Harry Rothel’s work portrays an imaginative narrative and is mapping ideas of the human psyche. However, it can often be confrontational in exploring social conventions, politics, and the world he lives in. Macabre and extravagant themes run throughout his work accompanied by soft and stripped-down colors that create disquieting images.
His use of overlapping themes of joy and horror, with the application of subtle and acerbic layers of stripped back paint construct somewhat eerie pictures that he hopes challenge the conventions of today. The most recent body of such ominous yet satirical paintings created during lockdown is filled with fanciful terrains and characters and is an ongoing exploration of the new, yet unknown world.
Harry Rothel is a Melbourne-based artist working and living in the Dandenong ranges.