Carla Gates
Carla is a Southern Highlands–based artist working predominantly with oil and charcoal in combination across a range of surfaces. Her practice explores the landscapes of her local environment, from expansive, brooding vistas to intimate studies of frost-covered leaves, rendered with intricate detail.
Her work is both painterly and tactile, balancing expressive mark-making with careful observation. Through a nuanced use of light, Carla seeks to evoke atmosphere and emotion, capturing fleeting seasonal moments and the quiet complexity of the natural world.
Grounded in landscape yet guided by a sense of whimsy, her practice moves between the monumental and the minute, inviting viewers to pause, look closely, and reconnect with the subtle beauty of their surroundings.
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Prizes
2026 - Finalist in the Bundanoon Portrait Prize
2025 - Highly Commended in the 'Angels of our town’ Art Prize, Centennial Winery
2025 - Commended prize in the Agency Still Life Prize, Bowral District Art Gallery
2025 - Finalist in the Waterbrook Drawing Prize, Bowral District Art Gallery
2016 - Finalist in the ColourTrap Gallery, Avalon
2015 - Finalist in the Lloyd Rees Memorial Art Prize
2014 - Finalist in the Blackheath Art Society Prize
2013 - Finalist in the Lloyd Rees Memorial Art Prize
2012 - Finalist in the Tony & Guy Art Prize, Sydney
2011 - Finalist in the Lloyd Rees Memorial Art Prize
2009 - First Prize in the North Sydney Youth Art Prize.
Group
Jan 2017 – Feb 2017 “Spectrum 1” The Glen Street Theatre Project, The Art and Soul Collective
Dec 2016 – Jan 2017 “Concept 4” The Glen Street Theatre Project, The Art and Soul Collective
Nov 2016 – Dec 2016 “Concept 3” The Glen Street Theatre Project, The Art and Soul Collective
2016 - “Thirty by Thirty” at The ColourTrap Gallery, Avalon
2015 - Grand Opening of 'Keisan, The Menzies Hotel, Sydney
2013 - Bowral District Art Society Gallery, Bowral
2012 - Warringah Printmakers Studio, Warringah
2010 - "Art along the boardwalk" in Lavender Bay
2010 - TAP Gallery Darlinghurst
2009 - TAP Gallery Darlinghurst
2009 - "Art along the boardwalk" in Lavender Bay
2008 - GIG Gallery, Glebe
2008 - Workshop Arts Centre, Willoughby
Solo exhibitions
2014/2015 – “Remembering Giverny” Headland Gallery, Mosman
2012/2013 – “Transient Impressions” Headland Gallery, Mosman
Publications
2010 - Mosman daily