Kate Rohde - New Designs - New Wonder

This month at the AGWA Design Store we invite you to explore the bright and magical world of Melbourne artist Kate Rohde.

Inspired by historical decorative arts, Kate Rohde loves Baroque, Rococo and Art Nouveau in particular. Her exclusive pieces at AGWA include bold statement vases and sculptures and maximalist, handmade jewellery.

Rohde has become known for artmaking that contains dioramas of taxidermy animals and landscapes contained within elaborate display cases that reference both current natural museums and the 16th century Wunderkammers, otherwise known as cabinets of curiosities.

Along with the use of craft materials and synthetic products, Rohde has a strong interest in resin, casting many of the pieces with her artworks out of this material, mixing in bright, hyper-real colours.

Rohde explains, “I use resin for the pieces in the AGWA store. I started working with resin about 15 years ago as I was initially drawn to its transparent quality, but over time I’ve come to appreciate its versatility and it’s a very forgiving material by and large.

“I like that it can be intensely dyed and pigmented,” she said.

Fascinated with intense colours, Rohde’s various skills and interests have seen her work in several creative arenas, including collaborating with Australian fashion house, Romance was Born on its Renaissance Dinosaur collection in 2010.

“I love bright and intense colours, especially fluorescent pinks and aqua. As a kid I was always obsessed with aqua and turquoise-coloured pencils and sets of fluoro highlighter pens. I liked to keep all the pencils in the correct rainbow order they were originally packed in,” she said.

“I think the new AGWA Design Store is very exciting and contemporary, presenting a great mix of local and international designers and makers.” - Kate Rohde