SCULPTURES           PUBLIC ARTWORKS           PAINTINGS           FURNITURE         

Adriaan Vanderlugt was born in the Netherlands, grew up in Canada and now lives in the beautiful Whitsundays in Queensland. His art career began after graduating from High School in 1962 with working in Graphic Design. Adriaan has been carving bone, stone, marble and wood for over

4 decades. His sculptures of animals, birds and fish are held in collections around the world.

Adriaan began exhibiting in a juried exhibition in 1970 in Hamilton, Canada and won awards for sculpture in the Ontario Craft Foundation ’75 and an Alphabet font design in the USA. He began exhibiting sculpture in Australia in Sydney in 1985 and since then has had solo exhibitions and been included in many group showings. Adriaan and his Rocking Kangaroos were invited to be part of the 1986 ‘Australian Fortnight’ in Dallas, Texas USA and in 1991 was guest artist at the Trans Tasman Wood Exhibition in Sydney.

In the year of Centenary of Federation in 2001, he created a number of public sculptures for communities in the Mackay/Whitsunday Region. Adriaan was included in ‘Strand Ephemera’ in Townsville in 2005, 2007 and 2011 and had two sculptures at the ‘12th Sculpture Show’ in Thursday Plantation at Ballina in 2007.  In 2009, his entry in the SWELL Sculpture Festival at Currumbin was acquired by the Gold Coast City Council to be installed at Coolangatta.

Adriaan has had a number of individual exhibitions in Cairns, Townsville, Airlie Beach, Hayman Island and Mackay.

Adriaan takes great pleasure in making furniture, respecting and maintaining the naturalness

of the raw materials. In 1997 he was commissioned to design and make the furniture for the new chapel on Hayman Island Resort.

He also enjoys teaching workshops in drawing and sculpture for both children and adults.

As an Art Consultant, Adriaan was helpful in revitalising the Streetscape of Proserpine, was involved in creating the ‘Green Room’ at the Proserpine Hospital and has written a weekly Art Column in the Whitsunday Coast Guardian for which in 2005, he received an ‘Arts-is-in Award’ in recognition of media coverage of the arts.

In 2003 Adriaan was honoured with a Centenary Medal ‘for distinguished service to the arts’.

Selected Exhibitions

1970     CKOC Radio Art Exhibition, Hamilton Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

1975     Ontario Crafts ’75 ‘Award Winner’ Niagara on the Lake and Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1985     Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney NSW

1986     Grafton House Galleries, Cairns Qld

1986     Australian Fortnight, Neiman Marcus, Dallas, Texas USA

1988     Grafton House Galleries, Cairns Qld

1988     ‘Whitsunday Focus’ World Expo ’88, Brisbane Qld

1988     National Woodwork Exhibition, Melbourne Vic

1989     Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney NSW

1991     National Woodwork Exhibition, Melbourne Vic

1991     Trans Tasman Wood Exhibition, Guest Artist, Sydney NSW

1992     Visual Arts Exhibition, Sculpture Award, Sarina Qld

1992     Wildlife in Art, Queensland Museum, Brisbane Qld

1993     Wildlife in Art, Queensland Museum, Brisbane Qld

1994     Birds, Animals and the Landscape, Art Galleries Schubert, Main Beach Qld

1994     Wildlife in Art, Queensland Museum, Brisbane Qld

1995     Wildlife in Art, Currumbin Sanctuary Qld

1996     GBRUMPA Exhibition, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville Qld

1996     Ramsar National Wetlands Exhibition, Brisbane Exhibition Centre Qld

1997     All Nature Art Exhibition, Mt. Coot-tha Gardens, Brisbane Qld

1998     All Nature Art Exhibition, Mt. Coot-tha Gardens, Brisbane Qld

1999     All Nature Art Exhibition, Mt. Coot-tha Gardens, Brisbane Qld

2000     All Nature Art Exhibition, Mt. Coot-tha Gardens, Brisbane Qld

2001     Dame Mary Durack Awards, Queensland Museum, Brisbane Qld

2001     Whitsunday Centenary of Federation Sculpture Symposium, Invited Artist, Airlie Beach Qld

2001     Coast to Coal Sculptures, Invited Artist, Sarina, Clermont, Moranbah, Nebo and  Mackay Qld

1987 to 2000   Art Whitsunday Annual Exhibitions, ‘Award Winner’ Airlie Beach Qld

2002 to 2011   Art Whitsunday Annual Exhibitions, ‘Award Winner’ Airlie Beach Qld

2002     Ayr-Burdekin Rotary Club Art Exhibition, Invited Artist, Ayr Qld

2005     Whitsunday Boat Show Marine Art, Airlie Beach Qld  ‘Miniature Awards Winner’

2005     Mount Gambier Sculpture Symposium Mount Gambier SA

2005     Strand Ephemera Townsville Qld

2005     Whitsunday Great Walks for the Art + Environment Workshop, Artspace Mackay, Qld

2006     Percival Vestments, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville Qld

2006     Whitsunday Boat Show Marine Art, Airlie Beach Qld  ‘Miniature Awards Winner’

2006     The Percival Portrait Award, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville Qld

2007     Mount Gambier Sculpture Symposium Mount Gambier SA

2007     Whitsunday Boat Show Marine Art, Airlie Beach Qld 

2007     Thursday Plantation 12th Sculpture Show, Ballina NSW

2007     Strand Ephemera Townsville Qld

2008     Arts West Longreach Qld Public Artwork

2008     Whitsunday Boat Show Marine Art, Airlie Beach Qld 

2009     Whitsunday Boat Show Marine Art, Airlie Beach Qld 

2009     SWELL Sculpture Festival  Currumbin Qld   Acquired by Gold Coast City Council

2009     SWELL Smalls Gallery, Way of Design Gallery  Currumbin Qld

2010     SWELL Sculpture Festival  Currumbin Qld

2010     SWELL Smalls Gallery, Way of Design Gallery  Currumbin Qld

2010     Gold Coast Arts Festival, invited artist

2010     The Percival Portrait Award, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville Qld

2011     Blackall Heartland Festival, Blackall Qld

2011     Art on Show Awards, Mackay, Qld

2011     Strand Ephemera Townsville Qld

2011     SWELL Sculpture Festival  Currumbin Qld

2011     SWELL Smalls Gallery, Way of Design Gallery, Currumbin Qld

Individual Exhibitions

1990     Great Barrier Reef Aquarium, Townsville Qld

1995     Upstairs Gallery, Cairns Qld

1995     Chengody Gallery, Airlie Beach Qld  

1995     Hayman Island Resort Qld

1996     Perc Tucker Regional Gallery ‘Pun Intended’, Townsville Qld

2006     Pinnacles Gallery  ‘Nature Transmogrified’, Riverway Arts Centre, Thuringowa Qld

2007     Artspace Mackay  ‘Nature Transmogrified’, Mackay Qld

2008     Peninsula Apartments  ‘Around the Pool’, Airlie Beach Qld

2009     Villa Botanica  ‘Artist in Residence’  Airlie Beach Qld

Murals

2002     Recycling Station Council Youth Community Project Cannonvale Qld

2002     St Catherine’s School  Student Portraits Mural, Proserpine Qld

2003     St Catherine’s School  Student Portraits Mural, Proserpine Qld

2004     St Catherine’s School  Student Portraits Mural, Proserpine Qld

2005     St Catherine’s School  Student Portraits Mural, Proserpine Qld

2006 - 07   Andergrove State School Sculpture Mural, Mackay Qld

2006     Proserpine Hospital Green Room Whitsunday Diorama, Proserpine Qld