Kalve is proud to present an exhibition by Ralph Kerle, an internationally acclaimed contemporary artist from Australia. Kerle’s work is renowned for exploring the intersection of abstraction, nature, and the subconscious. His exhibition, The Indeterminate Sublime, at the Rothko Museum, reflects a profound engagement with perception and the emotional resonance of color, drawing parallels to Rothko’s own exploration of the sublime.

Kerle believes that water reflections capture the essence of culture, a concept that has inspired his critically lauded exhibitions worldwide. His practice is deeply influenced by his fascination with Sydney Harbour’s waterways, which he navigates by kayak. These aquatic explorations allow him to illuminate a hidden world, overlooked by the city’s inhabitants but ever-present in his striking, liquid imagery. His photographs evoke the sensuous, mercurial forms of the natural world, often calling to mind the romantic landscapes of 18th and 19th-century painters, while celebrating the nautical beauty of his native Sydney.

A prestigious commission from Louis Vuitton, along with exhibitions in leading galleries, has cemented Kerle’s reputation as a visionary in contemporary art. His limited-edition prints and original artworks are highly sought after by collectors worldwide.

Kerle's artistic process is deeply informed by his background in theatre and performance, which sharpens his understanding of space, light, and their emotive powers. His fascination with the natural environment, particularly water, serves as both his medium and metaphor, reflecting his ongoing exploration of abstraction. His philosophy is influenced by Dr. Eric Kandel's concept of "the beholder's stake," emphasizing the viewer's emotional participation in the artwork. Through his immersive compositions, Kerle invites viewers to transcend the material world and engage with the limitless possibilities of the sublime.

At the core of Kerle’s work is the psychological phenomenon of pareidolia, where the brain extracts meaningful patterns from abstract input. This invites viewers on an intuitive journey, where abstract images slowly evolve into tangible, recognizable elements over time. His images, while seemingly abstract, become transformative, offering a sensuous, meditative experience.

Explore Ralph Kerle's world of abstract, aquatic beauty, and let the sublime invite you into a realm of reflection and transcendence.

CLICK HERe FOR AN EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

Introduction

Ralph Kerle has chosen to explore a new environment for this exhibition, The Water Spirits of Aveiro. In 2019, Kerle journeyed on the canals of Aveiro and was captivated by the relationship of the city’s past to its present.

Gazing at the surrounds from the water, he felt the spirited presence of the European artists who have inspired so many artists including himself.

The buildings that line the canals of Aveiro provided a rich subject for Kerle’s imagination. His digital photography is a representation of these meditative and transcendental moments experienced on the water.

The spirits of the past and present are seen though Kerle’s lens. The Water Spirits of Aveiro is a visual record of Kerle’s ongoing creative journey.

Opening Night

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOaD a COPY of the INDETERMINATE SUBLIME EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

(LATVIan and english versions)

Introduction

Ralph Kerle’s artistic practice began exactly where Mark Rothko’s ended - within the context of life-threatening depression, and uncannily extends a lineage Rothko could never have imagined.

Kerle's images evoke the imaginative, abstract and existential realms of 20th century haute-modernism, but are difficult to place within the context of the popular realism commonly associated with contemporary photographic practice.

On the hunt, Kerle’s images appear to offer themselves up from within a meditative state of self-reflection. Kerle takes the shot, but unlike his modernist predecessors, he does not make the mark. His images are not digitally altered; there is no cut & paste, no Photoshop in Ralph’s studio.

On reflection, Ralph’s images, like Rorshach inkblots, arise from the deep and stand as shimmering spectres of some indeterminate sublime, enabling the viewer to unpack their own unspoken longings,

In this regard Ralph Kerle’s photographs uncannily extend a lineage Rothko might have once hoped for.

For full details of the exhibition

Paintings On Water is a collection of images that comes out of abstractions in nature photographed during Kerle’s water journeys. They have been described variously as meditative, emotional, inspirational and aesthetically beautiful in their abstraction.

‘Paintings on Water visually explores the interplay between the surface of the waters and the power of physical movement as creative inspiration. “I discovered on a very fundamental human level, the synthesis of these elements freed my mind from mental darkness whilst recharging the soul with the light of new thinking,” says Kerle.

Ralph Kerle began kayaking on Middle Harbour, Sydney Australia around eight years ago as a way of finding a non-pharmaceutical remedy for depression. His daily morning kayak suddenly opened up a world of new visual perceptions; offering boundless moments of insight whilst connecting him as closely to nature as the original Aboriginal inhabitants of Middle Harbour, the Cammeraygals.

International art critic Damien Smith has offered the following observation. “Ralph Kerle’s photographic impressions appear to us not only as reflections of nature. Rather they speak past the possibility of continuum, and not only of our place within the ceaseless flow of time, but also of our ability to be actors within the conditions of our existence and to shape our relationship with the world.”

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The Art of Navy: Specially commissioned exhibition from the Royal Australian Navy premieres at the Australian National Maritime Museum 

For a very limited run, The Art of Navy - an intimate exhibit of original photographic works by internationally recognised Australian artist Ralph Kerle – will show at the Australian National Maritime Museum this spring. This is the first time the exhibition has been publically shown. 

The exhibition will be launched on 9th October alongside the official launch of the Museum’s newly acquired, Navy decommissioned Tiger Seahawk helicopter, which has just been installed high in the Navy Gallery ceiling space. The Art of Navy will run for the month of October, and seeks to challenge traditional perceptions of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) by offering up peaceful, meditative, abstract yet natural reflections of RAN vessels in Sydney Harbour. 

After a battle with depression, Kerle found solace and healing in the natural world, specifically in kayaking through Middle Harbour in Sydney. “These photographs represent for me how the power of physical movement in kayaking and the movements on the surface of the water can synthesize to act as creative inspiration freeing the mind of mental darkness to heal, recharge and inspire the inner self,” explains Kerle.  

The award winning multimedia and photographic artist was commissioned by the RAN in early 2019 to apply his innovative digital photographic technique to capturing reflections on the surface of the water of ships of the fleet in the waters of Sydney Harbour. 

Deputy Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Mark Hammond says the exhibition is very different from traditional maritime art. “When you first view the image, you assume it’s a traditional painting of some kind but it’s actually a cleverly crafted image. Appearance gives way to reality,” Rear Admiral Hammond says. 

“In the same way, I hope each image will challenge established impressions of our Navy, which has changed dramatically from times past. We remain an enduring presence, but the images invite the visitor to consider for themselves what Navy stands for in these challenging times.”

Australian National Maritime Museum Director Kevin Sumption PSM comments: “The Navy’s role in society is rapidly changing, and it’s our responsibility, and privilege, as a maritime museum to preserve and make available for the public, this diverse and dynamic evolution.”

Since commencing his reflections on water series, Ralph Kerle’s work has achieved international recognition and has been the subject of exhibitions in Berlin, Germany (2017), Lisbon, Portugal (2015), Riga, Latvia (2015) as well as galleries in Melbourne (2016) and Sydney.

Kerle's art practice creates work that is abstract and impressionistic yet anchored in the natural environment. His images are not photoshopped or artificially created. They are images that nature has created and exist in reality. They are designed as peaceful meditations on the way we engage with the environment in which we live and how we think, see and communicate our sense of “being” in it.

In The Art of Navy exhibition, he asks the question "how might we think differently about the world of the Navy?”

Media contact

Stefania Kubowicz

PR Manager

M: 0401 934 901 

E: Stefania.kubowicz@sea.museum

BREAKING NEWS:

The evening will feature a live-cross to The Mark Rothko Art Centre in Daugavfils, Latvia, where Ralph will be an international 'Artist-in-Residence' from April 2020, for a conversation with Inita Paegle, Curator, and Vineta Straznova, Owner, CREA Interior Design Gallery, Riga who has exhibited Ralph's work in Latvia previously.

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2019 has proved to be a genuinely ground breaking year for my work. Even better, we have not had to move and are still open every day at the Intercontinental Hotel! 

Two new series of works have been created - one in Aveiro, Portugal and one in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Whilst the new works are still water based reflections, a breakthrough in content and colour can be observed because of the geography of the landscape and the light in these new environments. I'm excited and keen to share these new works for the first time publicly.

To add further impetus to 2019, I have  been offered two major international exhibition opportunities that will be announced at this May event with a special guest appearance by one of the curators.  

To celebrate these new developments, we would like to invite you for drinks on Friday May 31 February at 6.00pm.

RSVP to this event is required.

Really hope you can join me
Ralph

Ralph Kerle’s Art features in a new group exhibition at one of Lisbon’s hip new concept/gallery spaces, Embaixada, Praça do príncipe real 26,1° 1250-184 Lisboa in the WelcomeToArt Art Gallery..

The exhibition features three up and coming Portuguese photographers Teresa Marques dos Santos, Jorje and award winningJosé Esteves Martins and provides Ralph with an opportunity to expose his work and to interact with the Portuguese fine art community.

Join us in the Gallery for the Vennisage on Friday Nov 9 at 7.00pm for drinks when Ralph will present a short film on his work and creative process.

RSVP to rk@ralphkerlesart.com by close of business Thursday Nov 8

On the occasion of the Berlin Art Week 2018, Enter Art Foundation presents it’s tenth exhibition, “42 Contemporary Artists”.  After exhibitions in Stockholm, Sweden and Bonn, we are excited to exhibit again in our hometown Berlin. 

This exhibition consists of 42 emerging and mid-career artists, ranging in age between 21 and 72. These artists have been selected from exhibitions, art schools, and studio visits in Berlin and cities in Germany and abroad,  including master students of the Düsseldorf Art Academy, the UdK Berlin, HGB Leipzig and the Royal Institute of Art Stockholm.

I am honoured to be selcted as one of the 42 artists.

For full details and background

The exhibition will be opened by Dr Louise Mahler, Leadership Influencer and a world leader in business and the arts with a special presentation by Andy Singh, President of the Paddle Canoe Club of NSW, the oldest kayaking club in Australia founded in 1934 by Paddy Pallin.

The opening will include the premiere of a short 4 minute film "Hunting For Reflections"  - a snapshot of how I make my work.

Drawings on Water Goes Baltic with an exhibition of new work at Latvia's leading design gallery CREA

Gallery 307, 307 Sailors Bay Road, Northbridge is having an exhibition of new and emerging artists that will include a small selection from the Drawings on Water series entitled the Water Line.

Drawings on Water visually explores the surface of the waters of Middle Harbour, Sydney Australia and the power of physical movement in kayaking as the medium for creative inspiration to free the mind of mental darkness to recharge the soul with healing insights.

Around five years ago, Ralph Kerle began kayaking on Middle Harbour as a way of finding a non-pharmaceutical remedy for depression. His morning kayak soon opened up a daily world of new perceptions; offering boundless moments of insight whilst connecting him physically as close to nature as the original inhabitants of Middle Harbour, the Cammeraygals. The exhibition comprises photographs taken during his kayak journeys that acted as the doorways to new mental pathways and self awareness.

Click here to read the full story of his journey.

Willoughby Mayor Gail Giles-Gidney will open the exhibition at Gallery 88, 88 Penshurst St Willoughby on Thursday 19 March. Musical entertainment at the opening will be provided by vocalist and musician Rory O’Donoghue (aka Thin Arthur from the famous ABC comedy series, the Aunty Jack Show).

Ralph Kerle is an acknowledged global leader in the development and application of creative skills in organisations. He is a former Associate Director of the Sydney Theatre Company and owned and ran the iconic Melbourne comedy cabaret venue, the Flying Trapeze Café in its heyday (1978-81). He studied at the Victorian College of the Arts, majoring in dramatic art.