Spectra: Reimagining Interiors Through Art and Design
Presented by Rowena Martinich & Geoffrey Carran
DETAILS
Free, booking required
Rydges Melbourne
186 Exhibition Street, Melbourne VIC, Australia
DATES
Thu 15 May 9am – 9pm
Fri 16 May 9am – 9pm
Sat 17 May 9am – 9pm
Sun 18 May 9am – 9pm
Sun 18 May 11am – 1pmBook now
Artist Talk and Q&A hosted by Design Anatomy, Booking required
Mon 19 May 9am – 9pm
Tue 20 May 9am – 9pm
Wed 21 May 9am – 9pm
Thu 22 May 9am – 9pm
Fri 23 May 9am – 9pm
Sat 24 May 9am – 9pm
Sun 25 May 9am – 9pm
Sun 25 May 9am – 9pm
Rydges Melbourne is proud to present Spectra, an immersive residency by artists Rowena Martinich and Geoffrey Carran that redefines the relationship between fine art, design, and interiors. Spectra explores artistic expression, celebrating the intersection of bold colour, immersive installations, and creative collaboration. Through this project, Martinich and Carran transform spaces into vibrant environments that engage and inspire.
Taking up artistic residency at Rydges Melbourne, the duo will re-imagine the hotel’s lobby, creating works that seamlessly integrate original paintings, murals, painting-inspired wallpaper, prints, and custom-designed floor coverings created in partnership with GH Commercial. This collection pushes the boundaries of their practice, responding directly to the hotel’s architecture, atmosphere and palette while demonstrating how expressive artworks can redefine everyday environments. By placing their work within a bustling temporal setting, Spectra creates a dynamic fusion between art and design, offering a new perspective on how creative interventions shape the spaces we inhabit.
With a portfolio spanning seven hotels and large-scale murals across Australia and internationally, Martinich and Carran’s practice is rooted in bold artistic statements and cross-disciplinary collaboration. This residency at Rydges Melbourne provides a layered exploration of their artistic process, illustrating how artists, designers, and architects work together to produce innovative and engaging outcomes. Through an artist talk and Q&A hosted by Design Anatomy Podcast, audiences will gain deeper insight into how colour, movement, and materiality influence the built environment, fostering a greater appreciation for the power of art and design in evoking emotional connections to space.
Spectra challenges conventional exhibition formats by situating contemporary art within a hotel, making it more accessible to a diverse audience. It demonstrates the transformative potential of art and design in reinvigorating spaces—whether hotels, homes, schools, or public venues—while fostering connection, well-being, and creative dialogue. This project highlights the evolving role of artistic expression in interiors, redefining how we experience and interact with our surroundings.
Participants
Bree Banfield
Bree Banfield (fka Leech) is an interior designer renowned for her specialisation in trend forecasting and interior styling. With an extensive career spanning 30 years, her passion lies in translating interior trends into meticulously styled spaces that not only captivate aesthetically but also resonate through rich narratives. Bree's approach to design goes beyond the surface, aiming to create an immersive and enriching experience for her clients. A maestro in the realm of colour, Bree’s projects are a testament to her ability to play with colours, patterns, and scale, resulting in spaces that surprise and delight. Whether through bold colour choices, daring pattern play, or innovative explorations of scale and form, Bree's designs push the boundaries of conventional aesthetics. Intuitively understanding her clients' tastes and sensibilities, her aim is to create spaces that are not only visually stunning but also uniquely reflective of the individuals who inhabit them, resulting in emotive spaces meant to be enjoyed daily, where beauty seamlessly coexists with practicality.
Lauren Li
Lauren Li is the founding director of Melbourne interior design studio Sisällä and has more than twenty years of experience across the residential, retail, and commercial sectors. Sisällä's projects have been recognised by several awards programs, including the Australian Interior Design Awards, and as a five-time finalist of House & Garden's Top 50 Rooms. Li is also a regular contributor to The Design Files, Australia's most popular design blog and the author of The New French Look.
Rowena Martinich
Creating vast, dynamic explorations of colour is abstract expressionist Rowena Martinich’s forte. Martinich has carved out her position in the art world, spanning the realms of public art, painting installations, permanent and temporary interventions, murals within streetscapes, awe inspiring architectural applications and powerful compositions on canvas. Martinich’s artwork has been sort after by major clients such as Nike, Facebook, Mecca Cosmetica, Mirvac, Bombay Sapphire, Mantra, East HK & QT Hotels, The Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital, The National Gallery of Victoria and Dulux as well as Australia’s leading architects and interior designers to create bespoke immersive art experiences in both domestic and commercial environments. Creating landmark works that change how the public engage with their environment on a visual level inspires Martinich and has lead her to travel to create major public works in France, Italy, Turkey, China, the UK and the United States. Closer to home her work has transformed small regional towns, where the integration of her contemporary art has a significant community outcome.
Geoffrey Carran
Geoffrey Carran is a contemporary artist renowned for his vibrant depictions of Australian birdlife. Over the past decade, he has focused on capturing the essence of Australia's avian diversity through both detailed studio paintings and expansive public murals. His work masterfully balances meticulous realism with expressive, looser techniques, bringing each subject to life. Geoffrey's art has been showcased internationally, with exhibitions in Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, London, and New York. Notably, he has collaborated with institutions such as the National Gallery of Victoria, for which he produced a design range, and Dulux, serving as a judge for the Dulux Colour Awards and contributing to their Colour Forecasts. In partnership with his wife, fellow artist Rowena Martinich, Geoffrey has created large-scale murals that blend their dynamic styles. A significant project includes the transformation of three grain silos in Goroke, Victoria, into monumental artworks featuring native Australian birds—a kookaburra, galah, and magpie—reflecting the local fauna and engaging the community.