Artist profile

Caroline Borghetto

Caroline Borghetto is a Torquay-based emerging artist. She works across various mediums, primarily in abstract, she explores painting, mixed-media, collage, drawing and photography. Caroline has been creating art since 2008 and committed to her artistic journey more seriously in 2020, she has recently completed studies in visual arts at Oxygen College to consolidate knowledge and explore mediums.

Artist Profile

Caroline’s art practice is rooted in the beauty of imperfection—an exploration of the marks, scars, and traces that make us human. In a culture increasingly focused on smoothing, erasing, and perfecting, she is drawn to what remains when we resist that urge: the crow’s feet from years of laughter, the soft folds of time, the evidence of childbirth etched into skin. These signs of life are not flaws—they are proof of experience, resilience, and identity. Her work becomes a visual metaphor for this philosophy.

Through abstract mark making, she explores the tension between restraint and spontaneity—between structure and surrender. Each piece is a dance between control and freedom, echoing the everyday push and pull of trying to hold things together while also letting go. In this way, her work becomes both a reflection and a quiet rebellion—an invitation to embrace complexity, vulnerability, and the raw, textured beauty of being alive.

Caroline’s artistic journey is a testament to her dedication to the arts, having been awarded two residencies and exhibiting a number of times over the last three years.

Artist Interview

What medium do you work with, and why have you chosen them?

I love acrylic for its ability to be both thick and painterly and also thin and watercolour-like. I appreciate that it is quick-drying as I tent do be impatient! I love to come along with pencil later and study the way the paint has dried and play with mark-making to accentuate or blend or draw the eye elsewhere. I sometimes do this with soft or oil pastels as well, although pencil has a quality to it that I really love.

How does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?

Sometimes my work starts with sketches of composition ideas, I go through stages where I like to sketch small thumbnails into my notebook, this often helps when I am stuck as well. Other times my pieces start with a visual picture or a loose idea, shapes and colours, and I paint or pour directly onto the canvas. Then I enjoy building from those first marks. I like to have a few on the go at different stages. Once I am satisfied with my layers and composition I almost always add marks with pencil or pastels until I feel the work is balanced and finished.

Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?

I am extremely lucky to work from my studio at Ashmore Arts in Torquay. There are around 30 working artists and creatives with studios on the property, so not only am I surrounded by stunning views of the hills but also many other creatives. The studio has a lot of natural light which is really important to me, it feels like a little light-filled cabin in the hills, which I suppose it is. I also think it is important to mention I am a working artist, arts worker and parent, so my time in my studio is very precious, I try to prioritise at least a few hours a day during the week and will squeeze extra hours in whenever time allows.

Career Highlights

2024 – Neighbourhood Lab Resident (Regional Arts Victoria & Platform Arts Geelong)
2023 – 1st Prize – Art Inside The Box – The Lightbox Torquay
2025 – Shortlisted – Omnia Art Prize