Joshua Yeldham

Born 1970, Sydney, Australia

Lives & Works – Bayview (Garigal Land)

Joshua Yeldham’s practice spans painting, sculpture, photography and carved works on paper. Guided by a spiritual connection to the land, his distinctive visual language blends narrative, myth, imagination and a reverence for nature. His works often combine mediums, from oil paintings with sculptural assemblage to photographs that are intricately pierced and carved, and at times even musical sculptures that bring sound into dialogue with his images. For Yeldham, a painting is not simply a window onto the world but a tool of transformative self-discovery, offering viewers a space of stillness, reverie and connection with the natural world.

Yeldham has exhibited widely throughout Australia and internationally. In 2017 he was awarded the prestigious Nancy Fairfax Artist Residency at Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Arts Centre that culminated in a critically acclaimed survey exhibition. Yeldham has been a finalist in numerous prestigious awards including the Wynne Prize (2019, 2018, 2017, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009), Archibald Prize (2013), Sulman Prize (2006, 1998), Salon des Refusés (2023, 2021, 2020) and Mosman Art Prize (2005, 2003) and in 2015 he participated in the London Art Fair, ART15. He has won The Salon des Refusés People's Choice Award twice (2023, 2020) drawing critical acclaim. Yeldham’s work is held in many important collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, Mosman Art Gallery, Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Australian Stock Exchange, University of Wollongong and BHP Billiton Collection, as well as numerous private collections in Australia and overseas.