Joshua de Gruchy

This led him, unexpectedly, to far western New South Wales, where he spent three years working in the arid landscape surrounding Broken Hill and the old port towns of Wilcannia and Menindee on the Darling (Baaka) River.

Painting en plein air became central to de Gruchy’s process during this period, allowing him to closely observe the ever-changing colours of the bush before developing these impressions into studio works. His approach evolved into a search for balance between abstraction and figuration, drawing on memory and exploring the relationships between line, form, space and composition.

In early 2025 he was drawn south to Castlemaine, central Victoria where he worked until 2026 before commencing as artist in residence with The Dunmoochin Foundation. It is there that he continues to investigate the role that travel plays in the evolution of his processes and the subject matter of his work.