Jonny Niesche

Unlike many of his colleagues, Jonny Niesche never dreamed of becoming an artist. Nor did he imagine that he would one day become one of the most celebrated figures in the art world.

“I arrived very late to the game,” he explained. “I was living in New York and playing in hardcore bands, making experimental music until I was 30. Then, I came back to Sydney, unsure of what to do next. I renovated my parents’ house to help them sell it – once sold; I did a painting off the cuff on the ‘for sale’ sign. That was it for me. I was hooked. Two years later, I enrolled at art school as a mature student.”

'Love-light' installation view at Sarah Cottier Gallery 2017 Photo: Ashley Barber.

In 2008, Niesche graduated from Sydney University with a degree in Visual Arts. He went on to study under the renowned artist Heimo Zobernig at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna before returning to his native Australia to complete his Master’s.

Since then, Niesche has been making waves in the art world, with countless museums clamoring for a chance to exhibit his sculptures, paintings, and abstractions. His work has been displayed at the König Galerie in Berlin, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and The Flat - Massimo Carasi in Milan, just to name a few of them.

'En dehors (scarlet to choral), 2018. Photo: Ashley Barber.

While Niesche is best known for his breathtaking abstractions and contemporary art installations, his first few years in the art world were spent creating realistic paintings – a far cry from the neon-hued chromatic fields that has made him famous across the globe.

Installation view of 'throb' at Zeller Vam Almsick 2018.Photo: Peter Mochi.

“I was at a point when I was painting very realistically and the work itself was becoming too tight and closed-off. I tried using syringes and odd instruments to paint with, but this was only satisfying to an extent,” said Niesche in a recent interview. “I found that the more I emptied out figuration, the more possibilities there were. By reducing the work to color, form, material, and surface, and by limiting your choices, actually makes you focus on very specific elements and opens up new ideas and ways of thinking about making.”

This realization led Niesche to create pieces that challenge the perception of those viewing it. To do so, he makes use of a wide range of materials, including transparent fabrics, acrylic mirrors, steel, and brass.

Hotsource Haze (cool study), 2021

Voile fabric, MDF and acrylic mirror

29 93/100 × 66 93/100 in

76 × 170 cm

“It got me thinking: ‘How can I get beyond the flat plane of a painting and make it more performative and ever-changing, to renew the experience every time one looks at it,” he said. “I concluded, if a painting doesn’t do that, it is not mine.”

These criteria have led Niesche to create neon-hued chromatic fields that are simultaneously both painting and sculpture. His pieces are simply phenomenal, nothing like the art world has ever seen before.

“Working across an expanded field of painting, sculpture, and abstraction, Jonny Niesche’s vividly colored work wraps the viewer in total sensory stimulation,” wrote Starkwhite, an art gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. “The seductive, iridescent surfaces of his paintings hum and shimmer with pigment, color that seems to float slightly above the voile surface. The effect is intensified by the indistinct edges between bands of color that surround the dark middle ground.”

It adds, “As one tone blurs and dissolves into the next, a silky insubstantiality of pure color and sensation emerges.”

Starman Figurine From The Motion Picture, 2021

Voile, powder coated aluminum, mirror polished brass

81 1/2 × 81 1/2 in

207 × 207 cm

Niesche’s one-of-a-kind pieces are influenced by many things, such as popular culture, twentieth-century art, and David Bowie. Interestingly enough, he also takes inspiration from childhood trips to David Jones, an Australian department store.

“To me, this was an all-encompassing experience of incredible color palettes of eyeshadows, the smell of perfumes, and all the seductive and reflective smoky mirrored surfaces of the late 1970s,” he shared.

'Where to sould and the world commingle', 2018 in Moving Picture at STation Gallery. Photo: Christo Crocker.

While many of Niesche’s contemporary art installations are currently held in exhibits and private collections, a few have been used as hotel decorations. For instance, Next Hotel Melbourne in Australia is one of his most avid clients.

“As part of curating a dynamic and engaging collection of artworks by Australian artists to feature throughout the new hotel, Niesche created a suite of pieces to hang in each of the guest rooms,” said Next Hotel Melbourne. “His signature minimalist works with abstract color bring an unexpected touch to the Next rooms and suites, complementing the other considered details and residential feel of the interiors.”

'but still I wait' collaboration with Brendan Van Hek at Sarah Cottier Gallery in Chrom, 2018. Photo: Ashley Barber.

Several of Niesche’s contemporary art installations also hang in The Club, a sophisticated retreat exclusive to guests of Next Hotel Melbourne. His 3D wall art livens up the space, adding to its Manhattan loft-style atmosphere.

With other high-end clients besides Next Hotel Melbourne, it’s clear that Jonny Niesche is taking the art world by storm, one abstraction piece at a time.