Made From Rain — Rhys John Kaye

a crowd in front of some art by Rhys John Kaye at the opening of 'Made From Rain' solo art exhibition at No Vacancy Gallery in Melbourne Australia, presenting portraits and modern figurative oil paintings in a contemporary art gallery.

Words by Sean Irving in response to ‘Made From Rain’ by Rhys John Kaye at - No Vacancy Gallery 2024

Made From Rain, Rhys John Kaye's latest body of work, presents fragmented and fragile recollections of the artist's life, free from the imposition of a linear narrative structure.

These are not autobiographical depictions, but rather glimpses of memory intertwined with the perspective of the present. This is past made muddy with reference, allusion, and the irrepressible vantage of the current moment.

Throughout these pieces, Rhys obscures the audience’s view with a persistent cover of rain. As a metaphor and visual device, this blurring of vision – a resistance to resolution – simultaneously invites the audience to look closer while also stubbornly thwarting our comprehension.

Alongside the painted works, we find a series of porcelain buckets that allude to the fragility of painting itself and the tenuousness of the scenes depicted – not captured – in the medium.

Collectively, these pieces ask a question: are our memories formed from truth, or do they function more like dreams – as stories we tell ourselves?