Artist Profile: Carleen Ryder
By the Bay Exhibition, Rose de Freycinet Gallery, 2026
Carleen Ryder draws inspiration from the Bay’s beaches, seeking to capture the shifting interplay of sand, water and light in macrocosm.
Based in Carnarvon but strongly grounded in Gathaagudu through her paternal Malgana heritage, Ryder regularly returns to the Bay and is compelled to depict its coastal landscapes in her art.
For By the Bay she has focused on two beaches: one south of Denham and another on Wirruwana/Dirk Hartog Island. Rendered in almost photographic detail, the two works were created through the painstakingly slow process of resin pouring, a challenging technique that demands patience, precision and extended drying time, but which in Ryder’s hands produces a super-realist aerial perspective, capturing the liminal space of the shoreline.
One of three artists participating in By the Bay in 2026 who has not previously exhibited in a curated exhibition, Ryder has used the project to move beyond the small-scale works she initially produced after teaching herself resin technique for product and jewellery design.
Though realised in a larger scale than she has previously worked, her paintings are surprisingly minimal, appearing as almost-anonymous stretches of beach. However, they unmistakably evoke the Bay through Ryder’s expert capturing of the distinctive aquamarine of its crystal-clear waters.
Curated by Andrew Nicholls
Conceived by the Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery & Visitor Centre,
Installed by Andrew Nicholls and Aiyana Wright
Project Managed by Julia Fenny
Videography by: Michael Fletcher
Photography by: Ash Buchholz
This project is delivered by the Shire of Shark Bay, and made possible through the Regional Arts Venue Support program managed by Western Australian State Government.
