PRESS
SWANSONGS - the paintings
Something buried is coming back to life.
16–18 October 2026
Studio 551 Sydney
Catherine Traicos, And You Want To Run To Me, Oil on canvas, 120 x 58cm 2025
Catherine Traicos, O Darling Don't Be That Way, Oil on canvas, 120 x 58cm 2025
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
SWANSONGS - The Paintings
Studio 551 Sydney, 16–18 October 2026
What began as a collection of piano songs written by the sea has refused to remain a digital album. Since its release in late 2023, the critically acclaimed SWANSONGS has become a book, a vinyl record and now a body of oil paintings. This October, Perth musician and artist Catherine Traicos presents the latest chapter: an intimate exhibition of paintings that blur the line between abstraction and figuration, music and image, memory and movement.
Catherine Traicos, By Your Eyes, Oil on canvas, 74 x 70cm 2025
Catherine Traicos, A Heartbeat Away, Oil on canvas, 74 x 70cm 2025
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Catherine Traicos is a Western Australian based composer, songwriter and performer known for powerful, intimate vocals and evocative lyricism, moving seamlessly between strength and vulnerability. Grounded in feeling, her work draws listeners into a space that is both close and expansive.
As a composer, songwriter and performer, her work has taken her to the Sydney Opera House, Nashville's Bluebird Café, and stages across Sweden and the United States. As a visual artist, she has exhibited solo and in group exhibitions around Australia, including the Nora Heysen Art Prize and the Ian Potter Museum of Art. Her work has been praised by Rolling Stone, The Age, and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Whether drawing or composing, the practice is the same: follow what is true, and let the feeling lead.
Photo by Caitlin Worthington
Praise for SWANSONGS
“SWANSONGS is an exquisite musical journey of heart and mind that gazes upward to a
sliver of light beyond lovelorn tears.”
Chris Lambie, Rhythms Magazine, 2024
“A slow burning collection that builds to a gentle crescendo…”
- Samuel J Fell, The Weekend Australian, 2024
“Catherine’s art and music are sacred architecture, and “SWANSONGS” solidifies her status
as a peerless artist.”
- Dan Newton, Heavy and Weird, 2024
“There’s enough nuance in it for multiple listens.”
- Graeme Smith at York Calling, 2024