Visual Artist
Jo St Baker is an Australian born award winning visual artist. She is based in Dunedin in the South Island of New Zealand with her family and arts practice. She carries a BVA, major in Printmaking 2010, Dunedin School of Art, and is widely know for her expressive paintings, vivid use of colour and unique adjustments of detail.
Her new works include urban, city, coastal and interior landscapes using scale to embrace the viewer into the visual dialogue.
From 2011 - 2018 she was the director, manager and curator of st + baker + studio + gallery located on Brisbane’s Moreton Bay.
St Baker’s current studio is on the first floor of the grand historic Imperial Building, 1 Dowling Street, Dunedin City. The studio is open daily. Enquiries and visitors are welcome.
Jo works in various mediums, as a painter, carver, printmaker and sculptor who constantly alters her repertoire and pushes boundaries and mediums to interesting places. Her identifiable graphic style is undeniable and extends from a background in Graphics, Design and Fine Art.
St Baker’s work evokes an innate sense of place and time, and almost always has a strong personal narrative underlying each detailed piece.
Jo likes to work between painting, wood carved fine art. Though is mostly painting at the moment.
As a printmaker her love of carving is ever present - she has developed a technique that enables her to explore the very sensual aspects of hand etched drawing on timber which works as large and small scale plate artworks. This technique blurs the boundaries of painting, drawing, carving and sculpture, and at the same time pays homage to Jo's exploration and interest of cultural (mostly coastal), and spiritual themes and subjects.
Her figurative sculpture “The Sandmen” won the Flying Arts Queensland Regional Arts Award 2017, and continued to tour Queensland Regional Galleries of that year.
Jo’s original paintings and Limited Edition Prints are available from Gallery De Novo in Dunedin
‘St Baker’ can be found in private and public collections worldwide.
In 2021 Jo created the Art Poster Pop Up Gallery Shop at Dunedin Airport which was an independent arts support project initiated and curated by the artist.
Having been invited to come up with an idea for an empty space at Dunedin’s International Airport. Jo extended the opportunity to artists and art businesses from across Otago to create a ‘work of art’ poster that represented themselves, showed their unique work and contact location.
This project created a Contemporary Arts Information Platform, situated in the terminal that formed a cultural conduit to Dunedin City and the extended Otago Region.
Education
Bachelor of Visual Arts
2006 - 2010
Dunedin School of Art
New Zealand
Diploma in Graphic Design and Advertising
1991
KVB College, Sydney
Australia
Public Engagement
2018
Speaker at NAVA and MBRC Sustainability of Practice Forum, Caboolture Regional Art Gallery
Speaker Toonarbin Flying Arts Queensland Regional Art Award Fundraiser, Toonarbin House, Brisbane
Speaker USQ Toowoomba Queensland Regional Art Award Touring Exhibition Launch
Residencies
QAGOMA Learning, Bunya Mountains Art as Exchange Inaugural engagement with Bunya People’s Aboriginal Corporation 2018
Caboolture Regional Art Gallery, Drawn to the Mountains 2018
Caboolture Regional Art Gallery, Brett Whiteley Drawing Room 2018
Dunedin School of Art 2017
Redcliffe State High School 2011
Awards
2018
Paddington Art Prize
Kennedy Art Prize
Churchie Art Prize
2017
Winner Queensland Regional Art Award
2016
Finalist Sunshine Coast Art Prize
Finalist Clifton Art Prize
Winner of the Peoples Choice Award 2016
JADA Art Awards
Bayside Art Prize
Archibald Art Award
Moran Award for Portraiture
2015
Kennedy Art Prize
Paddington Art Awards
Sulman Art Award AGNSW
Moreton Bay Regional Art Awards
St Andrews Hospital Anzac Art Awards
2014
Moran Art Awards, Photography Moran Art Awards, Portraiture
Kennedy Art Prize
2013
Fleurieu Art Awards
2012
Finalist Selected 15 Artists Art Awards, Redcliffe, Moreton Bay Regional Gallery Invitation
Finalist, Norville Art Awards, Murrurundi New South Wales
Prior
Excellence in Print Award Otago Art School
Excellence Award KVB Graphic Design and Advertising
Best Student Award KVB Graphic Design and Advertising
2nd place Edinburgh Art Awards Dunedin NZ
Highly Commended Hope and Sons Art Awards Dunedin NZ
Highly Commended Arrowtown Festival Exhibition, Central Otago NZ
Hope and Sons Award Art Awards Dunedin NZ
Exhibitions
Solo
2018 - The First Wave The Hub Caboolture Regional Art Gallery Queensland
2017 - Resilience: land/sea transition
st + baker + studio and gallery
2016 - Commissions
2015 - Boys to Men,
Australian Culture and the Soldier
st + baker+ studio and gallery
2011 - I See You
Gallery De Novo, Dunedin, NZ.
2009 - Poured from Blue Skies
Gallery De Novo, Dunedin, NZ
2008 - Orbicular
Gallery De Novo, Dunedin, NZ
2007 - Elements
Gallery De Novo, Dunedin, NZ
2007 - Down Forbury Road
The Manse, Salisbury House Gallery, Dunedin, NZ
2006 - The Bigger Picture
Gallery De Novo, Dunedin,NZ
Exhibitions
Group
2017
Art and Genetics Exhibition
Otago University
New Zealand
XRated Alumni Exhibition
Otago School of Art
New Zealand
Vie Du Pacifique Print Exchange
December group exhibtion, Gallery De Novo,
Dunedin
New Zealand
Commissions private collections
Arts Consultant Tropicsurf Annual Magazine, The Art of Surfing, Art and Wellness
Australia
2016
Vie Du Pacifique Print Exchange
Regional Marks USC Selector
2015
Participated + curated by Jo St Baker @ st + baker + studio and gallery
Boys to Men, Australian Culture and the Soldier. By Jo St Baker
A Steampunk Christmas
Jeffrey Service new painting, quirky watercolours and pencil.
Kindred Spirits Blackbirds Emporium and Catamation Contemporary Steampun
Painting Air, painting and installation Jo St Baker
Terry Summers A complete paractice
Uncovered Partners of Veterans Arts Quilt launch
2014
Angels st + baker + studio and gallery Redcliffe Queensland
Art Not Politics stencil exhibition
Who's Cleaning Up Political Tea Towel Installation
Nautilus
Marks of Nature
Video Installation with Robyn Hudson
2013
Impressions 7 Impress Printmakers
Impressions 7/4020 and official opening of my pop up Gallery
Regenerate, works in collection for inaugural exhibition and opening of Impress Printmakers Kedron Substation Studio and Gallery
2012
Opened st + baker + studio Mon Komo Hotel, Redcliffe, Queensland 4020.
Selected 15 Artists Art Awards, Redcliffe City Art Gallery, Moreton Bay Region.
Finalist Norvill Art Awards, Murrurundi New South Wales.
In the Red, Exhibition with Artmix Collective at Redcliffe State High School, Studio Red.
Faces of Redcliffe, Artmix Collective at Jetty Wharf and Valori Gallery, Scarborough
2011
The Haven Project Exhibition with students of Redcliffe State High School whilst doing 1 year Residency.
Created body of work for I See You Exhibition (solo) Gallery De Novo NZ
2010
Gallery De Novo, 5th Birthday Exhibition, Dunedin, NZ
4SITE, Otago School of Art, Dunedin, NZ
2009
Gallery De Novo, Group Show, July, Dunedin, NZ
Anchorage Gallery, Port Chalmers, Dunedin, NZ
Detail Exhibition with Rod Eales and Heather Dunckley.
Christmas Show, Gallery De Novo, Dunedin, NZ
Feature Artist, Rotating works, hung at The Falconer Restaurant, Naseby, NZ
MIS(s)fit Exhibition, 2nd Year Printmaking students Exhibition, Otago Polytechnic, Dunedin, NZ
Gallery De Novo, Group Show July, Dunedin, NZ
2008
Autumn Festival Art Exhibition, Lakes District Museum, Arrowtown, NZ
Gallery De Novo, Group Show, Dunedin, NZ, Gallery De Novo, Christmas Exhibition, Dunedin,NZ
2007
Group Show, Gallery De Novo, Dunedin, NZ
2006
Salisbury House Gallery, Stained Glass Window, Exhibition and Art Auction, Dunedin, NZ
Cleveland Living Art Centre, The Art and Science of Surfing, Dunedin, NZ