About Tony
Tony Wild (b. 1975) is an Australian abstract artist based in Newcastle, NSW, working primarily with oil and cold wax.
His heavily textured paintings explore decay, deterioration and transformation, drawing inspiration from weathered stone, corroded steel, ageing concrete and surfaces shaped by time. Through repeated layering, scraping back and reconstruction, each work develops a physical history of its own making.
Tony holds a Diploma of Fine Art from UNSW and has exhibited his work since 2013. He works from his studio at The Creator Incubator in Newcastle.
Artist Statement
My work sits between control and letting go. Some days it feels as though intention guides every mark; other days I’m simply responding to what emerges on the surface. I prefer the latter. That ‘flow state’, where the work begins to reveal itself, sits at the heart of my practice.
I work primarily with oil and cold wax, drawn to the medium's flexibility, physicality and unpredictability. Through layering, scraping back and rebuilding, each painting develops its own history. The process retains traces of every decision, allowing previous layers to remain present beneath the surface.
Decay is a central theme within my work. I am drawn to weathered walls, worn facades, aged stone, rusted metal and other surfaces shaped by time. These subjects carry evidence of transformation, revealing histories that would otherwise remain hidden. While rooted in observation, they often become metaphors for lived experience, resilience and change.
Texture is the language of my practice. It allows me to explore deterioration and transformation in a way that feels authentic to both the subject and the material itself. As surfaces are built up, reduced and reworked, the paintings become records of their own making. Ultimately, my work is concerned with how time leaves its mark — on objects, places and people — and the unexpected beauty that can emerge through that process.