Talya Brookman is a British abstract painter based in Sydney. Raised between London, Los Angeles, and Australia, her practice has developed through prolonged movement across places and an ongoing attentiveness to how environments are felt, remembered, and internalised.
Working primarily with oil and ink on canvas, Brookman builds layered surfaces through gesture, wash, and slow accumulation. Her paintings draw on fractal structures and recurring natural forms, including river systems, wings, and lichen, using these patterns to establish rhythm, balance, and spatial coherence rather than literal representation. The work holds a tension between movement and restraint, allowing atmosphere to emerge through repetition and subtle shifts in tone.
Brookman studied at the Pratt Institute of Fine Art in New York and returned to Sydney in 2009. Her work has been widely exhibited in Australia. In 2025, her painting Tether received the People’s Choice Award at the Fisher’s Ghost Art Prize.
Upcoming Exhibitions
2026 Unbound Art Show, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney NSW
2026 The Last Picture Show, Frances Keevil, Sydney NSW
2026 Slow Translation, Loaf Gallery, Blue Mountains NSW
2026 Duo Exhibition, CBD Gallery, Sydney NSW
Past Exhibitions
2025 Fishers Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown NSW
2025 We Can Work It Out, Sydney St. Gallery, Sydney NSW
2025 Affordable Art Fair, Sydney NSW
2025 Homage To Turner, West End Art Space, Melbourne VIC
2025 2 years of Tyger, Tyger Gallery, Yass NSW
2025 Sculpture & Canvas, Frances Keevil, Sydney NSW
2024 Maps of Matter, Frances Keevil, Sydney NSW
2024 Life In Colour, Tyger Gallery, Yass NSW
2024 Affordable Art Fair, Melbourne VIC
2024 Affordable Art Fair, Sydney NSW
2024 The Other Art Fair, Sydney NSW
2019 The Other Art Fair, Sydney NSW
2011-2024 Chase Gallery, Sydney NSW
2010 MCM House Art Show, Sydney NSW
2010 Chase Gallery, Sydney NSW
2006-2009 Broad Gallery, London UK
2003 I am Medieval Dream Circus, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Space Car Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV
2000 Pratt Underground, Brooklyn, NY
Awards/ Prizes
2025 Fisher’s Ghost Art Award – Winner – People’s Choice Award
Residencies
2025 Landslide Gallery, Wentworth Falls, NSW
Education
2000-2002 Pratt Institute, New York NY