Davida Frances Allen (born 20 October 1951) is an Australian painter, filmmaker and writer.

Early life and education

Davida Allen was born on 20 October 1951 in

Charleville, Queensland Charleville () is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Charleville had a population of 3,335 people. Geography Located in southwestern Queensland, Australia, Charleville is west o ...

. She studied under

Betty Churcher Elizabeth Ann Dewar Churcher (''née'' Cameron; 11 January 193131 March 2015) was an Australian arts administrator, best known as director of the National Gallery of Australia from 1990 to 1997. She was also a painter in her own right e ...

at the

Stuartholme School , motto_translation = One Heart , established = , founder = Archbishop James Duhig , type = Independent secondary day and boarding school , gender = Girls , religion = Catholicism , denomination = Society of the Sacred ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

(1965–69) and later under Roy Churcher (Betty Churcher's husband) at Brisbane Central Technical College (1970–72).

Career

Allen has written and illustrated two books, and has created a 50-minute film, ''

Feeling Sexy ''Feeling Sexy'' is a 1999 Australian short feature from artist Davida Allen. Allen later described the film as: A lovely plum pudding story. It's not out there with a big sign saying that this is the answer. But like all stories you can just get ...

'' (1999), on the struggles of an artist attempting to reconcile the conflicting demands of

bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

and suburbia. The film was invited to the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

. She frequently confronts the themes of family and sexuality; regarding the latter she has said: "if we are truly feminist in the fullest sense of the word, we shouldn't have felt we had to lock it away or be really careful about it. We should be chauvinist in our womanhood." Allen is represented in all major public collections in Australia, and the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring f ...

Awards and nominations

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...

, for her portrait of her father-in-law, John Shera (''My father-in-law watering his garden'') *1999:

Film Critics Circle of Australia The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...

Awards, nominated for "Best Direction", won "Best Original Screenplay" award * 2010: Tattersalls Club Landscape Art Prize

Exhibitions

Australian exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

* College Gallery ( Brisbane College of Advanced Education), 1984 * Museum of Contemporary Art in South Brisbane, 1987, a major retrospective survey *

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian ...

Art Museum, Brisbane, 2018

Group exhibitions

* ''Ray Hughes Gallery at Pinacotheca'',

Pinacotheca A pinacotheca (Latin borrowing from grc, πινακοθήκη, pinakothēkē = grc, πίναξ, pinax, (painted) board, tablet, label=none + grc, θήκη, thēkē, box, chest, label=none) was a picture gallery in either ancient Greece or anc ...

Art Gallery (Richmond, Victoria), 1981 * ''Nine Queensland artists,'' Perc Tucker Regional Gallery,

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

, 1981 * ''Contemporary Art in Australia – A Review'', inaugural exhibition of the Museum of Contemporary Art in South Brisbane, 1987 * ''Blue chip X : the collectors' exhibition,'' Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 2008

Commercial galleries

* Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane, in 1973, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985 and 1986 * Australian Galleries, Sydney, in 1993, 1996, 2001 * Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016.

International group exhibitions

* ''D'un autre continent: l'Australie le rêve er le réel'', curated by Suzanne Page/Leon Paroissien, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; shown internationally in Vienna, Texas and Venice (1983) * ''An international survey of recent painting and sculpture'', curated by

Kynaston McShine Kynaston McShine (February 20, 1935 – January 8, 2018) was a Trinidadian born curator and public speaker. His visions about contemporary art made lasting contributions to the lives of countless artists and colleagues at the Museum of Modern Art ...

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

(MoMA), New York City (1984) * ''Kunst mit Eigen-Sinn'', curated by Silvia Eiblmayr,

Valie Export Valie Export (often stylized as 'VALIE EXPORT'; born 17 May 1940) is an avant-garde Austrian artist. She is best known for provocative public performances and expanded cinema work. Her artistic work also includes video installations, computer an ...

, Monika Prischl-Maier, Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts (Museum of the 20th Century), Vienna (1985) * ''Davida Allen'', curated by Anne Kirker,

National Art Gallery of New Zealand National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

; touring to four other New Zealand museums:

Sarjeant Gallery The Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui at Pukenamu, Queen's Park Whanganui is currently closed for redevelopment. The temporary premises at Sarjeant on the Quay, 38 Taupo Quay currently house the Sarjeant Collection, and all exhibitions a ...

, Wanganui; Fisher Gallery, Pakuranga, Auckland;

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is a contemporary art museum at New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The gallery receives core funding from the New Plymouth District Council. Govett-Brewster is recognised internationally for contemporary art. Hi ...

, New Plymouth; Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North (1986) * ''Painters and sculptors'', curated by Michael Sourgnes,

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Galler ...

, Brisbane; travelling to Museum of Contemporary Art, Saitama, Japan (1987) * ''ROSC, an International Exhibition'', Dublin, Ireland (1988)

References

External links

*
Davida Allen
at

Design & Art Australia Online Design & Art Australia Online (DAAO) is an online database of Australian artists. It is fully integrated with other related databases, using syndicated metadata, making it a dynamic resource. It began as a project begun in the 1970s at the U ...

Profile and artworks
Philip Bacon Galleries {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Davida 1951 births Living people Archibald Prize winners Artists from Queensland Australian women painters 20th-century Australian women artists 20th-century Australian artists 21st-century Australian women artists 21st-century Australian artists Neo-expressionist artists