Simon Richardson Artist
Simon Richardson was born in Gore in 1974. He studied at the Dunedin School of Art and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1996. Since then, he has worked as a full-time artist.
Richardson has been awarded the Canadian Elizabeth Greenshield’s Foundation Grant three times, which has enabled him to visit European museums, helping to inform his approach to painting. In 2016, his portrait of his daughter Mila was selected for the BP Portrait award at the National Portrait Gallery, London, making Richardson the first New Zealander to be selected as a finalist. In 2024, he was a finalist in Australia’s prestigious portraiture competition, the Archibald Prize, with a portrait of renowned photographer Fiona Pardington.
During his career, he has held five solo exhibitions in Dunedin (Marshall Seifert Gallery), Auckland (Jonathan Grant Gallery) and the Eastern Southland Gallery in Gore. His work is included in many national and international collections, including the Eastern Southland Gallery which purchased his portrait of New Zealand poet Hone Tuwhare in 2004.
Richardson has also had many important commissions including the official civic portrait of then Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin, Christ’s College Headmaster Simon Leese, and, more recently, the Auckland University’s official portrait of former Vice Chancellor, the late Stuart McCutcheon.
Richardson lives and works at his home studio in Broad Bay, Dunedin, with his wife Gepke and children Mila and Eben.
Awards and achievements
2024 Archibald Award Finalist
2021 Portrait Commission For Auckland University Vice Chancellor
2016 BP Portrait Awards Finalist
2009 Portrait Commission Headmaster Christ’s College
2009 Civic Portrait Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin
2008 Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
2005 Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
2004 Mainland Awards First Prize
1998 Visa Gold Awards Finalist
1998 Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
1997 Top Scholarship New York Academy of Art
Solo exhibitions
2025 ‘Life and Still Life’, Eastern Southland Gallery
2008 ‘Simon Richardson: Otago Origins’, Artis Gallery (Auckland)
2006 ‘Simon Richardson’, Artis Gallery (Auckland)
2004 ‘New Works’, The Marshall Seifert Gallery (Dunedin)
2000 ‘First Solo Show’, The Marshall Seifert Gallery (Dunedin)
Group Exhibitions
2025 The Archibald Awards, Lismore Regional Gallery
2025 The Archibald Awards, Araluen Arts Centre, Northern Territory
2025 The Archibald Awards, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
2024 The Archibald Awards, Ngununggula, Southern Highlands Regional Gallery
2024 The Archibald Awards Orange Regional Gallery
2024 The Archibald Awards, Art Gallery of New South Wales
2021 ‘The Male of The Species’, Arcadia Contemporary (New York)
2020 LA Art Fair, Arcadia Contemporary (Los Angeles)
2019 ‘Five and under’, Arcadia Contemporary (Los Angeles)
2019 ‘The Review’, Milford Galleries (Queenstown)
2019 ‘New Works, Milford Galleries (Queenstown)
2018 ‘Southern Gothic’, Milford Galleries (Dunedin)
2017 BP Portrait Awards Finalist Touring Exhibition, The National Portrait Gallery, Scotland
2016 BP Portrait Awards Finalist Touring Exhibition, Usher Gallery, England
2016 BP Portrait Awards Finalists Exhibition, The National Portrait Gallery, London
2012 The Wallace Awards Exhibition
2014 The Parkin Prize Exhibition
2004 Adam Portrait Awards Exhibition
2004 Mainland Awards Exhibition
2003 Wallace Awards Exhibition
2003 Norsewear Awards Exhibition
1998 Visa Gold Awards Exhibition
1997 Cranleigh Barton Awards Exhibition
Publications
Art New Zealand 2025 Winter
LANDFALL 248 Spring 2024
Archibald Awards Finalists Catalogue
American Art Collector February 2020 Issue 172
Southern Gothic Milford Publication 2018 Essay by Lisa Wilkie
BP Award Catalogue 2016 Essay by Ali Smith
LANDFALL 229 Autumn 2015
This Thing in the Mirror: Self Portraits by New Zealand Artists, Claire Finlayson, 2004.
Public Collections
Eastern Southland Gallery