Alick Sweet | FireWorks Gallery

Artist Tabs

Selected works

FW15801 A plane (ii)	FW15806 A plane VII	FW19037 Home sewn numbers
FW19064 Port of Brisbane	FW19587 Nine (Isle of dogs)	FW19591 Thirteen (Isle of dogs)
FW19593 Fifteen (Isle of dogs)	FW19596 Eighteen (Isle of dogs)	FW19597 Nineteen (Isle of dogs)
FW19598 Twenty (Isle of dogs)	FW19601 Twenty-three (Isle of dogs)	FW19602 Twenty-four (Isle of dogs)
FW19605 Twenty-seven (Isle of dogs)	FW19742 Tribute to Adam Goodes	FW19967 Aisle of Dogs 2

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Bio

Born: 1947 Yealmpton UK

Alick is a Brisbane based artist who has won several major awards for painting, sculpture and drawing. Timber, stone, steel, bronze and paint are used to create free standing objects, wall reliefs and installations. During the installation process, where the compositions grow and become site specific, the realms of sculpture, drawing, painting, design and carpentry converge and cohabit. This method of working allows the artist’s keen interest in construction as with as composition to develop. Colour adds a dramatic element to the work and helps amplify the dynamics of the form; sometimes colour occurs incidentally through the addition of component parts simply by the application of paint. Alick’s works are held in numerous private and public collections nationally and internationally.

View 2021 Finals Frenzy Live Ladder exhibition list here

View 2020 Isle of Dogs exhibition list and video here

Story/Statement

About three years ago, Alick’s friend, gallerist and swim buddy Michael Eather suggested that Alick drop everything else and just make dogs. Alick adopted the idea with alacrity, becoming ‘obsessed’, making dog after dog. ‘Yet no two are the same. They are changing all the time.’For Alick, their genesis is in a bit of wood, often sourced from a demolition yard he has frequented for years, or an idea. ‘Once I’ve pictured something in my head I have a compulsive urge to see it. I’m then up day and night until this thing exists.’The dogs are simply rendered. Disparate materials stamp their personality, with the head, its positioning and the way it speaks to the proportionality, shape and style of the body working closely with often highly coloured markings, abstracted to lead the eye compulsively. They became a choir when Michael Eather dubbed them as such. In terms of what their song might be, it doesn’t matter to Alick. Music of all types appeals to him, ‘the best of everything, with Latin dance music my favourite’ (influenced by 15 years of dance lessons).

Courtesy of Louise Martin-Chew, 2025

Isle of Dogs 2020 - View exhibition here
Brisbane artist Alick Sweet presents a new sculptural installation of his loveable and quirky dogs. An impressive grouping of 30 mounted timber dog ‘busts’ are installed on a large circular plinth alongside matching studio photographic prints. Working from the universal truism principle that everyone has a favourite dog, many of their inherent dog characteristics are brought out through the artist’s witty use of colour, form and design.

So, as much as Alick Sweet’s sculptural pieces are about the ‘nature’ of animals- in this case dogs- they also emerge from an acute understanding and appreciation of the artist’s core building principals. Within the figurative framework we see abstract considerations such as texture and colour push and pull at each other. To emphasise the individual characteristics of each dog the installation is accompanied by four photographic prints from Alick’s studio in Spring Hill where the artist has humorously arranged the dogs as if gathered in a canine choir.
Isle of Dogs, like the animated film title, is almost theatrical, with its circus style viewing platform allowing viewers to wander, admire or perhaps pat each hound at will!

Home sewn numbers 2019
Back when we were playing AFL football at State school, we would all take our guernseys home for each family to sew our own respective numbers on. This work reflects the no frills, home grown nature of Australian team sport and the diverse characters and personalities that we are able to bring together.

Stand-Out numbers 2019
Looking at the football on TV or when I see it live, I become attuned to the numbers and colours of our stand out players. I’m attracted to the diversity of talent and personality these numbers embody. Here we see a couple of my favourites from various clubs.

On Reflection, Adam Goodes 2019
Adam Goodes wore number 37 for Sydney Swans. He remains one of their all-time great players and a terrific ambassador. He was subsequently awarded Australian of the Year. With all the hysteria over his behaviour, character and identity, on reflection he really should be awarded another one!

FINALS FRENZY 2018 - View exhibition works here
A new installation, Finals Frenzy is an energetic collection of brazenly painted fish shaped wall sculptures individually themed to represent all 18 ALF teams. Art and footy have never had a visual merger like this!

ASSEMBLY LINES 2015 - View exhibition here
Assembly Lines features, alongside the mounted aeroplanes, new sculptural forms of the kangaroo – including the towering, almost three metre high A Kangaroo – and dog. The exhibition highlights the progression of Alick’s fish and turtle studies, which continue to explore colour, shape and line.

AEROPLANES 2014-15
The single aeroplanes (A Plane, 2014-5) have cubist qualities in their simultaneous presentation of the fuselage in both profile and section. Paint and intersecting straight lines create highlights but then confuse the eye which reads the simplicity of the construction within their abstract complexities. They crowd the wall like an overrun airspace - yet, as a group, they break the wall into a pattern that is dynamic and visually arresting.
Courtesy of Louise Martin-Chew, Alick Sweet: Assembly Language 2015

SWIM SCHOOL & SALTWATER SERIES 2013-14
Sweet's Swim School series, 2013-14, consists of two-dimensional fish and stingrays, which are smaller, manageable works. These began as a change from the rigours of life-size three-dimensional timber horses and oversized kangaroos. The constructed compositions are designed to stand alone as a single object, or as part of an assembled group, or a larger installation. His exhibition BLOCK WORK 2014, featured loggerhead turtles as well.

Courtesy of the Artist & FireWorks Gallery

Education

Master of Creative Arts, James Cook University
Bachelor of Art (Fine Art), Griffith University
Bachelor of Education, Queensland University of Technology
Diploma of Art, Queensland College of Art
Diploma of Teaching, Brisbane College of Advanced Education
Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, Griffith University
Trade Certificate, Central Technical College, Brisbane

Solo Exhibitions

2025 A Choir of Dogs, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2020 Isle of Dogs, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2015 Assembly Lines, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2014 BLOCK WORK, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2013 Swim School, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2009 Christina Mitchell Gallery
2008 Christina Mitchell Gallery
2008 Christina Mitchell Gallery
2003 Flying Objects, Southbank Campus, Griffith University
2001 Flying Objects, White Box Gallery, Gold Coast
1995 Michael Burke Gallery, Brisbane
1995 The Gallery, Canberra Grammar School, ACT
1994 Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville
1992 Ipswich City Council Regional Art Gallery, Ipswich
1990 Roz MacAllan Gallery, Brisbane
1988 Roz MacAllan Gallery, Brisbane
1985 Michael Milburn Galleries, Brisbane
1980 Mount Gravatt CAE, Brisbane
1978 Queensland College of Art Gallery, Brisbane

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024 Yellow Meadow, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2023 Evidence of Scale III: Drawing & Sculpture, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2023 Teneriffe Festival, Brisbane
2022 Evidence of Scale II: Drawing & Sculpture, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2021 Evidence of Scale, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2020 Twelve Artists, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2020 Twelve Ways, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2019 Sculpturors Exposed, Pine Rivers Art Gallery
2019 Tattersall's Landscape Art Prize, Brisbane
2019 Matches 6: Three Clusters, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2018 Welcome TWO (Thompson Street), FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2016 Second Nature, FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane
2016 Second Nature, Merricks House Art Gallery, Victoria
2014 Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
2014 Asia Contemporary Art Show, Conrad, Hong Kong
2014 Cross Over, Merricks House Art Gallery, Victoria
2009 Sculptors Queensland, Brisbane
2009 Construct – Contrive – Construe, Logan Art Gallery, Logan City
2008 Fish and Chips, Christina Mitchell Gallery, Brisbane
2007 Sculptors Queensland, Brisbane
2006 Sculptors Queensland, Brisbane
2005 Sculpture, Maria Perides Gallery, Brisbane
2005 Christmas Exhibition, Maria Perides Gallery, Brisbane
2004 Sculpture, Maria Perides Gallery, Brisbane
2004 Christmas Exhibition, Maria Perides Gallery, Brisbane
2004 The Collectables Exhibition, Queensland Craft Council Gallery, Brisbane
2003 Sculpture, Maria Perides Gallery, Brisbane
2003 Christmas Exhibition, Maria Perides Gallery, Brisbane
2002 Australian Artists Working Within the Traditions of Sculpture, Maria Perides Gallery, Brisbane
2002 Christmas Exhibition, Maria Perides Gallery, Brisbane
2000 Artists Who Teach, Rockhampton Art Gallery
2000 Society of Sculptors, Gold Coast
1999 The Home Office, The Contemporary Art and Design Gallery, Brisbane
1999 Fish, The Contemporary Art and Design Gallery, Brisbane
1998 Carnival of the Animal, Flinders Gallery, Townsville
1998 Flight, The Contemporary Art and Design Gallery, Brisbane
1997 Dogs Exhibition, The Contemporary Art and Design Gallery, Brisbane
1997 Dolls and Other Objects, Palma Rosa Gallery, Brisbane
1996 Downlands College Exhibition, Toowoomba
1996 Gold Coast International Sculpture Award
1995 Canberra National Sculpture Forum 95, Canberra
1995 Fine Art Collaborative Exhibition, QCA Gallery, Brisbane
1995 Downlands College Exhibition, Toowoomba
1995 Michael Bourke Gallery, Brisbane
1994 Sculpted Wood, Craft Council of Queensland, Brisbane
1994 Hanoi/Brisbane Exchange Project, Hanoi, Vietnam
1994 Hanoi/Brisbane Exchange Project, Griffith University, Brisbane
1992 New Art Six: Profiles in Contemporary Australian Art, MOCA
1992 View to a Room, Crafts Council of Australia, Brisbane
1992 Society of Sculptors Queensland, Brisbane
1990 Downlands College, Toowoomba
1990 Into Space: The Language of Sculpture, Travelling Exhibition, Queensland Art Gallery
1990 McWhirters Art Space, Brisbane
1990 Society of Sculptors, Gold Coast
1990 Caloundra Art Gallery – Work Highly Recommended
1988 Artists as Designers, Roz MacAllan Gallery, Brisbane
1988 Art as Furniture, French Pavilion, EXPO, Brisbane
1988 Staff Exhibition, Queensland College of Art, MOCA
1988 Downlands College Exhibition, Toowoomba
1988 Remm Exhibition, McWhirters Art Space, Brisbane
1988 Not Another Archibald, Roz MacAllan Gallery, Brisbane
1988 Society of Sculptors, Gold Coast
1987 Society of Sculptors, Gold Coast
1986 The Space Within, St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
1985 Staff Exhibition, Queensland College of Art, Brisbane City Hall
1985 Victor Mace Gallery, Brisbane
1985 Eight Bells Gallery, Surfers Paradise
1984 Western Exhibition, Society of Sculptors Queensland, Brisbane
1984 Staff Exhibition, Queensland College of Art Gallery, Brisbane
1983 Eight Bells Gallery, Surfers Paradise
1983 The Space Defined, St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
1982 Drawing Exhibition, Community Arts Centre, Brisbane
1982 Eight Bells Gallery, Surfers Paradise
1982 Sculpture Exhibition, Community Arts Centre, Brisbane
1982 The Gallery, Palm Beach, Queensland
1982 Small Sculpture, Queensland Art Gallery
1981 The Sculpture Centre Gallery, The Rocks
1981 Eight Bells Gallery, Surfers Paradise
1980 Schonell Theatre Gallery, Brisbane (with Gasteen and Williams)
1980 Paddington Gallery, Brisbane
1980 Kelvin Grove CAE, Brisbane
1980 Eight Bells Gallery, Surfers Paradise
1980 Small Sculpture, Queensland Art Gallery
1979 Cintra House Gallery, Brisbane
1979 Eight Bells Gallery, Surfers Paradise
1978 Eight Bells Gallery, Surfers Paradise
1978 Cintra House Gallery, Brisbane (Fourteen large works)
1978 Eight Bells Gallery, Surfers Paradise
1978 Small Sculpture, Queensland Art Gallery
1977 Victor Mace Gallery, Brisbane

Publications

FireWorks Gallery (2016) Assembly Lines
Bowden, Jim (2008) The Timber Forestry News, Issue 23, 7 April, p.11
Brody, Jim (1988) "Art and Technology", TSN1 1 Video Production, June
Brown, Phil (1997) "Hounds of Silence", Brisbane News, 25 June
Coulter-Smith, Graham & Follent, Sarah (eds.) (1988) Eyeline: East Coast Contemporary Visual Arts, Issue Six
Drury, Nevill (ed.) (1992) New Art Six, Sydney: Craftsman House
Drury, Nevill (ed.) (1993) New Sculpture, Sydney: Craftsman House
Garlick, Grace (1999) "Office Works", The Courier-Mail, 18 July, p.33
Hawley, Janet (1993) "Shape of the New", Sydney Morning Herald, Good Weekend, 12 June, p.22
Hartnett, Dorothy (1996) "Forms Entwined", Pangezza Studio, Brisbane, pp.136–137
Martin, Jill (1998) "Animal Magnetism", Townsville Bulletin, 17 July, p.17
O'Connor, Gerry (1998) "Flights of Fantasy", The Courier-Mail, 30 September, p.43
Parrington, Drena (1996) "A Gift Horse", Gold Coast Bulletin, 16 November, p.14
Philp, Angela (ed.) (1995) Catalogue: Canberra National Sculpture Forum, Goanna Print
Pincott, Karla (1994) "Wood So Simply Sweet", Townsville Bulletin, 21 January, p.7
Richards, Michael (1990) "Art Review", The Courier-Mail, 11 April, p.32
Seibert, David (1988) Art Line International Art News, Vol. 4, No. 2, September, p.3
Shillam, Kath (1985) "Alick Sweet Exhibition", Queensland Society of Sculptors Newsletter, December, p.3
Treacy, Megan (1988) "26 Birds, 3 Dogs and A Foot", Eyeline, No. 6, pp.32–33
Wallace, Natasha (1994) "Carving It Up", Brisbane Homes, 4 October, p.24

Awards & Commissions

2009 Runner-up, The Shillam Sculpture Award
2007 Winner, The Shillam Sculpture Award
2006 Winner, The Shillam Sculpture Award
1997 Commissioned by Brisbane City Council, metal sculpture for Stanley Street, Woolloongabba
1997 Consultancy for Brisbane City Council, Woolloongabba Project
1997 Consultancy for Brisbane City Council, Mt Gravatt Central Project
1996 Lead artist, Southport RSL Memorial Club artworks
1994 Commissioned by Haysom Architects, Brisbane Broncos RLFC
1993 Commissioned by Alexander Headlands Surf Life Saving Club
1991 Commissioned by Prince Charles Hospital for work in Mudanjiang, China
1990 Work acquired by Stanthorpe Art Gallery
1989 Commissioned by Grantley Cogzell Advertising Pty Ltd
1989 Commissioned by Community Arts Centre, Bribie Island
1988 Winner, City of Cairns Art Award (Sculpture)
1988 Winner, Gold Coast Sculpture Award
1988 Work purchased by Queensland Art Gallery
1983 Winner, City of Brisbane Art Award (Painting)
1981 Winner, Caloundra Art Award (Sculpture)
1980 Work purchased for the James Brown Collection
1979 Winner, Caloundra Art Award (Watercolour)
1978 Winner, Warana Art Award (Sculpture)
1978 Winner, Caloundra Art Award (Sculpture)