Artist - Donovan Christie

b. 1989, Adelaide S.A

Donovan Christie’s work celebrates the nostalgic character and charm of everyday life, those often-overlooked moments, places, and objects that quietly shape our collective memory. Emerging from Adelaide’s graffiti scene as a teen, Donovan developed a heightened awareness to his surroundings, which continues to inform his work today.

With a realist approach and a strong eye for detail, Donovan invites us to pause and re-examine the familiar. Through oil paint, he documents the urban landscape and cultural relics of contemporary Australia; corner stores, ghost signs, snack foods, print media, and household icons, capturing their significance before they inevitably are erased from history. His work becomes a time capsule of the recent times, resonating across generations and backgrounds by unlocking memories long forgotten by the viewer.

Born in the ’80s and raised in the ’90s, Donovan’s love for anything with wheels and his connection to the community had him outside, leading the pack around the streets of Adelaide. He began selling his hand made gift cards door to door as early as 4 years old. Self-taught and driven, he began his professional art career in 2010 and opening his own gallery in 2012. Since then, his work has been widely recognised—exhibited in major galleries across Australia, and selected as a finalist in numerous prestigious prizes including the Mosman Art Prize, John Leslie Landscape Prize, Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, and Parklands Art Prize.

Represented by Lennox St. Gallery (Melbourne) and Nanda\Hobbs (Sydney), whilst also working closely with Hill-Smith Art Advisory (Adelaide), Donovan continues to build on his growing legacy. He was awarded Channel 9’s Young Achiever of the Year for Arts & Fashion in 2016, and named one of Australia’s Top 100 Most Collectible Artists in both 2023 and 2025.

As Donovan continues to expand his body of work, each conceptual exhibition becomes a new chapter in an unfolding visual narrative. In time, these chapters will form a cohesive retrospective, revealing the full scope of his vision and foresight as an artist who not only captures the present, but also preserves it for the future.

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions //

2025 – TOP FLOOR – Nanda\Hobbs Gallery (Syd)
2022 – The Milk Bars Are on Me – Metro Gallery (Melb)
2020 – Faces and Places – Holdfast Bay Discovery Centre
2018 – Be Kind Rewind – Metro Gallery (Melb)
2018 – Business Class – Adelaide Airport & Hill Smith Gallery
2017 – Business As Usual – Studio Bowden
2015 – Frontin – The Space Gallery
2013 – Street Struck – Carclew Arts Centre
2012 – Surface – Onkaparanga Arts Centre
2012 – Artillery – Brown Sugar Gallery
2011 – These Streets Raised Me – Gallery on Waymouth
2010 – Urban Streetscapes – Greenhill Galleries
2010 – A Treat From The Street – The Producers

Selected Group Exhibitions //

2023

Spring 1883 Art Fair – Lennox St. Gallery, Melbourne
Selected Group Show – Lennox St. Gallery, Melbourne
The Prospect Art Show – Newmarch Gallery, Adelaide
SpringArt – Loreto College, Adelaide

2022

Mosman Art Prize – Mosman Gallery
John Leslie Art Prize – Gippsland Gallery
Gallery M – Contemporary Art Prize

2020

Elaine Bermingham Watercolour Prize – QCA Galleries, Griffiths University
John Leslie Art Prize – Gippsland Gallery
Lethbridge 20000 – Lethbridge Gallery
The 21^st Prospect Art Show – Newmarch Gallery

2019

Feels Like Home / Praxis Art Space
Summer Group Show / Metro Gallery (Melb)
Borderland / NAB Foyer Adelaide
Primary and Secondary / Studio Bowden

2018

Affordable Art Fair / Hong Kong
Summer Group Show / Metro Gallery (Melb)
Artists to Watch / Lethbridge Gallery (Brisbane)
Lethbridge 10000 / Lethbridge Gallery (Brisbane)

2017

Asia Contemporary Art Show / Hong Kong
Summer Group Show / Metro Gallery (Melb)
Linden Postcard Show / Linden New Art
Adelaide Hills Landscape Art Prize / Hahndorf Academy
Form / Hill Smith Gallery
Emma Hack Art Prize / Burnside Village
Bluethumb Art Prize / No Vacancy Gallery (Melb)
Charity Auction / Magpie Springs

2016

Menagerie / Hill Smith Gallery
Mitcham Art Prize / Gallery One
Youthscape / Royal South Australian Society of Arts
Coonawarra Art Prize / Penola Gallery

2015

Christmas Exhibit / Art Images Gallery
Emma Hack Art Prize / Adelaide Convention Centre
‘40x40x40’ / Brunswick Street Gallery (Melb)
Prospect Portrait Prize / Prospect Gallery
Spring ART / Loreto College
Royal Adelaide Art Prize / Wayville Showgrounds
Frog Cakes / SAHMRI / Light Square Gallery
King of Canvas / Onkaparinga Arts Centre
Cranium / M2 Gallery (Sydney)

2014

Waterhouse Art Prize / SA Museum
GuitarART Prize / Adelaide Festival Centre
Youthscape / Royal South Australian Society of Arts

2013

‘40x40x40’ / Brunswick Street Gallery (Melb)
Salon Hang / Rosemont Estate Cellar Door
Parklands Art Prize / Adelaide Festival Centre
King of Canvas / Onkaparinga Arts Centre

2012

A Curious Creature / Urban Cow Studio
Youthscape / Royal South Australian Society of Arts
This is it! / These Walls Dont Lie Gallery
Bike Art Adelaide / Juxtapose Studios
6 Years Later Magazine Launch / No Vacancy (Melb)

2011

RSASA Still Alive / Royal South Australian Society of Arts
Mental Health Week / Adelaide Town Hall
Uchiwa Fan Exhibition / Espionage Gallery
Acry-Licks / Bunka Adelaide

Awards