Selected Biography

Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1967, Lisa Roet graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1987. Lisa currently lives and works in Melbourne. Over the past ten years, she has also supplemented her studies with residencies at ape research centres and major international zoos in Berlin and Atlanta, as well as field observation of apes in the forests of Borneo, Malaysia.

Since her first show at Querhause Gallery, Berlin in 1992, Lisa has held more than twenty-five solo exhibitions around the world. Particularly acclaimed are In-Sight, Annexe Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2009); Aping, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne and The Depot Gallery, Sydney (2008); Simian Line, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2006); Lisa Roet: Finger of Suspicion, McClelland Gallery & Sculpture Park, Melbourne (2004); Pri-Mates, Lawrence Wilson Gallery, University of Western Australia, Perth (2004); Pri-Mates Drawing, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne (2003); The Shadow, National Gallery of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2001); Pri-Mates: Hands, LIebman Magnan Gallery, New York (2000-2001); and Sebrechts-Park, Brugge Kunst Halle, Brussels.

She has also participated in fifty group exhibitions including Den Hagg Sculptuur 2007/The Hague Sculpture 2007, The Hague, the Netherlands (2007); Satellite Project (12 Australian Artists), Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai, China (2006); McClelland Sculpture Survey & Award, McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park (2005 and 2003); Kiss of the Beast, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane (2005);

Instinct, Monash University Museum of Art, Monash University, Melbourne (2004); Nature Machine Exhibition, Queensland Gallery of Art, Brisbane (2004); Helen Lemprière National Sculpture Award, Werribee Park, Victoria (2003); National Works on Paper Award, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria (2003); National Sculpture Prize, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (2003); and Primavera, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2001).

Her various awards and achievements include the Geelong Acquisitive Print Award (2013); Fremantle Print Award (2011); Australian Print Workshop Collie Print Trust Printmaking Fellowship (2011); the McClelland Sculpture Survey & Award (2005); The Kedumba Drawing Award (2005); the National Works on Paper Award (2003); and the National Sculpture Prize (2003). She has also been the recipient of several important grants, including an Asia Link Residency at the National Gallery of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2000).

Upcoming Projects:


White Night Melbourne
, 22 February 2014

Pieces of Eight, Contemporary Jewellery and Artist Made Objects, August 2014

Karen Woodbury Gallery, November 2014