Angela Brennan, Portrait of Erik Jensen, 2023, oil on linen, 151.2 × 185.2 cm, TCG023647
Shortlisted 2023 Archibald Prize

Wall text Art Gallery of New South Wales: Erik Jensen is a writer and a friend. An award-winning biographer, journalist, screenwriter and poet, he is the founding editor of The Saturday Paper and editor-in-chief of Schwartz Media. His books include Acute misfortune: the life and death of Adam Cullen. ‘I met Erik several years ago and we clicked immediately. I love talking to him about art history, certain artists, poetry, writing and the different ways we see and experience the world,’ says Brennan, a Melbourne-based artist and first-time Archibald entrant. ‘He came to my studio in Brunswick East for a long sitting. After settling on the pose, I made preliminary drawings and began painting him, getting the whole figure onto the canvas. From there, I was able to develop the painting, working on it over several weeks, and referencing my studio setting. ‘I delight in Erik’s vitality, which I hope I’ve conveyed in the portrait. For me, he embodies a particular essence that demands to be painted!’