Prototypes: Material Inquiry and the Development of Form
Prototypes group exhibition at Romulus Folio Gallery 6 February - 1 March 2026. Photographed by Scott Ross. Photograph includes work of Kasia Dudkiewicz, Lucia Medina and Arabella Strachan. See exhibition catalogue.
Romulus Folio Gallery is pleased to present Prototypes: Material Inquiry and the Development of Form, an exhibition featuring Kasia Dudkiewicz, Lucia Medina, and Arabella Strachan. Curated by Dr Angelina Mirabito the exhibition frames the prototype as a moment of clarity within an unfolding trajectory, showcasing works that stand as resolved forms while acting as catalysts for future artistic evolution.
Prototypes brings together three artists whose practices are grounded in sustained material inquiry and the iterative development of form. Each work presented here stands fully resolved in its own right while carrying forward structural decisions, material thinking, and formal language that continues to evolve across each artist’s broader practice.
Across the gallery, texture operates as a primary vehicle of thought.
Prototypes group exhibition at Romulus Folio Gallery 6 February - 1 March 2026. Photographed by Scott Ross. Photograph includes work of Kasia Dudkiewicz and Lucia Medina. See exhibition catalogue.
Kasia Dudkiewicz’s works engage tactile processes and material memory. Repetition, fibre, and surface accumulate through disciplined gestures that hold tension between fragility and structure. Installed against the gallery’s cylindrical columns, her works respond directly to architecture, transforming structural supports into sites of encounter. The vertical incision embedded within layered textile surfaces concentrates attention and anchors the field.
Lucia Medina’s sculptural reliefs register gesture as pressure. Surfaces fold, compress, and expand within framed boundaries, revealing time embedded in material. The works move between drawing and object, contour and mass. Installed along transitional sightlines, they activate peripheral vision and reward proximity. What appears restrained at distance reveals density and complexity upon approach.
Arabella Strachan extends the exhibition into three dimensions through illuminated textile forms. Her lamps introduce light as structural presence. Fibre, wood, brass, and woven surfaces operate as filters through which illumination becomes tactile. These works shift the spatial rhythm of the gallery, softening architectural edges while asserting luminous weight. Light functions as material inquiry.
Prototypes group exhibition at Romulus Folio Gallery 6 February - 1 March 2026. Impact wall Photo by Angelina Mirabito. Photographed by Scott Ross.
The installation design reinforces the exhibition’s central premise. The impact wall, Portal and structural poles operate as active compositional agents within the exhibition field. Works are positioned to create dialogue across sightlines, encouraging viewers to experience the gallery as an interconnected spatial system.
Within this framework, Prototypes reveals artistic practice as a stabilisation point within ongoing transformation. Each work marks a resolved state while carrying momentum forward. Form operates as articulation within a longer arc of thinking, making, and refinement.
Romulus Folio Gallery continues its commitment to rigorous, materially grounded contemporary practice presented within an independent artist-run context. By foregrounding experimentation as sustained methodology, Prototypes positions process as a site of intellectual and aesthetic clarity.
Prototypes group exhibition at Romulus Folio Gallery 6 February - 1 March 2026. Photographed by Scott Ross. Photograph includes work of Lucia Medina and Arabella Strachan. See exhibition catalogue.
The exhibition opens in collaboration with The Gladstone Social Night, situating the works within the ongoing rhythm of activity across the building.
Exhibition Details
Opening Night × The Gladstone Social Night
Friday, 13 February 2026
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
6 February – 1 March 2026
Location
Romulus Folio Gallery
55 Gladstone Street
South Melbourne VIC 3205
Gallery Hours
Wednesday–Friday: 12 pm – 7 pm
Saturday–Sunday: 12 pm – 5 pm
Or by appointment
Free entry.
Prototypes group exhibition at Romulus Folio Gallery 6 February - 1 March 2026. Photographed by Scott Ross. Photograph includes work of Arabella Strachan. See exhibition catalogue.