Dana Dion
Dana Dion is a Sydney based contemporary artist whose abstract paintings are inspired by nature as a place of rest, calm and belonging. Working intuitively with layers of colour, texture and gesture, she creates atmospheric paintings that explore the lasting impressions nature leaves behind. The memories, quiet impressions and sense of stillness that remain long after leaving the landscape. Her work offers moments of calm and reflection.
Dana has worked as a full time artist since 2005. She studied at Emily Carr University in Vancouver and the Hampstead School of Art in London, and has undertaken professional development with American painter Steven Aimone. She is the recipient of the Gosford Art Prize, the Art in the Hills Acquisitive Art Prize, the Hunters Hill Regional Art Prize, the Belle Property Acquisitive Art Prize and the Lloyd Rees Art Award. In 2026, she was awarded artist residencies at the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) and the Château d'Orquevaux in France. Her paintings are held in private and corporate collections throughout Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States.
‘Painting, for me, is not just about expressing what I see, but about engaging with the feeling of being surrounded by nature - a continuous journey finding a place to belong’
— Dana Dion
Botanical Murmur Mixed media on canvas 152 × 158 cm $10,000
Shifting Ground Mixed Media and Acrylic on Canvas 101x152 cm $6,600
Flora Mirage 152 x 122cm Mixed media and acrylic on canvas $6950
Desert Warmth 150 x 150cm Mixed media and oil on canvas $10,000
Before the day starts 100 x 100cm Mixed Media on Canvas $4700
Blue Hues Acrylic on Canvas 110 x 100cm $4800
CV
Artist Statement
My work is a personal exploration of belonging within the natural world - not as I see it, but as I feel it when surrounded by it. The energy of the Australian bush, with its chaotic, tangled vegetation, contrasts with the soft, delicate colours that appear throughout. This wilderness, combined with subtle beauty, informs my approach. I use organic forms and textures to reflect the rich complexity of the landscape and my own language of mark making to express the dynamic energy present in both water and plant life.
I love using Bold marks and nature’s soothing colours to create a sense of depth and layering in my work. These layers mimic the constant cycles in nature, where new growth covers that came before, yet the remnants of the past always shake the present reality. Through abstract forms, I capture the movement, growth, and ever shifting essence of both vegetation and water embodying the flux of life itself.
Painting, for me, is not just about expressing what I see, but about engaging with the feeling of being surrounded by nature - a continuous journey finding a place to belong.
Dana Dion 2026
Recent selected exhibitions
Gippsland Art Prize, Adelaide Perry Art Prize, Mosman Art Prize, KAAF Art Prize, Fishers Ghost Open Art Prize
Kings Art Prize, North Sydney Art Prize, ANL Maritime Art Prize Victoria, Muswellbrook Art Prize, Gosford Art Prize
Hunters Hill Art Prize, Blacktown Art Prize, Kogarah Art Prize, Outback Art Prize, Cowra Art Prize and Waverley Art Prize
Recent awards
2019 Lloyd Reece Award - ArtXtra Gallery Lane Cove
2019 Hunters Hill Regional Art Prize / winner
2019 Bell Property Acquisitive Art Prize / winner
2018 Hunters Hill Regional Art Prize / winner
2017 Gosford Art Prize $15,000 / winner
2017 Art in the Hills Acquisitive / 1st prize
2017 Hunters Hill Regional Art Prize / Highly Commended
Solo exhibitions
2022, 2020, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2012 – Art2Muse Gallery, Double Bay Sydney (six solo exhibitions)
2022, 2019 – West End Art Space, Melbourne
2023, 2019 – Milk Factory Gallery, Bowral
2017 – Without Pier Gallery, Melbourne
Acquisitions and commissions
North Sydney Council – Mayor’s Office
Lifestyle Manor Building, Bondi NSW – Commission of 27 artworks
Oakhill College Collection