Neon Parc | Paul Knight

Paul Knight was born in 1976 in Warrane/Sydney, Australia. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany.

The work of Paul Knight drifts between the spaces of intimacy and distance and spans photography, hand-woven textiles and installation. His hand woven works, via materiality and form have their foundations in domestic textiles and evoke colour field painting through abstract relationships with nature and the built environment. The ongoing photographic series ‘Chamber Music’ (2009–present) considers intimacy as a conceptual position, documenting the day-to-day life Knight has shared with his partner Peter over the course of their relationship. The camera moves from Knight to his partner, to bystanders in the street and is, on occasion, positioned on available surfaces and set with a timer, all capturing the intimacy, domesticity and repose of everyday scenes. As well as, the intricacies of details of interiors such as ceiling lamps, unmade beds and accidental still lives. This process connects to a sense of the photographer's own agency and forms a gaze that elevates the diaristic approach into one loosened from notions of time, freed to explore ideas of volume and potential behind the print plain.

Installation view, 'L’ombre de ton ombre', Monash University Museum of Art, 2023.

Selected works (48)

Exhibitions (6)

‘L'ombre de ton ombre’

7 Oct.–9 Dec.
2023

‘Soft Furniture’

1 Sep.–9 Oct.
2021

‘Counterfeits’
Brunswick
4 Oct.–16 Nov.
2019

‘Substance’
City
10 Jun.–11 Jul.
2014

‘Host’
City
3 Jul.–27 Jul.
2007

‘Closer’
City
6 Jun.–30 Jun.
2006

Curriculum vitae (PDF)

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2024: ‘L’ombre de ton ombre’, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth; ‘L’ombre de ton ombre’, University of New South Wales Galleries, Sydney
2023: ‘L’ombre de ton ombre’, Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne
2021: ‘Soft Furnishings’, Neon Parc, Melbourne
2019: ‘Counterfeits’, Neon Parc, Melbourne
2018: ‘Paul Knight’, Lauwer, Rotterdam, Netherlands
2014: ‘Substance’, Neon Parc, Melbourne; ‘Fictions’, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Victoria
2013: ‘This Eternal Civil War’, Season Projects, London, UK
2012: ‘The Genetic Drive’, Film City Glasgow, Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art, Scotland
2010: ‘Open Space’, 44 Art Cologne, hosted by Neon Parc, Koln, Germany
2007: ‘Host’, Neon Parc, Melbourne, Victoria
2006: ‘Paul Knight’, The Third Gallery Aya, Osaka, Japan; ‘Closer’, Neon Parc, Melbourne; ‘Don’t be something strong’, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney
2005: ‘Photographs’, Andrea Brenner Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany; ‘Photographs’, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024: ‘Arriving Slowly’, Ipswich Art Gallery, Ipswich, QLD; ‘18th Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Inner Sanctum’, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
2022: ‘Queer: Stories from the NGV Collection’, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; ‘The Pliable Plane: An Extended Textile Practice’, University of New South Wales Galleries, Sydney
2021: ‘Direkt Auktion’, Monopol, Berlin, Germany; ‘Bowness photography prize celebrates 15 years’, Wangaratta Art Gallery, Victoria; ‘Messe in St. Agnes’, König Gallerie, Berlin, Germany
2020: ‘Lovelock’, Greenwood Street Project, Melbourne; ‘Anywhere but here’, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; ‘House Arrest’, Neon Parc, Melbourne; ‘Der Bote ist der Tote’, Mauve, Vienna, Austria
2019: ‘Hauswerk: The Bauhaus in Contemporary Art’, McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery, Langwarrin
2018: ‘Charm School’, Neon Parc, Melbourne; ‘Melbourne Art Fair’, Neon Parc, Melbourne; ‘At the Violet Hour’, Nayland Rock Hotel, Tate T.S. Eliott season, Margate, UK
2017: ‘Inside terrain vague’, Ambitt, London, UK
2015: ‘Cutting Edge’, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne; ‘Victoria Grey Matter’, Artbank Gallery, Sydney
2014: ‘Alienation – Another Spot to Visit’, Oval Space, London, UK; ‘Ex-Y’, Cydonia, Dallas, Texas, USA; ‘Episodes: Australian Photography Now’, 13 Dong Gang International Photo Festival, South Korea; ‘Persistent Joy’, Greenwood Street Projects, Melbourne, 2013 Melbourne Now, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, We used to talk about love, Art Gallery of New South Wales

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Installation view, 'L’ombre de ton ombre', Monash University Museum of Art, 2023.

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2019, Lightjet prints, 180 x 180 cm.

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2014, Type-C print, 13 x 8.7 cm (image), 30 x 30 cm (framed)

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2019, Type C print, 31 x 31.5 cm (framed), Ed 1/1 + 1 AP

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2019, Lightjet print, 180 x 180 cm, Unique

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2014, Type-C print, 13 x 8.7 cm (image), 30 x 30 cm (framed)

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2014, Type C print, 13 x 8.7 cm (image)

Installation view, 'Counterfeits', Neon Parc Brunswick, 2019.

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2019, Type C print, 31 x 31.5 cm (framed), Ed 1/1 + 1 AP.

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2019, Type C print, 31 x 31.5 cm, Ed 1/1 + 1 AP.

Paul Knight, raft, 2017, Hand woven bed-sheets (cotton), wood, each panel 260 x 230 cm, overall 260 x 490 cm

Paul Knight, hangs, 2019, Hand-woven textiles (cotton), 170 x 95 cm

Paul Knight, 'Soft Furniture', Neon Parc City, 2021.

Paul Knight, 'Untitled (Chamber Music)', 2009-2021. Type C print, 31 x 31.5 cm (framed). Ed 1/1 + 1 AP

Paul Knight, Matter, 2014, Gelatin SIlver print, Acrylic, LED lights, 38 x 40 x 14cm

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2014, Type-C print, 8.7 x 13 cm

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2014, Type-C print, 13 x 8.7 cm (image), 30 x 30 cm (framed)

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2014, Type-C print, 8.7 x 13 cm

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2014, Type-C print, 13 x 8.7 cm (image), 30 x 30 cm (framed)

Paul Knight, Zach, 2007, Archival pigment on cotton rag, 120 x 89.5 cm, Edition of 6

Paul Knight, Untitled (Chamber Music), 2009-2014, Type-C print, 13 x 8.7 cm (image)