About Al
Al Roberts was born in Hobart, Tasmania, and is currently based in Melbourne. Al’s background in fine arts began to develop when he left school in his teens to be formally trained as a goldsmith, jeweller. His eye for detail and precise technical abilities have been honed through years of handcrafting and high-end jewellery design. Al continues to grow his passion and creativity for fine arts through his art practice. Al studied human anatomy in 2016, building upon his love for the human form, which features heavily in his artwork. In 2019 Al began a BA of fine arts at RMIT University to further his knowledge and career within the arts. With his strong background in making 3-dimensional intricate objects, Al’s artwork naturally developed into a sculpture-focused practice.
His work revolves around ongoing themes of personal self-reflection, with the meaning of his artwork coming to fruition through the creative process. It is his intention, through the discovery of meaning through conscious and subconscious lived experience, that his audience will view his work. Becoming lost in an appreciation of his work's beauty, form, and aesthetic qualities, only becoming aware of the subject matter once the viewer is engaged.
The combination of aesthetic beauty and the somewhat questionable subject creates a conflicting experience for the viewer. Similar to the way he approaches his subject matter, He works with the traditional medium of bronze and ceramics in a way that aims to remove the critical perceptions of what the material should conform to, contrasting tradition with the modernity of contemporary art.
Artist Statement
My sculptures exist in a space between the seen and the felt—where material meets memory, and form becomes a quiet question. Working primarily with bronze and porcelain, I’m drawn to their contrasting qualities: strength and fragility, permanence and vulnerability. These materials serve as metaphors for the dualities I explore—life and death, inner and outer worlds, stillness and transformation.
Each piece begins as a meditation, not on a definitive narrative, but on a sensation—a flicker of introspection, a dream half-remembered, a shadow cast by something unspoken. The figures and forms carry a moody or surreal presence, suspended in moments that suggest both dissolution and becoming. They are not meant to instruct, but to invite—offering viewers a space to encounter their own reflections, memories, and meanings.
Though themes of mortality and impermanence weave through the work, I approach them not with finality but with curiosity. What is left behind in absence? What emerges in stillness? These questions guide my practice, allowing each sculpture to hold both an echo and a possibility.
Ultimately, I see my work as a series of open windows—portals through which we might glimpse the depths within ourselves, or the quiet mystery that surrounds us all.
CV
Education & Training
RMIT, Bachelor of Fine Arts, 2019 - present
Human Anatomy, sculpting the ecorche with Jason Arkels, 2018
Human Anatomy for sculptors level 2, NV USA, 2016
Human Anatomy for sculptors level 1, NV USA, 2016
Diploma of gemology FGAA, GAA, George Norris Award for highest practical and theory grades in Tasmania 2013
Certificate 4 in jewellery manufacturing/ apprenticeship completed 2012
Joint Exhibitions
2019 - “Golden Years” Penny Contemporary, Hobart, TAS
Group Exhibitions
2021 - “Small works” Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2019 - “Small works” Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2019 - “Untitled” Traffic jam Gallery, Neutral Bay, NSW
2018 - “Small and wall” Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
Awards and Prizes
2022, Brighton Jetty sculpture prize, finalist, SA
2021 - Finalist, Boxed In Sculpture Exhibition
20021 - Highly Commendable, Toorak Village Sculpture Prize
2019 - Finalist, Contemporary Art Awards Australia
2018 - Winner of people’s choice award, Artenwine sculpture biennial
2018 - Finalist, Artenwine sculpture biennial
2018 - Finalist, Contemporary Art Awards Australia
2018 - Finalist, Tom Bass prize for figurative sculpture
2016 - Finalist, Highly commended, Brighton Jetty sculpture prize