Published On: January 28, 2025772 words4.2 min read

Exhibition Finalists, Art Fairs, Magazines and TV

Smith & Brooks really had a pretty exciting year in 2024 and we thought that we would put together a blog with some of our favorite art moments and achievements. We are running a bit late with this one though but only because we have been enjoying the silly season and the fabulous Queensland summer weather! But it’s better late than never to celebrate the wins and of course give big thank yous to those who supported our artistic journey along the way. So from art fairs to gracing the pages of interior design and styling publications to art exhibitions and much more, here are our favorite moments from 2024.

As you may know we are stocked artists at Aspire Gallery in Paddington Brisbane and have had our work hanging in their incredible group exhibitions since mid 2023. But there has been one exhibition that we felt pretty chuffed to be included in – ‘Unveiled 2024’. This exhibition was a collection of 11 finalists carefully chosen from monthly submissions leading up to the show. With only 11 finalists in the show we were able to submit a really solid collection of works that showcased Smith & Brooks work for 2024. We feel like our work stood up well to the strong competition and held its own on the gallery walls. The artist who took out the title was Wendi Leigh whose incredible birdlife works were both beautifully created and engaging.

Aspire Gallery has been amazingly supportive for us over the last year, not only through the Unveiled exhibition but also in representing us at both the Sydney and Melbourne Affordable Art Fairs. The Aspire team is incredibly dedicated to sharing their artists’ work and took on the huge task of attending all three Australian Affordable Art Fairs in 2024 stocked with hundreds of artworks for each show – just amazing! On top of this they also submitted our work, ‘Poplar Still I’ to the Downlands Art Exhibition where it was selected as a curator’s pick for the show! 

Another exciting achievement for 2024 was our work appearing in the pages of the Annual Collector’s Edition of Home Design Magazine in 2024 (edition 26.2). Our work appeared alongside a fabulous selection of artists in the Artscape section edited by Carrol Baker and we could not be more proud. Home Design magazine has long been known for championing art in homes, marking it as an integral part of the interior styling and decorating process. Our work, ‘Coastal Banksia Form II’ can be found on page 149.

And speaking of art publications, we also made the cut for Art Lovers Australia’s Annual Collector’s Book 2024. This annual includes some really amazing artists from around Australia so you can imagine how excited we were to be included in this book. The original artwork we have included in this book is ‘Virid Form II’ which is exclusive to Art Lovers Australia. This blushing work was inspired by Callistemon viridiflorus, a bottlebrush with vivid yellow-green blossoms that is native to Tasmania.

But possibly our most amazing achievement was when we appeared on season 1 of Channel 7’s Dream Home hosted by Dr Chris Brown. This show was quite simply life  changing for the contestants and we are so pleased that in a small way we helped that happen. Our work, ‘Pigface Moment I’ was selected to be used in one of the contestants dream homes thanks to Art Lovers Australia who partnered with the show as their preferred art supplier. We loved seeing our work on telly and loved knowing that it was chosen by the contestants to help make the dreams of another come true. This heartwarming show was , as mentioned, hosted by Dr Chris Brown but also featured a fabulous panel of judges including Three Birds Renovations’ Lana Taylor, real estate expert, Simon Cohen and designer, Rosie Morley.

So all up we have been included in 11 group art exhibitions, made it into 2 publications, 1 TV show, 2 Australian Affordable Art Fairs, 4 galleries across Brisbane, Toowoomba, Gold Coast and Melbourne and created more than 20 new original artworks! 2024 has been a pretty busy year for us and we are certainly not complaining. I am not sure if we can repeat all of these amazing achievements in 2025 but we are certainly going to try. A special thanks goes out to our two stocking galleries, Aspire Gallery in Paddington, Brisbane and Art Lovers Australia Gallery in Collingwood, Melbourne for their ongoing support – we could not have achieved all of this without you. And of course a massive thank you to our followers and our collectors – we very much appreciate the love! xx