ABOUT
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Belinda Pieris is a Melbourne based artist who works in the field of embroidery art and ballet design. Belinda holds a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design, Honours from RMIT university. Beginning her 23year career in the field of commercial fashion and accessories design with a focus on textile design and embroidery. In 2018, Belinda embarked on a full-time art practice, drawing on her love of dance and passion for fibre arts. She launched a passion project with a group exhibition entitled “ARTISTRY” at Melbourne Fashion Week. The exhibition focused on the connection between movement, art and fashion.
The principle theme of Belinda’s work is movement. She expresses these elements through all of her art, and finds the challenging medium of free arm embroidery to be a perfect reflection of the way light and texture reflects movement. Belinda’ work is intricate and time consuming, creating web like assemblies held together by complex stitch structures inspired by the sculptural forms found in nature and the intertwining relationship between movement & material.
Belinda’s unique talent of creating movement based art pieces has seen her collaborate with ballet dancers from renowned ballet companies around the world including The Australian Ballet Company, Bolshoi Theatre, Royal Ballet Company, Les Ballet De Monte Carlo and Queensland Ballet & San Francisco Ballet. In 2019 Belinda was a collaborator and designer on the Ballet movie “Missed Nuance” directed by Niv Novak. In the same year, her work was published in a book The Style of Movement: Fashion and Dance by Ken Browar and Deborah Ory of the NYC Dance Project, and published by Rizzoli New York.
Belinda’s work has been described as “mesmerizing beauty” MY MODERN MET
During the pandemic lockdown of 2020, Belinda’s focus to inspire new hope through art led her to make connections with ballet artist across the globe through an Isolation sketch project celebrating the achievements and dedication of ballet artist. Belinda was named USA ballet publications “ A Ballet Education’s Magazine” ABM’s ones to watch
EXHIBITION
2018 ARTISRTY Group Exhibition curated by Belinda Pieris MFW City of Melbourne - The Whitehouse Institute of Design
2018 Fashion Capsules Group Exhibition curated by Virginia Dowser MFW City of Melbourne – 101 Collins St, MELBOURNE
PUBLICATIONS
2020 Sustainable & Fashionable Melbourne, A guide to ethical local makers. Compiled by Greta Lukavic, Publishers: Slattery Media. Designer Profile Pages 24 & 25.
2019 The Art of Movement, Ken Browar and Deborah Ory - NYC Dance Project, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. Two, two page spreads, Costume warn by Dores Andres, principal dancer of the San Francisco Ballet. Belinda Pieris works Pages 178, 179, 180 & 190
FILM
2019 Missed Nuance – A Ballet Film directed by Niv Novak. Belinda Pieris – Designer. Project partners - The Australian Ballet & The Royal Ballet. Costumes designed and crafted for the ballet dancers of the Australian Ballet Company, Bolshoi Theatre, Royal Ballet Company, Les Ballet De Monte Carlo and Queensland Ballet & Projection Dance. iTunes 4G
COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS
2021 Movement & Light to save life – Niv Novak & The Life You Can Save. Photography by Niv Novak, In collaboration with The Australian Ballet. Belinda Pieris Costume design and Ballet styling, HMUA & Ballet direction Ben Davis. All artists time in the creation of art and revenue donated to charity The Life You Can Save.
2020 Isolation Sketch Project – Belinda Pieris illustrations, ink of paper of ballet dancers from companies around the world, drawing on inspiration of the photographic works of: Sjur Roald, Carlos Quezada, Johan Persson, Pickledthoughtz, Julien Benhamou, Niv Novak, , Ken Browar & Deborah Ory, NYC Dance Project & Darian Volkova.
2019 Missed Nuance – A Ballet Film directed by Niv Novak. Cinematography by Niv Novak, Costume design and Ballet styling Belinda Pieris, HMUA & Ballet direction Ben Davis, Post Mark Scott & Music composition Troy Rogan. Project partners: The Australian Ballet & The Royal Ballet, Bolshoi Theatre, Les Ballet De Monte Carlo and Queensland Ballet & Projection Dance. iTunes 4G
2019 The Art of Movement, Ken Browar and Deborah Ory - NYC Dance Project: Designing of costumes for Dores Andres, principal dancer of the San Francisco in collaboration with Ken Browar & Deborah Ory
2018 ARTistry Project and Exhibition curated by Belinda Pieris. In collaboration with Melbourne artists: Paolo Benini, Georgia Chapman, Robyn Black, Preston Zly Design, Rochelle Carmichael, Liquid Skin Dance Company, Benjamin Gauci, Andrew J Liu & Laura Kinross.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts Honours (Fashion) (high distinction), 1997 RMIT University, Melbourne
RMIT University Faculty of Art, Design and Communication Travelling Scholarship, 1997 “for the student who has attained the highest level of achievement, has the greatest potential and will benefit most from overseas experience”
