CONTEMPORARY ART STOCKROOM Karlee Rawkins

Upcoming Exhibitions

The Other Side of the Mountain

Based on the north coast of New South Wales, award winning painter Karlee Rawkins’ vibrant images of flora and fauna reflect the artist’s deep fascination with the natural world and highlight the role creatures play within our imagination. Informed in part by the lush diversity of her local ecosystem Rawkins’ works depict a ceaselessly verdant world full of growth and possibility.

Taking inspiration from the myriad of global narratives that feature creatures from the plant and animal kingdoms, her dynamic acrylics on canvas bring to the fore the enduring importance of cultural storytelling as a means of processing humanities relationship to nature. Echoing the designs and motifs of ancient Indian fabrics, medieval tapestries, folk art imagery or even the pages of a well loved picture book, the totemic characters Rawkins’ conjures are full of powerful meanings and symbolic potential.

Attracted to the ways in which pattern and line intersect with form and colour, Rawkins’ skilfully integrates discernible representation with subtle, intuitive abstraction. There is a wildness to her mark-making and a bold, celebratory use of colour resulting in portraits that are transformative, other worldly and profoundly ritualistic. This dexterous sense of composition and lively mark making is captivating, revealing both child-like veneration and sophisticated appreciation for the form and character of her subjects.

'I use animal imagery in my work as a metaphor for human emotions and experiences. The animals are distorted and flattened, often combining with pattern to create intentionally ambiguous compositions. I aim to emphasize the vulnerability and awkwardness of my subject and challenge a viewers recognition and sense of association.'
Artist Statement

Karlee Rawkins 'Never Never River'Artist Talk February 2015 from Flinders Lane Gallery on Vimeo.

Rawkins trained at Southern Cross University and has exhibited extensively since 1994. In 2003 she was the recipient of The Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship and in 2004 she held a 5 months residency at Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France. She has been a finalist in the Mosman Art Prize (2020) and won the Mosman Art Prize Margaret Olley Commendation Award in 2019. She has also been a finalist in the Clayton Utz Award (2019, 2018), the Korea-Australia Arts Foundation (2016) and the Prometheus Art Award (2007, 2005). Her work is held in the collections including that of Maitland Regional Art Gallery and the Art Gallery Of NSW.

DOWNLOAD BIO / CV (PDF)

JOIN PREVIEW LIST

Green Butterfly 2020
acrylic on canvas
137cm x 121cm IN ARTIST'S STUDIO
$5,900 AUD

Foundered 2020
acrylic on canvas
122cm x 180cm IN ARTIST'S STUDIO
$7,500 AUD

Hello Butterflies 2020
acrylic on canvas
137cm x 121cm IN ARTIST'S STUDIO
$5,900 AUD

Spring Fig 2020
acrylic on canvas
121cm x 137cm
Sold
Sold

Gang Gang 2020
acrylic on linen
71cm x 61cm
$2,400 AUD

Little Glossy 2020
acrylic on canvas
71cm x 61cm
$2,400 AUD

Galah 2020
acrylic & charcoal on canvas
71cm x 61cm
Sold
Sold

Wedgetail 2020
acrylic & charcoal on canvas
137cm x 122cm
$5,900 AUD

Dog 2020
graphite & charcoal on paper framed
56cm x 76cm IN ARTIST'S STUDIO
$1,400 AUD

Wild Pig 2020
graphite & charcoal on paper framed
56cm x 76cm IN ARTIST'S STUDIO
$1,400 AUD

Magic Snake 2020
acrylic on canvas
76cm x 76cm
$2,800 AUD

Big Renewal 2020
acrylic on linen
121cm x 137cm in artist's studio, a Finalist in Mosman Art Prize 2020
$5,900 AUD

Golden Pheasant, The Painted Bird 2019
acrylic and charcoal on cotton
167cm x 213cm in artist's studio
$8,800 AUD

Lady Leopard 2018
acrylic and charcoal on cotton
137cm x 152cm Finalist in the 2019 Clayton Utz Award
Sold
Sold