Isabelle Devos was born in Belgium and grew up in Canada, where she attended
art school on the east coast. Inspired by the surrounding landscapes,
she began creating abstract paintings of based on photographs. The
influences from the art of Alex Colville, Georgia O’Keefe, Edward Hopper and
Lawren S. Harris led Devos towards more representational work. After
graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Mount Allison
University, Devos settled in the region where she began her work as
an artist and delved into an exploration of the rural landscapes and
suburban streetscapes through photography and painting.
Since moving to New South Wales in Australia nearly twenty years ago,
Devos’s work has explored the hidden stories that shape the
landscapes depicted in her paintings. Living in an area that
encompasses large areas of wilderness as well as small towns allows
her to regularly explore the countryside through walking and driving,
which has become essential to her creative process.
Isabelle Devos is an award-winning artist and has received grants and
accolades from a variety of Canadian and Australian art institutions,
including the Canada Council for the Arts, Arts North West Regional
Arts Development and the Helen Dangar Memorial Art Bursary. Her work
has been shortlisted for major art awards in Australia including the
2024 Fisher’s Ghost Art Award and Lethbridge Landscape Prize, 2023
Glover Prize and the 2022 Paddington Art Prize.
Isabelle Devos’ work can be found in public collections including the Art
Bank of New Brunswick in Canada and the NSW State Library in
Australia as well as in international private collections. She is
represented by Frances Keevil in Sydney and Lethbridge Gallery in
Brisbane, Australia and by Fog Forest Gallery in Canada.
StatementI am captivated by the abstract qualities found in rural and urban landscapes and the way light shapes the composition and colours, such as the diagonal path of a road, and the elongated shadow cast by a cluster of trees. My work explores the areas where humans and the landscape intersect, where there are roads, buildings and organisation in the landscape and streetscapes.
The landscape is a dynamic and ephemeral subject, in a constant sense of flux. I bring attention to this specific moment of stillness, aiming to capture not only the physical features but also the intangible moods and memories that linger and shape the present moment.
CvARTIST CURRICULUM VITAE –
SELECT EXHIBITIONS - ISABELLE DEVOS 2025
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Belgium. Lives in New South
Wales, Australia
EDUCATION
1991 Bachelor
of Fine Arts: Major
in Photography and Painting
Mount Allison
University, New Brunswick, Canada
SELECTED
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025
Blue
Skies,
Lethbridge Gallery, Paddington, QLD
2025
Edge
of Stillness,
Frances Keevil-Studio W, Sydney, NSW
2024
Fisher’s Ghost Art
Award Finalists,
Campbelltown, NSW (juried)
2024
Interior Art Prize
Finalists, Weswal Gallery,
Tamworth NSW (juried)
2024
Revealed: Hidden Gems
from the UNE Art Collection
(juried)
2024
Mount Allison BFA
1991 + 33 Years, Sackville
NB, Canada (invitation)
2024
Lethbridge Landscape
Art Prize, Salon des
Refuses, Brisbane QLD
2023
Inspiration and
Iterations, New England
Regional Art Museum, NSW (invitation)
2023
Lethbridge Landscape
Art Prize Finalists,
Brisbane, QLD
2023
Through Their Eyes:
Three Artists in Tasmania,
Hazelhurst Gallery, NSW
2023
Glover Landscape Art
Prize Finalists, Tasmania
2023
Through the Eyes of
Strangers, New England
Regional Art Museum, NSW
2022
Reflection,
Frances Keevil, Sydney NSW
2022
Paddington Art Prize
Finalists, Marlene Antico,
Sydney NSW
2022
Through Our Eyes,
Incinerator Art Space, Willoughby NSW
2022
Artists to Watch,
Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane QLD
2021
Lethbridge 20000 Art
Prize Finalists, Lethbridge
Gallery, Brisbane QLD
2020
The New England
Landscape, New England
Regional Art Museum NSW
2019
Everything Is Gonna
Be Fine, Art Bank
Collection, NB Canada
2014
Calleen Art Award,
Cowra Regional Art Gallery, NSW (juried)
2013
Ode to Olley,
New England Regional Art Museum, NSW (invitation)
2012
Norvill Art Prize,
Murrurundi, NSW (juried)
2011
Countryscapes,
Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, NSW (juried)
2010
Countryscapes,
Chifley Towers, Sydney NSW (juried)
2009
Country Energy Art
Prize, Lismore Regional
Gallery, NSW(juried)
2009
Warwick Art Prize
Finalists, Warwick Art
Gallery, QLD (juried)
2009
Tattersalls Art
Prize, Tattersalls Club,
Brisbane QLD (juried)
2009
A New England
Viewpoint, NERAM, Armidale
NSW (curated)
2008
Norvill Art Prize,
Murrurundi, NSW (juried)
2006
Country Energy Art
Prize Finalists, Goulburn
Regional Gallery (juried)
2005
Country Energy Art
Prize Finalists, Grafton
Regional Gallery, NSW (juried)
2004
Acquisitions: NB Art
Bank, touring exhibition,
Canada
SELECTED
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024
The Stillness Within,
Lethbridge Gallery, Paddington (Brisbane), QLD
2022
While Standing in One
Place, ARO Gallery (by
Frances Keevil), Sydney NSW
2019
An Uncertain
Stillness, Frances Keevil
Gallery, Sydney NSW
2017
A Distant Summer,
Frances Keevil Gallery, Sydney NSW
2015
The Wait for Evening,
Frances Keevil Gallery, Sydney NSW
2013
Calm Before the
Storm, New England Regional
Art Museum, NSW
2011
From There to Here,
Gallery 126, Armidale NSW
2008
On a Clear Day,
New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale, NSW
2006
A Sense of Quiet,
Gallery 126, Armidale NSW
2003
Insecurities Project,
Struts Gallery, Canada
PRIZES,
AWARDS AND COMMISSIONS
2024
Grant awarded, Arts
North West Micro Grant,
Hidden in Plain Sight,
NSW
2024
Finalist, Fisher’s
Ghost Art Award,
Campbelltown, NSW
2024
Finalist, PLC
Signature Art Prize,
Armidale NSW
2024
Finalist, Interior
Art Prize, Weswal Gallery,
Tamworth NSW
2023
Finalist, Lethbridge
Landscape Art Prize,
Brisbane, QLD
2023
Finalist, Glover Landscape
Art Prize, Tasmania,
International+Australian
2022 Finalist, Paddington
Art Prize, Marlene Antico
Gallery, Sydney NSW
2022 Sketchbook
from Panorama Project,
Acquisition, State Library of NSW, Australia
2021 Highly Commended,
Lethbridge 20000 Award,
Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2020 Helen
Dangar Artist Bursary Award,
New England Regional Art Museum, Australia
2020 Arts
North West Micro-grant,
National Parks Project, NSW
2018 Commission for University
of New England, Boilerhouse
Portrait
2016 Winner, Armidale
Art Prize, (still life)
Armidale NSW
2014 Finalist, Calleen
Art Award, Cowra Regional
Art Gallery, NSW
2012 Highly Commended, Norvill
Art Prize, Murrurundi NSW
2012 Finalist, Norvill
Art Prize, $15,000 Prize for Landscape Painting
2011 Finalist, Essential
Energy $35,000 Art Prize for Landscape Painting
2010 Finalist, Country
Energy $35,000 Art Prize for Landscape Painting
2009 Finalist, Country
Energy $35,000 Art Prize for Landscape Painting
2008 Winner, Unpacker’s
Prize, Norvill Art Prize
2008 Finalist, Country
Energy $35,000 Art Prize for Landscape Painting
2008 Finalist, Stanthorpe
Art Prize, Australia
2006 Finalist, Country
Energy $35,000 Art Prize for Landscape Painting
2007
Finalist,
Muswellbrook Art Prize
2005 Highly Commended, Country
Energy $35,000 Art Prize for Landscape
2003 Artist Grant, Canada
Council for the Arts, Insecurities
Project
GALLERIES
Represented
in Sydney by Frances Keevil, Sydney, Australia
Represented
in Brisbane by Lethbridge Gallery, Australia
Represented
in Canada by Fog Forest Gallery, Canada
COLLECTIONS
State
Library of NSW, Australia
New
England Regional Art Museum, Armidale NSW Australia
University
of New England, NSW, Australia
New
Brunswick Art Bank, Canada
Anchorage
Press, New Brunswick, Canada
Galerie
d’Art de l’ Universite de Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Private
collections in Canada, Australia, USA, Belgium and England
StateNSW
CountryAustralia
