
Rose Nolan: Why Do We Do The Things We Do
Artspace Sydney and Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane 2011
Rose Nolan
Help me to do things better / Help me to do better things, 2003
oil on hessian
12 parts, dimensions variable
Rose Nolan
Big Words (Not Mine) 3. Illogical Judgements Lead to New Experience, 2006
2 banners, acrylic on hessian
871 x 59 cm, 879 x 59 cm
installation view, 2006 Biennale of Sydney, Art Gallery of
New South Wales
Photo: Greg Weight
Rose Nolan
Big Words (Not Mine) 3. Illogical Judgements Lead to New Experience, 2006
2 banners, acrylic on hessian
871 x 59 cm, 879 x 59 cm
installation view, 2006 Biennale of Sydney, Art Gallery of
New South Wales
Photo: Greg Weight
Rose Nolan
Big Words (Not Mine) 32. Banal Ideas cannot be rescued by beautiful execution, 2006
acrylic paint on glass
dimensions variable
installation view, 2006 Biennale of Sydney, Art Gallery of
New South Wales
Photo: Greg Weight
Rose Nolan
Big Words (Not Mine) — 5. Irrational Judgements Should be Followed Absolutely and Logically, 2006
acrylic on hessian
623 x 282 cm
installation view, 2006 Biennale of Sydney, Museum of
Contemporary Art Australia
Photo: Chris Symons
Rose Nolan
A Sandwich-Board Work — See Anything Suspicious, 2006
acrylic paint, MDF, metal hinges
100 x 60 cm
Rose Nolan
The Welcome Mat, 2007
acrylic wool thread
150 x 350 cm
Rose Nolan
The Issey Miyake Tower, 2008
found packaging, cardboard, synthetic polymer paint
42 x 20 x 12 cm
Photo: Christian Capurro
Rose Nolan
Tunnel/Tent Work — HARD BUT FAIR/POINT LESS, 2009
acrylic paint, hessian and cotton thread
2484 x 270 x 100 cm
Rose Nolan
A SENSE OF SOMETHING, 2011
acrylic paint
dimensions variable
installation view, The Solo Projects, VCA Margaret
Lawrence Gallery, Melbourne International Arts Festival
Photo: Kay Abude
Rose Nolan
An Awkward Screen, 2011
synthetic polymer paint, cardboard, ribbon
dimensions variable (250 cm high)
installation view, The Solo Projects, VCA Margaret
Lawrence Gallery, Melbourne International Arts Festival
Photo: Kay Abude
Rose Nolan
Tunnel/Tent Work (reversed, for one), 2012
synthetic polymer paint, hessian, Velcro, steel
320 x 88 x 85 cm
Rose Nolan
Big Words (Not Mine) – Read the words “public space”…, 2013
Hessian, acrylic paint, haberdashery thread
Dimensions variable
Installation view, Anna Schwartz Gallery
Photo: John Brash
Rose Nolan
Big Words (Not Mine) – Read the words “public space”…, 2013
Hessian, acrylic paint, haberdashery thread
Dimensions variable
Installation view, Anna Schwartz Gallery
Photo: John Brash
Rose Nolan
Big Words — UP DATE/DOWN LOAD (circle work), 2014
acrylic on hessian
310 x 220 cm
installation view, Anna Schwartz Gallery
Rose Nolan
The Hello House, 2014
Rose Nolan in collaboration with OOF! Architecture, Melbourne
Completed 2014
Photo: Nic Granlese
Rose Nolan
Big Words — INFORMATION AS ORNAMENT, 2016
thermally folded laser cut acrylic
26 x 62 x 65 cm
Photo: Matthew Stanton
Rose Nolan
Big Words (Not Mine) Irrational thoughts should be followed absolutely and logically (Circle Work), 2015
acrylic paint, hessian, steel, Velcro and embroidery thread
310 x 2880 cm, 325 x 358 x 1510 cm
installation view, Anna Schwartz Gallery
Rose Nolan
Big Words – to keep going, breathing helps (circle work), 2016 – 17
synthetic polymer paint, hessian, velcro, steel
dimensions variable
installation view, The National, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Photo: Felicity Jenkins
Rose Nolan
Big Words – GIVE OR TAKE, 2017
ceramic tiles
3010 x 3870 cm
Monash University Caulfield Library, Monash University Public Art Commission
Photo: Andrew Curtis
Rose Nolan
Big Words (Not Mine) — Repetition compulsion or a drive to repeat a singular impulse over and over again to get it right or righter is distinguished from some unstoppable urge to create, 2018
Multi-purpose identification labels, PVA, acrylic paint, pencil, cardboard
15.3 x 1396.6 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
A Big Word — HOPEFUL, 2014
acrylic paint directly on wall
550 cm x 2122 cm
installation view, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Carriageworks
Rose Nolan
A Big Word – DISJUNCTURE, 2019
acrylic paint on wall partition
dimensions variable
installation view, Pillar to Post, Sydney College of the Arts, 2019
Photo: Ian Hobbs
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
It’s hard to see what this all means, 2019
acrylic paint on cardboard
21.5 x 190 x 16 cm
Photo: Christian Capurro
Born Melbourne, Australia 1959
Lives and works in Melbourne
Rose Nolan’s practice investigates the formal and linguistic qualities of words and their relationship to architectural space. Adopting the language of abstraction and revolutionary aesthetics, Nolan typically uses a reduced palette of red and white and simple, inexpensive, utilitarian materials to create banners, posters, pamphlets, paintings and large-scale installations. Recalling the heroic and propagandist traditions of constructivism and political postering, her banners also make implicit reference to the vernacular antics and subjective expression of cheer squads, crowds and fans. The banners work back – and-forth, trucking with history and revelling in a sense of the moment, appealing to public memory while ‘flying the flag for abstraction’.
Rose Nolan was a member of the group of artists who formed ‘Store 5’, a loose experimental collective and space based in Melbourne between 1989 and 1993.
Exhibitions include The National 2017; New Australian Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2017); Let’s Talk About Text, Artbank, Sydney (2017); Fabrik – conceptual, minimalist and performative approaches to textiles, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne (2016); Image Worth Reading, Key Projects, Long Island City, New York (2015); Taking It All Away: MCA Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2014); Melbourne Now, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2013); The Solo Projects, VCA Margaret Lawrence Gallery, Melbourne International Arts Festival (2011); Why Do We Do The Things We Do, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (2008); Work in Progress #3, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne (2002).
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
IF NOT YOU WHO, 2020
acrylic paint, cardboard, found box
72 x 41 x 9 cm
Rose Nolan
A CULTURAL SIGNPOST, 2020
acrylic paint, cardboard, found boxes, cardboard tube
97 x 12 x 10 cm
Rose Nolan
It’s hard to see what this all means, 2019
acrylic paint on cardboard
21.5 x 190 x 16 cm
Photo: Christian Capurro
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 – Trying to get it right or righter, 2018
multi-purpose identification labels, PVA, acrylic paint, pencil, cardboard
133.4 x 252.3 cm overall
Rose Nolan
Big Words – Some unstoppable urge to create, 2018
multi-purpose identification labels, PVA, acrylic paint, pencil, cardboard
245.5 x 22.5 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
Big Words — UP DATE/DOWN LOAD (Circle Work), 2014
acrylic on hessian
310 x 220 cm
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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