Joseph Rolella

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Born in Sydney in 1972, Joseph Rolella completed a Bachelor of Visual Art (Honours) in 1994 and was awarded the William Fletcher Trust Scholarship.  Rolella then went on to obtain his Masters in Visual Art at the University of Western Sydney in 1998. 

Rolella has been a regular finalist in major National Art Award’s such as the Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship in 2003, The Metro 5 Art Prize in 2005 and The Mosman Art Prize in 2010.  This year, Rolella won the prestigious Australian Cricket Art Prize for his piece “Cricket at Kandahar” and been recognised as a critically acclaimed rising star in the art world.

Rolella’s latest collection, Terrain, captures iconic and timeless Australian scenes with a vitality rarely seen. By introducing raw emotive colour and embracing bold tones, he has taken his fascination with light and surface to another level.  ‘Echoing the effects of time on cratered rock pools, mangrove roots and gnarled tree bark, Rolella builds his canvasses to a point where the surfaces themselves appear to have been weathered from wind, rain and tide’.  “My work is about the process of making visible the essence of place and experience”

Rolella is held in Public and Private Collections across Australia including the University of Western Sydney, the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Sydney Council, Westpac Collection, ANZ Collection and QANTAS.