Brad Franks
Inside the Mind.
Below the Surface.
[or Under the Surface.]
…with the volume at 11
CCP asks Brad Franks the questions about his craft
1. What gets you out of bed every day?
· The urge.
2. Who is the artist that has inspired you the most?
· There are so many, but in the very first instance I was, as a child, inspired by cartoonists and illustrators such as Ronald Searle (U.K.), Reg Smythe (U.K.), Spike Milligan (U.K.), John Lennon (U.K.), Edward Adizzone (U.K.), W. Heath Robinson (U.K.), Tove Jansson (FIN.), Charles M. Schulz (U.S.A.), Ed “Big Daddy” Roth (U.S.A.) and James Thurber (U.S.A.). Later as a teenager: Murray Ball (N.Z.), Ralph Steadman (U.K.) Bruce Petty (AUS.), Michael Leunig (AUS.) and Ron Cobb (U.S.A./AUS.). These artists work has stayed with me all my life and has heavily influenced my most recent drawings and paintings. Other artists who are a great influence include Albrecht Durer (GER.), Marcel Duchamp (FRA.), Utagawa Hiroshige (JPN.), Andy Warhol (U.S.A.), Vincent Van Gogh (NED.), Hieronymus Bosch (NED.), Pieter Bruegel (NED.), Brett Whiteley (AUS.), Francis Bacon (U.K.) to name check just a few.
Photographically speaking: Ralph Gibson (U.S.A.), Diane Arbus (U.S.A.), Man Ray (U.S.A.), Eugene Atget (FRA.), Frank Hurley (AUS.) and Grant Mudford (AUS.). If you want a single artist though, I would have to sight Max Ernst (GER.) for his extraordinary experimentation, dedication and vision.
3. What medium are you working with?
· I currently work in drawing, painting and photography. With drawing the media are primarily charcoal, pastel and graphite, photography is digital utilising a iPhone 11 and a Nikon D90. I am particularly fond of the Instagram suite of filters and editing tools. My other photographic work involves restoring my b/w negatives from the 1970s and 80s as digital files for which I use Canva’s Affinity programme after taking a high resolution photograph of the negative. My paintings are mostly in oil these days.
4. When you are creating art do you play music? What other essential items do you have with you for a successful creative session?
· Music? Of course! All kinds from Eno to The Beatles, Stravinsky to Stockhausen, Elvis (Presley) to Elvis (Costello), field recordings from all over the world, whale song, whatever. I find the German electronic music of the late 1960s early 70s particularly inspiring in the studio: NEU!, Tangerine Dream, Amon Duul II, Kraftwerk, Ash Ra Tempel, Faust, La Düsseldorf, Cluster, Harmonia, Can, Popol Vuh, Guru Guru, Deuter, Rosipal, Eroc, Asmus Tietchens, Klaus Schulze, Robert Schroder, Conrad Schnitzler, Peter Michael Hamel etc.
Out in the field “en plein air” I prefer the surrounding ambient sound of Mother Nature, or the city (sirens, screams, landing aircraft etc.)
5. Do you make prints from your original artworks? How important is that print to you and your work?
· Yes, I do. Prints are incredibly important, whether it’s a photograph, an etching, a lithograph or monograph and so on. As they say in the works on paper and photography departments at all the major collecting institutions around the world: “PRINT IT OR LOSE IT”. There have been so many different digital programmes and platforms over the past few decades that many files simply cannot be accessed today - whole histories are being lost. We have a fragment of Chinese wrapping paper that has survived from 179 BCE. We have a paper scroll from Korea that dates to approx. 750 CE and printed books begin in China around 870 CE. Many of these have survived to the present day. I think the proof is in the printing.
6. acrylic, watercolor, oil, gouache, ink.
What are your thoughts and ideas about these 5 different art mediums?
These are five very different mediums. They all have their particular qualities and uses. I think watercolour and gouache are very difficult media to use. Depending on the effects you are trying to achieve both these related paints require a great deal of learning, experimenting and simply using before you can control them. That said watercolour is especially wonderful for producing what looks like the chance result (always claim the mistakes!) under the hands of a skilled master. I am very fond of ink - I used coloured inks a lot in my early work during the 1970s, often for fantasy landscapes or gardens for which I found the inks very effective. Later, as I developed my drawing skills I found that ink and pen was one of the most expressive media to employ.
Acrylic v. Oil: the two most used paints in the art world, again it depends on what you want to achieve as to which you should use. Of course you can use them together, usually as oil on or over acrylic but there are other ways. I have tended to prefer acrylic over oil but that often was due to being impatient or heading to a deadline. These days I am more likely to pick up the oils. I might make a suggestion here though, I have always liked working with enamel paints, household and industrial paints, you can get the intense colours of acrylics with a finish more akin to oils, enamels tend to be slower drying than acrylics but not as slow as oils and they work with various mediums such turpentine to create washes like oils, they are long lasting (although we don’t really know if they will last as long as oils, but then we don’t really know that about acrylics either) and they are cheaper than either oils or acrylics. If you can get a hold of it, the very thick and intense sign writers enamel is amazing (not a lot of sign writers around these days though).
7 Have you exhibited your work? How important was the framing process to you?
Yes, the first group show I took part in was under the auspice of the Festival of Sydney in 1981 and it was a small group of b/w photographs produced with a Kodak Brownie Flash II. There were a lot of those about back then as they were made in Melbourne right up into the early 1960s. Most of the older Brownies and other box cameras were manufactured overseas and there simply wasn’t as many of them so you could get a Brownie Flash II in really good condition and they had beautiful glass lenses that took a very nice quite high res picture in the right light, partly because they used 620 film which produced a large negative, large enough to do contact prints which was actually what I exhibited. These were along with a small suite of 3 Polaroid images, one of which was stolen from the show unfortunately. Not a great start to my exhibiting career but I have kept at it despite many a sideways diversion over the years (the need to pay for food, a shelter and clothing mainly).
I have a new solo exhibition on now in the Ranken Gallery at the Waverley Woollahra Art School in Bondi. It continues till Sunday 9th August.
As for the framing process, yes this is very important to me. I have always approached this as the full stop to a work, the final piece of the puzzle. The work should always dictate the frame. Sometimes a piece should be unframed, simply pinned or magnetised to the wall, sometimes the work should continue onto or beyond the frame and sometimes a work just says “frame me”. The work should breathe within the frame: this can be an adequate mount or a box frame. I almost always use a professional framer because they can work with you to bring your vision to its best possible display (I say “almost” because sometimes a work requires a hand made frame - something peculiarly its own that only you can create – luckily this doesn’t happen to me much anymore).
8. What defines a great artwork?
Well, that is a BIG question. If a collector is in it for the artworks beauty, it’s ability to stimulate visually and mentally (and perhaps physically) then for that collector a great artwork is one that achieves those things for them. There are of course many other criteria - it is going to differ from person to person and so it should. Looking at art is an intensely individual activity, somewhat akin to reading a great book, but different because the visual is a stimulation that acts with immediacy on the brain. A simple colour can have an instant overwhelming effect. The contemplation of an artwork over time can give the viewer great joy, great sadness and great inspiration. Artworks seem to change over time, how they affect you, what they mean, how they work on you, the context can change them, you will change and bring a different perspective into the conversation you are having with the work. It is a great joy to have an artwork in your home, art galleries are such controlled environments whereas the home will have light that changes over the course of the day, over the seasons of the year, the work will always look different physically and visually and you will be changing all the time, and so then will the conversation you are having with that artwork.
I think that I have great art hanging on the walls in my home and it’s not because it is worth a lot of money, its not that kind of investment, its because it holds a conversation with me that never gets boring.
9 From your own archive of work what is your favourite artwork? Why?
An artist’s favourite artwork is always the one they have just finished until they start the next one. That said I have one work that I have kept with me which I am very fond of partly because it incorporates many of my influences and several styles and techniques that I have pursued over the years. The title is Ask the Angels/While they’re Falling which references one of my favourite poets/songwriters/artists Patti Smith (Ask the Angels from Radio Ethiopia (1976) by Patti Smith Group Arista Records), a song and album that heavily references the Old Testament to the sound of heavy metal/punk guitar/piano squall. The picture’s imagery alludes to Max Ernst (GER.) and Casper David Friedrich (GER.) in the moonlit landscape, Brett Whiteley (AUS.) and Roger Hilton (U.K.) in the Angel, a classical reference with the column and the spray painted leaf stencils to graffiti and late period Sidney Nolan (AUS./U.K.). Overall there is something of a R.B. Kitaj (U.S.A./U.K.) feel but hopefully also a Brad Franks feel. Regardless I think there is more to it than a sum of its influences and sources but those references are an important part of why I like it.
Ask the Angels/While they’re Falling 1997, acrylic, charcoal & enamel on canvas, 211 x 172cm. Collection of Brad Franks
10 What is the best art advice you have been given? Tell us by who if you can or want to?
The encouragement and advice of my early art teachers has stayed with me all my life. I believe the best advice I received was from my high school art teacher in 1974 David Hull (U.K./AUS.) who was so enthusiastic about art and life that just being in his presence was inspiring, he said “Experiment, Experiment, Experiment!” He would also lock us inside a black box to contemplate the blackness.
11 When you are not making art, what are you doing?
Music, swimming, scrounging the op shops, visiting galleries, scrounging record shops, coffee and food, scrounging the book shops, travelling and looking, looking looking…
High Point in career?
In 2022 I was honoured to be given a retrospective exhibition at the Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre entitled Brad Franks: Retro. The Arts Centre, located in the Upper Hunter Valley in the town of Muswellbrook, is a Gallery that I had contributed to as a volunteer, exhibiter and eventually as a staff member over a period of nearly 40years. The exhibition was curated by the Director, Elissa Emerson with works spanning the period from 1970 to 2021 and these included photographs, paintings, drawings, digital print making and sculptures.
Low Point in career?
My career has been long and winding and has had many high points and plenty of low ones but I think THE low point has been the number of artworks that I have lost over the years, not sold but lost, destroyed or stolen. My very first sale in 1974 fell through when the triptych in question was destroyed by a third party. It was a large work I had spent months on and I have never forgotten the pain and disappointment. As I mentioned above, a Polaroid piece was ruined when one of the Polaroids was stolen from my first exhibition in 1981. Other pieces have also been stolen from exhibitions over the years and I only hope that they were taken by people who thought they were great art that they wanted to live with.
Brad Franks August 2026
Biography
Brad Franks
Born 1958 Melbourne, Victoria
Solo Exhibitions
2026 In Plain Sight, Ranken Gallery, Waverley Woollahra Art School Bondi NSW
2022 Brad Franks Retro, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2004 Fiddlesticks present: Brad Franks, Fiddlesticks Restaurant, Shamrock Hotel, Muswellbrook NSW
1987 The Ghost in the Land: Recent Work, Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
1987 Brad Franks, Artspace, Surry Hills NSW
1986 Pulling the Rug, Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
1986 Brad Franks: Recent Drawings, Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
1984 Two Figures in a Double Bed? Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
1983 Some Little Deaths, Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
1983 Brad Franks: Drawings, Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
Group Exhibitions
2025 End of Year Student Exhibition, Waverley Woollahra Art School Bondi NSW
2024 End of Year Student Exhibition, Waverley Woollahra Art School, Bondi NSW
2023 Message Stick - Works by First Nations Artists, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2023 End of Year Student Exhibition, Waverley Woollahra Art School, Bondi NSW
2019 Sedition: Paper Tigers, National Art School Gallery, National Art School, Darlinghurst NSW
2017 Landscapes & Memories: Selected Artists’ Interpretations, God’s Waiting Room,
Murrurundi & Districts Historical Society, Murrurundi NSW
2009 Painting the Pages, Haydon Hall Art Gallery, Murrurundi NSW
2004 Art in Bloom, Scone Grammar School, St. Luke’s Hall, Scone NSW
2002 From the Block, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2001 A Personal Choice: Roger Skinner’s Personal Photographic Collection of Works by Renowned
National Photographers, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2001 Personal Choice: photography by members of the Muswellbrook & Districts Camera Club,
Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2001 Miniatures VII, Muswellbrook, Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2000 Miniatures V, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2000 The Bridges of the Upper Hunter, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre,
Muswellbrook NSW
2000 Aspects of Paradise Park, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1999 Miniatures III, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1998 Faces in the Street: an exhibition of portraits from our community, Muswellbrook & Districts Camera Club 40th Anniversary Exhibition, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1998 The Boys Own Annual: Work by Men, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1997 Miniatures II, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1995 Wearable Art, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1995 It’s About Time: Mackie - the First Five Years, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of
Fine Arts, University of NSW, Paddington NSW
1994 The Four Seasons, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1994 Our Place, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1994 Still Life Revisited: Back to Basics, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1994 Exhibition of Work by Local Artists. Aberdeen Library, Aberdeen NSW
1994 Strike Up The Band, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1994 The Road, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1994 In Black and White, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1993 Cross Dressing, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1993 Me by Me, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1993 Masterclass, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1992 The Nautical Art Show, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, Speers Point NSW
1992 Fruit and Flowers, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1992 W.E.M. (Mac) Abbott Memorial Exhibition, Scone Arts & Crafts Centre, Scone
NSW
1991 The Dance, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1991 Object in a Landscape, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1990 Interiors - Inside/Outside, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1990 The Industrial Grid, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1989 National Exhibition of Photography, Muswellbrook & Districts Camera Club, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1989 Chiaroscuro: The Dramatic Study of Light, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1989 9 x 5 Centenary Show, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1989 Still Life: The Shed, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1988 A Place Called Rouchel, Rouchel School of Arts, Rouchel NSW
1988 The Folding Screen Exhibition, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1987 NSG Benefit: Group Show, Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
1987 Paperworks: N.S.G. Group Show, Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
1987 Still Life: The Laundry, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1986 New Flesh for Xmas: N.S.G. Group Show, Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
1986 Hang the Expense: The Artspace Fundraiser, Artspace, Surry Hills NSW
1986 Idylls and Icons, Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
1984 The T.V. Show, Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
1984 The Cat: Cat-Works by Twenty Sydney Artists, Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
1983 Rock Posters 1955-1983, Lake Macquarie Community Gallery, Speers Point NSW
1983 Australian Labour Party Benefit Group Show, Nicholson Street Gallery, Balmain East NSW
1982 Street Poster Exhibition, Shepard & Newman Building, Darlinghurst NSW
1981 Sly Pictures, Studio Access Project, Creative Space/Art Network, Festival of Sydney,
T & G Building Sydney NSW
Films
2019 The Story Teller, single channel video 8min. continuous loop colour sound, (photography & actor) Travis De Vries: The Hidden Garden, Gallery Lane Cove & Creative Studios, Lane Cove NSW
1998 Bett-Noir: Portrait of Bett Gleeson, VHS video 180min. colour sound, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1994 On the Road (an artist’s proof), VHS video, 30min. colour sound, Rossgole NSW
1991 A Passage of Time: Object in a Landscape, VHS video 80min. colour sound, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1974 They Ate by Candlelight (with Andrew Frazer), 16mm 15min. b/w & colour sound, Stanley Palmer
Culture Palace, Darlinghurst NSW
1973 Playing Marbles, Super 8 3min. colour silent, James Ruse Agricultural High School, Carlingford NSW
Performance
2026 Bones of Contention: Two Speed Killer (with Travis De Vries & Tristan Field), The Family Hotel, Maitland NSW
1981- 1982 Percussionist, The Insect (with Catherine Courtney, Geoffrey Datson & Ross Edgar), Sydney NSW
1974 Brickworks (with Stephen Dwight, Andrew Frazer and David Mills), Art Gallery of NSW,
The Domain NSW
Prizes and Awards
2024 Joan Purves Encouragement Award, Joan Purves Art Trust, Waverley Woollahra Art School, Bondi NSW
2009 Finalist, Outback Art Prize, Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, Broken Hill NSW
1998 Highly Commended Photography Section, Murrurundi Biennial Art Exhibition, Murrurundi Arts &
Crafts Council, Murrurundi NSW
1995 Highly Commended Open Section, Muswellbrook Photographic Award, Muswellbrook Regional
Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1995 Highly Commended Local Section, Muswellbrook Photographic Award, Muswellbrook Regional
Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1994 Second Prize, Murrurundi Open Art Prize, Murrurundi Arts & Crafts Council, Murrurundi NSW
1994 Second Prize, Murrurundi Photography Prize, Murrurundi Arts & Crafts Council,
Murrurundi NSW
1994 Finalist, McGregor Prize for Photography, Toowoomba Qld.
1993 Gallery Society Award, Muswellbrook Local Art Prize, Muswellbrook Regional Art
Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1992 First Prize Local Section, Muswellbrook Photographic Award, Muswellbrook
Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1991 Heritage Building Society Acquisitive Prize, McGregor Prize for Photography, University of
Southern Queensland, Toowoomba QLD
1989 President’s Cup Encouragement Award, Muswellbrook & Districts Camera Club Annual Awards,
Muswellbrook NSW
1989 First Prize: Black and White Print, Third Prize: Colour Print, Interclub Photography Competition,
Muswellbrook and Singleton Camera Clubs, Singleton NSW
1989 Viola Bromley Award, Muswellbrook Local Art Prize, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery,
Muswellbrook NSW
1988 Highly Commended, Murrurundi Biennial Art Exhibition, Murrurundi Arts & Crafts Council,
Murrurundi NSW
1987 Highly Commended, Muswellbrook Open Art Prize, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery,
Muswellbrook NSW
1986 Highly Commended, Muswellbrook Open Art Prize, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery,
Muswellbrook NSW
Public Art and Murals
2007 ‘Gaba Gali, from the mountains to the water’, The Welcoming Mural (design by George Anderson), John Hunter Arts for Health, Aboriginal Health Unit, Wallsend Health Campus, Wallsend NSW
2004 Dreaming Serpent Mural, Hunter Valley Aboriginal Corporation, Muswellbrook Police & Citizens Youth Club, Muswellbrook NSW
2004 The Reconciliation Mural (design by George Anderson), Muswellbrook Shire Council Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee, Muswellbrook Shire Council, Simpson Park, Muswellbrook NSW
1990 Blackfellows Cave Mural, Scone Memorial Airport, Scone NSW
1986 Entrance Mural and Display, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Upper Hunter District Office, Muswellbrook NSW
Public & Corporate Collections
Max Watters Collection, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
Muswellbrook Shire Art Collection, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
Heritage Building Society Collection, Toowoomba QLD
James Ruse Agricultural High School Collection, Carlingford NSW
Bibliography
Catalogues and Publications
2023 A Field Guide: to abstraction in the Muswellbrook Collections, Brad Franks, Muswellbrook
Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2023 Radio Birdman: When the Birdmen Flew - an Illustrated History, George Munoz, High Voltage
Publishing, Western Australia
2022 Brad Franks Retro, Elissa Emerson, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2021 Funny Stories: Prophets of the Absurd, Hugh Wayland, Hugh Wayland, Brunswick East VIC
2019 Travis De Vries: The Hidden Garden, Travis De Vries & Bruce Tindale, Gallery Lane Cove &
Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Lane Cove & Muswellbrook NSW
2018 Muswellbrook & Districts Camera Club: 50 Years, Roger Skinner, Muswellbrook & Districts
Camera Club, Muswellbrook NSW
2018 Snaps Crack Pop!, John Foy & Jim Paton, Past Present Future Art, Sydney NSW
2015 Product 45: Australian Punk/Post/Punk Record Covers, Murray Bennett, Inner City Sound,
Sydney NSW
2005 Inner City Sound: Punk & Post-Punk in Australia, 1976 -1985, Clinton Walker, Verse Chorus
Press, Portland Oregon USA
2004 Wannin - Thanbarran: A History of Aboriginal & European Contact in Muswellbrook & the Upper
Hunter Valley, Greg Blyton, Deidre Heitmeyer & John Maynard, Muswellbrook Shire Council,
Muswellbrook NSW
1999 The Real Thing: Adventures in Australian Rock & Roll 1957 - Now, Toby Creswell & Martin
Fabinyi, Random House, Milsons Point NSW
1992 Your Name’s on the Door: Ten Years of Australian Music by Tracee Hutchison, ABC Enterprises,
Sydney NSW
1990 Artists and Galleries of Australia Volume One, Max Germaine, Craftsman House, Roseville
NSW
1988 A Place Called Rouchel: Art Exhibition, Cathie Brooker, Triology, Aberdeen NSW
1988 Get Real in the Upper Hunter: Special Health Comic!, Brad Franks, Todd Johnson and Michael
McLaughlin, Muswellbrook Shire Community Information and Resource Centre, Muswellbrook
NSW
1984 Artists and Galleries of Australia, Max Germaine, Boolarong Publications, Brisbane QLD
1983 Rock Posters 1955-1983, Nicholas Coffill & Seva Frangos, Lake Macquarie Community Gallery,
Speers Point NSW
1981 Studio Access Project, Creative Space, Art Network, Sydney NSW
1980 The New Music, Glen A. Baker & Stuart Coupe, Bay Books, Sydney NSW
Articles
2024 2024 Prize Winner Brad Franks, David Purves, The Prize, Joan Purves Encouragement Prize,
https://joanpurves.wixsite.com
2022 Feature Artist - Brad Franks, Robyn Werkhoven, Studio La Primitive Arts Zine, online
publication Issue 45, March 2022 https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3042344174/view
2019 Art Matters: Thank You Brad, Director Brad Franks Farewells MRAC, Elissa Emerson, Art Up
Close: at Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Issue no.6, 2019
2016 Brad Franks, Street Art Cities, https://streetartcities.com/artists/brad-franks
1994 Of Dinosaurs and Light Years, Roger Skinner, Australian Photography, Vol.45 no.5, May 1994
1993 The Contact Sheet - Tester/Franks/Skinner, Doug Spowart, Photo-Graphy,
Vol.3 no.11, January 1993
1992 Pictorialism: The First 120 Years, Roger Skinner, Image, Vol.27 no.3, November 1992
1990 Nice Pictures - but Are They Art ?, Hal Wise, Australian Photography, Vol.41 no.6, June 1990
1983 Rock Posters 1955 -1983, Nicholas Coffill, Art Network, no.9, autumn 1983
Related Activities
Employment & Volunteering in the arts
Employment
2007 - 2018 Director, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook Shire Council, Muswellbrook NSW
2005 - 2007 Photographer, Film Maker & Author, Working with First Nations People, Aboriginal Policy Project, Muswellbrook Shire Council, Muswellbrook NSW www.workingwithindigenousaustralians.info (winner Strengthening Indigenous Communities Award 2007)
2003 - 2007 Gallery Assistant, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook Shire Council, Muswellbrook NSW
2003 - 2004 Co-ordinator, Artist and Photographer, Muswellbrook Shire Council Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee, Muswellbrook NSW
1998 - 2002 Design and Photography, Hunter Integrated Care, Muswellbrook NSW
1988 - 1991 Project Officer, Painting & Printmaking, Upper Hunter Community Training, Muswellbrook NSW
1988 Sessional Tutor Printmaking, Upper Hunter Community Youth Support Scheme, Muswellbrook NSW
1988 Sessional Tutor Printmaking, Muswellbrook Adult Education Group, Muswellbrook Shire Community Information and Resource Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
1986 Photographer, Designer & Technical Assistant Aboriginal Sites. Upper Hunter District, National Parks & Wildlife Service NSW, Muswellbrook NSW
1979 - 1980 Gallery Assistant, Rex Irwin Art Dealer, Woollahra NSW
1976 Library Attendant, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW, Sydney NSW
Selected Catalogues and Publications:
2018 Paul Selwood: A Survey of Small Sculpture, Geoffrey Legge and Elissa Emerson, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2014 Hanna Kay: Trajectory, A Survey of Recent Work, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2014 From Tears of Fire: Burning Mountain Nature Reserve, Elissa Emerson, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2013 The Two of Us: Charlotte Drake Brockman & Fran Wachtel, Dale Hilly and Roger Skinner, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2013 Craft as Art: Australian Ceramics from the Muswellbrook Collections 1971 - 2012, Bruce Tindale, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2013 Muswellbrook School of Arts and Beyond… An Illustrated History, Bill Spicer, joint publication by Muswellbrook Local & Family History Society and Muswellbrook Shire Council, Muswellbrook NSW
2013 Disposable Bones: Delia Tita, Roger Skinner, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2013 Strong Women; Strong Painting; Strong Culture: Indigenous Women’s Art of the Central & Western Deserts from the Sims Dickson Collection, Matt Dickson, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2012 25 Years: The Rio Tinto Retrospective 1987 - 2012, Roger Skinner and Brad Franks, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2012 Figurative Difference: Dagmar Cyrulla & Peter Griffen, Roger Skinner, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, NSW
2012 Peter Gill: Absolutely Solo, Peter Gill, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2010 Charles Blandford: Upper Hunter Abstractionist, Brad Franks, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2010 Hanna Kay: Weightlessness, Paintings 2004 - 2010, Katrina Rumley and Brad Franks, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2010 Worlds Apart: Gutt, McIntosh, Perrin, Roger Skinner, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2008 50+: Half a Century of Collecting at Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Katrina Rumley and Brad Franks, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2008 James Clifford 1936 - 1987: A Retrospective Exhibition, Geoffrey Legge, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
1995 Ka-wul Dreams: An Exhibition of Art Works by Students of the Aboriginal Sites School, Brad Franks, joint publication Upper Hunter Community Training/Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1993 Biaime Rising: An Exhibition of Photographic Works by Students of the Aboriginal Sites School, Brad Franks, joint publication Upper Hunter Community Training/Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
Judge & Adjudicator
2018 Dobell Art and Craft Festival, Lions Club of Wangi Wangi, Wangi Wangi NSW
2016 Cessnock Spring Art Fair, Cessnock Regional Art Gallery, Cessnock NSW
2015 Newcastle Art Prize, The Society of Artists Newcastle, Adamstown NSW
2014 The Children’s Conservation Art Exhibition, Scone Arts and Crafts, Scone NSW
2013 Murrurundi Photographic Prize, Murrurundi & District Arts Council, Murrurundi NSW
2013 The Outback Open Art Prize, Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, Broken Hill NSW
2013 Port Stephens Art Prize, Port Stephens Community Arts Centre, Nelson Bay NSW
2012 Murrurundi Art Prize, Murrurundi & District Arts Council, Murrurundi NSW
2012 45th Raymond Terrace Annual Art Show, Hunter River High School, Heatherbrae NSW
2012 Members Exhibition, Maitland Region Society of Artists, Maitland Masonic Hall, Maitland NSW
2012 The 140th Singleton Show Fine Arts and Photography Prizes, Northern Agricultural Association, Singleton NSW
2011 Keddies Pastoral Photographic Award, Murrurundi & Districts Arts Council, Murrurundi NSW
2009 Far West Emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Prize, Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, Broken Hill NSW
2007 Nundle Country Women’s Association Art Exhibition, Nundle School of Arts, Nundle NSW
Business
1991 – 1998 conducted registered business trading as Brad Franks Art (artwork & design),
Rossgole NSW
Volunteering in the arts
Guest Curatorial
2023 A Field Guide to Abstraction in the Muswellbrook Collections, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre Muswellbrook NSW
2022 Manooka Halls, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
2017 Lost Tales: Walking with Gods (Travis De Vries), Open Word - Open World: Scottish International Storytelling Festival, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland UK
2017 Lost Tales: Walking with Gods, (Travis De Vries), M2 Gallery, Surry Hills NSW
2006 Coming Together: Aboriginal Artists of the Upper Hunter, Denman Library, Upper Hunter Regional Library, Denman NSW
2004 Fiddlesticks present: Gilbert Hermon, Fiddlesticks Restaurant, Shamrock Hotel, Muswellbrook NSW
1997 Collector’s Treasure, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1995 Ka-wul Dreams: An Exhibition of Art Works by Students of the Aboriginal Sites School, Upper Hunter Community Training/Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1993 Biaime Rising: Exhibition of Photographic Works by Students of the Aboriginal Sites School, Upper Hunter Community Training/Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1993 Aspects VII, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1992 Nude in the Landscape, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
Selected Guest Lectures & Talks
2024 Tearing it Down (with Travis De Vries), Darani Ngalawanda First Peoples Centre, National Art School, Darlinghurst NSW
2024 Acknowledgement of Country & Introduction, Book Launch, Charles & Barbara Blackman: A decade of art and love, Christabel Blackman, Art Gallery of NSW, The Domain NSW
2020 Eulogy, Max: A Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Maxwell Joseph Watters O.A.M.,
St. Alban’s Church, Muswellbrook NSW
2014 NAIDOC Address - Serving Country: Centenary & Beyond, Upper Hunter NAIDOC Week Award Ceremony, Muswellbrook RSL, Muswellbrook NSW
2010 Indigenous Workshops (with Les Elvin) Turning the Pages River, Murrurundi Public School, Murrurundi NSW
1989 Collage Into Style…, Muswellbrook & Districts Camera Club, Muswellbrook High School, Muswellbrook NSW
Articles
1993 Goodbye Mr Ed? a personal view of the 1992 Muswellbrook Photographic Award, Brad Franks,
Photo-Graphy, Vol.3 no.11, January 1993
1992 Most Powerful Exhibition of Painting: An Observation, Brad Franks, The Guide, Muswellbrook
Chronicle, Friday April 10, 1992
Committees & Boards & Memberships
2023 - 2025 Aboriginal Community Representative, First Nations Advisory Committee, Waverley Council, Bondi Junction NSW
2017 – 2018 Member, NAIDOC Committee, Wanaruah Local Aboriginal Land Council, Muswellbrook NSW
2016 - 2026 Member, Wanaruah Local Aboriginal Land Council, Muswellbrook NSW
2007 - 2018 Board Member, Regional & Public Galleries Association of NSW, Sydney NSW (Secretary 2016 - 2018)
2016 - 2018 Aboriginal Community Representative (Muswellbrook & Upper Hunter Shires), Mach Energy Aboriginal Community Development Fund Committee, Muswellbrook NSW
2010 - 2015 Aboriginal Community Representative (Muswellbrook & Upper Hunter Shires), Coal & Allied Aboriginal Cultural Development Fund Committee, Singleton NSW
2005 - 2007 Aboriginal Community Member, Aboriginal Policy Project Reference Committee, Muswellbrook Shire Council, Muswellbrook NSW
1991 - 1992 Member, Muswellbrook Shire Council Cultural Centre Committee, Muswellbrook NSW (Representative Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery Society)
1990 - 1996 Member, Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery Society, Muswellbrook NSW (Secretary 1991 – 1994)
1990 - 1991 Member, Muswellbrook Open Art Prize Committee, Muswellbrook Shire Council, Muswellbrook NSW
1989 - 1996 Member, Muswellbrook & Districts Camera Club, Muswellbrook NSW
1988 Artist, Designer & Editor, Upper Hunter Get Real Project, Muswellbrook Shire Community Information and Resource Centre, Muswellbrook NSW
1979 Member, Editorial Board, Chimaera Student Newspaper, Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education School of Art, Paddington NSW
1974 Founding Member, James Ruse Surrealist Group, James Ruse Agricultural High School, Carlingford NSW
1973 Founding Member, James Ruse Film & Video Group, James Ruse Agricultural High School, Carlingford NSW
Education & Training
Education
2023 - 2026 Waverley Woollahra Art School, Bondi NSW
1977 - 1979 Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education School of Art, Paddington NSW
1975 Chiron College, Birchgrove NSW
1970 - 1974 James Ruse Agricultural High School, Carlingford NSW
Training
2002 Holistic and Creative Choices: Home and Community Care National Conference
Adelaide Conference Centre, Adelaide NSW
2001 Cross Cultural Awareness, Hunter and Central Coast Home and Community Care Training Project, Wickham NSW
2000 Art as Therapy, Hunter Labour Force Solutions, Atlas Programme, Pokolbin NSW
1991 Aboriginal Servicing, Rainbow Serpent Training, Department of Employment Education and Training, Newcastle NSW
1986 Aboriginal Site Identification and Management, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Muswellbrook NSW