First Grade Debut

Artwork by Newcastle artist and current Merewether Carlton player, Justin Lees.
60cm x 90cm, Oil, acrylic and spray paint on canvas. Canvas size is 45cm 60cm
This item comes framed
This artwork was painted especially for this fundraiser. 

ABOUT JUSTIN
Justin is visual artist based in the coastal town of Newcastle, Australia. Justin has been drawing for as long as he can remember. After earning his tertiary qualifications in Graphic Design and Photography (2009) Justin set out on new endeavours finally coming full circle and returning to his roots and rekindling his love of painting, photography, and design into a full-fledged professional career as an abstract, expressionist painter.

Justin’s early work was big, bright, and vivid. It attracted interest due its gestural motion and layers, reminiscent of abstract expressionism and abstraction periods from New York. Justin still uses broad brush strokes of colour and retains a free-flowing style of strokes that provides a signature to all his work and maintains a unique abstract expressionism. As he has refined his artistic voice and established himself as one of Newcastle’s leading fine artists, his initial big-and-bold style has broadened to capture portraits and a more mature expressionist style that is very human.

Justin has had a number of solo and joint exhibitions at independent galleries in Newcastle throughout the late 2000’s and after a small hiatus from painting, Justin contributed to a few group shows as well as donating significant works towards charitable causes such HMRI and the Mark Hughes Foundation. In 2019, Justin was commissioned by the Hunter Medical Research Institute to be the 2019 resident artist, creating an original work to be auctioned off, raising over $7000. As Justins profile gained momentum during 2020, he enjoyed the success of a sold-out solo show at a local gallery in Newcastle. In 2021, Justin had one of his busiest and commercially successful years to date. Taking part in the highly successful, The Other Art Fair in Sydney and a sold out collection through Sibu Gallery, Sydney. Justin also had sold-out success in Newcastle with a group show and solo exhibition, selling out in just two days. Justin concluded the year with his second solo exhibition, which celebrated the exuberance of the 1980’s period. Again, the exhibition attracted interest from buyers and collectors, and again was a huge success selling multiple pieces.

In 2022, Justin opened up his own gallery in the West End of Newcastle, Wester Gallery.
Justin continues to enjoy commission work from a range of collectors and organisations and remains committed to working for charitable causes. Justin is represented by Sibu Gallery, Sydney

Justin’s work exists in private collections throughout Australia, New Zealand, England and Europe. just has been a finalist in the the Newcastle Emerging Artist prize multiple times.