Johanna Zeelenberg was born in the north-west mining town of Wittenoom in 1973, and currently lives in the beautiful Perth Hills in Piesse Brook, opposite Kalamunda National Park, Western Australia. She has been painting and drawing most of her life, exhibiting in group shows for the past 25 years. As a child, she remembers often using fallen branches from ghost gums and drawing into the Pilbara red dirt, making marks using feathers, leaves, and creek bed stones to form rhythmic patterns that echo the landscape and the living creatures that cling to it. These early experiences continue to influence her artistic process, and now, living in the Perth Hills, she is inspired to draw from the local environment. "My landscapes are sometimes ambiguous, dream-like places that seem to have amalgamated from the places that I have lived and traveled to. Johanna also likes to paint larger abstract work from smaller detailed studies of plants, animals, and the earth. If you would like to view Johanna's artworks or visit her studio in Piesse Brook (City of Kalamunda) please phone 0431147060 or go to the contact page to send a message.
Artist Medium & Technical Process
"I work mainly with acrylic and/or oil paint. Sometimes, to develop a surface, I will use fabrics, paper, or a little modeling compound, or draw into/with gesso. This suits my pursuit of surface quality, line fluidity, and glazing effects. My response to the environment may also involve mark-making of gluing, fraying, scratching and carving onto canvas or board. I work on strong cradled panels or on canvas or linen for larger work. These techniques allow me to express how life can be delicate, ancient, determined and fossilised, with every little detail relying on other little details to hold its own, to exist."
Curriculum Vitae
Education:
2007 - 2009 Swan TAFE Midland, Units of Advanced Diploma of Environmental Art and Design. Lecturers: Peter Dailey, Stuart Elliot Part-time study. Units: Painting, Drawing, Wood, Metal, Fibre, Sculpture, Ceramics, Digital Photography1999 - 2004 Swan TAFE Midland, Night classes: Drawing, Painting, Lecturer: Russell Bell1998 Swan TAFE Midland, Advanced Certificate of Art and Design (Fine Art) Subjects: Ceramics, Textiles, Design, Drawing, Painting, Art History Lecturer: Russell Bell
Exhibitions & Open Days: 2026 Kalamunda Open Studios - October 10 & 11th 2025 Terrace Greenhouse Gallery - "Under The Surface" 2021 - 2024 - Mundaring Hills Open Studio Events 2010 “Essence” Solo Exhibition, Mundaring Art Centre
Invitation Group Exhibitions: 2024 Mundaring Arts Centre "On Par" 2024 Beelu Forrest Distillery - Featured Artist 2023 - 2024 Amaroo Retreat - Featured Artist2023 Juniper Galleries – “Carnivale” 2023 Juniper Galleries – “Eden”2023 Amaroo Retreat – Featured Artist2023 Beelu Forrest Distillery – Featured Artist2022 Juniper Galleries - Lifeline 20 x 202021 Juniper Galleries – Lifeline 20 x 202007 Darlington Arts Festival – Lesser Hall Featured Artists2006 Mundaring Arts Centre Exhibition “Affordable Art Show”2005 Mundaring Arts Centre Exhibition: The Bush in My Backyard”
Awards: 2026 Beverly Art Prize - People's Choice Winner 2025 Northam Art Prize - Overall Artwork Winner2024 Kalamunda Art Awards – Overall Artwork Winner2024 Beverly Art Awards – Highly Commended, Mixed Media 2024 Ellenbrook Art Awards - Packer's Choice2010 Chidlow Show – Winner, Painting2009 Darlington Arts Festival – Winner, Drawing2005 Baker’s Hill Art Awards – Highly Commended, Painting
Commissions & Collections: 2025 "Here I am" - Commission - Acrylic on Panel - Private Collector 2025 "Bushland Repose" - Commission - Mixed Media on Canvas 1900 x 700 mm - Private Collector2024 “Archaea Rising” - Commission - Mixed Media Painting on Panel 1350 x 900 mm – Handmade paint using local earth pigments supplied by the client. – Private Collector2023 “Darling Range Ghost Gums” 900 x 45 mm on Panel– Commission, Private Collector2023 “Saplings In Gold II” 1350 x 105 mm on Panel– Commission, Masonic Care, Middle Swan Residential Care“Sunset At Lake Leschenaultia” 990 x 750 mm on Panel – Commission, Masonic Care, Middle Swan Residential Care 2023 “Daydreaming At Berry” (Berry Reserve) – Commission, Private Collector2023 “Cheeky Cocky” – Private Collector, Parliament House, Canberra2010 Works Selected for lease by the EMRC2002 “Marri Forrest” Swan TAFE, Midland*My Artworks are also in various private Collections around Australia and overseas