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Tony Costa says winning the Archibald makes the invisible artist visible but you wouldn’t have called him invisible before he won the prize this year. 

He’s been painting for over 50 years, and in addition to the Archibald has won several other awards including the Paddington Art Prize for landscape painting and has been shortlisted in others including another three times in the Archibald, in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the Wynne Prize, the Sulman Prize, the Kilgour Prize, and the list goes on.

Costa paints in an expressionist style. His whole practice is about trapping energy and a large part of his method is guided by an eastern philosophy – seeking to enter into the world of nothingness and distancing himself from any thought process. This process is applied whether it’s a landscape or a portrait.

His methods are neither traditional nor predictable and I found our conversation incredibly interesting and eye opening with a good dose of humour thrown in.

This podcast interview was recorded in Tony’s beautiful studio in Sydney. To hear it, press play beneath the above feature photo.

I first met Tony at the Art Gallery of NSW shortly after his win was announced. You can see my 5 minute interview with him on that day here.

Scroll down for a short video of Tony Costa talking with Maria Stoljar in his studio.

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Show Notes

Tony Costa talks with Maria Stoljar in his studio
‘Lindy Lee’, 2019, oil on canvas,182.5 x 152cm
Winner Archibald Prize 2019
‘Fallen Tree Port Hacking River RNP’, 2014, gouache on paper, 135 x 114cm
Winner Paddington Art Prize 2014
‘Claudia Chan Shaw’, 2018, oil on canvas, 182.5 x 152cm
Finalist Archibald Prize 2018
‘Simon Chan’, 2017, oil on canvas, 183 x 152cm
Finalist Archibald Prize 2017
‘David Fairbairn’, 2015, oil on canvas, 152 x 122cm
Finalist Archibald Prize, 2015
Portraits of David Fairbairn in Costa’s studio – finalists in the Archibald Prize, Kilgour Prize and Doug Moran National portrait prizes.
‘Hacking River Audley RNP’ vinyl on paper, 152 x 114cm
Salon des Refusés, S.H Ervin Gallery, 2019
‘Angophora RNP’, 2014, gouache on paper, 151 x 114cm
Finalist Wynne Prize 2014
Costa’s first painting created at 13 years of age which he talks about in the opening minutes of the interview
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6 thoughts on “Ep 70: Tony Costa”

  2. Lyn Laver-Ahmat

    I loved Tony’s interview, it was great to hear his thoughts about the process of painting and to be immersed in nature to feel its energy and rhythms. I want to go out and buy so vinyl paint

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