LOARINGS.COM

Benjamin Loaring

Contemporary Australian Visual Artist — Sculpture, Painting & Installation

Benjamin Loaring is a contemporary Australian artist based in the Kimberley region of north-west Australia whose multidisciplinary practice spans steel sculpture, oil painting on board, and installation art. His work examines landscape identity and the enduring presence of place, exploring how history, industry, and human activity intersect with the natural environment.

Loaring has received recognition through regional Australian art awards. He is a multiple category winner at the Shinju Matsuri Art Awards, including the 2025 Sculpture Award, and a two-time recipient of Acquisitive Awards at the Kimberley Art Prize (2016 and 2019). In 2024, he served as a judge for the Kimberley Art Prize, contributing to the broader visual arts community in Western Australia.

Working across sculpture and painting, Loaring engages directly with material. In sculpture, he fabricates and welds steel into monolithic and lattice-formed structures that echo the escarpments, coastal cliffs, and geological formations of Western Australia. These works range from intricate welded rod constructions to solid steel plate forms shaped to evoke weathered terrain. Material integrity is central to his practice, with the physical properties of steel operating as a vehicle for expressing endurance, weight, and permanence.

His painting works are developed through a layered process of oil on board combined with contemporary newsprint. The inclusion of printed media operates as a subtle reference to modern narratives of development and progress set against the continuity of ancient landforms. Through repeated layering, sanding, and surface refinement, Loaring creates paintings that hold both texture and depth, reflecting his ongoing dialogue between material process and environmental observation.

Photography forms a foundational component of his studio methodology. Through sustained documentation of landscape textures, shoreline structures, and regional forms, he gathers visual information that informs both his sculptural and painted works. This disciplined process of observation underpins the translation from environment to artwork.

Loaring’s early sculptural practice was shaped by traditional maritime craft. He constructed carvel-built timber vessels from repurposed local hardwoods, incorporating lead-cast keels and hand-stitched canvas sails. These works established a technical discipline that continues to inform his steel and timber constructions today. His subsequent figurative sculptures, including Spirit Man and the Whistling Eagle and Tracks Across the Sublime, extended this material language into regional narrative, combining native hardwoods and fabricated steel elements.

Parallel to his studio practice, Loaring has maintained a 37-year commitment to arts education. Since 2011, he has served as Visual Arts Specialist at Cable Beach Primary School, developing culturally responsive arts programs that support creative engagement across the Kimberley region. Through his practice, Loaring explores how landscape, material, and history converge, creating works that articulate the enduring presence of place

Exhibition proposals, collaborative projects and institutional partnerships are welcomed. Enquire here

Collectors seeking sculptural or mixed media works exploring Australian landscape and material inquiry are warmly invited to enquire.

Selected education:

1983-1985 Diploma of Teaching. Western Australian College of Advanced Education

Duo/small group exhibitions:

2024 Newlyweds’ Dream - HEART Gallery, Margaret River Arts. WA

1995 Subdivided Nation. Duo exhibition with Jody Loaring - Excentrix Gallery, Cowaramup WA

1994 Spring Festival - Vasse Felix Winery, Willyabrup, WA

Selected group exhibitions:

2025 Finalist. Jury Art Prize. Port Hedland. Western Australia.

2021/22/23 Shinju Matsuri Art Prize. Broome. WA

2021/22/23 Kimberley Art Prize. Derby WA

2018/19 View to Asia Outdoor Sculptural Exhibition. Broome WA

2018/20 Finalist. City of Busselton Art Award. Busselton. WA

2016/17/18 Finalist. FORM Hedland Art Award. Port Hedland. WA

2016/17 Shinju Matsuri Fringe Festival. Artists Open Trail with Ben Loaring. Broome. WA

2012/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20 Kimberley Art Prize. Derby WA

2011/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20 Shinju Matsuri Art Prize. Broome. WA

1998 Kimberley Art Prize. Derby. WA

1998 Finalist. West Farmers Biannual Regional Craft Award - Craft West Gallery, WA

1994 Finalist. South West Survey. Bunbury Art Galleries-BRAG. WA

1994 Spring Festival. Vasse Felix Winery, Willyabrup, WA 1994 New Visions. Margaret River Art Galleries, W.A

Awards:

2025 Winner Sculpture. Collaboration with Jody Loaring. Shinju Matsuri Art Prize Broome. W.A

2022 Winner Sculpture. Shinju Matsuri Art Prize Broome. W.A

2021 Highly Commended - Shinju Matsuri Art Prize. Broome. W.A.

2019 Winner 1st Prize View to Asia Outdoor Sculptural Exhibition. Broome W.A

2019 Winner Acquisitive Award. Kimberley Art Prize. Derby. W.A

2018 Winner Sculpture. Shinju Matsuri Art Prize Broome W.A

2018 Winner 3rd Prize View to Asia Outdoor Sculptural Exhibition. Broome W.A

2016 Winner Acquisitive Award. Kimberley Art Prize. Derby. W.A

2015 Winner Sculpture. Shinju Matsuri Art Prize Broome. W.A

2014 Highly Commended. Shinju Matsuri Art Prize Broome. W.A

2013 Highly Commended. Shinju Matsuri Art Prize Broome. W.A

2011 Winner Painting. Shinju Matsuri Art Prize Broome. W.A

Residencies

2024 Ruby’s Cottage. Prevelly Park WA. Self funded private residency project development

2023 Ruby’s Cottage. Prevelly Park WA. Self funded private residency project development

2022 Ruby’s Cottage. Prevelly Park WA. Self funded private residency project development

Collections:

Shire of Derby West Kimberley, WA. Public Collection; Horn Collection Bunbury. WA; SGIO Private; Bunnings Private Collection. WA; numerous national and international private collections.

Professional Appointments:

2015 - Present. Visual Arts Specialist. Cable Beach Primary School. Broome

2024 Judge Kimberley Art Prize. Derby WA

2019 Workshop facilitator, Shorebirds Quest. Theatre Kimberley.

2005 Banners in the Terrace. Workshop Facilitator Augusta PS.

2008/9 Science Lead Teacher. Augusta Primary School

1987 Visual Arts Specialist. Coolgardie PS. WA

Selected bibliography:

2025 Article Illustration. Extreme Kayak Fishing by Kim Courtenay. Page 110-111. NAFA Issue 45. (National Australian Fishing Annual) https://www.nafa.com.au

2024 Newlyweds’ Dream. Exhibition & Catalogue Essay (words by Tanya Lee)

2017 FORM Art Awards Catalogue.

2017 The West Australian Online & Broome Advertiser July

2016 Goolari Media. Breakfast with Russell Dann.

2016 ABC Radio Kimberley. Vanessa Mills.

2016 FORM Art Award Catalogue.

2016 Broome Advertiser July

1995 Augusta Margaret River Mail October

1994 ABC Radio Series Artifacts. Sharon P. Jones

1992 Augusta Margaret River Mail May

Commissions:

2019 Private commission for A & J McDonald.

1995 Private commission and collector New Zealand.

1994 Private commission J Holme WA