Artist Kim Leutwyler is counted among the finalists for this year’s $100,000 Archibald Prize, having submitted a portrait of the actor, broadcaster, TV producer, writer and DJ, affectionately known as Fuzzy.
A friend of the artist, Faustina’s work includes hosting flagship music program Video Hits, The Voice and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
She made her stage debut with Sydney Theatre Company’s co-production of The Father alongside theatre luminary, John Bell and toured Australia and New Zealand as Oprah Winfrey’s resident DJ on her An Evening with Oprah Tour. Faustina has written on queer issues for Women of Letters (Penguin), Huffington Post, Sunday Life, Queerstories and The Wheeler Centre Gala.
Faustina’s most recent published work, Sam, which explores loss, grief and her African identity, is part of the first collection of African Australian stories for the recently published anthology, Growing Up African in Australia. Faustina is a graduate of Media and Communications at The University of Melbourne and Media Studies at RMIT University.
“I was instantly drawn to Faustina because of her strength in convictions balanced with profound positivity, as well as her insatiable appetite for knowledge and self development. She openly shares her journey navigating through mental health, queerness, creative pursuits and intersectional feminism. She was kind enough to agree to a sitting, and we became fast friends through the creative process,” says Leutwyler.
HOW LEUTWYLER APPROACHED THE PORTRAIT:
Leutwyler is known for her paintings of LGBTQIA-identified and allied people. Her work explores the line between glorification, objectification and modification, using patterns and abstractions from each subject’s local and social environment as a subtle vernacular to portray the fluidity and complexities of identity.
“Women of colour have often been reduced to anonymous tropes in art historical representation, as opposed to the individuals they are/were. A majority of art history has left out queer women altogether. Representation of a fabulous queer woman of colour on the walls of our cultural institutions matters. My hope is that Faustina’s portrait will spark dialogue and action to raise the profile of women of colour in the in the Arts by amplifying voices and diversifying representation. I also hope that this portrait will be wife-bait for Faustina’s future partner, she’s single ladies! ” Leutwyler explains.
COMPLETING THE PAINTING:
This portrait began in September 2018, taking 4 months to complete. “The preliminary sketches from our first sitting were followed by several exchanges of abstract colour sketches and feedback to understand which compositions and colours Faustina was most drawn to,” says Leutwyler.
The portrait reached a stopping point when Leutwyler began to feel severe pain and numbness in her hands, later diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome. Unable to hold a paintbrush for long periods of time, Leutwyler invited her subject to a short final sitting at her home studio in February 2019, during which Agolley read Leutwyler a story about her childhood fictional crush.
“The funny thing was, Kim had a crush on her too! That was a unifying queer girl moment for the both of us”, explains Agolley.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Born in America, Sydney-based Kim Leutwyler migrated to Australia in 2012. She works in various media, including painting, installation, ceramics, print media, and drawing. Leutwyler holds concurrent bachelor’s degrees in Studio and Art History from Arizona State University and additionally graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Painting and Drawing degree.
Her artwork has been exhibited in galleries throughout the United States and Australia. This is Leutwyler’s third time exhibiting as a finalist in the Archibald Prize.
