Caleb Shea’s idiosyncratic take on formalism situates him as a key figure in Australia’s neo-modernist movement. Form, colour and phenomenology are central to Shea’s practice, where transcendental geometric abstraction and blunt simplicity meet in a revision of the late-modernist sculptural tradition. Known for his distinctive visual language, Shea’s contemporary approach offers an animated, sophisticated and playful flare to the discourse. The single line form is a recurring motif that Shea continues to revisit in playful experimentations that contribute to conversations about sculpture as drawing in space. A sustained investigation into a select vocabulary of forms has defined Shea’s output in recent years, with current works challenging this language in relationship to human proportions, introducing a new monumentality in scale.

With almost 30 years of practice, Shea continues to exhibit widely in museums and public, commercial and non-profit art galleries. Recent exhibitions include celebrated shows at Linden New Art, Heide Museum of Modern Art and Melbourne Now at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Shea’s sculptural work was a principal feature in both editions of the Quarantine Art Fair and the inaugural Melbourne Sculpture Biennale, to much acclaim. His works are held in significant public and private collections in Australia, including the National Gallery of Victoria Art Collection, Artbank, Australian Catholic University Collection, City of Melton, Joyce Nissan Collection, and the Macquarie Group and Westpac Collections.