SUE BEYER \\ VISUAL ARTIST
EXHIBITIONS . DIGITAL COMBINES . PAINTING . NEW MEDIA
CURATION
ABOUT . UPCOMING . WRITING . NEWS         

// ARTIST STATEMENT
I am most interested in the topic: 'what it means to be human'. I explore this area using an interdisciplinary approach that includes, Instruction Based Art and transformative mediums.

From a young age I have been fascinated with the 'magic' of computers, programming, and then the internet. When I first became interested in computers, they took on a metaphysical aspect for me, hinting that all the answers were available if you knew the right question to ask. I have been using computers, microprocessors and programming as an interface or transformative space since 2007.

In my work, I use digital, electronic, and new media, that are joined with traditional media to create single works or installations. These are called 'Digital Combines', a new genre proposed by the artist Claudia Hart in 2021. Digital Combines consist of physical, digital, and virtual objects, like a 3D collage, that is joined together using instruction placed in the metadata of a blockchain smart contract (NFT). Digital Combines interrogate the ontological connections between objects and mediums.

Things like electronics, programmed microprocessors, digital video, VR and found objects sit alongside paintings that vary in size, look pixelated and appear to be a close-up of a digital file. However, when you examine them closely, you can see that the lines aren’t perfect, and my hand as the artist is evident.

The themes I am looking at in my current work employ the idea of autofiction – a storytelling technique that merges fact with fictional elements. My autofictional work can be understood as speculative media, in that it imagines potential versions of self rather than simply narrating an actual past or present identity.


// BIO
Sue Beyer holds an MFA from the University of Melbourne, has exhibited internationally, and received support through cultural agencies such as Australia Council, Creative Victoria, University of Melbourne and the Sidney Myer Fund & The Myer Foundation.

She has been a finalist in multiple prizes, was the winner of the Emerging artist category in the Stanthorpe Art Prize (2014) and awarded the National Gallery of Victoria Women’s Association Award (2018) for work created as part of her MFA. Her work is part of numerous corporate and public collections including the permanent collection of The Rothko Museum in Latvia, and Artbank, an Australian Government collection, who purchased her work for the collection in 2019.

From 2022 to 2024 Sue was a sessional lecturer at RMIT University in Melbourne for the School of Design and has presented papers at various academic conferences. In 2023 she was awarded the NARS Foundation Residency in Brooklyn, curated a group exhibition for the Spring Break Art Fair, and is currently a recipient of the Oolite Arts Live.In.Art Residency Program for 2025 in Miami.

Sue is represented by Gallerysmith in Australia and is based in New York.


// CV

Born 1969, Australia
Melbourne, New York

Education
Current PhD candidate, QCA, Griffith University, Australia
2019 Master of Fine Art (research), VCA, University of Melbourne, Australia
2010 Bachelor of Fine Art with Class I honours, QCA, Griffith University, Australia

Selected Solo exhibitions
2026 TBA - Gallerysmith, Melbourne, Australia
2025 Personality Test - NARS Foundation, Brooklyn, NY, USA
2022 We Are Data - Box Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2018 MFA Graduate Show - Margaret Lawrence Gallery, VCA, Melbourne, Australia
2018 Your neon lights will shine - George Paton Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2018 A million lights are dancing - Sawtooth ARI, Launceston, Australia
2017 A place where nobody dared to go - SEVENTH, Melbourne, Australia
2014 Betwixt and Between - Spiro Grace Art Rooms, Brisbane, Australia
2013 Memory Palace - Logan Art Gallery, Australia
2012 Dwell - Redland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia

Selected group exhibitions
2025 Untitled (Miami), Curated by: Michael Loveland - Oolite Arts, Miami, USA
2025 CyberFrames - Boston CyberArts Gallery, Boston, MA, USA
2025 Work in progress, Curated by Luna Goldberg - Oolite Arts, Miami Beach, FL, USA
2025 Delight, Curated by: Annemarie Waugh - The Lyceum Gallery, Riverhead, NY, USA
2025 Seing the light - Gallerysmith, Melbourne, Australia
2024 Pritty Shriny - with Thang Do, Wandering Room, Melbourne, Australia
2024 Another Green World - Red Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2024 Hello Brooklyn! - Kingsborough Art Museum, NY, USA
2024 Press, curated by Simone Hine - Griffith University for ISEA2024, Brisbane, Australia
2024 Speculative Futures ACM SIGGRAPH - 29th International Symposium on Electronic Art - Brisbane, Australia
2024 Oderwane - Galeria S35, Łódź, Poland
2023 Mirror, Portal: Season IV Residency Exhibition - NARS Foundation, Brooklyn, USA
2023 FW/23 - Otras Formas, New York, USA
2023 Mark Rothko 2023 International Painting Symposium - Mark Rothko Museum, Daugavpils, Latvia
2023 Artificial Interference - SPRING/BREAK Art Show, 625 Madison Ave, New York, USA
2023 A sky the colour of a dead channel! - Brunswick Temporary, Melbourne, Australia
2022 Lonely.Rocks - Untitled Art Fair at Miami Art Week, USA
2022 IDMAA 2022: Weird Media - Winona State University, Minnesota, USA
2021 Critical Abstraction - University of Wyoming, USA
2021 Moreland Summer show - Counihan Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2021 Straight Through The Wall - Brooklyn, NY, USA
2020 Glitch Art Brazil - www.glitch.art.br, Brazil
2020 Creative Code Festival - Lightbox, NY, USA
2019 Friends and Family - Daine Singer, Melbourne, Australia
2019 Rules of engagement - The Substation, Singapore
2019 Divergent - Assembly Point, Melbourne, Australia
2018 Universal Personal - VCA Artspace, Melbourne, Australia
2017 Scenes of our city - Museum of Brisbane, Australia
2016 17.08.16 - Home@735, Sydney, Australia
2016 Collectibles V - Spiro Grace Art Rooms, Brisbane, Australia
2015 18 x 8: From Point A to PointB and back again... - PointB Worklodge, Brooklyn, NY, USA
2014 Collectibles IV - Spiro Grace Art Rooms, Brisbane, Australia
2014 Planes of reality - Judith Wright Centre, Brisbane, Australia
2011 Check in - Brisbane Emerging Art Festival - Metro Arts, Brisbane, Australia
2010 NetWork - The Art Gallery of Ballarat, Australia
2010 Test Pattern 2010 - Ryan Renshaw, Brisbane, Australia
2008 Digital Fringe - Melbourne Fringe Festival, Australia
2008 Illusion - SomArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, USA

Awards
2018 The National Gallery of Victoria, Women's Association Award, Australia
2014 Winner of the Emerging Artist category - Stanthorpe Art Prize - Stanthorpe, Australia
2013 Winner - The Milburn Art Prize - Brisbane, Australia

Selected Prizes (Finalist)
2021 Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize - Ravenswood School For Girls - NSW, Australia
2020 Sunshine Coast Art Prize - Caloundra Regional Gallery - Caloundra, Australia
2020 Moreland Summer Show - Counihan Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2017 15 Artists - Redcliffe City Gallery - Redcliffe, Australia
2016 National works on paper - Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery - Victoria, Australia
2016 The M Collection Art Prize - Gallerysmith - Melbourne, Australia
2014 The Redland Art Prize - Redland Art Gallery - Brisbane, Australia
2014 The Stanthorpe Art Festival - Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery - Stanthorpe, Australia
2013 The Churchie National Emerging Art Prize - Griffith University Art Gallery - Brisbane, Australia
2013 The Wilson Visual Arts Award - Lismore, Australia
2012 Albury City Art Prize - Albury City Gallery - Albury, Australia
2011 Sunshine Coast Art Prize - Caloundra Regional Gallery - Caloundra, Australia
2011 Moreton Bay Region Art Awards - Pine Rivers Art Gallery - Strathpine, Australia
2011 Clayton Utz Art Prize - Clayton Utz Lawyers - Brisbane, Australia
2009 15 Artists - Redcliffe City Gallery - Redcliffe, Australia
2007 Stillwell Show - SFSU Fine Arts Gallery - San Francisco, USA

Selected Press
2025 SBS News, Podcast link
2023 Hyperallergic, Rhea Nayyar, "Highlights From Brooklyn’s Sunset Park Open Studios" link
2023 Arcade Project, R Kalinovski, link
2022 Arts Hub, J Pickup, link
2023 Architectural Digest, Z Sessums, link
2021 The Guardian, T Byrne, link
2021 Catalogue Essay, Kate Hendry, link
2014 Catalogue Essay, M Eskola, link
2013 The Courier Mail, S Browne, link
2013 The Courier Mail, Fiona Purdon, link

Collections
Artbank, Binder Dijker Otte, Brisbane Grammar School, Central Park Sydney, Gadens Lawyers, Gold Coast University Hospital, Hilton Hotels, Ipswich Hospital, Jupiters Casino, Mark Rothko Museum, Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, Land Solution Australia, Murphy Pipe and Civil, Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital, The Mater Private Hospital
Private - UK, USA, Canada, Australia

Selected Grants
2021 Sustaining Creative Workers Program - Creative Victoria
2020 National Assistance Program for the Arts - Sidney Myer Fund & The Myer Foundation
2018 Faculty Small Grants Scheme - The University of Melbourne
2013 Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) Grant
2010 ArtStart Grant - Australia Council for the Arts
2007 International Experiences Incentive Scheme Grant, Griffith University

Selected Residencies
2025 Oolite Arts Live.In.Art Residency Program, Miami, USA
2023 NARS International Artist Residency Program, NYC, USA
2023 Mark Rothko Museum, Daugavpils, Latvia
2022 University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
2022 Mothership - Brooklyn, New York
2014 Imaging the land International Research Initiative (ILIRI), Fowlers Gap, UNSW, Australia
2013 Point B Worklodge - Brooklyn, New York
2013 Bundanon Trust Artist in Residence, Australia

Selected curatorial projects
2023 Artificial Interference - SPRING/BREAK Art Show, 625 Madison Ave, New York City
2022 DIGITAL - Box Gallery, Melbourne
2013 - 2014 Other Space - Artist run space - Blackbutt, regional QLD

Public Art Commissions
2021 Flinders Quarter Augmented Art Walk - Flinders Quarter in partnership with Metro Tunnel Project & Cross Yarra Partnership - Melbourne
2012 - 2013 Our Place – This is where we live - Ipswich Hospital Expansion project - managed by Project Services, Qld State Government
2009 I'll tell you on the way home - Project Services, Qld State Govt. Bike Centre - 61 Mary Street, Brisbane

Professional Memberships
HDR member of the Creative Arts Research Institute (CARI), Griffith University
New Media Caucus

Selected Professional activities
Sessional Lecturer, School of Design, RMIT, Melbourne, 2022 to 2024
The Material Image 2024 Conference, Nov 2024, The National Art School, Sydney, Australia
AHRC Metamodernism Conference, June 2023, RMIT University, Melbourne
Director of Sandbox Studios and Box Gallery ARI, Australia - 2019 to 2023
Mixing It Up, ACMSIGGRAPH SPARKS presentation, March 2023, online event
AHRC Metamodernism Conference, February 2023, Latrobe University, Melbourne - listen here
Artist talk, Department of Visual and Literary Arts, Univeristy of Wyoming, Mar 2022 - watch here
Artist talk, Department of Visual and Literary Arts, Univeristy of Wyoming, Oct 2021
Art/Work: Building opportunities as an emerging artist - Panel discussion, Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, The University of Melbourne - August 2021
WTF are NFTs? - Panel discussion, Mars Gallery, Melbourne - May 2021
TEDx talk, Powerhouse, Brisbane - October 5, 2014
RADF Committee Member - South Burnett Regional Council Jan 2014 - April 2014
Guest lecture - QCA, Griffith University - Creating the image - 11 May 2006

Publications and peer reviewed essays
Beyer, S. 2024 Fantasyland Autofiction: The Use of AI in Contemporary Art-Making , M/C Journal, vol. 27(5) doi: https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.3104
Beyer, S. 2023 Deep Story 3A, Screen Thought, vol. 7. ISSN 2206-6225
Beyer, S. 2023 “Metamodern Spell Casting: The Blockchain as a Conceptual Medium for Contemporary Visual Artists”, M/C Journal, 26(5). doi: 10.5204/mcj.2999.
Beyer, S 2022, ‘Digital Combines: A Metamodern Oscillation of Oppositional Objects and Concepts in Contemporary Interdisciplinary Art Practice’, International Journal of Contemporary Humanities, vol. 6. ISSN: 2207-2837
Beyer, S 2022, DIGITAL: How artists use 'the digital' to talk about being human, RPI Print, Inc, San Francisco. ISBN: 9798211638501
Beyer, S 2022, Binary Portrait: Volume 1, RPI Print, Inc, San Francisco. ISBN: 9798210498175
Beyer, S 2022, Binary Portrait: Volume 2, RPI Print, Inc, San Francisco. ISBN: 9798210498182
Beyer, S 2022, The Book of History Volume 1-12, RPI Print, Inc, San Francisco.
copyright 2025 Sue Beyer