Jan Murphy Gallery is pleased to present ‘Disappearing Act’ by Brisbane based artist Monica Rohan. Disappearing Act is Monica’s sixth solo exhibition with the gallery and her most ambitious to date. Known for her intimate and intricate style that displays a sensitivity to her surroundings, these works theatrically celebrate the Australian landscape and explore the anxiety of climate uncertainty.
“Disappearing Act examines feelings of anxiety and concern toward landscapes under threat. In these paintings, curtains of patterned textiles are drawn back by disembodied hands, creating portals to seemingly idyllic environments beyond. Against the depth of these vistas the fabrics flatten into abstract designs that hinder and distract the eye, drawing attention to the way paintings mediate our experience of the landscape.” – Monica Rohan, 2023
Meticulously painted vistas are slowly revealed behind swathes of patterned, vintage fabric. In her own gentle, surreal way, Monica is spotlighting slithers of the natural landscape, at threat of becoming remnants themselves.
Monica Rohan has been a finalist in the Archibald Prize (2020 and 2016), the Dobell Drawing Prize (2019), Sunshine Coast Art Prize (2018), the Sulman Prize (2017) and the Gold Award (2016). Most recently Rohan has been a finalist in the Brisbane Portrait Prize (2022 and Highly Commended 2021) and was featured in the major group exhibition Wrestlemania at Rockhampton Museum of Art in 2022.