Melting: Roger Byrt

cbOne Gallery is pleased to present Roger Byrt’s new subterranean paintings of melting glacial caves, accompanied with a sound composition by Barb Byrt.

Melting is an exploration of gravity-defying landscapes; we’re not only taken into caves through Roger Byrt’s paintings but the canvases themselves can rotate into variable compositions. Well known for his mastery of oil painting techniques, Roger Byrt achieves the luminosity of early Renaissance painting as he captures light in jewel-like colour.In recent years, Byrt has explored painting cavernous spaces from his travels to America’s southwest canyons and glaciers in Iceland.

Byrt is also drawn to painting caves because they abandon conventional realist perspective. The structure of the cave allows floating immersion that draws the viewer’s eye to all areas of the canvas. “I like the idea of painting a subject that doesn’t have a horizon line, or any up or down,” says Byrt. “I rotate the works whileI’m painting them so there’s this sense of being surrounded by the landscape rather than looking through a window at it.” - Zara Sigglekow, Art Guide, 2020

Roger Byrt’s paintings draw us into sublime landscapes that touch
on the metaphysical and question the human perspective. Melting is particularly crucial when glaciers are melting alarmingly from increased temperatures and rising sea levels. These paintings capture moments in flux where what seemed like eternal forms drip into liquid that reflects and illuminates.

Roger Byrt has an impressive history of exhibiting regularly in Australia and Canada. His career began with solo shows at the now legendary Pinacotheca Gallery throughout the ‘80’s and 90’s. His works have been acquired by important collections including Heide Museum ofArt, Artbank, NAB Collection, Monash University, and many regional galleries.