Rosalind Whitman

Rosalind Whitman has travelled extensively, and after visiting Egypt in 1980, she developed a passionate interest in the Arab world. She studied Arabic both in London and at the American University in Cairo. Rosalind’s interest in both the culture and architectural heritage of the region resulted in prolonged visits to Egypt and the Yemen, where she painted for the Sultan of Oman. Her wealth of experience in the Arab world produced the drawings and paintings that were to provide Rosalind with material for her studio work back in the UK.

Rosalind possesses a strong academic background. Having studied at the Sheffield School of Art during the 1970’s, she went on to become a student of printmaking under Barto Dos Santos at the Slade School of Art in London. In 1985, she founded the Rasama Press etching studio, subsequently producing many prints featuring images of the Arab World. She also undertook a number of commissioned paintings for clients in the Middle East, and her paintings and prints feature in collections both in the UK and abroad. In addition, Rosalind worked on archaeological illustrations for the London Museum and Institute of Archaeology.

Rosalind has participated in mixed and solo exhibitions in many London venues - notably at the Royal Academy, the Africa Centre, the Barbican Centre and the Royal Festival Hall - and has shown her work throughout the UK. She has also exhibited in Germany, Bulgaria, the USA, Australia, and Kuwait.

In 1992 she was sponsored to travel to Indonesia, where, in a new departure, she worked on studies from the Hindu/Buddhist antiquities of Borobudur and Prambanan in Java, and also of Hindu sculptures, shrines and dancers in Bali. The paintings she created as a result later featured in an international women’s exhibition 1993, in Mayfair, entitled ‘Impressions of Indonesia’.

In 2000 Rosalind was made a Millennium Fellow for her work as the co-ordinator of a mural project in East London. She is a member of the Greenwich Printmakers Association, The Printmakers Council and East London Printmakers. She lives in London with her husband and daughter, and is a lecturer in Art and Design at the University of the Arts, London.

Rosalind’s architectural interest pervades much of her work in a highly individualistic way. This is shown by her unique ability to enliven architectural monuments, depicting the ancient Javanese temples where reliefs become a living theatre; still figures are transformed in magical movements giving legendary and mysterious qualities to her work.