Showcase: Carol Rowe

Erin Irwin takes a closer look at these outstanding works.

The work: Carol Rowe, The Burning, 2021. Oil on polycotton canvas, 101 x 118cm. Courtesy: the artist.

As if gazing directly at a shimmering heat-haze, the work of Carol Rowe uses abstraction to depict the heart of the Australian desert. In her work The Burning, the hot, arid air is almost visible as the ground sizzles beneath the sun, with diaphanous clouds of smoke obscuring a clear view of the hardy desert flora. Though she has spent time in many remote places, including several visits to the deserts of the African continent, it is the Australian wilderness that is Rowe’s true inspiration. “I love the Australian outback”, says the artist, “it’s silent and remote places – the vast distances where you can hear the silence.” The bright red hues of the Australian sand are unmistakable in her work, blazing bright and instantly recognisable despite her reductive approach to depicting landscape. By building up many thin glazes of oil, she seeks to recreate the texture and luminosity of a desert vista. Her paint application is almost pointillistic in places, deft touches of paint giving the work a muted sense of perspective. Rowe’s work is a loving portrait of the Australian outback, depicting it in all of its dangerous beauty.

More Showcases from Recent issues

Showcase: Rebecca Dzartov

Representing the ineffable aspects of God has been a goal of artists across thousands of years, each bringing their own skills and belief systems to their art. The practice of Melbourne-based artist Rebecca Dzartov is informed not just by her faith, but also by her work as a tattoo artist. In Jam Doughnut, we see […]

Showcase: Helena Newcombe

Based in the Hunter Valley, mixed-media artist Helena Newcombe is familiar with the enduring beauty of the Australian landscape. However, in her practice the artist chooses to transport her viewer to unfamiliar terrains, tracing the dips and curves of an imagined universe with paint and thread. In The Daylight Basin, we see a vast mountain […]

Showcase: Waqeea Chaudhry

The work of Sydney-based artist Waqeea Chaudhry comes from a place of emotional vulnerability, her paintings forming a visceral link between the viewer’s experiences and her own. In Bereft we see that, while the artist has delighted in a life lived abroad, she is unafraid to linger on the hardships that come with this lifestyle […]

Showcase: Roy B Wilkins

A striking combination of bold line and layered motifs, Toby by London-born, Melbourne-based artist Roy Wilkins is the coalescence of the artist’s instinctual approach to mark-making and his environment. Embracing a truly expressionist style, the artist works and reworks his large canvases, applying acrylic atop spray paint on stencil and pastel. An artwork seemingly finished […]

Showcase: Hayley Smith “The Hayley Co”

Site-specificity is key to Perth-based artist Hayley Smith’s practice, given she uses the site as a canvas for her work. Executing large scale murals, Smith’s objective is to create works that are accessible to the wider community, engaging with and serving their audience. For Atomic Blast, which the artist painted alongside Susan Respinger, Smith looked […]

Showcase: Kai Hagberg

Works by Finland-born, Far North Queensland-based artist Kai Hagberg preserve moments of transition, his figural practice the product of decades professional discipline. Whether it is a face shifting between expressions, or a mind drifting between thoughts, Hagberg’s paintings forcefully evoke the ephemeral nature of emotion.  In Flight of Fancy, we see his ability to capture […]