Marcel Cousins is a Melbourne-based artist working in the mediums of painting, printmaking, sculpture and installation. He graduated from Victoria College of the Arts in 1998 with first-class Honours. In 2002, Marcel graduated from Tokyo National University of Music and Fine Art with a Master’s in printmaking. In 2003, he co-founded King’s Artist Run Initiative. In 2011, Cousins was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (Fine Art) at Tama Art University Tokyo under the Japanese Ministry of Education’s Scholarship. His work is included in national and international collections including The National Gallery of Australia, Art Bank, BHP Billiton, RACV, Art Gallery of Western Australia and Australian War Memorial Canberra. Cousins’ work has been shown in Japan, Korea, Singapore, China, France and Australia.

SELECTED BIOGRAPHY

EDUCATION

2007-2011 Doctorate of Philosophy (Fine Art), Tama Art University Tokyo. Monbukagakushou Scholarship
2006-07 Research student, Tama Art University Tokyo, Monbusho Scholarship
2000-02 Masters of Fine Arts (printmanking) Tokyo National University of Music and fine Art, “Monbusho” Scholarship. (Received first Class Honors 02.)
1999 Research student (Printmaking) Tokyo National University of Music and fine Art, “Monbusho” Scholarship.
1999 Japanese Language Course (6 month intensive program), Saitama University, Japan
1994-98 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Printmaking) Victorian College Of The Arts, Melbourne. (Received first Class Honors 95-96.)
1993 Bachelor of Graphic Design Swinburne University, Melbourne, (unfinished)
1992 Brighton Bay Art and Design College, Melbourne, Australia. T.O.P. certificate


PROJECTS

2014 Artist in Residence, Turner Galleries, Perth
2013 Artist in Residence, Melbourne Girls Grammar
2010 Exhibition at Gearbox Gallery, Melbourne Grammar School, South Yarra
2003 Co-founder of KINGS artist run space www.kingsartistrun.com.au


SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019 “Synthetic Whispers” James Makin gallery, Melbourne
2014 “Exploded Diagram” Turner Galleries, Perth
2013 “Backmasking” Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne
2012 “Every little thing” Ryan Renshaw Projects Space, Brisbane
2011 “Chop-Shop” Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne
2010 “Chop-Shop” Gallery Target, Tokyo
2008 “Lustre” Melbourne Art Fair Represented by Helen Gory Galerie
2007 “Built Environment” Helen Gory Gallery at Depot Gallery Sydney
2006 “Parallel lines” Helen Gory Galerie Melbourne
2006 “Surface tension” Jan Murphy Gallery Melbourne
2004 “Official language” Helen Gory Galerie Melbourne
2003 “Fishing in a bath tub” Helen Gory Galerie Melbourne
2002 “Looking in the rear vision mirror” Helen Gory Galerie Melbourne
2002 “Please pass the pepper” Miyuki gallery Tokyo
2001 “If you want to be moved take the bus” Helen Gory Galerie
1999 “Careful! …I know Judo and four other Japanese words” Helen Gory Galerie.
1998 “Insert coins”, Maki Tamura Gallery, Tokyo.


GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022 Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Gallery Exhibition
2022 Waverley Art Prize 2022 Bondi Pavilion
2020 Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize
2019 Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize
2019 Group Show, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
2019 Autumn Collection, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
2018 The Art Club, Richmond
2017 Sculpture by the Sea Bondi
2017 Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery Victoria
2016 Len Fox Painting Award, Castlemaine Art Museum
2016 Len Fox Painting Award, Castlemaine Art Museum
2016 Albany Art Prize
2015 Sulman Prize exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW
2015 Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery Victoria
2014 McClelland Sculpture Survey & Award
2014 Albany Art Prize
2013 The Gold Coast Art Prize
2013 The Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize
2013 Consequences, Stockroom Gallery, Curated by Anabelle Lacroix
2013 Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery Victoria
2013 Pattern, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Curated by Diane Soumilas
2009 Curtain Call, Blindside Gallery Melbourne, Curated by Drew Pettifer and Julian White
2007 Mosman Art Prize Mosman Art Gallery Sydney NSW
2007 Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery Victoria
2007 "Blast! The influence of manga and contemporary Japanese culture on Australian artists" Redcliffe City Art Gallery 200
2007 "Blast! The influence of manga and contemporary Japanese culture on Australian artists" Logan City Art Gallery
2006 Conrad Jupiters Art Award Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Gold Coast Queensland
2006 Fletcher Jones Art Prize, Geelong Art Gallery, Geelong Victoria
2006 ABN AMRO Emerging Artist Award Melbourne
2006 Sunshine Coast Award Art Prize Sunshine Coast City Art Gallery
2006 Mosman Art award, Mosman Art Gallery
2006 Sold! Gold Coast City Art Gallery, curated by Virginia Rigney
2006 Traditions & Departures Cowra Regional Art gallery
2006 Traditions & Departures Craft A.C.T. Canberra
2006 Metro 5 Art Award
2005 Conrad Jupiters Art Prize Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Gold Coast Queensland
2005 Camberra Contemporary Art Space Art Award
2005 half-life Inflight Gallery Hobart
2005 Hobart City Council Art Prize (painting)
2005 half-life Kings Artist run space Melbourne
2005 Orientalism Blindside Melbourne Curated by Renai Grace
2005 Jan Murphy Gallery 10th Anniversary show, Brisbane
2005 Metro 5 Art Award
2004 Conrad Jupiters Art Prize Gold Coast city Art Gallery
2004 Geelong Contemporary Art prize finalists
2004 New social commentaries Warrambool Art gallery award
2003 Conrad Jupiters Art Prize Gold Coast city Art Gallery
2003 “Royal Rumble” Kings Artist run space Melbourne
2002 “The mysteries of Japan” Satelite gallery Paris
2002 Geelong Contemporary Art prize
2002 D’lan contemporary art space Brisbane
2001 “This is me” ddm warehouse Shanghai China
1997-99 “Trash live exhibition”, Tokyo waterfront site,-Curated by Mr. Yamagishi, owner /director of Maki Gallery.
1998 “Larger than life” Gallery Chika Ebisu Tokyo
1997 “Australian Printmedia Award”, Casula Powerhouse Art Center Sydney.
1997 “ActivArt”, Asiz Gallery, Aoyama Tokyo. -supported by the Australian Embassy
1996 “Annual summer Print Show”, Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne.
1996 “Hong Ik Universities 50th Commemorative Exhibition” Hong Ik University, Seoul, South Korea. (Included were work from Japan, America and China.)
1996 “Computer Art and Technology Exhibition”, Stop 22 Gallery, Melbourne,
1996 Canson Print award” Story Hall Melbourne
1996 “Faraway So Close”, Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne.
1996 “Sun Come Here, Rain Over There”, Melbourne.
1996 “Computer Art and Technology Exhibition”, Stop 22 Gallery, Melbourne,
1996 “Canson Print award” work exhibited in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.


CURATED EXHIBITIONS

2005 Co-curated Half-life, Kings A.R.I.
2005 Co-curated End, Kings A.R.I.
2004 Curated 33 Degrees, Helen Gory Galerie


AWARDS

2014 Australia Council ArtStart Grant
2008 Australia Council New work Grant (emerging)
2006 RIPE Art & Australia Award (shortlisted)
2006 Sunshine Coast Award Art Prize (commended)
2006 Japanese Ministry of Education “Monbukagakusho” scholarship, research student.
2005 Shortlisted for Asialink Visual Arts/Craft residency Beijing
2004 Australia Council Artists-Run Initiatives Project Grant.
2003 Kao Foundation Japan, Grant
2003 Conrad Jupiters Art Prize acquisition award
2000 Dyson Bequest fellowship awarded by the director of The National Gallery of N.S.W
2001 Japanese Ministry of Education “Monbusho” scholarship, Masters student.
1999 Japanese Ministry of Education “Monbusho” scholarship, research student.
1998 Cannon Art Lab Tokyo artist access program.
1998 Queens Trust Young Achievers Grant- internship at Shin Nihon Zokei Co. Printing studio in Tokyo, Japan
1998 Victoria College of the Arts student union grant
1996 Principal Lecturer’s Award Victoria College of the Arts
1996 T’gallant wine label award - work used as a label for the 1996 Chardonnay
1996 Queen’s Trust Young Achievers Grant - to produce and exhibit a body of computer-generated prints
1996 Canson Print Award finalist, exhibited in Melbourne and Sydney.
1995 National Gallery of Victoria Women’s Association Encouragement Award, Victorian College of the Arts.
1992 Dean’s Art Award for best folio, Brighton Bay Art And Design College


COMMISSIONS AND COLLECTIONS

Australian War Memorial Canberra
Art Bank Australia Collection
Art Gallery Of Western Australia
Art Gallery of Ballarat
BHP Billiton
Gold Coast City Art Gallery
The Michael Buxton Collection
National Gallery of Australia Collection
RACV Collection
CITY OF FREMANTLE
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
ST JOHN OF GOD HOSPITAL
PERTH CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
ROYAL PERTH HOSPITAL
SIR CHARLES GAIRDNER HOSPITAL
Illustrated "Cheelin the giraffe who went to China" A Silk Road Project.
Victoria College Of The Arts Collection
Commissioned to produce large format work for Citrus Restaurant
Commissioned and produced large format work for Hardie Technologies


PUBLICATIONS FEATURED IN

2014 McClelland Sculpture Survey & Award, Catalogue essay p 38-41, Robert Lindsay
2014 The Weekend West, Exhibition review July 12, Stephen Bevis
2013 eyeline magazine, Exhibition review issue 77, Mark Pennings
2011 Australian Art Collector Issue 57 July - September p 122 - 123
2011 McCulloch’s Australian Art Dairy
2009 Images publish in the 2010 Artbank calendar
2006 McCulloch’s Encyclopedia of Australian Art
2006 Sold! catalogue essy p. 24 Virginia Rigney
2006 The Sunday Age Luxury Essentials April 2nd p 20
2006 The Age The Critics Column March 4th
2006 The Age Metro “Between the lines” February 27th
2006 The Age Preview dairy note February 19th
2006 Time off magazine “Turning Japanese” February 22rd
2006 The Sunday Age February 12th Expose image and note
2006 Parallel lines catalog essay Michael Ascroft
2006 State of the Arts Jan-Mar issue p. 89 Writer Lee Tran Lam
2006 Vouge Living image p.
2005 Melbourne Magazine
2005 Delmare magazine issue 1# Mithila Gupta p 42-43
2005 Orientalism un.magazine issue 5# Olivia Poloni
2005 Orientalism cataloge essay KirstenKirsten Matthews
2005 Half-life catalog essay Mark Penny
2004 The Age, diary and image
2004 The Sunday Age Preview page 32-33 October 2004 Ashley Crawford
2004 “Official language” catalog written by Ashley Crawford
2003 Catalogue 18#, full-page image in Conrad Jupiter’s Art Prize Catalog
2003 Vouge Mag., November FRAMED
2003 ABC TV, Asia Focus, Sunday Nov 19th
2003 The Age July 31 Exhibition review and image
2003 Cream oct/nov/dec art official “Kissing cousins”
2002 The Age, Domain Holly Evans diary and image
2002 MVC, Micheal Magnusson, June, full page with image
2003 Australian Art Collector Summer issue written by Edward Colless
2003 Monument issue 57# April/May Listing with image
2002 Oyster issue 40# June/July full page with image.
2002 Australian Art Collector issue 20# April-June Andrew Frost Review
2002 Australian Style No. 63 June Full page article with image Holly O’Neil
2002 Black and White June/ July edition 61# Felicity Loughrey
2002 Art Monthly Australia March edition.
2002 Art Monthly, March, Neilton Clark
2001 Catalog magazine 78# http://www.catalogmag.com/futureshock78.html
1999 The Sunday Age 28 November Kay Stewart
1998 Japan Times Thursday, October 1. Monty Dipietro.


PUBLICATIONS CONTRIBUTED TO

2005 Sesame Magazine 3#
2002 Australian Art in the National Gallery of Australia, Printmaking Today UK London


LECTURES

2024 Artist Talk 3WBC FM Radio
2024 Artist Talk RAVC Club, Burke Street Melbourne
2017 Artist Talk, International Baccalaureate Visual Arts Seminar
2017 Glen Eira City Council Gallery
2016 Stencil Workshop, Highvale Secondary College
2015 Screen print workshop, Highvale Secondary College
2014 Artist Talk, Turner Galleries, Perth
2014 Screen print workshop, Highvale Secondary College
2013 Artist Talk, Hume Grammar
2013 Artist in Residence Melbourne girls Grammar (August/ September)
2009 Artist’s talk, Latrobe University Mildura via Skype
2006 Artist’s talk RMIT
2005 Marian College stencil workshop
1996 N.G.V. VCE Interview Techniques and Folio Preparation Workshop