Rose Nolan
Rose Nolan
Australian, born 1959; lives and works in Melbourne
IT’S HARD TO SEE WHAT THIS ALL MEANS 2019
synthetic polymer paint on cardboard
Courtesy of the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne
Statement:
IT’S HARD TO SEE WHAT THIS ALL MEANS is a painted concertina work that extends the possibilities of painting into architectural space. Form and content are enmeshed, emphasising process, labour, materiality and the element of chance to create a self-reflexive typographic puzzle. The formal, bold and architectonic qualities of the font belie its handmade origins and customisation according to the conditions set for the work.
Through the optical dynamics of positive and negative space, competing red and white forms shift language from something familiar to something strange, delaying readability and inviting interpretations and meaning. IT’S HARD TO SEE WHAT THIS ALL MEANS is a painting caught in a state of flux between form and formlessness, image and text, abstraction and reality, where the viewer enters a new space of play embracing the slippage between reading and seeing.