Lorna Quinn - The Gold Prize Finalist Rockhampton Museum of Art

Lorna Quinn News!

While living in London and undertaking the Ian Potter Travel Grant (2024), the Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship and the Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship (2024), Lorna Quinn was invited to participate as a finalist in The Gold Prize at Rockhampton Museum of Art.

Quinn is a familiar presence at the Museum, having also exhibited in Intimacy, curated by former director Jonathan McBurnie, which opened in March 2026.

Intimacyis showing until 5 July 2026. Curated by Jonathan McBurnie.

Quinn’s practice centres on small, densely rendered figurative paintings populated by elaborate vegetable and mineral configurations. Awkward and upright, her tree forms seem to resist the ways they have been rearranged, singled out, pruned and reshaped. Mountain folds quiver in sharp angles and dark shadows, as though reacting to being flattened and repurposed. Watery tarns peer mournfully outward, while rocks appear to hold their breath as they maintain their unnatural forms. Across the paint surface, Quinn suspends these actors in motion, interrupting clandestine meetings, collective festivities and mutinous stirrings as they press against the limits of the picture plane.

Jonathon McBurnie is the new Director of Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston.

The Gold Award 2026 on view now until September at Rockhampton Museum of Art was judged by prominent artist Jenny Watson, whose own distinguished career began with a commercial exhibition at Powell Street Gallery in South Yarra, Victoria with David and Beatrice Chapman as Directors.

Jenny Watson selected Karla Marchesi as this year’s winner.

Following the announcement, Karla spoke with Louise Martin-Chew about her winning work, Wasted Waiting. “It has been a long 20 years of rigorous practice, largely alone in the studio,” Marchesi says. “As an artist you have so many different metrics of success, and you normally keep them modest, containing expectations.”

“First, the invitation to exhibit in the prestigious Gold Award at Rockhampton Museum of Art felt like success in and of itself. Then the joy of seeing your work in a museum context, installed in such a beautiful space, was thrilling.”

Lorna is exhibiting with a most interesting selection of finalists and her works are represented beautifully in a non commercial space. We are pleased to assist if there are any enquiries in terms of purchasing a Lorna Quinn.