Education
1972-74 Diploma of Arts (Painting), Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne.
1980-81 Graduate Diploma of Fine Arts, Victorian College of the Arts.
1996. Master of Arts (Research), Department of Fine Arts, Monash University, Melbourne.
Solo Exhibitions
1979 – Paintings and Drawings, Australian Galleries, Melbourne.
1982 – Recent Paintings, Australian Galleries, Melbourne.
1985 – Recent Paintings, Australian Galleries, Melbourne.
1991 – Sea Pictures, Australian Galleries, Melbourne.
1995 – The Collection in Context, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Mornington.
2000 – Ken Smith: Recent Works, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne.
2003 – Ken Smith, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2005 – Recent Paintings, On-site Studies from the Mornington Peninsula, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2008 – The Road to the Sea, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2010 – Coloured Time – Recent Works, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2014 – Digital Drawing. Drawing Study Centre Project Space, National Art School, Sydney.
– Walking by Water, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery.
2015 – Recent Landscape and Still Life Images, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2017 – Coast Light: Recent Paintings, Flinders Lane Gallery. 2020 – Recent Works, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2024 – The Colour of Water, Flinders Lane Gallery.
Group Exhibitions
1981 – A Selection from the Michell Endowment, Ministry of the Arts, Melbourne.
– Eleven Artists, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne.
1983 – Seven Painters, Different Viewpoints, University Gallery, University of Melbourne.
1985 – Seven Artists, Australian Galleries, Melbourne.
1989 – The Lloyd Rees Memorial Exhibition, Linden Art Gallery, St. Kilda.
1992 – 10 Square Works for Wilderness, Linden Art Gallery.
– Contemporary Mornington Peninsula Artists, Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre.
1997 – The Embellished Egg, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery.
1998 – From Day to Night, Selected works by Geoffrey Dupree and Ken Smith, Devonport Gallery and Arts Centre.
2003 – The Postcard Show, Linden Art Gallery.
– The Postcard Show, Grafton Regional Gallery.
2004 – Vivid: The Australian Greens Contemporary Art Auction, Forty-Five Downstairs, Melbourne.
– Treasures, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne.
2006 – The View From Here, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2007 – The Postcard Show, Grafton Regional Gallery.
– The View From Here II, Flinders Lane Gallery.
– The Studio Show, Flinders Lane Gallery.
– Treasures, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2008 – The View from Here III, Flinders Lane Gallery.
– Prospect and Refuge; Small Landscapes by Five Painters, Horsham Regional Art Gallery.
2009 – The View from Here IV, Flinders Lane Gallery.
– The Postcard Show, Grafton Regional Gallery.
– Prospect and Refuge; Small Landscapes by Five Painters, Visual Arts Centre, Latrobe University, Bendigo.
– 20 Plus, Flinders Lane Gallery.
– Anxious Sights: Drawing Time. Faculty of Art and Design Gallery, Monash University.
– A Changing Land: Devilbend 2009, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery.
– Treasures, Flinders Lane Gallery.
– Master Landscapes of the Mornington Peninsula: 1800 to the Present, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery.
2010 – The View from Here V, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2011 – The Gravity of the Situation. Faculty of Art and Design Gallery, Monash University.
2012 – Moment. Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture Gallery, Monash University.
– Time, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2013 – Coastal, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2014 – 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2015 – Off-Road, Flinders Lane Gallery.
– 2015 Geelong Acquisitive Print Awards, Geelong Gallery.
2017 – 9 x 5 NOW, Margaret Lawrence Gallery, Victorian College of the Arts.
2018 – Coastal, Flinders Lane Gallery.
2019 – Electricity, Grace Cossington Smith Gallery, Sydney. 2020 – MPRG Fifty, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery. – 28 Years Rambling Through The Landscape, Ballinglen Museum of Art, Ireland.
Awards and Prizes
1974 – The Hugh Ramsay Portrait Award, Victorian College of the Arts, (winner).
1979 – Spring Festival of Drawing, Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre.
1983 – Spring Festival of Drawing, Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre.
1986 – Australian Maritime Art Award, Victorian Arts Centre, (touring exhibition).
1989 – Spring Festival of Drawing, Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre.
1991 – Spring Festival of Drawing, Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre.
1992 – Dominique Segan Drawing Award, Castlemaine State Festival of Art.
1993 – P & O Art Awards, Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney.
– City of Richmond Acquisitive Art Award, Richmond Civic Centre.
– Spring Festival of Drawing, Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre, (acquisitive award).
1994 – Dominique Segan Drawing Award, Castlemaine State Festival of Art.
1996 – Jacaranda Acquisitive Art Award, Grafton Regional Gallery, (touring exhibition).
1997 – Spring Festival of Drawing, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery.
– The Hutchins School Art Prize, The Long Gallery, Hobart.
1998 – Jacaranda Acquisitive Art Award, Grafton Regional Gallery, (touring exhibition), (acquisitive award).
– The Hutchins School Art Prize, The Long Gallery, Hobart.
1999 – The Continental Hotel Summer Art Prize, Sorrento.
2000 – 2000 Swan Hill National Print and Drawing Acquisitive Awards, Swan Hill Regional Gallery.
– 2000 National Works on Paper, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery.
– The Fleming Muntz Albury Art Prize 2000, Albury Regional Gallery.
– 2000 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Gallery (touring exhibition).
2001 – The Hutchins School Art Prize, The Long Gallery, Hobart.
2002 – The City of Hobart Art Prize 2002, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart.
– The Fleming Muntz Albury Art Prize, Albury Regional Gallery.
– 2002 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Gallery (touring exhibition).
2004 – Fleming Muntz Albury Art Prize, Albury Regional Gallery.
– Tattersall’s Club Art Prize, Brisbane.
– 2004 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Gallery (touring exhibition).
2005 – Tattersall’s Club Art Prize, Brisbane.
2006 – Tattersall’s Club Art Prize, Brisbane.
2007 – The Eutick Memorial Still Life Award, Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery.
2008 – 2008 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Gallery (touring exhibition).
– 2008 Heysen Prize for Interpretation of Place, The Hahndorf Academy.
2009 – Tattersall’s Club Art Prize, Brisbane.
2010 – The Rick Amor Drawing Prize 2010, Art Gallery of Ballarat.
– 2010 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Gallery (touring exhibition).
2011 – Tattersall’s Club Landscape Art Prize 2011, Brisbane.
– Nora Heysen Centenary Art Prize 2011, The Hahndorf Academy.
– Len Fox Painting Award, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum.
2012 – The Rick Amor Drawing Prize 2012, Art Gallery of Ballarat. (winner and acquisitive award).
– 2012 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Gallery.
2013 – Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing 2013, Presbyterian Ladies College, Sydney.
– Tattersall’s Club Landscape Art Prize 2013, Brisbane.
– The Eutick Memorial Still Life Award, Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery.
2015 – 2015 Geelong acquisitive print awards, Geelong Gallery.
2018 – 2018 Fleurieu Biennale, McLaren Vale. 2021 – Still; National Still Life Award 2021, Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery.
Residencies
2014 – National Art School, Sydney
2016 – Bundanon Trust, Illaroo.
2018 – Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Ireland.
Publications
Sky Blue, But What Blue? A New Evaluation of the Colors of the Sky for Artists and Designers. Color Research and Application, Volume 32, Issue 4 (August 2007) John Wiley and Sons Inc, Philadelphia, USA. Sky-color: a practical starting point for painters. The 11th Congress of the International Colour Association, Sydney, Australia, 2009. The enigma of the offing: the representation of light and colour in sea and sky.
The Midterm Meeting of the International Colour Association, Zurich, Switzerland, 2011. Serial imagery: the continuing capacity of painting to reveal the colours of the world. The 12th Congress of the International Colour Association. Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
Collections
Artbank, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Arbitration Commission, Ballinglen Arts Foundation Ireland, Commonwealth Bank, Bundaberg Arts Centre, Devonport Gallery and Arts Centre, Grafton Regional Gallery, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Leeuwin Estate, McPhersons Ltd, The Hutchins School Hobart, private collections throughout Australia.
Bibliography/Reviews
MAKIN, JEFFREY. A radical project to fill a gap. The Sun. Melbourne. Wednesday 14 March 1979.
MAKIN, JEFFERY. Catching the Coast. The Herald Sun. Melbourne. Wednesday 10 September 2008.
McCULLOCH, ALAN. Figure Fabrication. The Herald. Melbourne. Wednesday 21 March 1979.
ROONEY, ROBERT. Art. The Age. Melbourne. Wednesday 21 March 1979.
LINDSAY, ROBERT. The Michell Endowment, A Selection. Ministry of the Arts, Melbourne,1981.
HOLLOWAY, MEMORY. Art. The Age. Melbourne. Wednesday 1 December1982.
CARMICHAEL, ROD. The “look” of real things. The Sun. Melbourne. Wednesday 27 June 1983.
GERMAINE, MAX. Artists and Galleries of Australia. Boolarong Publications, Brisbane. 1984.
BEEBY, ROSLYN. The artist who found the grace in the sea. The Age. Melbourne. Thursday 28 November 1985.
MCKENZIE, JANET. Drawing in Australia. Macmillan, Melbourne, 1986.
NELSON, ROBERT. Reviews. The Age. Melbourne. Wednesday 21 June 1995.
NELSON, ROBERT. Visual Arts. The Age. Melbourne. Wednesday 2 November 2000.
NELSON, ROBERT. Landscapes, brick by brick. The Age. Melbourne. Wednesday 3 November 2005.
NELSON, ROBERT. Stone age to laser age, with atmosphere. The Age. Melbourne. Wednesday 11 February 2015.
McCULLOCH, SUSAN et al. McCulloch’s Encyclopaedia of Australian Art. Aus Art Editions, Melbourne, 2006.
DOBER, MARK. The Branded Landscape. Overland, Issue 183, Winter 2006.
DOBER, MARK. Home Truths in the lie of The Land. The Age, Melbourne. Saturday 12 May 2007.
ALLEN, CHRISTOPHER. Drawing’s alchemy spins gold. The Australian, Sydney, Wednesday 2 May 2012.
LI, LEO et al. Australia Chinese Art 4. Australia National Arts Academy-China Office. Shanghai, 2012.
ANTER, KARIN. KLAREN, ULF, ed. Colour and Light: Spatial Experience. Routledge, Abington (UK), 2017.