Artist Profile: Katrina Rhodes

At first glance, the canvases of Melbourne-based artist Katrina Rhodes are ones of opulence,
with figures donning lush costumes and gold accoutrements, decked out with an almost futuristic historicity.

At first glance, the canvases of Melbourne-based artist Katrina Rhodes are ones of opulence,
with figures donning lush costumes and gold accoutrements, decked out with an almost futuristic historicity. Many transnude nostalgia, as if they, in a parallel universe, would live in a museum.

However, behind the blue, masked faces, silks and glass coffers are scenes of muted decomposition. Wallpaper peels and tiles crumble, graffiti scrawled over disconnected telephones. The flash and pomp of her subjects is not enough to distract – not quite.

Rhodes sees the inception of this aesthetic preoccupation as occurring in her time spent in Donetsk, Ukraine. Initially she worked as an illustrator and designer, before teaching herself to paint whilst living overseas. During this time, the artist became part of a team organised by Artnow International that included master painters, tasked with the design and fine art execution in a Donetsk palace. “Days spent surrounded by Italian marble, gold gilding, antique leathers, crystal chandeliers, custom silks” is how she describes it, “all things an Oligarch wants to surround himself with”. And yet, when Rhodes ventured into town, behind the façade of wealth that dominated the main street, she was faced with an entirely different side to this fading majesty: “take one street back, and one witnesses beautiful decay”.

In order to achieve this “beautiful decay”, Rhodes uses high quality acrylic house paints. This is a surprising choice of medium, but a highly considered one. Though unusual, the artist finds this type of paint to not only have the depth of hue that her extravagant subjects require, but it is also markedly longer lasting and durable when subject to movement – a common obstacle to an artwork’s longevity, as many a restorer can attest to. Furthermore, it is a nod to the roots of her practice, having first begun on palace walls, as well as to the enduring influence of the old masters that inform her figures. Unlike the worlds the artist depicts, the works themselves are intended to transcend time, a choice both pragmatic and powerful.

Rhodes describes herself as a re-emerging artist. After two sell out shows, A Handful of Civilised Friends in 2010, and Like Impressions of Flying South in 2013, the artist turned to interiors, specialising in concept design and marouflage. She now returns to her artmaking practice with a score of ideas and a developed and mature style. Her next exhibition is slated for later this year at fortyfivedownstairs in Melbourne, the title Prescription Windows and Magic Beans promising a continuation of her fantastical stylistic approach. “I am returning to the surface”, says Rhodes. “The first thing I do is sign a contract with myself every day. To commit to growth.”

Katrina Rhodes is showing at FOURTYFIVEDOWNSTAIRS, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, 4-15 June.

Above: Artist Katrina Rhodes at work in the studio. Courtesy: the artist.