Ham Darroch: Harp Frequency

EXHIBITION OPENS 3pm SATURDAY 3 MAY. Until 31 May

Ham Darroch’s solo exhibition Harp Frequency presents new works on canvas and paper with a site-responsive wall painting. Darroch is interested in the relationship between art and music, geometry and architecture, drawing upon modernist art history while reflecting on contemporary life. His mastery of syncopated rhythm and quiet harmony in colour and form invokes a profoundly uplifting experience.

Ham Darroch (b.1972) is a contemporary visual artist based in Canberra, Australia. He works across a range of media including painting, sculpture, and performance. He holds a Master of Fine Art from the University of New South Wales (2006) and a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Hons) from the Canberra School of Art (1997).

Spanning more than two decades, Darroch’s practice strongly reflects on 20th century modernism and 21st century life, driven by an unwavering intellectual curiosity, rich use of colour and masterful technical ability. His large-scale paintings resonate with the perception of space while his sculptures are created from altered and discarded existing objects, conceptually redirected using optical effects of geometric colour to reveal new meanings, influenced by the vernacular and art history.

Darroch is recognised for his large wall paintings. Since 2015, the artist has realised a number of site-specific wall pieces in Australia, such as Counter Attack (2020). At 12 metres long and 3.5 metres high, Counter Attack is his largest gallery wall painting, produced for the artist’s solo exhibition at Canberra’s Drill Hall Gallery in that year. In December 2023 Darroch completed a 96-metre public artwork for the green energy company Neoen Pty Ltd on the Capital Battery Project in Canberra.

Darroch’s recent solo exhibitions include Fairground at Onespace Brisbane (2024), Uplift at Woollahra Gallery Sydney (2024), Kestrel at Benjamin Parsons Gallery United Kingdom (2022), and Propeller at the Drill Hall Gallery ANU (2020). Darroch is part of several notable collections including the Kerry Stokes Collection, Canberra Museum + Gallery, The Kirkland Collection UK, the Brazilian and Columbian Embassies, Bundanon Trust Collection, and the Bridget Riley Art Foundation.