b. 1977 Mildura, Australia.
Currently lives in Naarm / Melbourne
Elyss is represented by Nicholas Thompson Gallery
EDUCATION 2016 Master of Contemporary Art, Faculty of Victorian College of Arts, University of Melbourne
2008 Bachelor of Fine Art (Drawing Major), RMIT University, Melbourne 2004 Diploma Welfare and Community Services, Swinburne University 2000 Certificate IV Community Services (Disability) UTS Sydney 1999 Diploma Fine Art Photography, National Art School, Sydney
1996 Diploma Drawing Fundamentals Western Institute Technology, Sydney
SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2024 ‘The Cinematic Background’, Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne ———- ‘Harmonious Eccentricity’, CORRESPONDENCES, Melbourne 2023 ‘A Tender Anchor’, Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne ————-‘Outline Imager’ , Bundoora Homestead Arts Centre, Melbourne 2022 ‘Fandangle Chroma/s’, Scott Lawrie Gallery, Auckland ——— ‘Fandangle Chroma/s’, Brunswick Temporary, Melbourne 2019 ‘Saturday feels like Vermilion then Cherry Red’, Stacks Projects, Sydney ——-- ‘Under the city a graffiti wall is left in the rain’, Tristian Koenig and Black Arts Projects, Melbourne ———- ‘The Pinkness’, Tristian Koenig, Melbourne 2017 ‘Settings’, Nth Space Ari, Melbourne 2016 ‘Bedrooms’, Rubicon Ari, Melbourne 2013 ‘Estimating a Fort’, C3 Contemporary Arts Space, Melbourne
2010 ‘Shutter Speed Luminosity’, Brunswick Arts Space
2007 ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’, First Site Gallery, Melbourne
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2025 ‘A Summer Selection’, Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne ——— ‘Quarantine Art Fair’ with Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Portsea 2024 ‘Naturally Inclined’, curated by Savina Hopkins, Retractable Art Space, Melbourne ——— ‘Review 2024’, Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne ——— ‘Correspondences’, CORRESPONDENCES, Melbourne ——— ‘A Summer Selection: Work by Represented Artists’, Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne 2023 ‘Spring Art Fair,’ with Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Hotel Windsor, Melbourne ——-- ‘Interval Diagonal’, Divisions Gallery, Melbourne ——-- ‘Fever Dreams,’ curated by Mitchel Brennan, Counihan Gallery, Melbourne 2022 ‘The Landscape Show,’ curated by Jordan Wood, Kyneton Ridge Arts Space ——— ‘March Collection online’, curated by Lily Mora, Sunday Salon 2021 ‘July Collection online’,curated by Lily Mora, Sunday Salon ——- ‘Webbed Feet’, curated by Narelle Desmond and Ry Haskings, Conners Conners, Melbourne ——— ‘A Journey Around My Room’, Island Island online, Bus Projects, Melbourne 2020 ‘These Days’, curated by Sebastian Goldspink, COMA Gallery, Sydney ——— ‘Common Thread’, St. Heliers Gallery, Melbourne 2019 ‘Otherworldly’, curated by Aaron Fell- Fracasso, Egg & Dart, Thirroul ————‘The Correspondence of Noticing’, Counihan Gallery,, Melbourne 2018 ‘Open Eye Signal’, Fort Delta, Melbourne ——— ‘Variations’,curated by Sophie Moshakis, Collins Place Gallery, Melbourne ———- ‘Extended Gestures’, curated by Aaron Martin , Arcade Projects, Melbourne ———- ‘Summer New’, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne 2017 ‘The Man with Three Names’, curated by Meredith Stone, LON Gallery, Melbourne ————‘The Means Make the Ends’, Tristian Koenig, Melbourne ———-- ‘ B-SIDE’, Blindside Ari, Melbourne ———- ‘Open House’, curated by Beau Emmett and Elvis Richardson, True Estate, Melbourne ——— ‘The Deafening Sounds of These Drawings’, Flash Night KINGS Ari, Melbourne
———— ‘April Group Show’, curated by Camille Klose James Makin Gallery, Melbourne ————-‘What’s happening Here?’, curated by Mardi Nowak and Kent Wilson,Town Hall Gallery, Melbourne 2016 ‘Graduate Exhibition’, Victorian College of The Arts, Melbourne ——— ‘Twelve’, curated by Harriet Fesq, Koskela, Sydney
2015 J’oy to the Other World’ , VCA Art Space, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne
———- ‘A Second Shadow, Prelude and Trial’, curated by Doug Heslop and Elyss McCleary The Lock Up, Newcastle
2014 ‘The Invisible Link’, C3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne
2012 E’verything Touches Everything’, curated by Natalie McCarthy, Radovan Mica Trnavac, Veljevo,
CURATORIAL 2019 ‘The Natural Way’, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne 2015 ‘A Second Shadow, Prelude and Trail’, co- curated with Doug Heslop, The Lock Up, Newcastle
2015 ‘Drawn Together’, co curated with Suzanne Brown, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
2014 ‘Into the Vault and Out of the Box’ ,co curated with James McDonald, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
2011 ‘Google me This’, co curated with Carmen Reid, Library Art Space, Melbourne 2011 ‘Drawspace’, co curated with Lindy Macauley, Glen Eira Town Hall, Melbourne
RESIDENCIES 2024 ‘ Harmonious Eccentricity’, in collaboration with Emma Ovenden , CORRESPONDENCES, Melbourne 2012 ‘Everything Touches Everything - Six female artist’s, International Art Studio Radovan Trnavac Mica, Valjevo 2009 ‘Variable Actions’, Projects Space Collingwood, Melbourne
AWARDS/PRIZES 2022 Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize, Bayside Gallery Brighton Town Hall, Melbourne (Finalist) 2019 Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize, Bayside Gallery Brighton Town Hall, Melbourne (Finalist) 2017 Nillumbik Prize, Barn Gallery Monselvat, Melbourne (Finalist) 2016 Incinerator Art Award, Incinerator Gallery, Melbourne (Finalist) 2016 M Collection Art Award, Gallery Smith, Melbourne (Finalist)
2011 Janet Holmes a Court Artist Grant NAVA for Google me this
2009 Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize, Adelaide Perry gallery, Sydney (Finalist) 2009 Flanigan Art Prize, St. Patrick’s College, Ballarat (Finalist) 2007 Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship Prize, Brett Whiteley Studio, Sydney (Highly Commended)
CATALOUGE ESSAYS AND PUBLICATIONS 2024 Cerise Howard, ‘An Impostor’s Response to Elyss McCleary’s “The Cinematic Background” cat essay, Nicholas Thompson Gallery 2023 Elyss McCleary, ‘Process; Elyss McCleary’, Artist Profile, issue 68, p. 122- 124 —— Nicholas Thompson, ‘Preview Upfront, Elyss McCleary: A Tender Anchor’, Art Collector Magazine, issue 103, p 50 -51 2022 Madeline Simm, ‘Outline Imager’, cat essay, Bundoora Homestead Arts Centre ———— Tiarney Miekus ,’Chroma/s’, cat essay, Brunswick Temporary Art Space 2020 Michael Schwartz, “The Studio Spaces’, cat essay, St. Helier’s Art Space ____ Sebastian Goldspink, “These Days”, cat essay, COMA Gallery 2017 Brigid Hansen ‘What’s Happening Here?’, cat essay, Town Hall Gallery 2012 Damian Lentini, ,’Estimating a Fort’, cat essay, C3 Contemporary Art Space ———— Natalie McCarthy, Everything touches everything’ cat essay, Radovan Trnavac Mica 2010 Aden Rolfe, ‘Shutter Speed Luminosity’, Brunswick Art Space
COLLECTIONS City of Whitehorse Collection, purchased 2025 Artbank Collection, purchased 2020, Deakin University Art Collection, 2019, Darabin Art Collection, 2019, Macquarie Group Collection, 2019, 2017, M Collection Melbourne, 2016, International Art Collection, Belgrade, 2012.