artist profile

Biography

Chalie MacRae is a self-taught abstract artist based on Wurundjeri and Bunurong Land (Melbourne, VIC, Australia). 

Her large-scale abstract works are characterised by a gestural style, nature driven colour palette and an intuitive, process-driven approach. Drawing inspiration from her love of hiking coastal landscapes, MacRae creates resonant yet calm compositions that blend the sensory memory of the landscape with abstraction. Her reflective works offer a visual counter-narrative to the constant stimulation and urgency of contemporary life.

Her practice, grounded in pace and perception, explores the sensory and emotional impact of the landscape. By translating movement, shifting light, organic shapes, atmosphere, and raw texture into layered, acrylic paintings, she offers a visual language that invites pause and reflection. These experiences are not captured directly, but carried through painting into what she describes as echoes of place. 

MacRae’s signature Seasons series established her recognisable visual language. Her current evolving body of work, Echoes, deepens this exploration to focus on how we carry environments with us, capturing the quiet yet powerful way nature continues to resonate long after we have stepped away.

Since 2015, MacRae has exhibited widely in solo and selected group exhibitions. Her paintings are held in private collections across Australia and internationally, with works commissioned by collectors and interior designers for private residences locally and abroad. Her distinct aesthetic has also earned a prominent commercial profile, featuring in national media and on screen.

In 2023, she transformed an industrial warehouse into a dedicated studio and gallery. MacRae continues to develop and present her work from this independent space, as well as through selected Australian galleries

Artist Statement

‘I feel a great sense of freedom and peace when painting. For me, the Australian coastal landscape is my training ground and sanctuary; it leads me to art, and my art leads me back to the landscape in a continuous cycle of discovery.

At the centre of my practice is a desire to translate these environments into a counter-narrative against the pace and stimulation of contemporary life. Working intuitively, I build layers of paint through gesture and reflection, capturing sensory memory rather than depicting specific places.

These pieces become abstract echoes of place that move beyond representation, inviting viewers to embrace pause and discover a space of calmness'.

— Chalie MacRae