Episode 248 - Edward Inchbold - Painting, Endurance Made Visible

In late 2025, we met with artist Edward Inchbold in his studio in Sydenham. A self-taught painter, he is deeply interested in the surface and texture of paint, as well as art history and the philosophies surrounding art-making. 

Edward began his practice in 2020 at the age of 25. Since 2021, he has presented five solo exhibitions, including a recent trilogy at Stella Downer Fine Art spanning eighteen months: Brand New People (2024), Wisteria Lemonade (2025), and Shedding Velvet (2026). This body of work signalled a series of pivotal shifts in both his approach and philosophy, positioning his practice within a broader contemporary context.

Inchbold’s paintings are defined by constant reinvention and a resistance to fixed stylistic identities. His compositions are built through processes of compression, erasure, and revision, resulting in dense, atmospheric surfaces. He employs a dynamic and controlled handling of materials, working with brushes, knives, and large scrapers to articulate his images.

Alongside his solo practice, Inchbold has participated in numerous group exhibitions since 2021, with presentations at Velvet Lobster (Sydney, 2026), Brenda Colahan Fine Art (Sydney, 2025–26), Straitjacket Art Space (Newcastle, 2025–26), and AK Bellinger (Inverell, 2023–25). His work has been recognised in several art prizes, including the Lloyd Rees Memorial Youth Art Awards (2021), the Lethbridge Landscape Prize (Salon), The Lethbridge 2000 (Salon), and the Galerist Emerging Art Prize (2021), where he was highly commended. His paintings are held in private collections both in Australia and internationally.

Inchbold approaches painting with a commitment to sincerity, material risk, and sustained inquiry, avoiding irony or sentimentality. His works are driven by tension rather than resolution, seeking to unsettle while holding the viewer’s attention over time.

Edward is represented by Stella Downer Fine Art in Sydney, and his exhibition Shedding Velvet runs from March 31st - 25th April. - 

'Shedding velvet marks a transitional phase in a deer's antler development, one of renewal. While growing, the antlers are wrapped in a soft, living layer called velvet, rich with blood and nutrients. As growth concludes, internal changes slowly withdraw this support, causing the velvet to dry and decay. In response, the deer presses and scrapes its antlers against trees and rough surfaces, gradually peeling away the withered covering. What remains is bare bone. Hardened, exposed, and newly formed, they eventually, through some labour, reveal a structure shaped through both gentle nourishment and the necessity of abrasion. This deliberate and forceful act prepares the animal for the coming season of competition and display.'