


Selected Publications

  • Julien Playoust: Investigating Landscape, art monograph, Beagle Press 2024

  • Art Wank Podcast, Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Award, 6 Aug 2024

  • Vibrations in Australian Drawing, catalogue, Macquarie University Art Gallery 2023

  • David Fairbairn, Drawn Together, catalogue essay, Grafton Regional Gallery 2022

  • Writing Country, Writing Climate, self-published LinkedIn article February 2020