Known as the alternative to the Archibald and Wynne Prizes, this year’s selection features a stellar line-up of some of the most significant names in contemporary Australian art— including four Nanda\Hobbs artists.
Jun Chen, Jonathan Dalton and David Fairbairn have been selected in the Archibald Prize while Kathryn Ryan is a finalist in the Wynne for landscape painting.
JUN CHEN
Jun Chen has painted Selma Coulthard—fellow Nanda\Hobbs artist and 2026 Wynne Prize finalist at the AGNSW. Selma is a Pertama Maduthara Luritja Tribe from Urrampinyi (Tempe Downs Station) located South West of Alice Springs in Central Australia. Chen is a nine-time Archibald Prize finalist at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and this is his fourth selection in the Salon des Refusés.
Red Rock – Selma Coulthard (Selma Coulthard, artist)
Oil on canvas
200 x 150cm
JONATHAN DALTON
Jonathan's subject is New Zealand born actress, Simone Kessell.
"I've loosely drawn on the myth of the Minotaur an the maze as an allegory for how we find our way back to ourselves - an often fraught journey for an actor."
Jonathan Dalton is a seven time finalist in the Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW.
The Shadow of a Labyrinth. Simone Kessell after Ariadne (Simone Kessell, actor)
Oil on linen
213 x 137cm
DAVID FAIRBAIRN
"My sitter is Anthony Mitchel, a Cultural Heritage Manager who loves to make sculpture on the side . He oversees a wonderful array of NSW Heritage Listed buildings throughout the state"
David Fairbairn is a highly prized artist and was a finalist in the 2025 Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW
Head of A.M. No. 2 (Anthony Mitchell, cultural heritage manager)
Acrylic, gouache, pastel, charcoal ink
115 x 130cm
KATHRYN RYAN
"Engagement with the natural world has long been central to my practice, though the works are not intended as direct representations of landscape. Sanctuary from my Beyond series reflects my ongoing inward focus—looking beneath the surface and beyond the visible, both internally and in relation to the natural world, where meaning and essence reside."
Kathryn Ryan is a three-time Wynne Prize finalist at the Art Gallery of NSW while this is her 10th selection in the Salon des Refusés.
Sanctuary
Oil on linen
137 x 183cm
The Salon des Refusés exhibition opens at S.H Ervin Gallery in Sydney on Saturday 9 May and continues to Sunday 26 July.
The exhibition will then tour to:
The David Roche Foundation, Adelaide 14 August – 24 October 2026
Retford Park, Bowral 28 November 2026- 31 January 2027 (Archibald selection)
