Kirsty and Tom hang up their screwdrivers.

The time has come for us to end our stewardship of Rooftop Art Space, it has truly been a wonderful experience.

Running an unconventional art space has been a great challenge but an incredibly rewarding one nonetheless. Exhibiting the work of both emerging and established Melbourne artists to such a broad audience has been an absolute pleasure and we hope we have contributed to the wealth of talent and beauty this city is so famous for.

Between September 2011 and May 2014 we have exhibited 52 artists in 37 shows.

A huge thank you to all of our friends and supporters especially Grant Gould, Amanda Brass, Spiro Manolopolous, Jon-lee Farrell, Dane Henwood, Dave Smiley, all the Rooftop staff, Three Thousand, Marianne Diaz, Gwynneth Budge and of course, all of the artists.

Please welcome with open arms the new curators/managers of Rooftop Art Space, Harley Jones and Lottie Phelan. Best of luck for your future shows!!!!!!!

Thanks again.

Kirsty Budge and Tom Budge

"Obsessed" A Group Show - guest curated by Bonnie Eichelberger 28th April - 30th May 2014

We thought we would change things up this month and invite guest curator (and past exhibitor) Bonnie Eichelberger to put together a group exhibition of her design/illustrator pals. 

Melbourne is obsessed with illustration and design, so the show is aptly titled. Each of the 13 artists were tasked to express their personal idea of obsession. The Risographs were very popular on opening night and sold like two-toned hot cakes. Well done to all the artists and to Bonnie for putting it all together.  

Emma Wiesenekker - 'I forgot my mantra' 

Annita Maslov - 'Bilateral Symmetry' 

Adam Flannery - 'Dumb shirts'

Amelia Leuzzi - 'Serenity now, Insanity Later'

Bonnie Eichelberger - 'Tiny Giants'

Julian De Bono - 'Wandering Star'

Nina Elliot - 'The trouble with physics'

Merren Spink - 'Reflections multiply our shadows'

Rachel Wilson - 'The leaky jar'

Libby De Souza - 'The Big One'

Evie Cahir - 'SkyLine'

Fiona Waters - 'Untitled, number two'

Cecilia Farley - 'Love Potion'

Exhibition Statement

Obsessed explores the concept of human obsession. 
It's not always obvious and most of the time it is very subtle, but everyone has an obsession or at least has had one at some point in their lives. The show will feature the work of 13 artists from varied creative disciplines, who through the form of Risograph printing have come to share their obsessions with you.

Artists

Adam Flannery, Amelia Leuzzi, Annita Maslov, Bonnie Eichelberger, Cecilia Farley,

Emma Wiesenekker, Evie Cahir, Fiona Waters, Libby De Souza, Julian De Bono, Merren Spink 

Nina Elliott and Rachel Wilson. 

Marcus Carne 'East to West' Monday 31st March to Friday 25th April 2014

We are so happy to exhibit Marcus Carne's latest show East to West, it is a killer! East to West was the last show in our 2013/2014 summer program and one that encompassed the carefree yet passionate nature of artist Marcus Carne. It takes a keen and committed eye to find the unassuming beauty in urban detritus, then for the body of work to have a sense of cohesion is an especially challenging task. Marcus' installation succeeded in extracting the interesting from the mundane and created aesthetically strong relationships within the found. 

Thanks Marcus, it was a pleasure!

Artist Statement

East to West is a collection of sculptures and installations using found building materials that Marcus sees as the potential building blocks for something new and unintended. These blocks are bent, painted and composed not to hide their original states but to highlight their potential value to those willing to appreciate them.

In Marcus’s recent work he attempts to explore notions of industrial waste as both a personal means to relinquish control from his usual meticulous practice and in the broader sense re-contextualise discarded building materials to apply new meaning to found waste. 

Biography

Marcus Carne is a Melbourne based artist currently undertaking a degree in Fine Art at Melbourne University. Marcus has been studying in the Graphic Design and Arts industry for several years. He has consistently contributed to group and solo shows over the last 3 years, including exhibitions at Somewhere Gallery, BSG and the VCA Student Gallery. 

Check out more of Marcus' work at http://cargocollective.com/marcuscarne