The artist – Rowena Martinich
An internationally-renowned artist working in the commercial, private and public sectors, Rowena’s practice spans public art, painting installations, permanent and temporary interventions, murals within streetscapes, architectural applications and compositions on canvas. Rowena has been engaged by some of Australia’s leading architects and interior designers to create bespoke immersive art experiences in both domestic and commercial environments.
About the artwork
Trace is a lively exploration of movement, colour, scale and point-of-view. Presented as a diptych, Martinich injects movement, subtle colour studies and bold graphic strokes into the everyday experience of traversing a staircase. When viewed up-close as one ascends or descends the stairs, Trace intends to distract and enthrall at once. Likewise, as drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians are stopped at the intersection of Burrows Road, Bourke Road and Campbell Road, they are momentarily entranced by Martinich’s playful gestures.
As a site responsive work, the soft, curved lines and ‘random’ bursts of paint stand as beacons of colour in contrast to the angular architecture of the building. The palette was chosen in response to the soft champagne and brass hues of the building’s steel cladding and its chocolate brickwork.
The artist blended layers of paint using large brushes and mops, sometimes using multiple colours in the one stroke to gradually create a complex thread of expressive mark making. Crisp lines of the graphic roller mark were then added, and finally fuzzy edges of soft spray.