Caroline Walls
Melbourne, Australia
Caroline Walls draws inspiration from the movement and fluidity of the female form, moments of intimacy, contemporary perceptions of sexuality, as well as themes relating to birth, fertility and motherhood. Keenly interested in the construction and complexity of personal identity and the distinction between the private and the public self, her artistic practice, which includes painting, drawing and sculpture, is grounded in a sensitive use of colour and a deep consideration for composition and form.
Often exploring deeply personal narratives, her paintings navigate the space between being a mother, partner and artist; the inherent tension in trying to be all things. While the works can be informed by the artists’ personal life, the intimacy at play is universal of the human condition. Hovering somewhere between figuration and abstraction, Walls’ painterly approach depicts feminine silhouettes
(often cropped and abstracted), draping fabrics and fluid materials that hope to capture both the ordinariness and extraordinariness of the everyday experience. The artists paintings are imbued with a sense of tenderness – offering a nuanced and alternative representation of womanhood, human connection, the search for self, love and longing.
Born in Auckland, New Zealand before moving to Australia at a young age, Walls completed an Honours degree in Visual Communication at Swinburne University of Melbourne, before spending extensive time living abroad in both London and New York, working in the field of fashion art direction and design. On returning to Australia, she completed post-graduate studies in Visual Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts and continues her art practice from her studio in Melbourne, Australia.
Her solo exhibitions include 'Touching From A Distance’, James Makin Gallery (2024) A Thread To Find’, James Makin Gallery (2023) ‘Mother Lover’, Jerico Contemporary (2022) ‘Resemblance’, Jerico Contemporary (2020), ‘Darker Places’, Fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne (2018), ‘Maybe She’, Saint Cloche Gallery, Sydney (2017), ‘Another Thought’, Modern Times, Melbourne (2017) and ‘The Women’, Gallerysmith Project Space, Melbourne (2015).