Biography
Matto Lucas is an Australian artist, photographer, creator, art facilitator and educator working within mixed and digital media, with a preference for photography and performance.In 2013 Lucas was awarded a Lifetime Membership to Midsumma for his continuous work and commitment as a visual artist within the LGBTQI community.
In 2015 Lucas operated as Coalesce ARI’s President, successfully establishing the “One Night Stand” performance and live art event.
Represented commercially by Artman Gallery in 2013, In 2011 Lucas was shortlisted for the Metro Gallery Art Award, and shortlisted for the AGENDO13 young emerging artists prize in 2013, the Sunshine Coast Gallery New Media Art Prize in 2015 and The Footscray Art Prize in 2017 and won first place in the 2019 Picturing Footscray Photography prize. In 2021 Lucas won the “Best Fashion Photograph” in the Centre for Contemporary Photography ILFORD Salon.
Lucas has been involved in a large number of exhibitions nationally and has been the recipient of multiple grants and creative development opportunities.
Lucas was the Visual Arts Mentor at the Bendigo South East College’s Academy of Creative Arts for 2016 and 2017, previously operated as the Vice President and sat as a committee member at Trocadero Artspace Footscray from 2016 to 2019, committee member for D11 at Docklands in 2015, is a current volunteer at the Centre of Contemporary Photography in Collingwood has sat on the committee for the One Night In Footscray Festival since it’s inception and is a committee member for Arts West Alliance for 2021 and extended to 2022.
Matto has been accepted to sit on the Brimbank Arts Advisory Committee for 2022 - 2023. Lucas currently lectures Visual Media & Design at the Australian Institute of Music Melbourne and a seasonal lecturer of Visual Art at LCI Melbourne is the creator and operator of Melbourne Art Review and co-host of Drinking With The Artist Podcast and operated as the Digital Arts Officer under a Working For Victoria Contract for Hobsons City Bay Council Creative City from October 2020 - March 2021.
Lucas works as a freelance photographer at Matto Lucas Photography & Design.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2024 National Gallery of Victoria x Midsumma - talk and response at NGV International to Elmgreen & Dragset artworks as part of NGV Triennial
2024 Midsumma Lifedrawing Workshop + Community Exhibition at the Louis Joel Arts & Community Centre "Drag & Lifedrawing on the Altona Beach"
2024 Midsumma Queer PHOTO photobooth at the launch of the program at The Substation
2024 "Perfect Portraits With Matto Lucas" workshop as part of Midsumma x Queer PHOTO festival
2022 Second Prize - Picturing Footscray Photography Prize (Metro West, Footscray)
2022 "Impossible Dance" Victorian Pride Centre, St. Kilda (solo exhibition)
2022 "Queer As In..." Group Exhibition, Motley Bauhaus
2022 "Impossible Dance (ii)" Brunswick Street Gallery
2022 "Every Word We Write Is Panacea (Part III)" Altona Civic Centre (Midsumma)
2022 "Impossible Dance (iv)" Substation Billboards, Newport, (Midsumma)
2022 "Impossible Dance (iii)" Laneway Gallery, Woods Street Art Space, Laverton (Midsumma)
2021 Footscray Artbox Residency, NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2021.
2021 “Impossible Dance (i)” Alternating Current Artspace
2021 Midsumma x Metro Tunnel “Memory Lane” artist commission.
2021 “Rainbow Families In Frame” Louis Joel Arts & Community Centre
2021 Q+ Artist in Residence, Benigo Pride
2021 Midsumma Australia Post Art Prize, Shortlisted Finalist No Vacancy Gallery
2021 ARTSHOUSE “Housewarming” Group Exhibition / Performance / April 2021
2021 Centre For Contemporary Photography ILFORD 2020 Salon exhibition - Alpha60 “Best Fashion Work” photography prize winner.
2020 “Exhibiting Culture Online” Digital Online Exhibition, Darebin Arts Online - “The Decade Spanning Part:y”
2020 “Still Life” online exhibition, Centre For Contemporary Photography
2020 Artbox Footscray Artist in Residence, October & November
2020 “Frontier” Louis Joel Arts & Community Centre, as part of Midsumma Festival
2019 “The Many Shades of the Western Rainbow” curator & art workshop facilitator, Trocadero Artspace & Louis Joel Arts & Community Centre, in collaboration with IPC Health
2019 One Night In Footscray, “Palmistry of Pointlessness” interactive performance, Footscray Library
2019 West Projections, “Shinkansen” projection at Lickity Split.
2019 “BIG / SMALL” The Motley Bauhaus, Curator
2019 “Revisited” The Motley Bauhaus, North Fitzroy
2019 Picturing Footscray Photography Prize, First Place, Metro West Footscray
2019 “Queer Economies” St Heliers Gallery, Abbotsford Convent
2019 Polari group exhibition for Midsumma, Curator, Trocadero Artspace Footscray
2018 One Night In Footscray, “Poetry of Pointlessness” performance, Footscray
2018 “Heavy With Their Drink” Rokeby Gallery, Collingwood
2018 COMPLETELY UNMONITORED NORMAL HUMAN SOCIAL GATHERING #0001 FACILITATED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF TOTAL FREEDOM for Melbourne Fringe, Braybrook Community Hub 2018 “BODIES.JPEG” (first iteration) NOOKY Trocadero Artspace, Footscray
2018 Picturing Footscray Finalist Photography Prize, Metro West, Footscray
2018 “Every Word We Write Is Panacea” Part 1, Australia post artwork commission for Midsumma 2018
2017 One Night In Footscray Festival, Footscray
2017 West Projections Festival, Footscray
2017 “Return Flight Mel > Edi” Federation Square, Melbourne
2017 Footscray Art Prize Main Category Shortlisted, Footscray, Australia
2017 “Youth” 10th Anniversary Group Exhibition, Off The Kerb Gallery, Collingwood
2017 “Gaytimes” Music and Art Festival, Lake Mountain Alpine Resort
2017 Corvallis Queer Film Festival, Corvallis Orgeon U.S.A
2017 “Boys From The Internet” Solo Exhibition, Off The Kerb Gallery Collingwood, Melbourne
2017 “Queer Art Prize Australia” Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran Melbourne
2016 “Queer Country” Bendigo Art Gallery Dudley House, Bendigo
2016 “Gaytimes” Music and Art Festival, Lake Mountain Alpine Resort
2016 “The Australia Post Inaugural Art Prize 2016,” 69 Smith Street, Carlton
2016 “Challenging Dewey” Group Exhibition, Midsumma Festival, Melbourne Library Service Flinders Lane
2015 “1NS15 : Transient Status” 524 Flinders Street Melbourne
2015 “Proxemics” online group video exhibition as part of CHANNELS
2015 “Sunshine Coast Art Prize” Sunshine Coast Gallery, QLD
2015 “INQUISITION” video work as a part of “Do What You Love” Staff & Alumni Exhibition, Clement Meadmore Gallery, Port Melbourne
2015 SOMATTOTYPE solo exhibition, Off The Kerb Gallery Collingwood,
2015 Q / QUEBEC performance for Company of Men group exhibition for Midsumma, BrightSpace St. Kilda,
2014 ‘Material Interruptions’ Lightspace Projects Melbourne Central
2014 ‘Is This Art?’ Artereal Gallery Sydney
2014 ‘One Night Stand’ Donkey Wheel House Basement Melbourne
2014 ‘in.ter.face’ D11 @ Docklands Artist Led Space Melbourne
2014 ‘Kill Me Charlie’ Melbourne Library Exhibition Space Melbourne
2014 ‘Shifting Ground’ Midsumma, Dark Horse Experiment Melbourne
2014 ‘Katabasis’ Fortyfive Downstairrs Melbourne
2013 ‘Stock Show’ Artman Gallery 2013 6YL Magazine
2013 Cake Wines top 30 Finalist Sydney
2013 ‘AGENDO 2013 ART PRIZE’ St. Heliers Gallery Melbourne
2013 ‘ENIGMA’ Artman Gallery Melbourne 2013 ‘Emerging Artist Exhibition’ Artman Gallery Melbourne
2013 ‘Energy From Stillness (Wabi-Sabi)’ RED Gallery Melbourne
2013 ‘Trials For Wabi-Sabi’ TheatreWorks St. Kilda Melbourne
2013 ‘Blow Up’ Platform 72 Sydney
2012 ‘Showcase 20’ Artman Gallery Melbourne
2012 ‘Open Air’ Evelyn Hotel Rooftop Melbourne
2012 ‘What I Really Do’ Clement Meadmore Gallery Melbourne
2012 ‘One In Ten’ Off The Kerb Gallery Collingwood
2012 ‘Reveal’ 1000 Pound Bend Melbourne
2012 ‘Pre-Reveal’ Theatre Works St. Kilda
2012 ‘Massive Group Show’ Obscura Gallery St. Kilda
2011 ‘Celebration’ The Owl and the Pussycat Gallery Melbourne
2011 ‘Selection’ Clement Meadmore Gallery Melbourne
2011 ‘Metro Gallery Art Award
2011’ Metro Gallery Melbourne
2011 ‘Home’ Exhibition Red Earth Gallery
2011 ‘Rob Macnamara Art Exhibition’ Collingwood Gallery Collingwood
2011 ‘Nuclear Ball’ New York 2011 ‘Australian Academy of Design Poster Prize’ Clement Meadmore Gallery Melbourne
2011 ‘Australian Academy of Design Photographic Prize’ Clement Meadmore Gallery Melbourne
2011 ‘Everything Is Dead While It Lives’ The Owl and the Pussycat Gallery Melbourne
2011 ‘Fetish’ The Owl and the Pussycat Gallery Melbourne,
2011 ‘About My Brain’ Global Galleries Sydney
2011 ‘Identity’ FortyFiveDownstairs Melbourne
2011 ‘Hitodama’ Flash Exhibition Melbourne
2011 ‘Never Forget You Are Going To Die’ The Owl and the Pussycat Gallery Melbourne
2010 ‘10/10/10’ Melbourne 2010 ‘We Grew Up In The 90’s’ Collingwood Arts Park Melbourne 2010 ‘Photography 10B’ Brunswick Street Gallery Melbourne
2010 ‘Two’ Emerging Contemporary Artists’ Group Show Eckersley’s Melbourne
2010 ‘Australian Academy of Design Poster Prize’ Clement Meadmore Gallery Melbourne
2009 ‘Australian Academy of Design Poster Prize’ Clement Meadmore Gallery Melbourne
2009 ‘Australian Academy of Design Photographic Prize’ Clement Meadmore Gallery Melbourne
2008 ‘Swinburne Design Graduates Exhibition’ Swinburne Wantirna Campus Melbourne
2008 ‘Top Acts’ VCE Solo Performance 2007 ‘Two World’s’ Wine Justice Bendigo
2007 ‘Centenary Arts Acquisition Award’ Bendigo Senior Secondary College Bendigo
2007 ‘Good Exposure Photography Prize’ BCentral Bendigo
SELECTED AWARDS
2022 Picturing Footscray Photography Prize Second Place
2020 Centre for Contemporary Photography ILFORD SALON: Alpha60 Best Fashion Work
2019 Picturing Footscray Photography Prize First Place
2019 Louis Joel Arts Centre Small Grant Recipient (2020 Midsumma Exhibition)
2018 City of Maribyrnong Melbourne Fringe Grant Recipient
2017 Footscray Art Prize Finalist
2015 Sunshine Coast New Media Work Finalist
2013 Midsumma Lifetime Member
2013 AGENDO Art Prize Shortlisted
2013 Premier Artist Midsumma
2011 ‘Metro Gallery Art Award 2011’ Metro Gallery shortlisted
2011 ‘Australian Academy of Design Poster Prize’ Clement Meadmore Gallery, 2nd Place.
2008 ‘Top Acts’ VCE Solo Performance. 2007 ‘Centenary Arts Acquisition Award’ Bendigo Senior Secondary College
OTHER WORK | PROJECTS
2024 "Beat In The Room" Theatreworks, April Albert (set design & projections)
2015 - 2022 Barba Presents Resident Artist
2015 “Hildegard/Knef” video projection art and artistic consult at Derebin Speakeasy for Melbourne Fringe, April Albert
2015 COALESCE ARI President 2015 “Melbourne Sculptures” book - photography (including cover photo) work
2015 Australia Post PostPride Artist 2014 “Murder Ballads” video projection art and artistic consult for Melbourne Fringe
2013 “Kill Me, Charlie” time-based performance, artist flesh as medium.
2013 SURES EP artwork
2013 NERVES EP artwork
2012 NEON BOGART EP artwork
EDUCATION
Masters of Fine Art at RMIT University Melbourne Bachelor of Design Arts at the Academy of Design Australia Certificate IV Design Swinbourne