From Keli Holiday to Daniel Johns, this year’s Archibald finalists lean into a little music
Sindy Sinn is hard to miss if you’ve spent any time around Sydney’s Inner West.
His work’s everywhere – walls, posters, tour visuals – and his client list runs from Ed Sheeran through to Metallica and The Rolling Stones. It’s loud, graphic, and unmistakably Sindy Sinn.
Now he’s brought that same approach into the 2026 Archibald Prize, landing a finalist spot with Keep on stingin’ – a portrait of Adam Hyde in his Keli Holiday lane.
It doesn’t really try to play by traditional Archibald rules. The colours are sharp, the lines are heavy, and the whole thing leans more toward gig poster than gallery piece. But that’s also why it works — it feels like Hyde as he actually exists, not a cleaned-up version for the wall.
It also sets the tone for a shortlist that leans more into music and personality this year, rather than just straight portraiture.
The 2026 Archibald finalists as a whole follow that thread. Music it seems is doing a fair bit of the work.
Sinn’s piece is one of the more immediate standouts, but it’s not the only one. Loribelle Spirovski returns with Fingerpainting of Daniel Johns, a more subdued, textured take on Daniel Johns of Silverchair. Her work tends to sit slightly off-centre, which suits Johns – still a big presence, even if he’s kept things relatively low-key in recent years.
There are also a few entries that sit just outside music but still tap into performance. Meagan Pelham’s Dreamland Jessica looks at Jessica Rowe through a more stylised, theatrical lens, while Thom Roberts’ George Harrison is turning 50 uses George Harrison as a reference point in a more conceptual portrait of Oliver Watts.
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It lines up with where the Archibald’s been heading — pulling in subjects from outside the traditional art world and focusing more on recognisable figures and contemporary culture.
Last year’s show had a similar feel, with portraits of William Barton and Warwick Thornton sitting in that same crossover space.
It’s not a huge shift, but it does make the exhibition easier to meet halfway – especially if you’re coming at it from music rather than art.
The winner will be announced May 8, with the exhibition opening at the Art Gallery of New South Wales the following day.
