Lucy Pulvers
Biography
Born in Kyoto, Japan, Lucy Pulvers grew up in Tokyo and Kyoto and was educated in Japanese schools before moving to Sydney in 2001. She is bilingual in Japanese and English. In 2014 she was awarded the Thea Proctor Scholarship by the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney. In 2018–19 she spent a year in the UK and travelled in Europe, particularly Germany, while painting and drawing in London.
Pulvers exhibits regularly in Australia and has been a finalist in the Portia Geach Portraiture Prize and Mosman Art Prize, as well as a semi-finalist in the BP Portraiture Prize in London and a finalist in the Blake Prize. She has exhibited with the RI every year since 2019 and received the President’s Choice Award in 2020 and the Anthony J Lester Art Critic Award in 2024.
Artist Statement
Lucy Pulvers RI’s paintings explore the inner emotional life of human beings. She uses geometry, strong colour and bold lines to create emotional power, weaving these elements together to capture a moment in the inner life of the figure portrayed.
Her childhood in Japan and development as an artist there have had a major influence on her work. She is particularly interested in the way traditional Japanese portraiture uses the face and hands to express inner life, while clothing can communicate through volume, geometry, colour and symbolism. She is also fascinated by Kabuki and Noh theatre, particularly moments of heightened emotion held in stillness.
Music is another important influence. Having studied classical voice and piano as a child, Pulvers approaches painting as an emotional expression rather than a didactic statement, using colour, line and form much as music communicates through its own qualities. She is increasingly working on larger compositions, enjoying the possibilities of greater scale.