Since the early 1980s Carchesio has built a reputation for producing small-scale watercolours and minute sculpture. Playing with geometric patterns and figurative symbolism, through his subtle images Carchesio attempts to create an ontological space emptied of the clutter of everyday life, in which imagery from the subconscious can emerge. His considered placement of interlocking shapes alludes to the science of mathematics and highlights his interest in the purity of shapes and geometry. There is a distinct emphasis on process, which becomes manifest through the visible inconsistencies and variations of pigment application that can be observed in his work.
Selected solo exhibitions include: Long Day’s Journey into Light, Milani Gallery, Brisbane 2015; Someone’s Universe: The Art of Eugene Carchesio, Art Gallery of Queensland, Brisbane, 2008; everything takes time takes everything, The Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2006; New Work, Church Gallery, Perth, 2002; Australian Representative, 10th Indian Triennale of Art, New Delhi, 2001; Lift Project, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2001; and Gelber, MUSIK BERLIN, 1997.
Carchesio’s work is held in major collections throughout Australia. He has also been curated into many important exhibitions both in Australia and internationally including: The Kaleidoscopic Turn, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 2015; Born to Concrete, University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane 2013; Negotiating This World: Contemporary Australian Art, National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne, 2012; TarraWarra Biennial 2012: Sonic Spheres, TarraWarra, Healesville, Victoria, 2012; Awfully Wonderful: Science Fiction in Contemporary Art, Performance Space, Sydney, 2011; Roundabout, Wellington Art Gallery, New Zealand, 2010; Paint(H)ing, Australian Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide, 2010; Hybrid & Folklore, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2010; Cubism and Australian Art, Heide Museum of Art, Melbourne, 2009; Asia Pacific Triennial, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 2003; Contemporary Drawing, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Centre, New York, 2002; Phenomena, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2001; 9th Biennale of Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1992; Medium Density: Contemporary Australian Drawings and Photographs, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1992; and Strangers in Paradise, Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea, 1992.
