Collectors' Focus Series VI
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
April 18, 2023
-
April 24, 2023
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)

Luke Cornish is an Australian artist creating unique, powerful images from handmade stencils. His rise within the contemporary art world has been meteoric, becoming the first artist to be nominated for the Archibald Prize and the Sulman prize with a portrait created entirely out of stencils. A former blue-collar worker from Canberra, Cornish’s apathy and boredom during his mid-twenties encouraged him to start experimenting with stanley knives and spraypaint cans. Nearly ten years later, Cornish has literally carved his name into the public’s mind. Using up to 85 layers of carefully hand-cut acetate, he sprays layer upon layer of aerosol paint until his images bear a striking photographic resemblance: this is a new form of hyper-realism that is unlike what has been seen before. Formally known as E.L.K, he uses the tools of a street artist to create decadent, detailed works that envelop the viewer. There is an honesty to Cornish’s work, slicing back the layers and reconstructing his muses with astonishing deftness. The emotions that permeate through the eyes of his portraits have great depth, the shadows created by the stencils highlighting their anguish. His subjects all seem to share the same hardship and determination that Cornish himself has experienced, lending to a sense of dire reality in the unreality of his images.

After a few small exhibitions across Australia, Cornish’s abilities began to attract public attention. Over the past five years he has been granted many awards, including being selected as a finalist in the Metro Art Prize of 2011, winning the Australian Stencil Art prize in 2010, the most popular stencil at Melbourne Stencil Festival in 2008, and creating a shortlisted Tropfest film on the making of his Archibald portrait. And finally, the Archibald itself. This represents a shift in the contemporary art world, as Cornish’s controversial nomination has proven that stencilling is a viable fine art form that is now competing with more traditional methods. He has continued to refine his craft, striving to push the boundaries of his medium and creating picture-perfect stencils. Cornish has nuzzled his way into the fine art world, showing that even if the pen is mightier than the sword, the scalpel might win out overall. In 2013, he achieved the highest ever auction result in Australia for street art for his Archibald piece of Father Bob at Bonhams.

Collectors' Focus Series VI
by
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
April 18, 2023
-
April 24, 2023
Have a Go
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 25,000.00 AUD
Luke Cornish (E.L.K), Have a Go, Aerosol on canvas, 197cm x 243.5cm x 3cm
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How Good is It
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 20,000.00 AUD
Luke Cornish (E.L.K), How Good is It, Aerosol on canvas, 180cm x 198.5cm x 4.4cm
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Keep Calm and Collect
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 20,000.00 AUD
Luke Cornish (E.L.K), Keep Calm and Collect, 2019, Aerosol on canvas, 180 x 200 cm
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Thin Blue Line
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 25,000.00 AUD
Luke Cornish (E.L.K), Thin Blue Line, 2021, Aerosol and acrylic on canvas, 180 x 320 cm
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Untitled
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 15,000.00 AUD
Luke Cornish (E.L.K), Untitled, Aerosol oil on canvas, 137cm x 167cm x 3cm
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Untitled Protestors
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 25,000.00 AUD
Luke Cornish (E.L.K), Untitled Protestors, 2021, Aerosol on canvas, 180 x 320 cm
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Russia
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 10,000.00 AUD
LUKE CORNISH (E.L.K), Russia, 2021, Aerosol and Polyurethane on Riot Shield, 95 x 55 x 10 cm
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Jan 6
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 10,000.00 AUD
LUKE CORNISH (E.L.K), Jan 6, 2021, Aerosol and Polyurethane on Riot Shield, 95 x 55 x 10 cm
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Freedom
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 10,000.00 AUD
LUKE CORNISH (E.L.K), Freedom, 2021, Aerosol and Polyurethane on Riot Shield, 95 x 55 x 10 cm
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Last Man Standing
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 16,000.00 AUD
Luke Cornish (E.L.K), Last Man Standing, 2021, Aerosol on aluminium, 160cm x 100cm
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Mindfulness®
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 3,000.00 AUD
Luke Cornish (E.L.K), Mindfulness®, 2018, Resin and enamel, 40 x 30 cm
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Wake Up
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 450.00 AUD
Luke Cornish (E.L.K), Wake Up, 2012, Giclee print on paper, 90 x 62 cm (image); 112 x 77 cm (sheet size), Edition of 50 + 2 A P,
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Father Bob
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 450.00 AUD
Luke Cornish (E.L.K), Father Bob, 2012, Giclee print, 85 x 70 cm (image); 102 x 82 cm (sheet), Edition of 50
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Ben
Luke Cornish (E.L.K)
POA
$ 450.00 AUD
LUKE CORNISH (E.L.K), Ben, 2017, Limited edition archival pigment print on paper, 100 x 65 cm (image); 112 x 75 cm (sheet), Edition of 99
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