PAUL TURNER AND ROBERT BARTOLO  

SPACE 2

Exhibition dates : 28 July - 9 August 2026
Opening reception : Wed 29 July 2026, 6:00 - 8:30pm

People and Places - Dug out of a rabbit hole.

These works bring together a series of figurative, architectural, and semi-abstract works that explore the relationship between identity, memory, and the environments we inhabit. Moving between portraiture, landscape, and constructed space, the exhibition examines how people navigate the psychological terrain of contemporary life. Faces emerge fragmented and searching, while suburban scenes, imagined cityscapes, interiors, corridors, and thresholds become emotional spaces suspended between familiarity and uncertainty.

Through expressive colour, layered mark-making, and shifting perspectives, the works blur the boundaries between observation and memory, reality and imagination. Landscapes and interiors function as psychological environments where personal experience intersects with broader social constructs and urban psychology. Together, these paintings and drawings reflect the subtle tensions between comfort and dislocation, vulnerability and resilience, inviting viewers to consider the unseen emotional architectures that shape everyday life.

Robert Bartolo

Robert Bartolo creates abstract paintings that explore colour, texture, and the energy of the painting process. Working intuitively, he layers paint, gestures, and marks to build compositions that evolve naturally over time. Rather than representing a specific subject, his work focuses on balance, movement, and emotion, allowing each painting to develop through experimentation and instinct. Rich surfaces and expressive brushwork encourage viewers to look closely and discover new details with every viewing. Bartolo's practice celebrates the freedom of abstraction, inviting personal interpretation and creating a space where colour, form, and feeling come together.

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Paul Turner

Paul Turner creates expressive paintings that explore the connection between people, places, and memory. Inspired by the Australian landscape and everyday surroundings, his work combines bold colour, rich textures, and intuitive brushwork to capture the atmosphere and emotion of a scene rather than its exact appearance. Working primarily in acrylic, Turner builds layered surfaces that reveal new details on closer viewing. His paintings encourage viewers to reflect on their own experiences and relationships with place, celebrating the beauty, character, and stories found in both familiar landscapes and imagined spaces.