In this episode of In the Studio, SAM Curator – Exhibitions & Collections, Caroline Esbenshade, visits 2026 SAM Selects artist Fran O’Neill at her home and studio.
Surrounded by the landscape that informs the light, movement and atmosphere of her work, O’Neill reflects on her journey as a painter, from growing up in Wangaratta and studying in Melbourne, to a seven-week painting course in New York that became a twenty-year chapter of her life.
Over half an hour, the pair explore colour as a relationship, the importance of risk and experimentation, and the determination required to continue making work in the face of criticism and self-doubt.
Fran O’Neill’s solo exhibition On the Move is showing in Shepparton Art Museum’s Hugh D.T Williamson Community Gallery from 21 March to 9 August 2026.
About Fran O'Neill
Fran O’Neill (b. 1971 Wangaratta, VIC) lives and works in Cheshunt, Victoria after spending several years in New York, USA. She holds a BFA from Monash University, completed post-graduate studies at the New York Studio School, and obtained her Master of Fine Arts at Brooklyn College. O’Neill has exhibited extensively and her works can be found in public and private collections in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Top image: Shepparton Art Museum