Roger Kemp
Roger Kemp stands as a pivotal figure in the development of Australian modernism, recognized for his visionary abstraction and philosophical depth.
Initially drawn to music, Kemp became increasingly interested in visual art, leading him to enroll at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School in 1933. In the following years, finding academic methodology too restrictive his practice became more autodidactic and oriented towards developing his own aesthetic philosophy. In 1936, Kemp was profoundly moved by Colonel de Basil’s Ballets Russes, inspiring him to introduce a musicality to his visual expression. Drawing inspiration from universal principles across music and dance, Kemp’s expressive mode of figuration became gradually more abstracted during the war period.
Kemp’s first solo exhibition at Melbourne’s Velasquez Gallery in 1945 showcased paintings that explored existential and spiritual conflicts through crowded, energetic forms. Though initially controversial, the exhibition earned praise from critics such as Alan McCulloch and Laurie Thomas, who recognized Kemp’s powerful evocation of an emerging technocratic age. Subsequent solo exhibitions in 1947 and 1950 positioned Kemp as a critical figure in Australia’s burgeoning abstract art movement.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Kemp refined his visual language, utilising symbolism to realise his aesthetic principles and philosophy of the natural order. In 1962, Kemp was included in the influential Tate Gallery exhibition, Four Arts in Australia, in London. Kemp received numerous prestigious awards, including the John McCaughey Memorial Prize (1961), Georges Invitation Art Prize (1965), Transfield Art Prize (1965), and the Blake Prize (1968, 1970).
In 1970 Kemp travelled to London where he worked at St Catherine’s Docks in a studio obtained through the S.P.A.C.E program. His time in London culminated in an exhibition of his work at the Commonwealth Institute Gallery, London in 1971.
Upon returning to Australia, his work featured prominently in major exhibitions such as the inaugural Sydney Biennale (1973) and Ten Australians, a notable overseas touring exhibition (1974-75). He gained critical support from art historian Patrick McCaughey and was represented at Marianne Baillieu’s Realities Gallery in Toorak, Melbourne. Encouraged by George Baldessin Kemp also expanded his practice into printmaking, producing a remarkable series of etchings which were exhibited by the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1991. In 1984, Kemp was commissioned by Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, to collaborate with the Victorian Tapestry Workshop, to create a suite of tapestries for the great hall at the National Gallery of Victoria.
Kemp was awarded an OBE (1978), an AO (1987), an Honorary Doctorate from Monash University (1984), and the Society of Painters and Sculptors medal (1986). In later years, Kemp suffered a stroke but continued to practice his art until his passing in 1987. In 2019, the NGV commemorated Kemp’s legacy with a comprehensive retrospective titled Roger Kemp: Visionary Modernist.
