Of Heart and Hands

Tony Gould AM is one of Australia’s most respected pianists with an ability to play in a vast array of styles. He began his piano career improvising and playing jazz, and it wasn’t until his adult years when he studied classical music that he learnt to read music.
One of the things I admire most about Tony Gould, which inspired me to paint him, is his firm belief that music is for everyone and that anyone who is playing is doing their best and should be applauded for that. And he lives that philosophy giving his time to play with high school students – my daughter being one - and to contribute to causes such as the Hush Foundation which raises money for children undergoing cancer treatments.
I wanted to capture the integral connection between Tony as a person, and Tony as a performer, and to show his strength, but also his vulnerability.

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Jaq Grantford’s practice is driven by a sustained fascination with faces and the ways people reveal themselves – often unconsciously – through presence, expression, and gesture.

Working across painting and sculpture, and within both portraiture and figurative traditions, Jaq approaches each subject with attentive respect, seeking to balance accuracy with emotional truth. Her works are developed over time, allowing character and complexity to emerge gradually. Whether depicting a public figure or an intimate sitter, her portraits and figurative works aim to convey a sense of lived experience rather than surface likeness alone.

Jaq is drawn not only to individuals, but also to the extensions of human identity: the objects, structures, and environments we create that speak quietly about who we are as a society. A building, a discarded fragment, or a marked landscape can hold as much psychological weight as a face.

Jaq is based in Australia and specialises in fine art, portraiture, figurative work, and sculpture. She holds Signature Status with the Portrait Society of America and is an ARC Associate Living Artist. Her work has been exhibited widely and recognised with major awards, including the Darling Portrait Prize (National Portrait Gallery of Australia), the Archibald Prize People’s Choice Award, and the Kennedy Prize.

Her work is held in public and private collections, including the European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM), the National Portrait Gallery of Australia, and the National Gallery of Victoria.