Neil Haddon is a Tasmanian-based British–Australian contemporary artist known for combining hard-edge geometric abstraction and expressive figurative painting. His work explores migratory aesthetics—the movement and mixing of images across cultures and histories—and has been exhibited widely across Australia, Europe, and the USA, with pieces held in major public collections including the National Gallery of Victoria and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

Based in nipaluna/Hobart on the island of lutruwita/Tasmania, contemporary artist Neil Haddon creates paintings that shift between the precision of hard-edge geometric abstraction and the immediacy of gestural figuration. Drawing on the concept of migratory aesthetics, he layers imagery from art history, popular culture, and personal experience into visually dense, multi-temporal compositions.

Career

Across a career of more than three decades, Haddon’s paintings have appeared in over 100 exhibitions in Australia, Europe, and the USA. Highlights include Theatre of the World at the Museum of Old and New Art (Tasmania) and La Maison Rouge (Paris), Strange Trees at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and Contemporary Encounters at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Before relocating to Tasmania in 1996, Haddon lived in Barcelona, Spain, where he exhibited widely, including with Galería Carles Poy. Since moving to Australia, he has undertaken regular research trips to Spain and held prestigious artist residencies in New York and London.

His work has been recognised with numerous national and international art awards, including the Hadley’s Art Prize (2018), the Glover Prize (2008), the Whyalla Art Prize (2011), and the Tidal Art Prize (2006). Over the past two decades, he has also been a finalist in many of Australia’s major art prizes, among them the Wynne and Sulman Prizes (Art Gallery of New South Wales) and the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize (Bendigo Art Gallery), as well as a wide range of other state and national painting awards.

Collections

Haddon’s paintings are represented in significant public collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Devonport Regional Gallery, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, the City of Whyalla Collection, and Artbank Sydney, as well as in numerous private collections in Australia and internationally.

Education and Roles

Born in Epsom, England, Haddon studied at the Epsom School of Art (1985–87) and West Surrey College of Art and Design (1987–90). In 2020 he was awarded a Doctorate from the School of Creative Arts and Media, University of Tasmania, where he is Adjunct Senior Researcher.

He was a founding member of Letitia Street Studios and Inflight Artist Run Initiative (now Constance ARI), chaired Contemporary Art Tasmania (2010–2016), and served on the board of Salamanca Arts Centre (2018–2022).

Exhibitions – Recent Highlights

  • Strange Trees, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

  • Theatre of the World, MONA / La Maison Rouge, Paris

  • Platform, Los Angeles

  • Back Burn, Opera, The black mirror, Bett Gallery, Hobart

  • This Is No Fantasy / Dianne Tanzer Gallery, Melbourne

  • MOP Gallery, Sydney

Representation

Neil Haddon is represented by This Is No Fantasy (Melbourne) and Bett Gallery (Hobart).