The greatest look yet at a well-known artist very few have seen up close, as the titular visionary recluse invites us into his home.

A prolific force of nature within the realm of abstract art, rule-bending Australian artist Dale Frank has left his wildly untamed mark on canvases, sculptures, film, his body and more. Recognised worldwide as a boundary-pushing practitioner whose oeuvre includes intimate performance pieces and large-scale paintings with structural elements, his multidisciplinary output has exhilarated audiences since the late 1970s. But Frank is neurodivergent and has always lived with social phobia, and now must contend with a degenerative illness – all while he works towards his 35th solo exhibition.

Dale Frank – Nobody’s Sweetie follows the artist in the lead-up to this latest show, held at Sydney’s Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, unveiling the burdens and brilliance behind such a renowned figure. Australian director Jenny Hicks’s debut documentary feature offers a remarkable glimpse into not only Frank’s unruly yet generative process, but also the restoration of his beautiful home in the Hunter Valley and astonishing botanical garden.