Ross Tamlin

Art has always been a spiritual immersion. It is a listening experience: a voice tells you which color to use, when, and where to draw a line.

––Ross Tamlin, Painter

New Zealand-born, Australia-based artist Ross Tamlin makes oil paintings that combine industrial imagery, signage text, and color-blocking. Reminiscent of the De Stijl movement, his works fuse art and architecture, simultaneously interpretive and mechanical. Having studied town-planning before art, Tamlin explores landscape and mapping place in paint.

Tamlin came from a family of artists, his mother an opera singer and actress and his father a talented illustrator. As a child, Tamlin was constantly drawing anything he could, from boats to anatomical figures. He eventually put together a drawing portfolio in young adulthood which landed him the opportunity to study under Ross Harvey at Meadowbank TAFE. Tamlin truly lives and breathes art. He has been a practicing artist for thirty years, the last twenty of which he has worked professionally as a full-time artist. He previously worked in paint manufacturing, which allowed him to personalize paint and color samples for his own artwork. His story involves several shared artist studios and years of collaboration and exchange with other creators. Tamlin’s work, however, is unquestionably unique. He transforms the idea of Australian corrugated iron, seen all over the suburbs and the bush, into fresh modern art. His illusive painting techniques three-dimensionalize the canvas and industrial enamel provides a rusted effect––to a degree of uncanny accuracy. He draws inspiration from Australian artist Rosalie Gascoigne, whose assemblages of found objects included yellow road signs.

Tamlin has exhibited in international art fairs in New York, Sydney and London. His work has been featured in 18 solo exhibitions and he has participated in many group exhibitions in Australia for which he has won a number of prizes and awards. His work can be found in private and corporate collections internationally.