Paintings in Residence—a bold new exhibition by Perth-born, Melbourne-based visual artist (and dear friend) Benjamin Barretto. Fresh from a sell-out presentation at Melbourne Art Fair, Barretto brings new works from his ongoing Painting paintings series into dialogue with the weird, wonderful and richly coloured spaces of Lawson Flats.
Painting paintings is a decade-long exploration where artworks become both action and artefact. Oil paint is manipulated directly between the surface of two canvases, blending and transferring pigment through repeated movement. The resulting surfaces register the passage of time, pressure, and contact in gradated fields of colour.
This procedural approach is central to Barretto’s wider practice, which spans painting, sound, video, performance and sculpture. He often incorporates structures drawn from experimental music—feedback, phasing, and looping—using them as conceptual engines to destabilise material certainties. The result is a practice that dwells in the spaces between image and object, improvisation and control.
Born in Perth in 1985, Barretto holds Honours from Curtin University and was a visiting scholar at École Nationale Supérieur d’Art in Dijon, France. He has exhibited widely across the US, Europe, and Australia, with work held in private collections internationally. He now lives in Melbourne and is represented by Animal House Fine Arts.
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While anchored in the Lawson Gallery, the exhibition extends into the club's most distinctive interiors. Viewing is by appointment.
All works in are available for sale, please contact Concierge for pricing or to express interest.
Presented by Lawson Flats - don’t miss this rare Perth showing from one of Australia’s most intriguing artists