Autumn Landscapes

30 June - 21 July 2012

MARK RODDA

Seasonal atmospheres have been heavily injected into this new series of paintings by Rodda, specifically autumn. Although most of the works were commenced in spring 2011, the final soul of these paintings were decided and acted upon in autumn of this year. Although it is more common to be troubled by the summer in Australia, Rodda grew up in southern Tasmania where winter casts a much longer shadow than in other parts of the continent. In Tasmania preparations are needed in autumn to deal with this next change in season.

Beautifully barren hills, recently abandoned houses, and stoic leafless trees dominate the world within Rodda’s Autumn Landscapes. Stemming from his 2011 solo exhibition, Sleeping Giants, the paintings draw heavily from pre-industrial European landscape painting, with an end result that reads somewhat like an uninhabited scene from a European (or Japanese) fairytale.

Mark Rodda was born in Tasmania and lives and works in Melbourne. He completed a Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting) atthe University of Tasmania, Launceston, in 1994 and Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) at RMIT, Melbourne in 1999. Recent solo exhibitions include Mark Rodda and Jake Walker, Utopian Slumps at Auckland Art Fair, New Zealand, 2011; Sleeping Giants, Utopian Slumps, Melbourne, 2011; Phantom Lords, Seventh Gallery, Melbourne, 2010; Tidal River, Kings ARI, Melbourne, 2009; True Game Systems (in collaboration with Utopian Slumps and Büro North), Next Wave Festival, Federation Square, Melbourne, 2008; The Inland Sea (with Jake Walker), Utopian Slumps, Melbourne, 2007; Under A Tungsten Star, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, 2007; Four Short Films, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney, 2007; Monsters and Their Treasure, Bus Gallery, Melbourne, 2005; Fortress, Westspace, Melbourne, 2005; Evil Twin, Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts, Melbourne, 2004; and New Instruction in Lawlessness, TCB Art Inc., Melbourne, 2004. Selected group exhibitions include The Painting Group, Milani Gallery, Brisbane, 2011; The Painting Group, Utopian Slumps, Melbourne, 2010; Notfair, Melbourne, 2010;The Ultimate Time Lapse Megamix, Next Wave Festival, Federation Square, Melbourne, 2010;Everything We Build We Tear Apart, Poimena Gallery, Launceston, 2010; Territorial Pissings, Utopian Slumps, Melbourne, 2010; The Shilo Project, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Warrnambool Art Gallery, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney and Mildura Arts Centre, 2010; Visage, First Draft, Sydney, 2009; Where in the Woods?, VCA Margaret Lawrence Gallery, Melbourne, 2008; SafARI, China Heights, Sydney and Project Contemporary Art Spaces, Wollongong, 2006; Mini Works, Dep_Art_Ment, Auckland, New Zealand, 2006; and Fin, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne, 1999. Rodda’s work is held in the Artbank, Joyce Nissan and Arthur Roe Collections, as well as various collections in Australia and overseas.