Rebecca Bresnahan

Cosmic beetle

3 - 14 September 2025

Opening Night

Friday 5 September | 6 - 8 pm

G1

Artist Statement

Rebecca Bresnahan’s practice is rooted in exploring in-between states of being where the sacred and surreal overlap. Her work delves into the discomfort of transformation, using visual language to explore the tension between the known and the unknown, the material and the divine. Through painting, sculpture, and natural materials, she reflects on themes of life, death, renewal, and spiritual presence.

For this collection, COSMIC BEETLE, Rebecca works with oil paint, acrylic paint, and printed digital art elements, blending traditional and contemporary techniques to enhance the layered, dreamlike nature of her imagery. Recycled plastic plays a symbolic role in her process, representing the Holy Spirit: invisible yet active, restoring what is discarded.

This motif runs parallel to her use of insect taxidermy, beadwork, and clay forms, grounding her work in both the ethereal and the tactile. Did you know 1 in 4 living things on Earth is a beetle? COSMIC BEETLE invites viewers to step into God’s presence through one of nature’s most uncomfortable creatures. Just as beetles can unsettle us, so can encountering the divine until we realise there’s nothing to fear but change. The collection encourages us to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Rather than offering pure escapism, Rebecca’s art invites an encounter—an opportunity to sit with the strange and the sacred, and to consider what transformation might look like on a personal and spiritual level.

Artist Biography

Rebecca Bresnahan is a Melbourne-based visual artist exhibiting both locally and internationally. Her work is rooted in surrealism, blending elements of visionary psychedelia and pop surrealism to create vivid depictions of dreamlike, liminal spaces. Influenced by biblical symbolism and personal moments of revelation, her paintings offer portals into worlds where the physical and spiritual intersect.

With a background in tattoo artistry, Rebecca brings intricate precision and bold lines to her visual language. She incorporates recycled plastic into her works as a metaphor for spiritual renewal and regeneration through the invisible force of the Holy Spirit. In addition to painting, she creates small clay sculptures, beaded works, and practices insect taxidermy. This evolves her work and helps to blend our reality with the one Rebecca has not only created but channeled from the Spirit. 

Rebecca’s art invites collectors and viewers alike into an experience of otherworldly whimsy, offering an escape from the ordinary and a bridge between the present and the eternal.

Contact
Phone : (03) 9482 3550
mail@redgallery.com.au

Address
157 St Georges Rd
Fitzroy North, Victoria, 3068
Map

How to get here
Tram: Route 11
Stop 21 just north of Edinburgh Gardens

Melway Ref: 30B12
Parking in nearby streets

Bus: 504 (Reid Street)