Through her work, Pellegrino takes up space. Her pieces unabashedly elbow their way into the room using techniques traditionally considered “women’s work”, combined with collage, found imagery, pre-loved objects and textiles.
Her family background and their migration stories also weaves its way into her work: through the use of old photographs, the power of storytelling, the importance of keepsakes as memories and through the exploration of identity and place in her work.
Pellegrino has been known to use glitter and humour in her work whilst exploring themes ranging from motherhood and domesticity to memory, identity and migration. All through the lens of a female who grew up in 1980s suburban Australia, who was raised with a mix of cultures (her mother's and father’s families immigrated to Australia from Scotland and Italy in the 1950s) and who is now a mother to one daughter.
“I am a bowerbird for art materials. I also use bold colours, pastel hues, humour and unexpected objects - such as domestic items, pompoms and glitter - to explore themes in an accessible way.
There were lessons intrinsically passed on through my family's immigration experiences that are apparent in my work. Storytelling and humour were important. So was mending and making do. Amassing memories in the forms of family photographs, keepsakes and trinkets were all treasured documentation of a new life. Assessing the cultural lay of the land and adapting accordingly were essential. This all trickled down and found its way into my artwork. Such as my use of old photos and pre-loved objects that bear the mark of those who owned them before.” - Rossanne Pellegrino, 2023.
Artist Cv
Rossanne Pellegrino is an Australian born, UK-based mixed media artist living in St. Leonards-on-Sea.
Pellegrino was a student of International Studies and Foreign Languages, and later studied Photography at the University of Arts South Australia. It was during this time as a photography student, that she was awarded a grant from the South Australian Youth Arts Board to produce her first solo show 'Looking Through Fresh Eyes' (2003) which explored the Adelaide community through black and white photography. Since her first exhibition, Pellegrino has regularly exhibited her work in Australia, the UK and Europe, and has also been awarded arts grants and places in mentorship schemes to further develop her art practice.
Pellegrino’s use of various techniques such as embroidery on photography, printmaking and Polaroid manipulation have resulted in a diverse body of work; from black and white photojournalism to expressive imagery that blurs the border between photography and the handcrafted.
In her 2018 body of work, ‘Strange New World’ Pellegrino explores false memory recall through embroidery on photographs. Embroidering abstract shapes, pattern and colour onto old photographs, she highlights the ever-changing nature of our memories, influenced by factors such as age, culture, time and imagination. The result is imagery made surreal, with reinvented histories. ‘Strange New World’ was on show at Brunswick Street Gallery (Melbourne, Australia) in April 2018. A selection of imagery from her ‘Strange New World’ exhibition can be found here.
Pellegrino's Strange New World image was part of the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2018 and several of her embroidered pieces were on show at Tate Modern in 2019. In 2023, Pellegrino received a scholarship to study with the European Cultural Academy in Venice. Her work is held in several private commissions in the UK, America and Australia.
You can also follow Pellegrino on Instagram, @rossannepellegrino.
solo exhibitions
2023
Extremely Supernormal, Solaris Print, St Leonards-on-Sea, UK.
2018
Strange New World, Brunswick Street Gallery, Brunswick Street, Melbourne, Australia.
2004
In.transit, Flightpath, 101 Hindley Street, Adelaide.
2003
Looking Through Fresh Eyes, FAD Gallery, 40 Waymouth Street, Adelaide. (An exhibition part of the SALA [South Australian Living Artists] Festival.)
selected group exhibitions
2023
Textile Junction, Electro Studios, St Leonards-on-Sea, UK.
2022
Hastings Open 2022, Hastings Gallery and Museum, Hastings UK.
Solaris Annual Summer Exhibition, Solaris Print, St Leonards-on-Sea, UK.
2021
Figurative Art Now, Mall Galleries, London, UK.
2020
Hastings Open 2020, Hastings Art Gallery and Museum, Hastings, UK.
Lindsay Seers Extramission 2 (The Trilogy) and False Memory, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, Rugby, UK.
Sideways (After 43 Minutes), Side Gallery, QLD, Australia.
2019
Tate Staff Biennale, Tate Exchange at Tate Modern, London.
People and Place, The Observer Building, Hastings. As part of Coastal Currents.
Postcard Salon 2019, Jarvis Dooney Galerie, Berlin.
2018
Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London. Co-ordinated by Grayson Perry.
2017
CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Fitzroy Australia
2016
Artmart 2016, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin Australia
PROOF, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin Australia
40 x 40 Art Prize 2016, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2015
National Open Art Winter Exhibition, Royal College of Art, London
2014
STYLEAID Photography Exhibition, Perth, Australia
Drawn to Abstraction, Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham, London
2013
The London Group Open Exhibition, The Cello Factory, Waterloo, London.
2012
Print Now! 2012, Bearspace Gallery, Deptford
2011
Westminster Arts Exhibition 2011 at SW1 Gallery Victoria, London.
Print Now! 2011. Touring exhibition at SW1 Gallery Victoria, London and Bearspace Gallery, Deptford.
2010
Summer Exhibition, Max Dawn Gallery, Thebarton, South Australia.
2009
Of No Particular Order, Gallery 139, Magill, South Australia.
Scotch College Fine Art Exhibition, Torrens Park, SA
2008
Westminster Open Arts Exhibition, SW1 Gallery, Cardinal Walk, London, SW1.
Parallel Lines, La Boheme Gallery, Grote Street, Adelaide.
2007
Momentum, the Adelaide Festival Theatre, North Terrace, Adelaide.
Layered & Unveiled, Art at 10GS Gallery, London, UK.
2005
Riccordo, Prospect Gallery, 1 Thomas Street, Nailsworth.
Polar, Avalon Gallery, Basement Level 66 Hindley Street, Adelaide.
2004
Lightlines, J111 Gallery, University of South Australia, Holbrooks Road, Adelaide.
Self-titled, To Relish, 126 – 128 King William Road, Hyde Park. (An exhibition part of the SALA Festival.)
2003
Amalgam, J111 Gallery, University of South Australia, Holbrooks Road, Adelaide.
Click!, J111 Gallery, University of South Australia, Holbrooks Road, Adelaide.
employment
2019 - now Freelance Artist
2010 - 2019 Tate Gallery, London
Development Manager, Collections Team (2018 - 2019)
Patrons Senior Manager, Patrons Team (2013 - 2018)
Personal Assistant to the Director of Development (2010 - 2013)
awards
2018 Berlin Biennale Bursary Recipient, a-n The Artists Network.
2005 Recipient of In-Site Arts Grant awarded by Craft South and Ozco Arts Council
2004 Accepted into the Optus Mentorship Scheme 2005, awarded by the Helpmann Academy.
2004 Recipient of In-Site Arts Grant awarded by Craft South and Ozco Arts Council
2003 Recipient of Youth Arts Grant awarded by South Australian Youth Arts Board to produce ‘Looking Through Fresh Eyes’ project and exhibition.
2003 Awarded first prize for photographic works exhibited at Click! at J111 Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
publications
2022 Art Seen Magazine, Autumn Issue
2022 Women United Arts Magazine, Issue 1
2022 Artist Talk Magazine, Issue 18
2018 Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition catalogue
2016 Photography essay as part of PROOF, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin, Australia
