Education
2001-05 PhD in Fine Art (Painting), Monash University.
Awarded Mollie Holman Doctoral Medal.
1996–97 Master of Fine Art, Victorian College of the Arts
1983–90 Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours), RMIT University
Solo exhibitions
2022 On the Land, Swan Hill Regional Gallery
2022 The Edge of Town, Castlemaine Art Museum
2021 Murrumbidgee, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery (main Gallery)
2021 Nymphaea, Warwick Regional Gallery, Warwick, Queensland
2021 Sasse and Dober, Alexandra Sasse Gallery
2019 Vineyard, Mildura Arts Centre, Mildura
2018 Past and Present, Gaffa Gallery, Sydney (with Elizabeth Nelson)
2018 Edge of the studio, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, NSW (with Elizabeth Nelson)
2017 You Yangs, Geelong Art Gallery
2017 Aglow: paintings and drawings from Castlemaine, Steps Gallery
2016 TheYou Yangs, Steps Gallery
2015 Immanence, Steps Gallery
2014 Touching Nature,Bayside Arts and Cultural Centre
2013 Presence, Bundoora Homestead Arts Centre
2011 After the rain, Catherine Asquith Gallery
2009 Recent works, Dickerson Gallery
Recent curated exhibitions
2022 Reflections on the Castlemaine Art Museum collection, Castlemaine Art Museum
2022 Viewpoints: Wollemi National Park, Muswellbrook Regional Gallery and Singleton Arts and Cultural Centre, NSW (with Marie Mansfiedl and Rebecca Rath)
2022 Draw, Alexandra Sasse Gallery (group show of 12 artists)
2022 Plein-air painting: Five artists, Newstead Arts Hub
2022 Drawing exhibition, Hill End Art Gallery, NSW
2021 9 x 5, Hill End Art Gallery
2021 Christmas Group Show, Alexandra Sasse Gallery
2020 Christmas Group Show, Alexandra Sasse Gallery, Melbourne
2019 From Nature Sprung: plein air landscape painting exhibition, Cascade Art, Maldon
2019 Darkness and light: landscapes of central Victoria (with Michelle Kettle and Joanne Sisson), Central Goldfields Art Gallery
2016 Verdant Garden, Bundoora Homestead Art Centre 2016 Legacy of the Impressionists, Whitehorse Artspace
Selected art prize exhibitions
2022 Swan Hill Print and Drawing Award, Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery
2022 Alice Bale Art Award, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Melbourne
2022 Salon des Refuses, (Archibald Prize), S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2022 Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize, Montsalvat
2022 Maldon Portrait Prize, Edge Gallery, Maldon Vic
2021 Salon des Refuses, (Archibald Prize), S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2021 Flow Contemporary Watercolour Prize, Wollongong Art Gallery
2021 Lyn McCrea Drawing Prize, Noosa Regional Gallery
2021 Calleen Art Award, Cowra Regional Art Gallery
2021 Muswellbrook Art Prize, Muswellbrook Regional Art Centre, NSW
2020 Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Gallery, Qld
2020 Paul Guest Drawing Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery
2020 Elaine Bermingham National Watercolour Prize, Qld College of Art, Griffith University, Qld
2020 Calleen Art Award, Cowra Regional Art Gallery
2020 Percival Portrait Painting Prize, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville
2019 Arthur Guy Painting Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery
2019 Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize
2019 Salon des Refuses, (Archibald Prize), S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2019 Hazelhurst Works on Paper Prize, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery, NSW
2019 Banyule Award for Works on Paper
2019 Calleen Art Award, Cowra Regional Art Gallery
2019 Muswellbrook Art Prize, Muswellbrook Regional Art Centre
2018 Black Swan Prize, Art Gallery of Western Australia
2018 John Leslie Art Prize, Gippsland Art Gallery
2018 Devonport Art Award, Devonport Regional Gallery
2018 Kennedy Prize, Royal South Australian Society of Arts
2018 Percival Portrait Painting Prize, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville
2018 Swan Hill Print and Drawing Award, Swan Hill Regional Gallery
2018 Gallipoli Art Prize
2017 Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize
2017 NSW Plein Air Painting Prize, NSW Parliament
2017 Banyule Award for Works on Paper
2017 Tattersalls Art Prize
2017 Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize
2017 John Glover Art Prize
2016 NSW Plein Air Painting Prize, NSW Parliament
2016 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Art Gallery
2016 Paul Guest Drawing Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery
2016 Rick Amor Drawing Prize, Ballarat Art Gallery
2016 Alice Prize, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
2015 City of Hobart Art Prize, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
2015 NSW Plein Air Painting Prize, NSW Parliament
2015 Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize, Sydney
2014 John Leslie Art Prize, Gippsland Regional Art Gallery
2014 M Collection Award, Gallerysmith
2013 Len Fox Painting Award, Castlemaine Regional Art Gallery
2013 Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize
2011 Len Fox Painting Award, Castlemaine Art Gallery
2010 Fletcher Jones Art Prize, Geelong Gallery
2010 Swan Hill Print and Drawing Award
2008 John Glover Art Prize
2007 Banyule Works on Paper Art Prize
2006 John Leslie Art Prize
2004 Fleurieu Prize
Residencies and teaching
2022 Mt Alexander Shire, Event Grants Program
2022 Tweed Regional Gallery, Residency
2022 Big Ci Residency, Blue Mountains, NSW
2021 Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Residency
2021 Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Residency
2020 Regional Arts Fund Relief Program grant
2020 Sustaining Creative Workers Initiative grant
2020 Myer Foundation: National Assistance for the Arts grant
2018 Eramboo, Sydney, residency
2018/17 Convenor of Art Club, Incinerator Arts Centre
2018 Watercolour class, Fiji
2017 Hill End, NSW, residency
2017 Plein-air workshop, Geelong Art Gallery
2017 Plein-air workshop, National Gallery of Victoria
2017 Mixed media workshop, Bendigo Art Gallery
2016 Strathnairn Arts Centre, ACT, residency
Publications
Francesco Salvo, ABC news video: ‘Plein air painter captures flooding Murray River in grand-scale artwork’, 10 October 2022
Phoebe Doyle, “Artist captures water, colours”, Swan Hill Guardian, 30 September 2022, p.22
An intimate distance, conversations with artists during the lockdown, No.2, Mark Dober, published on the Alexandra Sasse Gallery webiste, October 2021
Conversations with artist Mark Dober, a video interview by Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, 23 July 2021
Sandy Pottinger, Around the galleries, “Nature inspires artists”, The Chronicle (Warwick, Qld), 19 March 2021
Karina Devine, “Finding Poetry in the landscape”, Southern Living and Real Estate, April 2021, p.8
“Rock of Ages features in new exhibition”, Tarrangower Times (Maldon), 12 March 2021
“Interview”, James McArdle’s blog: On this Date in Photography, 30 April 2020
Dober, M., Castlemaine Art, newsletter published by Mark Dober, May 2019 – present. These can be seen at this website, at ‘Writing and Newsletters’.
Dober, “Reflections on the Castlemaine Art Museum: Dober on Williams”, Reflections, No. 7, Castlemaine Art Museum, May 2020.
“Cardross landscape inspires watercolour painting”, Sunraysia Daily, 17 August 2019
Cover image – Dober, You Yangs Painting 24, 2016 – for Chris Wallace-Crabbe‘s new book of poetry, Rondo, published by Carcanet Press, Manchester UK, 2018
Radio interview with Suzanne Donisthorpe about Darkness and Light exhibition on ArtSwank, Maine FM Castlemaine, 31 March 2019
Interview on my portrait painting, with Channel 9 TV News Bendigo, 6 September 2018
“Local finalist”, Midland Express, 4 September 2018, p. 14
“A passion for plein air”, Castlemaine Mail, 13 April 2018, p. 11
“Fred Williams in the You Yangs”, Forte, September 2017, p. 40
Jacqueline “Fred Williams/Mark Dober”, Beyond the Opening blog, 13 October 2017
Matthew da Silva, interviewing Mark Dober: “Fred Williams: minimalist Romantic”, Happy Antipodean blog, 18 Sept 2017
Sasse, Alexandra, “Art’s Alive at Arc”, Artist’s blog, 17 November 2016
Nelson, R. “Journey into the Interior: Vienna Art and Design”, Winter Masterpieces exhibition at NGV International, The Age, Saturday review, 18 June 2011
Nelson, Robert “Kelly country that proves prophetic”, The Age, 8 Oct 2008
Nelson, Robert “Cow’s eye view captures time best”, The Age, 28 Nov 2007
Johnson, Frances, “Compelling experimentation”, Sightlines, The Age, 26 Oct 2007
Nelson, R. “Greater Prestige for regions”, The Age, 7 Jan 2002
Nelson, R. “The Nature of the Beast”, The Age, 4 May 2001
Nelson, R. “A Strong Showing”, The Age, 27 Dec 2000
Nelson, R. “The Politics of Landscape”, Sunday Age, 21 May 2000
Makin, J. “Critic’s Choice”, Herald –Sun, 3 April 2000
Nelson, R. “Landscape Artists Reversing the Trends”, The Age, 29 March 2000
Published Art Writing
Dober, M., “Finding the sublime in Williams“. The Age, 27 September 2017, p. 30.
Dober, M., “Seeing Nature: John Wolseley and Sarah Ormonde, Dry sand, wet mud, moving earth”, at Fawkner Gallery, Castlemaine, Trouble Magazine, May 2017
Dober, M., “A tale of two Drawing Prizes: at the Art Gallery of Ballarat and Bendigo Art Gallery”, Trouble Magazine, October 2016
Dober, M., “Luminous: Australian watercolours 1900 – 2000”, exhibition review,NGV Australia, Trouble Magazine, July 2016
Dober, M., “Immersed in Sensations”, book review of “Monet’s Garden: the Musée Marmottan, Paris”, Australian Book Review, July/August 2013
Dober, M., “Franz Marc: utopian hopes for art and the Great War”, Overland magazine (online), April/May 2013
Dober, M. “Radiance: the Neo-Impressionists”, exhibition review, NGV International, Australian Art Review, March/April 2013
Dober, M., “David Hockney, A Bigger Picture”, book review, Australian Art Review, Jan/Feb 2013
Dober, M., “Fred Williams’s “spaceless” landscapes: a response to recent controversy”, Art Monthly Australia, July 2012
Dober, M, “Fred Williams: engaging with landscape”, Overland – online, July 2012
Dober, M, “Rebecca Hossack Gallery London”, Australian Art Review,Mar/Apr 2012
Dober, M, Interview with Robert Nelson about his new book, “The Visual Language of Painting”, in “Q and A”, Australian Art Collector, July 2011
Dober, M, Book review: Robert Nelson, “The Visual Language of Painting”, Australian Scholarly Publishing, Melb. 2010, in Art Monthly Australia, May 2011
Dober, M, “Plein-air: David Hockney and Rick Amor”, Trouble, July 2010.
Dober, M, “Beauty: nature and art”, Art Monthly Australia, May 2010.
Plein-air painting interview, ABC radio 774, with Hillary Harper, 16 May 2009.
Dober, M., “Interview with Mary Tonkin”, Art World Magazine, Apr/May 2009.
Dober, M., “Philip Wolfhagen”, Artist Profile, No.5, 2008
Dober, M., “Home truths in the lie of the land”, The Age, 12 May 2007, A2 p.19.
Dober, M., “The branded landscape”, Overland, no.183, Winter 2006
Dober, M., “Artists’vision pulps the fiction of a magnificent, maligned outback”,
The Age, 23-24 December 2005, p.23
Collections
National Gallery of Australia
Old Mutual, London, UK
City of Whitehorse Art Collection
Austin Hospital
Mt Buller Chalet
National Bank of Australia
City of Port Phillip
Australian Council of Trade Unions
St Kilda Medical Group
Methodist Ladies College
Victorian College of the Arts
Silk Cut Collection