Robert Lee Davis

Robbie Rowlands is a Melbourne-based American-Australian mixed media artist whose work explores memory, place, and the layered nature of personal and collective histories. Born in Virginia, USA, Davis has lived and worked across the U.S., China, Egypt, and Australia, experiences that inform his richly textured collages and paintings. Utilizing materials such as found objects, archival texts, and natural elements, his art evokes the passage of time and the narratives embedded in landscapes. Influenced by artists like Robert Rauschenberg and Cy Twombly, as well as composer Philip Glass, Davis creates works that are both poetic and contemplative. His exhibitions include Then, Now and Everything in Between at fortyfivedownstairs in Melbourne and Different Species at ifa Gallery in Shanghai. An advocate for community engagement, Davis has led collaborative projects like the Community Art Card Project and served as a TEDxMelbourne Community Artist. Through his art, he invites viewers to reflect on their own connections to memory, identity, and the environment.

My work explores memory, history, and place through painting, collage, and found objects. Influenced by early colonial coastal cartography, my paintings reflect both personal and collective histories, reimagining familiar and unfamiliar landscapes. I combine archival materials, old texts, and elements from previous works to create layered compositions that mirror the fragmented nature of memory and the passage of time. Inspired by travel, urban life, and conversation, my practice weaves together symbols and references that evoke a sense of nostalgia, discovery, and connection. Through these layers, I aim to capture how our physical and cultural landscapes shape our stories and the memories we preserve.