Artist's Statement - November 2005  

My paintings are personal celebrations of being in the Australian landscape. Each painting represents, 
for me, a timeless moment in a perfect day made poignant by its utter impossibility and I strive to 
communicate this feeling.
The strength of my work lies in my depiction of places to which I have a strong emotional response, 
such as the lovely little coves and beaches of the Sydney Harbour foreshore; the remote, rocky coastline 
of Port Elliot in South Australia and the sensual, rolling hills of Dungog in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. 
I spend as much time as possible in each place before I  paint; drawing, making colour notes and just 
absorbing the atmosphere so that I feel I have come to know it.
My love of early Italian Renaissance painting has been the inspiration for my use of stylisation to 
communicate my feelings and for the care with which I paint. In my work I delight in both depicting the 
light, colour and material qualities of a place, and also in including touches of playful imagination, invention 
and the surprise of the unexpected or illogical. 
As I paint, I feel that I am recreating each part of each place through every brushstroke that I make.

Born Brisbane, lives Sydney

2000 - Master of Fine Art (Painting), College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales.
1995 - master of Art (Painting), College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales.
1993 - Bachelor of Fine Arts  (Painting Major), College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales.
1989 - Art Certificate, East Sydney Technical College.

2003 - Willoughby City Art Prize, Finalist.
2000 - Fisher's Ghost Contemporary Art Prize, Finalist.
2000 - Wynne Prize - Salon des Refuses, Exhibitor.
2000 - Willoughby Art Prize, Finalist.
2000 - Warringah Art Prize, Finalist.
1999 - Willoughby Art Prize, Commended.
1998 - Hunters Hill Art Prize, Finalist.
1997 - Willoughby Art Prize, Highly Commended.
1997 - Mosman Art Prize, Commended.
1997 - Hunters Hill Art Prize, Commended.
1996 - Drummoyne Art Prize, Highly Commended.
1996 - Hunters Hill Art Prize, Finalist.
1996 - Gruner Prize for Landscape Painting, Art Gallery of NSW, Second place.
1995 - Jenny Birt Award for Painting, University of New South Wales, Finalist.
1995 - Gruner Prize for Landscape Painting, Art Gallery of NSW, Winner.

1997-1999 -  Postgraduate Research Scholarship, UNSW College of Fine Arts. 
1994 - Artist in Residence,  Arthur Boyd Foundation, Riversdale, NSW.

2005 - Harbour, Sea and Hills, Robin Gibson Gallery, Darlinghurst
2003 - Daintree and Kimberley Landscapes, James Harvey Gallery, Clovelly
2001 - Oils and Gouaches, James Harvey Gallery, Balmain
2000 - Master of  Fine Arts Graduation Exhibition, Kudos Gallery, Paddington.
1999 - From Siena to Hill End, James Harvey Gallery, Balmain.
1997 - Journeys and Imaginings, James Harvey Gallery, Balmain.
1996 - Landscapes for Unspoken Tales, James Harvey Gallery, Balmain.

2004 - I Love a Sunburnt Country, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
2003 - Miscellany, James Harvey Gallery, Clovelly
2003 -  Eggstravaganza, ANA Hotel, Sydney
2003 - 9th International Works on Paper Fair, Sydney
2002 - Pocketsized, James Harvey Gallery, Clovelly.
2001 - Summer, ANCA Gallery, Canberra.
2001 - Top Drawer, James Harvey Gallery, Balmain.
2000 - Dialogue, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Paddington.
1999 - Animalistic, James Harvey Gallery, Balmain.
1998 - Whimsy, James Harvey Gallery, Balmain.
1997 - Provenance - The Artist, James Harvey Gallery, Balmain.
1997 - Smalls, James Harvey Gallery, Balmain.
1996 - Landscape - 8 Views, James Harvey Gallery, Balmain.
1996 - Landscapes, Chrissie Cotter Gallery, Glebe.
1994 - Young Dissonants, COFA Gallery, University of New South Wales.

National Westminster Bank, Sydney
Crown Casino, Melbourne.
College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales.
Also represented in private collections in Australia, Europe and USA.

"Paradise Found", Justyna Lupa, Artist's Palette magazine, June 2005
"Daintree and Kimberley Landscapes", Lenny Ann Low, Exhibitions, Sydney Morning Herald 
August 16, 2003
"Going Native", Tim Dick, Spotlight, Sydney Morning Herald, August 15, 2003
"Daintree and Kimberley Landscapes", The Week's Best, Dominique Angeloro, Sydney Morning 
Herald,August 15, 2003
"Clovelly's Daintree Days", Sean Mooney, Southern Courier, August 19, 2003
Illustration representing  James Harvey Gallery Sydney Art on Paper Fair, 2003
"Scale Fantasia", Courtney Kidd, Galleries, Sydney Morning Herald, May 21, 2001
"Jacqueline Balassa: Oils And Gouaches", Annemarie Lopez, Editorial, Sydney CitySearch, 
May 2001
"James Harvey Gallery", Cec Busby,  Arty, Revolver Magazine, May 7, 2001
"Jacqueline Balassa" - Profiles,  Art Almanac, May 2001 (Illustration)
"Jacqueline Balassa" - Openings, Exhibitions and Events - NSW Calendar, Art Gallery Guide, 
May 2001(Illustration)
Outback Inspires Paintings' Colour", Emily Tinson, Timeout, Glebe and Inner Western Weekly, 
June 23, 1999 (with illustration).
"Poetic Slant on the Desert", Jane MacMillan, Arts, Sydney Weekly, June 8, 1999 (with illustration).
Young Dissonants 1994 Conference Paper, Felicity Fenner, 1994.