Kathryn Ruddick and Maya Grkow’s new exhibition, River of Time explores notions of the environment and human immersion within it.
2 – 25 November 2022
Opening night: Thursday 3 November, 5.30-7.30pm. Free, but RSVP essential via via Eventbrite.
Kathryn Ruddick and Maya Grkow, River of Time 2022 (install detail). Image courtesy the artists, photoshopped by Sue Madex.
Featuring the works of Kathryn Ruddick and Maya Grkow, River of Time explores notions of the environment and human immersion within it, using sculpture, drawing, and collage to explore a being together with nature.
Ruddick’s The Journey of a River is a large-scale mixed-media work on paper that includes a collection of ephemeral images which narrate the layers of place and time, representing geological structures, flora and fauna endemic to the Melbourne area, and swirls of colour representing the movement of the river.
Grkow expresses a 'being with' nature in her work Origin—a sculptural installation which consists of fabricated tree roots hanging from the roof, spreading throughout the gallery space. Made of paper and wire frames, audiences are invited to walk through the dream-like forest landscape created by these sculpted roots.
The artists invite you to sit with their works, think of your memories of your familiar landscapes, in quiet solidarity with the wilderness.
About the artists
Kathryn Ruddick is an Australian artist, growing up in country Tasmania. She works across paper related art disciplines including painting, printmaking, collage, artists books and papermaking. Her work researches environmental themes, in particular critically endangered birds, but also delving into the heart of ecosystems and the abundance of life-forms around wetlands and riparian landscapes. Her current work has strong historic themes, influenced by genealogical discoveries connecting her family tree to places and time periods in which white settlement had some of the biggest impacts on the Australian landscape.
Kathryn completed the Advanced Certificate of Art & Design at Box Hill Tafe in 1992 and the Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting) at RMIT University in 2022. Kathryn volunteers at TarraWarra Museum of Art.
Website: kathrynruddick.com
Instagram: @kathrynruddick
Maya Grkow is an emerging New Zealand artist who is presently studying Sculpture at RMIT University. Maya is a multi-media artist, but prominently works in installation and drawing. She is deeply engaged within the natural environment which is heavily influenced from her homeland New Zealand. Her practice explores the psyche and the natural world with an emphasis on the use of recycled materials.
Maya’s work has been exhibited at Deakin University as part of a group exhibition in 2017, won the Studio Art subject award in 2018 from Highvale Secondary College. Since graduating high school she has also exhibited in a number of group shows, been a part of RMIT Sculpture Club Executive Committee and won the BDS sculpture award in 2021 for her work ‘Metamorphosis’.
Instagram: @maya_g_artist
