Mikala Dwyer

In 1992 Dwyer was amount the first group of young Australian artists selected to have their work exhibited in the first Primavera exhibition, held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia. Curated by Linda Michael, the exhibition included James Angus, Dwyer, Gale Hastings, and Constance Zikos. In 2000 Dwyer had a major solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.The exhibition included the recent works Dwyer's practice as well as site specific pieces tailored specifically to interact with the gallery space. In 2010 Dwyer created an installation titled Square Cloud Compound on Cockatoo Island for the Biennale of Sydney. Dwyer's work deals with the island's ominous history in a playful manner. In 2016 Dwyer was awarded a National Association for the Visual Art's Visual and Fellowship grant which was funded by the Copyright Agency's Cultural Fund. In 2017 Dwyer had another major solo exhibition held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales titled A Shape of Thought. The exhibition explored Dwyer's investigation of "the consciousness and liveliness of matter surrounding us" and was composed of current artworks which included Square Cloud Compound (2010), The letterbox Marys (2015–17), and The silvering (2017). In 2018 Dwyer and Justene Williams, with curators Susan Best and Ann Stephen were shortlisted to represent Australia at the 2019 Venice Biennale. Although their proposal was not selected, it was later remodelled into what is now the Bauhaus Now exhibition. In 2019 Ann Stephen curated Bauhaus Now, an exhibition that was held at the Buxton Contemporary, Melbourne for the 100th anniversary celebration of the Bauhaus. Mikala Dwyer and Justene Williams collaborated to create installations focusing on the "Bauhaus legacy in Australia."

In 1983, Mikala Dwyer attended the University of Sydney and in 1986 received a Bachelor of Fine Art. Dwyer also spent time at the Middlesex University from 1985 to 1986 in the United Kingdom. In 2000, Dwyer earned her Masters of Fine Art at the University of New South Wales, College of Fine Art. Dwyer also trained under Professor Stan Douglas at Berlin University of the Arts from 2005 to 2007.

Dwyer has been producing work for exhibition since the early 1980s, developing a career in installation and sculptural work. Her practice deals with the spiritual, magic, Rituals, The Occult, alchemy and the 'other'. Dwyer's practice can be described as "playful and fanatical" as she invites the audience to participate with her works and draw their own conclusions. Dwyer is known for her use of everyday materials such as Plastics, metal, wood, fabric, paint, Plants and other Found objects.

Mikala Dwyer is an Australian artist born in 1959 in Sydney. She is a contemporary sculptor who was shortlisted with fellow artist Justene Williams to represent Australia at the 2019 Venice Biennale.