Caroline Rothwell (b. 1967, UK/Australia) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans over 20 years. The daughter of an industrial chemist, Rothwell’s practice investigates how ideas and beliefs have shaped our contemporary world. Her work explores systems of human interaction relating to time, nature, history, and science.
Rothwell has a BA from University of the Arts London, UK and MFA in sculpture from Hunter College, City University of New York, USA and University of Auckland, New Zealand. She currently lives in Sydney, Australia.
Rothwell’s recent institutional exhibitions include The National 2021: New Australian Art, a major biennial survey exhibition presented across the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Carriageworks, and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (March 2021); Horizon, a solo exhibition at Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre (July 2021); and Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now at the National Gallery of Australia (July 2021).
Other curated projects include: Femmage, Art Gallery of South Australia (2019); The Lady and the Unicorn: collection bestiary, Art Gallery of New South Wales (2018); Frágil, XIII Biennale of Cuenca, Ecuador (2016); Antipodes: cut apart, Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, UK (2016); Another Green World, Western Plains Cultural Centre (2017); Inspiracje, Trafo Centre for Contemporary Art, Poland (2017); Habit, Temple Contemporary, Philadelphia (2015), Dark Heart: 2014 Biennial of Australian Art at Art Gallery of South Australia; Urpflanze Street Plants, Museum of Economic Botany (2014).
As well as exhibiting extensively in solo and group exhibitions across Australia, New Zealand and the UK, Rothwell has undertaken public commissions at The Economist Plaza, London (for the Contemporary Art Society), UK; City of Canada Bay Council, Sydney, Australia; City of Sydney, Australia; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, New Zealand; as well as being awarded the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia’s Loti Smorgon Sculpture Terrace Commission for her work Composer in 2016.
Her work is held in numerous collections in Australia and internationally, including the National Gallery of Australia; Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia); Art Gallery of South Australia; Shepparton Art Museum (Australia); University of Queensland Art Museum (Australia); State Library of Victoria (Australia); City of Sydney (Australia); Artbank (Australia); Lyons Housemuseum (Australia); Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; OMI International Arts Center (USA); Auckland Art Gallery (New Zealand); University of Auckland (New Zealand); and the University of Cambridge (UK).