Tia Ansell

‘All of the components of Tia's work are handmade. Her integration of weaving and painting challenges the traditional divisions between craft and fine art, and elevates the use of handspun material to new heights.’

Wellington-born artist Tia Ansell started her Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting) at Massey University, Wellington in 2014 and completed an Honours degree at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, in 2018.

Employing the loom to explore intricate weaving techniques, Tia threads together narratives of observational patterns that exist within her urban surroundings. The patterns collected, function as a decorative motif, yet they represent the commonality between one another as materials, images and ideas are reduced to their most basic forms. Geometries demonstrating ideas of grids, repetition and familiarity are the link between the weaving pattern and painted image.

Tia draws upon details from her everyday life, specifically the migration between the city and home during the last hour of summer daylight. Windows reflect the fading of blue skies, red light in the horizon as the sun begins to set and the city becomes neon like a beacon drawing you in.

Based in Melbourne, her oeuvre has garnered international acclaim; Ansell won the National Gallery of Victoria prize in 2014 as well as the National Gallery of Victoria Women's Association Award in 2017, and was the recipient of the Majlis travelling scholarship (2017) and Valerie Albiston scholarship (2015-17), all before she had completed her BFA Honours degree. In 2023, Tia was awarded a two month residency at the Lottozero in Prato, Italy, a textile hub and design studio just outside of Florence where she was able to further her knowledge and experience working with textiles.

Quotation from Home Style Magazine, February Issue, 2021