Art & the Bestiary

Kate Rohde’s recent sculptures and installations utilise an extensive range of craft and hardware materials, including silicone, expanding foam, fake fur, various resins and rice paper. With these she creates collections of zoological, botanical and geological specimens, which offer a playful and decorative interpretation of natural history. Kate also incorporates decorative elements typical of Baroque and Rococo style, with much of the patterning being drawn from flora and fauna sources. The combination of the two intersecting interests creates a psychedelic super-nature lovingly reconstituted one tuft of faux fur at a time.

Kate Rohde completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2001. Since then she has held several solo exhibitions and been involved in numerous group shows, including; Curious Colony Newcastle Region Art Gallery (2010), Crystalised, Karen Woodbury Gallery (2009); Code share, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (2009); Handle with care, the Art Gallery of South Australia (2008) and Flourish, TarraWarra Museum of Art (2008). She is represented by Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne. Her work is held in a number of public collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, Bendigo Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of South Australia.