Biography

Australian artist Nick Pont works within the realms of abstraction, surrealism, and figurative art to tap into the human psyche. Meditation, nature, and the landscape inspire the works as Pont translates energy into paintings. His technique sees line and form bleed; a balance of light and dark in layers and washes of paint and delicate mark making.

Based on Gumbaynggirr Country, Urunga on NSW’s Mid-North Coast, nature is in abundance. The rivers flow through the mountains to the ocean. Passing mangroves and historic rainforests. Swell meets the tide. A meeting point of charges that the earth generates. Naturally, this feeds into Pont’s work, as does his day-to-day: swims in the saltwater, parenting three young children, and his meditation practice discovered through these last few years.

Pont grew up on the Central Coast, where he became interested in photography and film through surfing. Life took on many professional forms, though art was constantly returned to as a creative outlet. In 2010, he studied Bachelor of Fine Art at the University of Newcastle, graduating in 2013. Early inspirations include local folk lore, the Australian desert, and expeditions to Asia, and he developed his art methodology through informal drawing studies with Dr David Middlebrook (previous lecturer from UoN).

Pont has been included in numerous residencies and prizes including the Art Park/ Linnaeus Byron Bay residency, the Fishers Ghost Prize, Muswellbrook Art Prize, Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, Northern Exposure and the Waverley Prize. His work is held in private collections across Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. Outside of art, his professional experience includes Yarrila Arts and Museum and Create NSW.