Lehmann Maupin is pleased to announce the opening of Robin Rhode: The Call of Walls, the artist's debut Australian solo exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. The exhibition presents eleven of the artist's recent photographic works and ten of his recent animations. Additionally, the exhibition includes an extraordinary space for children (and inspired adults) to participate in the creation of artwork on the walls of the NGV using coloured crayons.

Rhode’s distinctive practice uses everyday materials such as chalk and charcoal to draw directly onto Johannesburg’s concrete walls, asphalt streets and public places, exploring the act of creative expression while referencing popular culture, graffiti art and the complex history of South Africa. Rhode’s work often portrays the artist, or a ‘doppelgänger’, interacting physically with his two-dimensional wall drawings, transforming cityscapes into three-dimensional imaginary worlds.

Tony Ellwood, NGV Director, said, “Rhode is a multidisciplinary artist who uses the street as a canvas to create highly inventive and often poetic works. We’re very pleased to hold his first solo exhibition in Australia and to be the first Australian gallery to stage his wonderful project for children, Paries Pictus.”

The Call of Walls will consist of two gallery spaces – one will display Rhode’s engaging blend of fine art, street culture and performance through his photography and animation; while the other will explore the act of drawing through an interactive space especially designed for children and families.

The unique children’s space will expand the artist’s site-specific project Paries Pictus, encouraging people large and small to come together to colour-in an installation of large-scale wallpaper paste-ups using coloured crayons. Paries Pictus, named after the Latin term for ‘wall drawing’, has previously been staged at Lehmann Maupin, New York, and at the Castello di Rivoli in Turin, Italy.

Open daily, 10am-5pm, free admission.

Image: © Robin Rhode, Lehmann Maupin