Born in Mudgee, a country town of New South Wales, Guido Maestri (b. 1974, Australia) is known for his highly textural, expressive works that explore the painted materiality, gesture and observation. Although he is noted for his en plein air paintings, his recent works are solely studio based and draw on ancient ecosystems, nature’s cycles, imaginary realms, sites from his past, and his immediate physical and emotional environments to question notions of reality and explore humanity’s impact on the natural world.
A graduate of The National Art School, Maestri won the prestigious Archibald Prize in 2009 and is an eight-time finalist in the Wynne Prize (2012-2017, 2020-2021) for Landscape at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia). His works are collected widely, including institutions such as National Portrait Gallery (Australia), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia), Art Gallery of South Australia, Macquarie Bank (Australia), Parliament House (Australia) and Fubon Art Foundation (Taiwan).