RICK CARLINO | BIG DIRTY VELVET
Recently, life threw me one of those events that rewires everything — the kind that makes you sift through your past, scrutinise your present, and stare into your future. It forces you to measure the people, choices, and legacy worth keeping.
When the dust settled, my verdict was clear: I’m truly grateful. I love who I am, the life I’ve built, and the people I hold close — and right now, making art is exactly what I’m meant to do. And you’re meant to see it. None of this is accidental. I had nothing and everything to do with it.
‘Big Dirty Velvet’ is an attitude — a filthy, luscious guiding principle that clings to every work. It’s unapologetic, decadent, and perfect-less. No fine print, just something you feel in your gut. My practice has always been a tangible expression of my thoughts, feelings, and attitudes, woven into each collection as a visual story.
This collection lives in deep chocolates, cherry reds, burnt oranges, and juicy browns. Part I: large-scale works at .M Contemporary. Part II: signature grids at Sydney Contemporary. One story, two chapters.
Sydney-based artist Rick Carlino has spent the past decade developing a distinctive practice centred on epoxy resin, exploring the fluidity, viscosity and unpredictability of a notoriously demanding medium. Working at scale, Carlino creates luminous abstract compositions that balance disciplined structure with the natural behaviour of resin, producing works defined by depth, colour and controlled movement.
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