Artist Statement and bio
Joanna Poulson is a Tarntanya/Adelaide-based visual artist working in the tonal realist tradition. “My art practice explores the beauty and vibrancy of nature. The garden is an endless source of inspiration.”
Poulson’s process is rooted in the act of close and patient observation of floral forms. The artist works from photographs, documenting her studio garden in bloom, capturing snapshots that frame details with a compelling reverence. Poulson translates the composition to canvas, scaling the work to draw viewers’ attention to the complex formal qualities of flowers – petals, calyx, leaves, stamen – through the precision of brushwork and subtle interplay of colours. In the compositions, sharply focused foregrounds give way to soft, out-of-focus background which incorporate both figurative and abstract elements. Capturing the fall of light and shadow of snapdragons, ranunculi, euphorbia, zinnia and kalanchoe, and begonia – amongst other varieties – the artist achieves precision and a faithful impression through the studious application of paint. In layering the canvas surface using a flat brush blending technique, Poulson builds a tonal richness in her paintings. The resulting artworks evoke a sense of rapture.
Poulson trained at the Adelaide Central School of Art where she gained an Associate Degree in Visual Art in 2008.
Poulson’s paintings have been awarded the Solar Art Prize – Finalist (2023), Kennedy Art Prize – Finalist (2022), Omnia Art Prize – Finalist (2022), Emma Hack Art Prize – Finalist (2017), City of Whyalla Art Prize – Finalist (2013), Bald Clanger Portrait Prize – First Prize (2012), Adelaide Cathedral Art Show – First Prize (2012 & 2007).
Her projects have been supported by the City of Prospect and the Helpmann Academy.
Associate Degree in Visual Art, Adelaide Central School of Art, Norwood
Bachelor of Management, University of South Australia, Adelaide
2026 New Works, Anthea Polson Art, Qld (February)
2025 Floral Perspectives: A Five-Year Exploration, BMGART, Adelaide
2024 Melbourne Street Open Air Gallery Art Trail, North Adelaide
2023 Offerings from my Garden, Gitanjali, Walkerville
2023 Solar Art Prize, Royal South Australian Society of Arts, Adelaide
2022 Spring on the Strand, The Strand Gallery, Port Elliot
2022 Loreto Spring Art, Loreto College, Marryatville
2022 Kennedy Art Prize, Royal South Australian Society of Arts, Adelaide
2022 Omnia Art Prize, St Kevin’s College, Toorak
2021 The Girls are Back in Town, The Strand Gallery, Port Elliot
2021 Open Studio Exhibition, SALA Solo Show, Prospect
2021 Melbourne Street Open Air Gallery Art Trail, North Adelaide
2020 Limited Access, SALA Group Show, Calvary Hospital, North Adelaide
2020 Blurry Botanicals, The Strand Gallery, Port Elliot
2019 Loreto Spring Art, Loreto College, Marryatville
2019 Saatchi The Other Art Fair, Melbourne
2018 Loreto Spring Art, Loreto College, Marryatville
2018 Bloom Group exhibition, Art Bar, Adelaide
2017 Adelaide Cathedral Art Show, St Peter’s Cathedral, North Adelaide
2017 Sit, Drop, Play Solo Show, WOTSO WorkSpace, Adelaide
2017 Emma Hack Art Prize Exhibition, Burnside Village
2016 Small Works, Worth Gallery, Kent Town
2016 Adelaide Cathedral Art Show, St Peter’s Cathedral, North Adelaide
2016 The Kensington Kollection, Kensington Hotel, Kensington
2015 Goodwood Pop Up Gallery, Goodwood
2015 Adelaide Cathedral Art Show, St Peter’s Cathedral, North Adelaide
2014 Perpetual Journey, The British Hotel, North Adelaide
2014 Birds & Blossom, Gallery on Waymouth, Adelaide
2013 Goodwood Pop Up Gallery, Goodwood
2013 City of Whyalla Art Prize, Whyalla
2012 Bald Clanger Portrait Prize, Grace Emily Hotel, Adelaide
2012 Adelaide Cathedral Art Show, St Peter’s Cathedral, North Adelaide
2012 Flourish, Worth Gallery, Fisher Jeffries, Adelaide
2011 Hanami, Solo Show, Kensington Gallery, Norwood
2010 SA Life Emerging Artist with Spring Art, Lion Hotel, North Adelaide
2010 Summer Exhibition, Max Dawn Gallery, Torrensville
2009 Bald Clanger Portrait Prize, Grace Emily Hotel, Adelaide
2009 Adelaide Cathedral Art Show, St Peter’s Cathedral, North Adelaide
2009 Loreto Spring Art, Loreto College, Marryatville
2009 Saint Ignatius Art Show, St Ignatius College, Norwood
2009 Princes Contemporary Art Show, Prince Alfred College, Kent Town
2009 Art Inq show, The Robin Hood Hotel, Norwood
2008 Bald Clanger Portrait Prize, Grace Emily Hotel, Adelaide
2008 Adelaide Cathedral Art Show, St Peter’s Cathedral, North Adelaide
2008 Authentic, Poulson & Profanter Studio, Prospect
2007 Out from the Crowd, Artistic License Gallery, North Adelaide
2007 Reverie, Tin Cat Cafe Restaurant & Gallery, Kent Town
2007 Art West Series 2, Phat Coffee, Adelaide
2006 ab5, Flightpath Architects, Adelaide
2006 Remnants: surviving traces, Tin Cat Cafe Restaurant & Gallery, Kent Town, Adelaide Central School of Art Student Gallery, Norwood
2005 Flutterby, Adelaide Central School of Art Student Gallery, Norwood
2005 Frenzy, Port Dock Brewery, Port Adelaide
2023 Finalist Solar Art Prize
2022 Finalist Kennedy Art Prize
2022 Finalist, Omnia Art Prize
2021 Public Art Grant, City of Prospect
2017 Finalist Emma Hack Art Prize
2013 Finalist City of Whyalla Art Prize
2012 First Prize, Bald Clanger Portrait Prize, Grace Emily Hotel
2012 First Prize, Adelaide Cathedral Art Show
2010 Emerging Artist Prize, SA Life/Loreto Spring Art
2008 Commission Award Baulderstaone Hornibrook/Helmpann Academy
2008 Finalist CIBO/Loreto Spring Art Emerging Artist Prize
2007 First Prize, Adelaide Cathedral Art Show
2007 Grant, Helpmann Academy
2007 Scholarship, Adelaide Central School of Art (ACSA)
2006 Commission Prize, Exeter Hotel/ACSA
2023 Offerings from my Garden, Fleurieu Living Magazine, Spring 2023
2021 Transforming stobie poles from drab to fab, Your Prospect, Summer 2022
2010 In bloom, SA Life, July 2010
2008 An exploration of life during SALA Festival, Standard Messenger, 23 July
2008 Authentic Exhibition, Update Arts Magazine, Issue 60, June – August
2007 Art Fair Opportunities, Update Arts Magazine, Issue 57, September – November
2007 Marketing Gurus, Eastern Courier Messenger, 15 August
2007 Creative Leanings, Adelaide Matters, 14 August
2007 Reverie, Artdate, Issue 80, April – May
2006 West end a gallery, The Advertiser, 5 December 2006
2006 Art meets West End, Update Arts Magazine, Issue 54, December 2006 – February 2007
February 28, 2026 - March 14, 2026
Receive e-mail updates on our exhibitions, events and more
Subscribe Now
