Rick Hayward is a Meanjin / Brisbane based artist and maker exploring consciousness and perceptions of reality through the craft based practices of fine woodworking and verre églomisé. Embracing traditional hand tools and techniques, Hayward accesses the meditative qualities of discipline and process as an enquiry into the human condition, culminating in multi-dimensional works that bridge subject and object.
Originally trained as a traditional signwriter, Hayward has acquired skills from some of the finest craftspeople in the world and has received mentoring from established Australian artists and makers. He was awarded Student of the year at the internationally recognised Sturt School for Wood in 2023, and in 2024 he was a finalist in Wood Review Magazine’s ‘Maker of the Year’ prize, and won one of Australia’s most recognised woodworking prizes, the Wootha Prize.
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Please contact for available work, commission enquiries, and invitations to exhibit.
Prizes
2024 Winner - Wootha Prize
2024 Finalist - Maker of the Year, Wood Review Magazine
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Exhibitions
2020 'SURFACE TENSION' - Brisbane Powerhouse, QLD
2020 ‘REFUSE’ - The Third Quarter, Brisbane QLD
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Group Exhibitions
2024 'Out of Office' - Waiting Room Gallery, Brisbane QLD
2024 'Unleashed' - Artisan, Brisbane QLD
2024 'Potato Salad' - Gladstone Rd Studios, Brisbane QLD
2023 'Block Show' - Vacant Assembly, Brisbane QLD
2023 Sturt School for Wood Graduate Exhibition, Mittagong NSW
2021 'Mutual Intent' - Brisbane Powerhouse, Brisbane QLD
2019 'Boiling Point' - The Third Quarter, Brisbane QLD
2019 ‘Trespass’ - Onwards Studio, Newcastle NSW
2019 ‘Divergence’ - The Third Quarter, Brisbane QLD
2018 'Less is more' - 1AMSF, San Francisco CALIFORNIA
2016 'Louder than letters' - Goodspace, Sydney NSW
2016 'The Apprenticeship' - Artisan, Brisbane QLD
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Public Artwork
2023 Queensland Rail commission, South Bank station QLD
2021 Queensland Rail commission, Bald Hills QLD
2020 Brisbane Powerhouse commission, New Farm QLD
2019 Queensland Rail commission, Eagle Junction QLD
2015 Brisbane Canvas project with Brisbane City Council, Fortitude Valley QLD