Partial Presence

Partial Presence explores the quiet tension between forms that appear connected yet remain distinctly separate. Deep, layered greens move across the raw canvas in a restrained composition, where shape, negative space and subtle tonal shifts become the focus.
There is a sense of something partially revealed — forms entering, leaving and extending beyond the edges of the canvas. Rather than offering a fixed narrative, the work invites the viewer to experience the relationships between shape, colour and space, and the feeling created by their proximity.

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Caroline Borghetto is a contemporary abstract artist based in Torquay on Wadawurrung Country, Victoria. Working from her studio at Ashmore Arts, she creates paintings that explore connection, belonging and the subtle negotiations that shape how we relate—to one another, to communities and to the broader systems we move within.

Working primarily in acrylic on Belgian linen and clear-primed cotton canvas, Caroline develops each composition through a balance of considered planning and intuitive mark-making. Layered translucent forms, restrained palettes and quiet spatial relationships create works that invite contemplation while leaving space for individual interpretation.

Her recent body of work, States of Belonging, examines how patterns of connection, distance and exchange repeat across multiple scales—from intimate relationships to wider social and cultural structures. Her paintings invite viewers into quiet moments of reflection, where familiar patterns of connection, distance and belonging can be experienced through abstraction rather than illustration.

Caroline has exhibited regularly since 2022 and has undertaken artist residencies including the Neighbourhood Lab Residency at Platform Arts. She has been shortlisted for the Omnia Art Prize and her work is held in private collections throughout Australia and internationally.