Australian Landscape Artist
About Nat Ward
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​Nat gained a BFA (major Painting) from Canterbury University. She paints the landscapes she spends time hiking through, namely bushland (Nailcan Hill) and the Murray river in Albury.
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Her aim is to initiate a real and compelling dialogue with the viewer, inviting them to look much closer at these landscapes on a micro and macro level. The hope is to trigger interest in the nuances of the bushland, focusing on sometimes overlooked elements, that at first glance could be considered innocuous.
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Finding unexpected gentle fragility, surprising and intricate entanglements, ambiguous shapes and whimsical colours, are some of the concerns she addresses.
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"My main concern is for my paintings to be intriguing, to evoke curiosity which I hope leads to knowledge and respect of the unique and complex landscape I paint"
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In 2023, Nat embarked on a major project that culminated in the Noreuil exhibition at MAMA (Murray Art Museum Albury) in 2024. This work explored the historical connection between Albury’s Noreuil Park and the French village of Noreuil, commemorating the soldiers who fought in a pivotal WWI battle.
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Nat has held successful solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne, and Albury and has been a finalist in numerous prestigious art prizes, including The Hadley's Art Prize, The Geelong Contemporary Art Prize, The John Leslie Landscape Prize, and the Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize. Her work has won several people’s choice awards and is held in public and private collections in Australia and worldwide.
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In 2025 she won the John Villiers Outback Art Prize, and was awarded Highly Commended in The Lethbridge Prize for Landscape.
Exhibitions
2024 MAMA Public Regional Gallery 'Noreuil' project More
2024 Group show Grainger Gallery
2023 Solo show Manyung Gallery Malvern More
2023 Rochfort Gallery group show
2023 Korean Cultural Centre 10 year anniversary group show
2022 Solo show Manyung Gallery Malvern
2022 Group show 'Interconnected' NERAM
2021 Solo show, Manyung gallery Malvern
2020 Sydney Royal Botanical Garden 'Plants' group show
​2019 Group show ‘Dolci’ Rochfort Gallery
​2019 Two person show Manyung Gallery Flinders
2019 Solo show, Rochfort Gallery
2018 Group show ’Petals and Pods' Rochfort Gallery
2018 Group show 'Land and Sea' Rochfort Gallery
2018 Group show 'Whimsy' Rochfort Gallery
2016 Solo show MAMA Albury More
Commendations & Projects
2025 Highly Commended Lethbridge Prize for Landscape More
2025 Finalist Omnia Art Prize
2025 Finalist Milburn Art Prize
2025 Winner John Villiers Outback Prize More
2025 Finalist Flanagan's Art prize
2025 Finalist John Villiers Outback prize
2024 Finalist Muswellbrook Art Prize
2023 Finalist KAAF Art Prize
2023 Finalist WAMA works on paper
2023 Finalist Ravenswood Art Prize for Women
2022 Finalist Regional Landscape Award
2022 Finalist Kangaroo Valley Art Prize
2022 Finalist Hadley's Art Prize for Landscape More
2022 Finalist (gallery) Lethbridge small scale prize
2021 Finalist KAAF art prize Sydney
2021 Finalist Geelong Contemporary Art Prize More
2020 Semifinalist KAAF Art prize
2020 Cover of Autumn edition, Royal Botanical Gardens
​2019 Singapore Art Fair, selected representation
2019 Winner, people's choice Waverley Art Prize
2019 Finalist Waverley Art Prize
2019 Selected artist for Wodonga Ephemeral Project
​2018 Finalist John Leslie Award for landscape
2017 Winner Trinity Acquisitive Art Award
2016 Public art (central Albury substation)
2016 Finalist Pro Hart Outback Award
2016 Feature artist, Trinity art award
2015 Highly commended Hume Art Award
2014 Finalist Hume Art Award
2012 Highly commended Hume Art Award
2012 Winner people's choice (joint) Hume Art Award
2012 Selected artist, Wonga Wetlands Ephemeral Project
2012 Commended Chiltern Art Award
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