Alicia Kelly Dempsey

April 2026

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Official Opening Friday April 3rd 6.00pm.

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After years of setting creativity aside to pursue other paths, a significant life event a few
years ago brought Alicia a renewed urgency to paint, with ideas arriving faster than they can
be fully realised. There is a sense of everything surfacing at once—an overflow of ideas and
not enough time. Her practice is rooted in capturing fleeting moments, people, and places
that feel both intimate and universally recognisable.
Through the nature of motherhood, her painting time often comes in fragmented blocks. This
has led her to explore a wide range of themes and styles, many of which she is eager to
develop further as her practice evolves. She trusts that, over time, these threads will begin to
settle and find their place within the work.
Her work explores local landscapes, portraiture, and figurative depictions of everyday family
life, drawing closely from the rhythms and realities of her own experience. She currently
works primarily in oil on canvas, while also embracing the delicate and unpredictable nature
of watercolour, and experimenting with Aquabord as an alternative surface to paper.
Alicia believes the arts have a huge impact—not just culturally, but socially and economically
as well. More importantly, they play a vital role in our wellbeing. As the world becomes more
digital she feels it’s important we hold on to the human, the handmade — the kind of work
that has a real sense of soul.