Luke Cornish

Luke Cornish (born 1979) is an Australian stencil artist, also known as E.L.K. In 2012 Cornish became the first stencil artist to become a finalist in the Archibald Prize. He was also awarded the Holding Redlich People's Choice Award at the Archibald Prize Salon des Refusés in 2017, the Churchill Fellowship in 2013 and was a finalist in the Sulman prize in the same year. In 2011, he was a finalist in the Metro Art Prize, won the Australian Stencil Art prize in 2010, and in 2008 he won the most popular stencil at Melbourne Stencil Festival. In 2012, Cornish's short film, 'Me- We', which documented the process and construction of his portrait of Father Bob Maguire for entry into the 2012 Archibald Prize, was shortlisted in the Tropfest Awards Film Festival. Other notable achievements include being selected for 2012's Project 5 charity auction, a large involvement in 2011's Outpost Project. Cornish has exhibited his work in capital and regional cities in Australia, and in major international cultural centres, including Paris, London, Rome, Los Angeles and Amsterdam.

Career Growing up in Canberra, Cornish worked as a sign writer and landscape designer before taking up stencil art as a hobby in the early-2000s. All of his work is done by hand through cutting out sheets of recycled acetate with a scalpel. Some of Cornish's stencils contain over 100 layers and up to 243 colours. The subject of his 2012 Archibald final work, Father Bob Maguire, contains over 30 layers and the work was influenced by Cornish's association of Maguire with his own grandfather.

Exhibition history (solo shows) 2026: Luke Cornish (E.L.K): two decades of stencil art, Deakin University Art Gallery, Melbourne 2025: Terminal Lucidity, Precinct 75, Sydney 2023: Dissimulation, Oshi Gallery, Melbourne 2022: Edge of Chaos, Barangaroo, Sydney 2022: Stamp Duty Blues, Black Box Artspace, Wollongong 2021: Don't Shoot the Messenger, aMBUSH Gallery, Canberra 2019: Have a Go, aMBUSH Gallery, Canberra 2019: The Sea, Bondi Pavilion Gallery, Sydney 2018: The Sea, Lock Up Gallery, Newcastle 2018: (In)Appropriate, Metro Gallery, Melbourne 2018: No place like home, Tuggeranong Arts Centre, Canberra 2017: Zero to the left, Metro Gallery, Melbourne 2017: Road to Damascus, Nanda\Hobbs Contemporary, Sydney 2016: Vanishing Point, Nanda\Hobbs Contemporary, Sydney 2016: Concrete Jungle, Metro Gallery, Melbourne 2014: Louder than words, Stolen Space, London 2014: Clusterfuck, Metro Gallery, Melbourne 2014: Sex & Death, w/ Will Coles, Art Equity, Sydney 2013: Before Afghanistan, Art Equity, Sydney 2012: Not with it..., Metro Gallery, Melbourne 2011: Look what you made me do...., Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne 2011: This is why we can't have nice things..., Oh Really Gallery, Newtown, Sydney 2010: How you like me now Bitch?, Front Gallery, Canberra

Awards and collections 2025: Archibald Prize, AGNSW, Finalist 2025: Deakin University Collection, Melbourne (acquisition) 2024: Gallipoli Art Prize, winner 2019: Archibald Prize, Finalist 2018: Salon de Refusés, SH Ervine Gallery, Sydney 2017: Salon de Refusés, SH Ervine Gallery, Sydney (Winner: Holding Redlich People's Choice Award) 2016: Australian War Memorial, Canberra (acquisition) 2015: Gold Coast Art Gallery, QLD (acquisition) 2014: Bond University Collection, QLD 2014: Corrigan Collection 2013: Churchill Fellowship, Awardee 2013: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra (acquisition) 2013: Sulman prize, Finalist 2012: Moran Portrait prize, semi-finalist 2012: Archibald prize, Finalist 2012: Tropfest, shortlisted 2011: Metro Art Prize, Finalist 2010: Australian Stencil Art Prize, Winner 2009: Ballarat Gallery of Modern Art (acquisition) 2009: Australian Stencil art prize, Runner up 2008: Melbourne Stencil Festival, People's choice