Art2Muse

Artworks available to view in Sydney

Rodney Love's small-scale acrylic and mixed-medium paintings are inspired by book covers, Japanese text, pop-culture, propaganda, faded road text, misanthropy, pop-psychology, media witch hunts, crumbling paintwork, pop-art, literature, religion, decay, destruction and death.

Rodney Love was born in Perth where he studied Japanese at Curtin University of Technology, and received a Bachelor of Art (Asian Studies) degree. He lived in Japan for six years. It was in Tokyo that he was first exposed to a significant number of exhibitions of international art, and was inspired to begin his own art practice. He was also influenced by certain Japanese aesthetics ideas, particularly wabi-sabi, which emphasises simplicity of design, use of natural and humble materials, and an appreciation of the patina of age.
He moved to Sydney in 1995, and has been an exhibiting artist for 10 years. He has a BFA (Hons) in Sculpture, and an MFA (Textiles/Installation) from the College of Fine Arts, UNSW. His book I Am Because We Are, which contextualises three series of his work, including Six Degrees, and examines the use of names in memorials and artworks, has just been published by VDM Verlag.

View Rodney Love's Blog

Artist's Statement

My work has two main strands. The first is the exploration of the dynamic between the individual and the group, and the way that groups interact with each other. Six Degrees uses human hair both metaphorically and metonymically to represent individuals and groups. I have hand-spun the hair, and woven it on a small table loom. The names of the donors are written above each person's hair. Each work is joined to the next by the person whose hair starts and finishes that part of the series. The 'six degrees' of the title is the well-known idea of the six degrees of separation: that we are connected to everyone else on the planet by very few steps in a chain of acquaintances. The work is concerned with what it means to be an individual within a group. Imagine this work extending beyond its boundaries to encompass everyone in the world, and imagine the population of the world as it inexorably becomes larger and larger. We, as a species, may reach a tipping point where the planet can no longer sustain us. Then, whether you are concerned with individuality or collectivity, we'll all share the same fate.

The other side to my work is the use of decay and destruction to produce random patterning. I have burnt light bulbs, buried paper in the ground and in compost heaps, used kiln firing to produce random effects on ceramics, and caused drawing pins to rust. These techniques produce patinas that simulate aging and decay. The Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi. celebrates the wear and tear of life and the effects that has on objects. My interest has also been in using objects that are destined for the garbage, but rescuing them and transforming them into art.

"Violence, Abjection and Ecstasy" consists of sheets of hand-made paper which contain, along with the paper pulp, items such as hair, grass, and vegetable fibre. The paper was buried in compost for weeks with pigments, spices, rusty metal objects, and rotting vegetables so that they would be stained by the processes of decay. The results were cleaned, coated with acrylic medium, then stitched with various patterns. The ordered, detailed stitching contrasts with the randomness of the staining to represent the triumph of culture over nature's entropy.
- Rodney Love

Education

1986-88, 1992 BA(Asian Studies), Curtin University of Technology, Perth
1999-2002 BFA(Honours) (Sculpture), College of Fine Arts, University of New
South Wales
2004-2006 MFA (Textiles), College of Fine Arts, UNSW

Solo Exhibitions

2010
PRET-A-VOIR Art2Muse Gallery, Sydney

2009
EVERYTHING ENDS Little Fish Gallery, Sydney

2007
I AM BECAUSE WE ARE Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney
HATE AND ENVY AND CRIME AND DARKNESS AND PAIN Kudos Gallery, Sydney

2005
I AM BECAUSE WE ARE [MARS] Melbourne Art Rooms, Port Melbourne
Nepalese Kitchen, part of eat art, in conjunction with the Surry Hills Festival

2003
Buds and Bowers, window installation, Crown St. Sydney

2002
MEMENTO VIVERE Shopfront Gallery, Blockhouse, UNSW
SO FAR Shopfront Gallery, Blockhouse, UNSW

1999
TOUCH Window room, PCL Exhibitionists

Group Exhibitions

2010
MOMENTUM 18th Tamworth Fibre Textile Biennial, Western Plains Cultural Centre Dubbo Regional Gallery, Dubbo, NSW; Hawkesbury Regional Gallery and Museum, Windsor, NSW (Touring exhibition)

2009
MOMENTUM 18th Tamworth Fibre Textile Biennial, Tweed River Gallery, NSW; Canberra School of Art Gallery, ANU, ACT; Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW; Mornington Peninsular Regional Gallery, Vic.; Geraldton Regional Gallery, W.A. (Touring exhibition)
PEOPLE TO PEOPLE, PLACE TO PLACE: THE JOURNEY SO FAR At The Vanishing Point Gallery, Newtown
The Sketchbook Project 3, Art House Gallery, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. (Touring exhibition) Museum of Contemporary Art D.C., Washington, D.C.; Laconia Gallery, Boston, MA; Antena Gallery, Chicago, IL; Soulard Art Market, St. Louis, MO; 3rd Ward, Brooklyn, NY; Museum of Design Atlanta, Atlanta GA; Chicago Art Source Gallery, Chicago, IL
Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award, Wangaratta Exhibitions Gallery, Wangaratta, Vic.
LANDSCAPES: A JOURNEY HOME IN TEXTILES Kudos Gallery, Sydney
Liverpool City Art Prize, Casula Powerhouse, Casula
Christmas Miniature Exhibition, Art2Muse Gallery, Sydney

2008
KUDOS TO KUDOS 10th anniversary show, Kudos Gallery, Sydney
PEOPLE TO PEOPLE, PLACE TO PLACE: AUSTRALIA-JAPAN The Japan Foundation Gallery, Sydney
PRAXIS Kudos Gallery, Sydney
Waverley Art Prize Exhibition, Waverley Woollahra Arts Centre
Art2Muse Exhibition, Tom Dunne Gallery, Sydney
ENTANGLEMENT Manningham Gallery, Victoria
MOMENTUM 18th Tamworth Fibre Textile Biennial, Tamworth Regional Gallery, NSW
FROM LAUSANNE TO BEIJING5th International Fiber Art Biennale, Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University, Beijing

2007
PEOPLE TO PEOPLE, PLACE TO PLACE: SYDNEY TOKYO NAGOYA Gosford Regional Gallery
SQUARE DANCE First Draft Gallery, Sydney

2006
TIMING IS EVERYTHING COFASpace, College of Fine Arts, UNSW, Sydney
REFRAME Ivan Dougherty Gallery
PEOPLE TO PEOPLE, PLACE TO PLACE: SYDNEY TOKYO NAGOYA Kudos Gallery

2005
VALENCYKudos Gallery
Waverley Art Prize Exhibition, Waverley Woollahra Arts Centre
DISLOCATION Kudos Gallery
Careen Furner Fine Art, Art Sydney 05
Northcott Group Beaux Art Ball, Art Preview and Auction, Sheraton on the Park, Sydney

2004
Waverley Art Prize Exhibition, Bondi Public School
KOX AND KUNTZ Kudos Gallery
SLIPPAGE Kudos Gallery
Northcott Group Beaux Art Ball, Art Preview and Auction, Sheraton on the Park
FLORESCENCE COFA SA Emerging Art + Design Award Exhibition, Kudos Gallery
ROSES AND THORNS An exhibition and charity auction in support of Amnesty International Australia, Kudos Gallery
COFA Fundraising Exhibition, Kudos Gallery

2003
SCULPTURE (Part of the Sculpture 2003 event involving 22 Sydney Galleries)
PCL Gallery (formerly PCL Exhibitionists)
Waverley Art Prize Exhibition, Bondi Public School
MONSTERS, ABHORRATIONS AND GENETIC MUTATIONS Knot Gallery
Alumni Prize Exhibition, Kudos Gallery
Northcott Group Beaux Art Ball, Art Preview and Auction, Sheraton on the Park

2002
Waverley Art Prize Exhibition, Bondi Public School
Student Union Art Prize Exhibition, University of NSW
UNSW Alumni Assoc.: COFA Chapter Inaugural Annual Student Art Prize Exhibition, Kudos gallery
EXPLORATION COFA Exhibition and Performance Space
COFA ANNUAL Honours Graduation Exhibition, College of Fine Arts
Christmas Show at PCL Exhibitionists

2001
GLIMPSE l'Ecole Duperre, Paris
OUT ART Seymour Centre
NUDE SALON Seymour Centre
READY-TO-WHERE Official Mercedes Fashion Week Event, University
of NSW
PUSH IN, UP, AND DOWN TO LOCK COFA Exhibition and Performance
Space
Waverley Art Prize Exhibition, Bondi Public School
REVHEADCOFA Exhibition and Performance Space
Student Union Art Prize Exhibition, University of NSW
National Tertiary Art Prize Exhibition, University of Newcastle
HOLIDAY ROMANCE COFA Exhibition and Performance Space
RISQUEKudos Gallery
MINTGraduation show, College of Fine Arts

2000
OUT ART Tin Sheds Gallery
˜NUDE SALONRoom 32
Waverley Art Prize Exhibition, Waverley Woollahra Arts Centre
LUGGAGE…NOT BAGGAGE PCL Exhibitionists
Student Union Art Prize Exhibition, University of NSW
Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society (Sydney) Scholarship
Finalists Exhibition, COFA Exhibition and Performance Space
SUSPECT PACKAGES COFA Exhibition and Performance Space
FURR’ Kudos Gallery
National Tertiary Art Prize Exhibition, University of Western Sydney
THE DOG SHOW PCL Exhibitionists
The Hutchins Art Prize Exhibition, The Long Gallery, Hobart
Christmas Show, PCL Exhibitionists

1999
Student Union Art Prize, University of NSW
Christmas Show, PCL Exhibitionists

1998
CRACK PCL Exhibitionists
TAP Art Award Exhibition, TAP Gallery
Christmas Show, PCL Exhibitionists

Grants/Scholarships

2005 GAS Scheme, COFA Students' Association
2004/2005 Australian Postgraduate Award
2002 University of New South Wales Honours Year Scholarship
2001 GAS Scheme, COFA Students’ Association
2000 Basil and Muriel Hooper Scholarship, Art Gallery of NSW

Awards/Prizes

2002 Viewers' Choice Award, Waverley Art Prize
Second Place, 3D Art Competition, Student Union Art Prize

2001 First Place, Photography Competition, Student Union Art Prize
Highly Commended, Sculpture section, Waverley Art Prize

2000 First Place, Photography Competition, Student Union Art Prize
Second Place, 3D Art Competition, Student Union Art Prize

1999 Highly Commended, Photography Competition, Student Union Art Prize

Residencies

2002 University of New South Wales Union

Bibliography

2009 Patricia Malarcher,'Interview: Valerie Kirk,' Surface Design, v.33, no. 3, Spring 2009
Belinda von Mengersen, 'Momentum, the 18th Tamworth Fibre Textile Biennial 2008,
Object, no. 58, May
Suzanne Boccalatte and Meredith Jones, eds., Trunk Volume One: Hair
Kerry-Anne Cousins, ‘Fibre Art’s Raw Beauty,’ The Canberra Times, July 30

2008 Dominique Angeloro, Properties of Hair, Incubate, iss. 2, Summer
Rodney Love, I Am Because We Are, VDM Verlag Dr Mueller
Rodney Love, Names, The College Voice, v. 6, iss. 1
Rodney Love, I Am Because We Are, ARLIS/ANZ Journal, No. 64, Dec. 2007/June2008
Entanglement catalogue, Manningham Gallery
From Lausanne to Beijing: 5th International Fiber Art Biennale catalogue, Academy of Arts
and Design, Tsinghua University, Beijing
Momentum, 18th Tamworth Fibre Textile Biennial catalogue, Tamworth Regional Gallery

2007 Rodney Love, I Am Because We Are, Textile Fibre Forum, v.26, iss.4, no. 88

2006 Re-frame catalogue, Ivan Dougherty Gallery
Top Student Work, Fiberarts, Nov/Dec

2005 Richard Allport, Let's Talk Textiles…COFA,Textile Fibre Forum, v.24, iss.1, no. 77
Megan Backhouse, Love objects hair-raising,The Age, Mar. 12
Caulfield Glen Eira/Port Philip Leader, Mar. 21
Harbant Gill, Sock jock goes to hair, Herald Sun, Mar. 21
Amanda King, âFor the Love of Socks COFA Magazine, Issue 12, Summer
Lisa Power,Art on Mars, The Age, Mar. 9
Sock it to Art, Herald Sun, Mar. 9
Richard Stubbs, Afternoons, ABC Radio 774, Melbourne, Mar. 9

2004 ˜Loves Socks, Object, No. 45
Elizabeth Fortescue, ‘Put a Sock in it, Daily Telegraph, Oct. 1
Elizabeth Fortescue,˜Love Puts a Whole Lot of Socks in it, Herald Sun, Oct. 12

2003 Tim Benzie, ˜Now you see it… now you see it again, Sun Herald, Jul. 13
Michelle Fernandes, Fundraiser night, Domain, Sydney Morning Herald, Jul. 24

2002 Column 8, Sydney Morning Herald, Mar. 15
Jennifer Hamilton, Memento Vivere exhibition review, Artwrite #25
Anthony Levin, The Artist in Love, Tharunka, Issue 2
Andrew London, Hair's how to transcend time and culture, Southern
Courier, Apr. 23
Alexa Moses, Spotlight, Opportunity, Sydney Morning Herald, Mar. 21
Alexa Moses, Spotlight, Today's Best, Sydney Morning Herald, May 3
Nicola Shafer, Everybody Loves Rodney, Blitz, Week 2, Session 1

2001 Image only, Australian Review of Books, The Australian, June

2000 Peter Gotting, Spotlight, Today's Best, Sydney Morning Herald, Aug. 15
Craig Judd, Review of Nude Salonâ and Out Art exhibitions, Sydney
Star Observer, Feb. 2