WELCOME TO THE COLOURFUL WORLD OF

Lesley

Dumbrell

AUSTRALIAN Geometric Abstract Artist

About Lesley

ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S MOST SIGNIFICANT AND RESPECTED ABSTRACT PAINTERS

For over five decades, Lesley Dumbrell has been refining a language of colour, rhythm and geometry that has made her one of Australia's most respected abstract painters. Working in a genre that was, at the time, dominated by men, she is recognised as a pioneer of the Australian Women's Art Movement of the 1970s, earning the respect of curators and critics alike. Museum of Contemporary Art senior curator Rachel Kent has described her as "one of Australia's leading exponents of abstraction." Her work spans paintings, works on paper and sculpture, held in major public and private collections across the country.

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FIVE DECADES, ONE SURVEY

Thrum — Art Gallery of New South Wales

In 2024, the Art Gallery of New South Wales staged Thrum, a survey exhibition curated by Anne Ryan spanning the whole of Dumbrell's career, from her earliest hard edge and optical paintings through to her recent work in sculpture. It remains the most complete public account of a practice still very much in motion.

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Explore Her Work

Paintings

From RMIT in the late 1950s to five decades at the easel, discover the journey behind the work.

Sculptures

Paintings, works on paper and sculpture, browse by decade or medium.

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Works on Paper

A career built decade on decade, told through exhibitions, reviews and critical recognition.

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Press & Recognition

Dumbrell’s Dumbrell’s works create immersive experiences that transcend time. — Art Critic

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Lesley Dumbrell

THRUM

Dumbrell’s works create immersive experiences that transcend time. — Art Critic

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HELD BY AUSTRALIA'S LEADING COLLECTIONS

Lesley Dumbrell's work is held by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Gallery of Victoria and the National Gallery of Australia, and represented by Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne.

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© 2026 Lesley Dumbrell. All rights reserved.

LESLEY'S WORK

Lesley Dumbrell - THRUM

April 24, 2024

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Geometries

February 13, 2023

Art Gallery NSW

“Light and colour, moving”

August 19, 2019

PRESS & RECOGNITION

Dumbrell’s works create immersive experiences that transcend time.

— Art Critic

ARTICLES

Lesley Dumbrell: Thrum at the Art Gallery of NSW

This painting is Solstice, a monumental 1974 work by Lesley Dumbrell, one of Australia’s great abstract painters. It commands the first room of Thrum, a survey exhibition curated by Anne Ryan at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Exhibition review: Lesley Dumbrell: Thrum

'Thrum' perfectly describes the consistent vibration and pure pleasure at the heart of Dumbrell's practice for five decades.

Eye-popping artist Lesley Dumbrell finally gets her due at 82

Since the 1950s, Dumbrell has fought sexism and conservative thinking to be recognised as one of Australia’s most respected abstract painters – and she’s nowhere near done

The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Fed Square

Lesley Dumbrell has been refining her technique of geometric abstract painting, injecting colour, light and emotion into a precise painting style typical of the colour field painters of the 1960s.

Colour’s the thing with Lesley Dumbrell

Since her first exhibition at Bonython Gallery in Sydney in 1969, Lesley Dumbrell has defined geometric, hard-edge abstract painting in Australia.

A twinkle in the eye – Lesley Dumbrell

The charm to Lesley Dumbrell’s extensive survey show, which opened on July 20 at the Art Gallery of NSW, is in the close looking at her finely drafted paintings.