Most parents are happy to hang their kids’ paintings on the fridge – but at the home of Jacquelyn Ngo in Sydney, the fridge is decidedly blank. Instead, the six-year-old’s colourful works of art can be found hanging in a gallery.
The pint-sized painter, who first picked up a brush at two, is setting the art world on fire. With a recent exhibition at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre in Sydney declared a rousing success, critics are predicting big things.
Just don’t ask how much it costs to buy a Jacquelyn Ngo masterpiece. “Jacquelyn wants to keep all her paintings – she loves them too much,” says her mum, Jenny. “The director at the Arts Centre says he’s been receiving calls from people wanting to buy them. They’ve also had calls from overseas galleries wanting to exhibit her works!”
While Jacquelyn’s vibrant paintings have a distinctive style all her own, the little girl is happy to admit she has been influenced by the likes of Vincent Van Gogh.
“Vincent is my favourite artist,” she says without hesitation. “My favourite paintings are Sunflowers and the painting he did of his bedroom [Bedroom In Arles].”
Steven Alderton, former director of the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, describes Jacquelyn’s art as nothing short of incredible.
“When they announced the winner of this year’s Liverpool City Art Prize, we were all amazed when this tiny girl walked out from the crowd to accept it,” he says. “I was amazed but also had to ask, ‘Is this really the work of a six-year-old?’
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