My solo exhibition “The edge of holding” is on until May 23 at ARC ONE Gallery, with an essay by Chelsea @eeyoreallthetime accompanying the exhibition ❤️
“Painting is often understood as a cumulative act: the gradual construction of form through successive marks. In Marina Rolfe’s recent work, however, painting unfolds as both accumulation and undoing. Layers are built only to be partially withdrawn, redirected, or held in suspension. The surface does not resolve through completion so much as arrive at a point where further action would destabilise what has already been established. The paintings settle into a state of holding—less a conclusion than a condition maintained.
Rolfe’s process is frequently described as intuitive, but this intuition is a sustained negotiation with these material behaviours. Oil paint, in particular, determines the terms of this exchange. Its viscosity allows colours to meet without fully integrating; edges soften or are clarified depending on pressure, timing, and repetition. A brush might carry one colour into another, producing combinations that are neither fully controlled nor entirely accidental. The work develops through these incremental decisions, where control is exercised not through imposition but through attention—knowing when to extend a mark and when to hold it in place. Each mark adjusts what the next can do. A colour is introduced and then thinned back; a line asserts itself only to be partially absorbed.”
- Exhibition words by Chelsea Hopper
Full essay via link in bio❤️
I’m excited to share that my solo exhibition with ARC ONE Gallery opens next month (April 15 - May 23).
Please come to celebrate with me on Saturday April 18, 2-4pm, and see what I’ve been working on over the past little while.
@arconegallery
🤍Matey 🤍
24.01.2011 - 20.05.2025
My little boy, best friend of over 14 years, our precious little white prince, precious puppy, I love you so much and we love you so much. The only boy who had me wrapped around his finger. You were always up to break the rules and sneak into places where puppies were not allowed. From being the most beautiful baby through your modelling hot babe days and till your quieter senior years with Charlotte and I, you were always sure about what you wanted. And again just like that, you decided it was your time - with us holding you, telling you sweet things, how much we love you, and you kept your paw out to be kissed and kissed and kissed, white prince puppy forever 🤍
And I just know you love seeing this post on your puppy heaven phone 🤍
We love you and miss you so much ❤️❤️❤️
