John Gatip
The works of John Gatip span within the transection of art and architecture.
He explores this through sculpture, painting and installation, developing a symbiotic process between the two disciplines. Architectural tectonics are central to his sculptures and paintings, where the boundaries of art and architecture begin to blur. Gatip’s practice often employs simple geometries, colour, and composition, leaving an anthropomorphic imprint of himself on his paintings. Likewise, his sculptures rely heavily on materiality as a medium for storytelling.
Gatip celebrates his heritage as a Filipino-born Australian, using his cultural upbringing as part of his narratives. His work with capiz shells contributes to the rich tapestry of Filipino art, design, and craft. By revisiting his heritage through age-old materials and techniques, Gatip preserves these practices while reinterpreting them through the lens of contemporary design, advancing them into the future.
He is a registered architect in Victoria, Australia, and has co-led Master of Architecture design studios at Melbourne School of Design. In 2024, his sculptural works were shortlisted for Yering Station Sculpture Art Prize and The Design Anthology Awards: Craft Category, and in 2025 under the Textiles Category.
\\ EDUCATION
Masters of Architecture, Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Bachelor of Environments (Architecture), University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
\\ SOLO SHOWS
2025, BALE, Melbourne Design Week, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy, Victoria Australia
2024, CAPIZ, Melbourne Design Week, Inarc Architects Studio, East Melbourne, Victoria Australia
2022, The Quester’s Canto, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
2021, Sonnets of Colour, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
2019, Aureate+, EST lighting Showroom, Richmond, Victoria, Australia
2019, Aureate, Bates Smart Journal Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
2016, Guano Gold Enterprise, Loop Bar Vitrines, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
\\GROUP SHOWS
2025, Pneumatic Griot, Meat Market Stables, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
2025, At Home, Boom Gallery, Geelong, Victoria Australia
2024, Fort Earth Project, FortyFiveDownstairs, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
2023, Terra Firma III, Boom Gallery, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
2022, Form and Feeling (collection title: A Fortress and A Field), Boom Gallery, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
2020, Prismatic Chromatism, Antilia Gallery, Italy (online)
2019, In Two Minds: The Amalgamated Cities, Dirty Dozen Vitrines, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
2018, Golden Shores, Antilia Gallery, Bitonto, Puglia, Italy
2017, “The Maze” for Anon. Exhibition of Ideas, FortyFiveDownstairs Gallery, Melbourne
2017, Art Vending Machine, Exeter Phoenix, Exeter, England
\\ PUBLICATION
2024, Shine A Light, Jason Cordi, The Philippine Times, July 2024 issue
2023, Unveil Section, Bardi Catherine Osobuannomola, The Huts Magazine Issue 7, February 8, 2023
2022, Future Classics, Kate Hassett, Inside Out , February 2022
2021, Little Domestic Architectures, Fabio Cappello & Marta Marotta, ISBN 978-1-5272-8603-0
2019, All That Glitters: Architect creates shimmering miniature cityscapes, Alice Francis, Houses, December
2018, Spontaneous: Do-It-Yourself Domesticity, Giuseppe Resta & Fabio Cappello, ISBN 978-88-6764-148-2
2018, Antilia: Forme, Visioni, Immagini Sull'Isola, Fabiana Dicounzo & Giuseppe Resta, ISBN 978-1718654174
2016, Co-Editor Volume 3 Inflection Journal, “New Order: Transdisciplinarity + Architectural Practice with an additional exhibition for the journal launch. ISBN 978-3-88778-480-5
\\ CURATORSHIP
2018. Co-Curator for “Mirabilia: Interpretations of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities” with Antilia Gallery, Bitonto, Italy.
2015, Co-Curator for ‘Motel’ Exhibition, Dulux Gallery, Melbourne School of Design.
2012, Co-Curator Global Architectural Profiling Exhibition and publication launch on Chilean Architecture
\\ PRIZES + AWARDS
2025, Lambat Ni Pedro V2, Design Anthology Awards: Textiles Category, Finalist (Singapore)
2024, Balabal Ng Sirena, Yarra Valley Arts/Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition + Awards, Finalist
2024, Balabal Ng Sirena, Design Anthology Awards: Craft Category, Finalist (Singapore)
2023, Carried Weight, Omnia Art Prize, Finalist
2023, Carried Weight, Yarra Valley Arts/Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition + Awards, Finalist
2023, The Quester’s Canto, Yarra Valley Arts/Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition + Awards, Finalist
