Neryl Walker / 24 Apr - 18 May 2025 December 14 2023
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Neryl Walker - ‘Ladylike'
Outré Gallery Fitzroy
24 Apr - 18 May 2025
Opening Night
6–8pm on Thursday, 24 Apr 2025
319 Smith Street, Fitzroy
Drinks provided by Range Life Wine & Bodriggy Brewing Co.
*** Exhibition presale will be sent out to our mailing list on 21/4/25. Sign up here to receive the presale catalogue.
Neryl Walker is an Australian artist, illustrator and designer who loves to draw and celebrate women.
Inspired by a love of mid 20th century pop culture, her studio and 1950s home is filled with countless sources of vintage and nostalgic inspiration.
Known for her strong and playful female characters, Neryl’s background in Graphic Design has seen her collaborating on branding, advertising, design, publishing and large scale mural projects. Her work has featured on 100 different shades of lip gloss for Buxom Lips cosmetic packaging, on limited edition bottles of Four Pillars Gin, and in Playboy Magazine, where she is the artist behind the updated iconic 1950’s character, Femlin.
Internationally exhibited and recognised in Lürzer’s Archive Top 200 Illustrators, she is also represented by Snyder in the US and UK.
Artist statement:
Ladylike: graceful, polite, and behaving in a way that is considered socially acceptable for a woman.
Women and femmes are constantly navigating expectations about how they should present themselves. It’s a delicate balance – be confident but not bossy, sexy but not promiscuous, outspoken but not too loud.
This exhibition delves into the language that subtly polices and diminishes women’s actions. Words like hormonal, bitch, ditsy, nag, and catty carry negative or patronising undertones. Some terms reflect double standards: a woman is labeled a slut, while a man is seen as a player; she’s bossy, while he’s simply assertive.
Ladylike is a series of bold, figurative mixed media paintings, silhouette cutouts, and a hand-tufted rug. Each artwork is playfully titled after one of these insults, inviting viewers to reflect on how these labels shape our perceptions. With a sense of freedom and joy, this collection unapologetically celebrates women as they are.
Take a look at Neryl's 2018 solo show Broad Appeal.
Read our interview with Neryl for an insight into her practice.