Archibald Prize-winning Australian artist Guy Maestri is known for a practice grounded in observation, materiality and the physical act of painting. Born in Mudgee, New South Wales, Maestri completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours at the National Art School in 2003. While closely associated with landscape and plein air painting, his work also moves through still life and portraiture, using each genre to examine the traditions and possibilities of painting itself.

Maestri’s work is shaped by looking — closely, directly and with feeling. His paintings move beyond representation, allowing gesture, surface and material to carry emotional and environmental weight. Whether working with landscape, still life or the human figure, he uses paint as a way to consider the relationship between humanity, place and the natural world.