In-Conversation: James Barth & Tim Riley Walsh

Learn more about the practice of artist James Barth in conversation with Tim Riley Walsh, Assistant Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and member of the queer Australian art history collective Kink. Together, they will discuss Barth’s exhibition, The Clumped Spirit, which explores themes of self-representation and embodiment through a series of new paintings, videos, and 3D-printed sculptures.

James Barth’s art practice is grounded in the subject of trans-self-representation. With a background in painting, she draws on portraiture’s history (and broader narratives) to create oil paintings and video works. At the core of her creative methodology is 3D world-building, assembled into a tableau to begin forming compositions. These compositions then become oil paintings, video works, and, more recently, sculptures.

Tim Riley Walsh is an Assistant Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, living and working on Gadigal Country. Previously, he was Curator in Residence at Gertrude and MADA Gallery, Monash University, in Naarm/Melbourne. Before this, Tim held various roles at Milani Gallery, Brisbane, Camden Art Centre, London, and Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art. Recent curatorial projects include the exhibitions ‘Gordon Bennett: This World Is Not My Home’, Sutton Gallery, Naarm/Melbourne (2023) and ‘One Vast Library’, MADA Gallery, Naarm/Melbourne (2022). Tim is also a founding member of the queer Australian art history collective Kink. 

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Presented in conjunction with ‘James Barth: The Clumped Spirit’ at UNSW Galleries from 14 February – 4 May 2025. The exhibition is presented in partnership with the Institute of Modern Art as part of Copyright Agency Partnerships, an annual commissioning series supporting mid-career and established visual artists to develop and present a significant new body of work.