Ro Noonan "Pretty, Ordinary Constructions" 4th February - 3rd March

The night of the 4th saw the extremely well attended opening of Ro Noonan's wonderful new show. Truly original and beautiful works using timber, acrylic and various plastics were installed to great effect in our boxes. The subtlety and modesty in Ro's work comforts the viewer. In using familiar materials in unconventional ways there is a melding of history and the inevitable future all at once.

Pretty, Ordinary Constructions

Embracing my contently average carpentry ability, instability is probably inevitable but the materials influence the structures they become. These pretty, ordinary constructions negotiate the strength in wood, the instability of plastic and nurture of colour, in the process of finding balance or imbalance.

Biography

I grew up kind of a country boy, big family, bush, but no cows. Cherished it but wasn’t great at that. I'm now currently living, working and studying in Melbourne.  

See more of Ro Noonan's work at http://ronoonan.tumblr.com/

Sophie Westerman "Quiet Company" 16th July - 18th August

 "Little boxes on the rooftop, little boxes made of wood and stuff" to the tune of Little Boxes.

This winter must end and the cruel wind must cease it's howling. But enough poetry.

Sophie Westerman's new show Quiet Company is a starkly appropriate edition to the wintry heights of Rooftop Art Space. Sophie uses Gouache, Acrylic, charcoal, paper/cardboard alongside her lithograph and aquatint works throughout this show. One feels a definite calm when viewing Sophie's work. There is a comforting simplicity and order to it.

We shall meditate happily on your houses Sophie, thank you.

"Quiet Company"

Sophie has an obsession with little, black houses and people. She enjoys combining graphic and generic shapes with detailed drawings and paintings just to see what happens. Sophie’s work as a whole is a snapshot into her brain as she dwells on ideas of home, memory, space and silence and she hopes that people will dwell with her, just for a moment.

Biography

Sophie is an artist/printmaker from Melbourne who has recently completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Victorian College of the Arts.  She is now studying creative writing at the University of Melbourne and creepily drawing her friends without their knowledge

See more of Sophie's work at sophiewesterman.com

Kate Gagliardi "Ok Gag." 26th April - 23rd May

It's finally Winter and the Rooftop takes on an entirely different character. No more do the gorilla chested suits and the sad pin-eyed girls leave their slug trails over what is Melbourne's most lovely roof. It now reverts to it's rosy cheeked, against all odds "We're the only people in Melbourne that don't care that we're on a roof in the middle of Winter" attitude. With a cup of hot cider in hand we launched Kate Gagliardi's show "Ok Gag.". With her intricate drawings, involving countless hours of shading work and a wonderful thematic contrast between gothic skulls, bones and traditionally feminine colours, the viewer is taken into the precise and stylistic world of the artist. Kate's works consist of a combination of pencil, gouache and crayon. The piece titled "Excuse Me" has the most fastidious use of scalpel work we've ever seen in our boxes, quite beautiful. 

Thanks Kate for a great show!

"Ok Gag."

Inspired by the human figure, Kate Gagliardi's mixed media works and street art offer a dynamic modern twist to figuration. She transports her stylised subjects into a realm of the imagination where she captures intimate gazes in visual snapshots.

Biography

Originating from Adelaide and now based in Melbourne, Gagliardi has exhibited interstate and internationally. She has illustrated for Collect Magazine, Champfest Magazine and has been featured in the Semi Permanent publications.

 See more of Kate's work at www.ok-gag.blogspot.com