Painter Wendy Sharpe is the recipient of numerous awards, grants and travelling scholarships including the Sulman Prize (1996), the Archibald Portrait Prize (1996), and the Portia Geach Memorial Prize (1995 & 2003). In 1998, Wendy was commissioned by the city of Sydney to paint a series of eight murals, on the life of swimmer Annette Kellerman, for the Cook and Philip Park Aquatic Centre in Sydney. And in 1999, she was commissioned by the Australian...

Ian Davenport’s 48 metre-long painting Poured Lines transforms the tunnel beneath a railway bridge in Southwark, close to Tate Modern. The painting’s numerous vitreous enamel panels were created in a German factory where they were baked at fearsomely high temperatures. This film follows the artist as he creates this remarkable public artwork. Like all of Ian Davenport’s work, Poured Lines rigorously explores the qualities and possibilities of...

"I often feel that trying to make something realistic is the one criteria I can feel fairly sure of. Another one I sometimes use is, would I like to have it in my room? And I occasionally use the idea, if God allowed you to show him one thing to judge you by, would this really be it?" Julian Opie's highly distinctive depictions of the modern world are created in an extraordinary variety of media. His bold portraits, subtle landscapes, unconventional...

Mitra Farahani’s lyrical documentary explores the enigma of provocative artist Bahman Mohassess, the so-called “Persian Picasso,” whose acclaimed paintings and sculptures dominated pre-revolutionary Iran. Irreverent and uncompromising, a gay man in a hostile world, Mohassess had a conflicted relationship with his homeland—revered by elites in the art scene and praised as a national icon, only to be censored later by an oppressive regime. Known...

In the fascinating Great artist series, we investigate some of the best artists in history - examining their influence, style and what exactly made them so unique. In this double package we examine two vital instigators of the Renaissance; Giotto, with his naturalistic and emotive treatment of medieval Christian iconography, whose popularity and commissions raised the status of artists forevermore, and Piero della Francesca, creator of calm, monumental...

Examines the life and art of 17th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. Includes comments and analyses from scholars and museum personnel. Features examples of Vermeer's works.

Salma Hayek is triumphant in this biographical movie of an exceptional woman who lived an unforgettable life—Frida Kahlo. A product of humble beginnings, Frida earns fame as a talented artist with a unique vision. From her enduring relationship with her mentor and husband Diego Rivera, to her scandalous affairs, Frida's uncompromising personality would inspire her greatest creations.

Graham Gussin creates art in an almost bewildering variety of media: film, sound, installation, events, photography, text, painting and more. The key early work Savannah (1990) features a wooden plaque and a wall light, while the production of the ambitious film projection Remote Viewer (2002) involved a trip to Iceland and the services of someone with telepathic ability. Underpinning all of his subtle, witty, often disarmingly beautiful work is a...

"I am armed with madness for a long voyage," states British born, prolific painter, sculptor, writer and visionary Leonora Carrington. Perhaps the last surviving artist of the original Surrealist artist movement, as well as the famously former lover of Max Ernst, Carrington's life and work is arguably not "surreal" at all, nor is it classifiable in any sense of the word. Indebted to Surrealism, Carrington is nonetheless possessed of unique personal...

From previously barren moorland in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh, Ian Hamilton Finlay has created a unique garden as an encompassing work of art. Little Sparta is a magical combination of culture and horticulture, poetry and planting, philosophy and myth. Ian Hamilton Finlay began his work at Little Sparta in the mid-1960s. With friends and collaborators, around a group of old farm buildings he has fashioned landscapes, streams, bridges, glades,...