Tarn McLean
B: 1971 Milton, NSW, Australia
Email: tarnmclean@bigpond.com
Current
Tarn currently lectures Drawing at the University of Southern Queensland and is the Founder/Director at Australian textile and accessories design house, Ocre Designs.
EDUCATION
2013 – 2016 Doctor of Philosophy University of Southern Queensland
2010 - Bachelor of Visual Art HONOURS (1st) University of Southern Queensland
2006- 2008 Bachelor of Visual Art with Distinction University of Southern Queensland
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017 – Alexandra Lawson Gallery, Toowoomba, Australia
2016 – MONOPUNK MULTICHROME University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia 2009 – Colour Light Space, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Australia
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 – COVIMETRY, Ely Centre of Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT, USA
2021 – outLAND Jude Roberts and Tarn McLean, Alexandra Lawson Gallery, Toowoomba.
2020 - The Colour B: Beyond the Colour A, Kunsthaus Kule, Berlin (Postponed, COVID).
2019 - Drawing Folio 3: Abstraction, Block Projects Gallery, Melbourne
2019 – The Big Circle, M17 Art Centre, Kyiv, Ukraine
2019 – NEW MODERN, Reductive Non-Objective Project, Five Walls Melbourne
2019 – ‘abstraction, we thinks’ MONO PRACTICE, Baltimore, USA
2018 - RNOP Queensland, RAYGUN Projects and University of Southern Queensland, Australia
2018 - INFINITE WORLDS INFINITE PROBABILITIES University of Southern Queensland, Australia
2018 - BETON 7 Arts + IS Projects, Athens, Greece
2016 - ALEXANDRA LAWSON GALLERY Launch, Toowoomba, Australia
2016 - Toowoomba Biennial Emerging Artist Award, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Australia
2016 - USQ Graduart, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Australia
2015 – Colours and Lines Don’t Lie Group Show Works on Paper, Modern Art Projects, Faulconbridge, NSW.
2015 – Collide Group Show Works on Paper, Cairns, Queensland.
2014 – un-bound-ed, Curated by Brent Hallard, Bay Area, San Francisco
2014 – Exchange with NLH, Giving Loving Sharing, Copenhagen
2014 – For the Hustle, No Comply, Toowoomba
2014 – Superfluidity, University of Southern Queensland
2013 – Queensland College of Art, Down the Rabbit Hole, Brisbane
2013 –Tarn McLean and Alexandra Lawson, NLH Space Copenhagen, Denmark
2013 – Animating Spaces Toowoomba, Real Time Your Time. CBD, Toowoomba
2013 – Queensland Regional Art Award Travelling exhibition, Queensland
2013 – Imagine You Know Toowoomba Regional Council Travelling exhibition, Queensland
2012 – Imagine You Know, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery
2012 – LIMINAL, Curated by Ashleigh Bunter, SYDNEY NON-OBJECTIVE, Sydney, Australia
2011 – Interscapes, Curated by Ashleigh Bunter, Jugglers Art Space, Brisbane, Australia
2010 – Graduart, University of Southern Queensland
2010 – NEW INTERNATIONAL, Curated by Kyle Jenkins, SYDNEY NON-OBJECTIVE, Sydney
2010 – ANTHONY FARRELL AND TARN MCLEAN, Attic Art Space, Toowoomba
2009 – Australia Wide Printmaking Portfolio
2009 – Group Show curated by Kyle Jenkins, SYDNEY NON-OBJECTIVE
2008 – Graduart, University of Southern Queensland
PROFESSIONAL
Lecturing 2016 – 2019 University of Southern Queensland various part time contracts for Painting and Drawings Studio, marking and external examiner.
Designing 2016- 2020 Australian textiles and accessories house Ocre Designs; director of operations and head designer for textiles and accessories.
CURATING
2019 - Paintingontopofitself: Painting in a Digitally Saturated Culture + Paintings Renewal, The Regional Art Gallery Toowoomba.
2017 - Paintingontopofitself: The Painted Word, RAYGUN Projects, Toowoomba
2016 - Paintingontopofitself: The Agreeable Surface, RAYGUN Projects, Toowoomba
2015 – Olivier Mosset, Peter Holm and Kyle Jenkins, Paintingontopofistelf, MOP, Sydney
PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS
2016 – REFLEX Projects, Russell Street, Toowoomba
2015 – First Coat 2015, Public Venue Installation, Toowoomba.
2014 – NLH Projects, Copenhagen, Denmark
2014 – Phat Burgers, North Point Shopping Centre, Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, QLD
2013 – Real Time Your Time public video installation, Artslink Queensland Public Art Initiative, Animating Spaces
2013 – Shop fit out Commercial interior Boutique Botanical Shop 3/98 Marine Parade, Kingscliff, NSW
2013 –Public Wall painting, Mactaggart Building, 156 Margaret Street, Toowoomba, QLD
2013 – NLH Projects, Copenhagen, Denmark
2012 – Phat Burgers, 520 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, QLD
2010 – Arts Block, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD
ARTIST RUN SPACES 2014 – Current, REFLEX PROJECTS www.reflexprojects.org
2013 – 2016 START Student Art Toowoomba https://www.facebook.com/STARTToowoomba/
2011 – 2019 RAYGUN PROJECTS www.raygunlab.com
REVIEWS
2015 – Paintingontopofitself, Curated by Tarn McLean. Art Guide Australia, March 4th, 2015 by Tracey Clement
2013/2014 – Art Monthly Summer Issue, Down the Rabbit Hole,
2011 – Art Monthly Australia, September issue, Tarn McLean by Louise Martin-Chew
COLLECTIONS
University of Southern Queensland, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Curtin University, Western Australia
GRANTS AND PRIZES
2016 - 2013 Australian Post Graduate Award - Australian Government funding for Higher Research 2014 – Danish Arts Council, Statens Kunstrad, Artist Run, Copenhagen
2014 – ARTS QUEENSLAND Projects and Programs Funding, RAYGUN
2013 – ARTS QUEENSLAND Projects and Programs Funding, RAYGUN
2013 – Real Time Your Time public video installation, Artslink Queensland Public Art Initiative, Animating Spaces
2012 – ARTS QUEENSLAND Projects and Programs Funding, RAYGUN
2010 – NAVA Ignition Prize for Professional Practice
PUBLICATIONS
2020 – Paintingontopofitself 2015 – 2020
2020 - RAYGUN Projects 2011 - 2019
2016 PhD Thesis Grubby Mistakes and Beautiful Propositions: The shift of painting out as a way to look back in.
2015 – 2020 Paintingontopofitself Series of five exhibitions and accompanying catalogue/essays 2014 – Kyle Jenkins, Smash Your Head On The Punk Rock, August 2014, BLINDSIDE, Melbourne