The local art scene in Salt Lake is often cited as unique and artistically diverse. With local galleries, festivals and showcases, the city has a community of artists whose work adds to a thriving artistic ecosystem. Roland Dimick’s gallery, Rollie Studio, provides the artist with a space for his unique mediums and dynamic art styles to connect with people.

Canvas to Cloth

Dimick’s latest project, Rollie Canvas + Cloth, utilizes inspiration from canvas works to create wearable art, with a goal of fostering connection between the body of work and the wearer of the art.

“There’s an aesthetic quality [of the natural world] that appeals to me,” Dimick said. “It seems like there’s something universal about it. I don’t know that I can quantify it. I do know that if I’m working on a piece, it’ll just look really flat or one-dimensional or lifeless, you know? And then, if it reaches a certain proportion or curvature or balance it just sort of comes alive.”

Dimick’s inspiration originates in invisible elements of the natural world. He cites electron micrographs of organelles and cells as inspiration of this “curvature” of the natural world.

“What I’ve tried to do over the years is just hone in on that particular quality — that curvature that sort of inspires people to interpret it often from a natural perspective, if that’s not too esoteric,” Dimick said. “How do you define the undefinable in that way? My hope is that my body of work speaks to that definition without limiting it, if that makes sense. Because I try to have every piece be a part of the whole of the continuum.”

With this inspiration in mind, Dimick created a project that transfers the symmetrical and asymmetrical, the esoteric and mundane worlds into a collection of wearable art that is truly moving and connective.

“I feel like they still have this curvature that extends through what we perceive as beautiful with our limited senses and our visual fields or touch even, to like the giant accumulations of energy that are in the span of my lifetime being discovered,” Dimick said. “It’s like that continuity that I’m trying to emulate through having my art on different media and in different shapes and iterations.” 

Art in Everything

Dimick had a unique start in realizing the value and versatility of his art. He recalled painting plain matchbooks at a bar and having patrons approach him weeks or months later. Some asked for another book and claimed that they couldn’t part with the final match. As an artist whose work is flowing, dynamic and striking, it is no surprise that Dimick uses a variety of mediums and techniques to create his art.

Dimick encourages other artists to pursue their art if they feel called to do so. He also cites art as a therapeutic practice, and his work is often philanthropic. If Rollie Canvas + Cloth is any indication of the future, I believe that Dimick’s art has a bright one.

You can find information on Dimick and Rollie Canvas + Cloth on their website or Instagram.

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