
Rose Nolan: Why Do We Do The Things We Do
Artspace Sydney and Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane 2011
Born Melbourne, Australia 1959
Lives and works in Melbourne
Rose Nolan works across painting, installation, sculpture, photography, prints and book production. Her practice regularly oscillates between the discrete and the monumental and is informed by a strong interest in architecture, interior and graphic design – combining formal concerns with the legacies of modernism. Nolan’s practice is known for its investigation of the formal and linguistic qualities of words, directly using language to transform the architectural space they inhabit. By making language concrete in this way meaning is allowed to be approached differently.
Nolan employs a radically reduced palette of red and white, and simple utilitarian materials and methods, in an exploration of personal, playful and often self-effacing narratives. Each work describes a concern for economy; a desire to be responsive to site; an interest in seriality and repetition; and the importance of language, interactivity, and the experience of the viewer.
Nolan’s works are held in important public collections, including: the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne; and Monash University Museum of Art.
Nolan has completed numerous public art commissions, including ‘Screen Works – ENOUGH-NOW/EVEN/MORE-SO’, QVM Munro Community Hub, City of Melbourne (2021), ‘GIVE OR TAKE’, Monash University Library Caulfield Campus (2017); ‘A Big Word – HELLO’ (The Hello House in collaboration with OOF! Architecture), Melbourne (2014), ‘It’s Okay to Be Alright’, Melbourne Art Trams (2013); and ‘It’s Hard to See What This All Means’, Site One, Docklands, Melbourne (2006).
Rose Nolan
Parlour Games
30th October – 18th December 2021
Anna Schwartz Gallery
Rose Nolan
Wall Work
18th February – 13th March 2021
Conners Conners
Rose Nolan
A Singular Impulse
28th August – 29th September 2018
Anna Schwartz Gallery
Rose Nolan
Immodest Gestures & Irrational Thoughts
7th October – 14th November 2015
Anna Schwartz Gallery
Kerrie Poliness, Rose Nolan, Stephen Bram
Poliness, Nolan, Bram
20th September – 1st November 2014
Anna Schwartz Gallery Carriageworks
Rose Nolan
Performance Architecture
16th May – 6th July 2013
Anna Schwartz Gallery
Tom Nicholson, Jenny Watson, Mutlu Çerkez, Peter Tyndall, Marco Fusinato, Ian Whittlesea, Mike Parr, Emily Floyd, Janet Burchill & Jennifer McCamley, Rose Nolan, Grant Stevens
WORD
4th July – 8th August 2009
Anna Schwartz Gallery Carriageworks
Rose Nolan
Another Homework Experiment
14th May – 20th June 2009
Anna Schwartz Gallery
Rose Nolan
Why Do We Do The Things We Do
9th May – 7th June 2008
Artspace
Rose Nolan
Extra Homework
8th – 30th July 2005
Anna Schwartz Gallery
Rose Nolan
More Rose Nolan
7th – 28th March 2002
Anna Schwartz Gallery
Rose Nolan
Big Words (Not Mine) A public space is occupied by private bodies…, 2020
Hessian, acrylic paint, haberdashery thread
dimensions variable
Rose Nolan
A CULTURAL SIGNPOST, 2020
acrylic paint, cardboard, found boxes, cardboard tube
97 x 12 x 10 cm
Rose Nolan
Home Office, 2019
found packaging, cardboard, synthetic polymer paint
42 x 34 x 11 cm
Photo: Christian Capurro
Rose Nolan
Wellness Centre, 2019
found packaging, cardboard, synthetic polymer paint
27.5 x 41 x 23 cm
Photo: Christian Capurro
Rose Nolan
NGV Contemporary, 2019
found packaging, cardboard, synthetic polymer paint
37 x 28.5 x 27.5 cm
Rose Nolan
Big Words — A Singular Impulse, 2018
multi-purpose identification labels, PVA, acrylic paint, pencil, cardboard
236.5 x 38.8 cm
Photo: Zan Wimberley
Rose Nolan
LESS IS HARDER (twice over), 2017
acrylic paint on cardboard
23 x 140 x 16 cm
Rose Nolan
A Big Word — HOPEFUL, 2014
acrylic paint directly on wall
550 cm x 2122 cm
installation view, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Carriageworks
Rose Nolan
Big Words — QUOTE/UNQUOTE, 2014
hessian, acrylic paint, embroidery thread
2 pennants: 25 cm x 45 cm; 28 cm x 65 cm
Rose Nolan
You See What I’m Saying (twice over print version), 2012
screenprint on Magnani Corona 310gsm
100 x 70 cm (unframed)
Rose Nolan
Placard Work — AWKWARD, 2009
acrylic paint, cardboard, wood
285 x 22 cm
Rose Nolan
The Welcome Mat, 2007
acrylic wool thread
150 x 350 cm
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