Innehållsförteckning för May/June 2025 från Art Guide Australia

Art can act as an extraordinary interface between the self and the world—whether the natural world, culture, community, or cosmos. From remembered sensations of nature, to the material exploration of identity, this issue explores a multitude of ways that art can reach into us and pull us towards the unexpected. A few examples of the many diverse approaches to Indigenous curatorial practice currently taking place around the country are highlighted in these pages. Maya Hodge writes on an exhibition bringing together trailblazing Indigenous artists with artists from The Torch, an organisation supporting First Nations people who are currently in or have recently been released from prison. While Blak In-Justice breaks new ground, Revealed enters its 17th year of celebrating emerging First Nations talent with a growing community spirit and passion.…

Idol Taja Vaetoru .M Contemporary 1—22 May Taja Vaetoru has only been painting professionally for almost a year, but the stories they tell through their practice are much older, embodying a deeply rooted ancestral heritage. “When I’m working, sometimes my hands feel like they’ve done certain things before,” they say. “I feel like they’ve practised certain actions for longer than I’ve been around.” Born in the Cook Islands on Manihiki—one of the world’s most remote inhabited islands—Vaetoru currently lives and works in Berlin, and their first solo exhibition is at. M Contemporary in Sydney. The artist’s large-scale paintings vary in subject, and at times are purely abstract, but many feature the Polynesian deity Tangaroa, the god of the sea. “I’m focusing on what this god is and what it means…

Tjunguringanyi, Come Together Ames Yavuz 3—24 May It’s been 20 years since the Aboriginal-owned Mimili Maku Arts opened on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. For art centre manager Anna Wattler, Mimili Maku’s first exhibition with Ames Yavuz is an opportunity to celebrate not only this milestone and the works of founding members Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, Betty Pumani and Robert Fielding, but ways of working that are integral to the centre and Aṉangu culture. “This group setting is a beautiful nod to the traditional group displays that are the core of what art centres do: everyone working side by side on similar story-lines, finding their own ways of doing that,” she explains. For Fielding, who helped to initiate the exhibition, aptly titled Tjunguringanyi, Come Together, it was important that his…

Push / Pull Adelaide Contemporary Experimental 3 May—28 June Push / Pull is an ambitious program that brings together themes and areas of focus that, for artistic director Danni Zuvela, honour the history of Adelaide Contemporary Experimental, or ACE (and its predecessors, Experimental Art Foundation and the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia) as a platform for radical experimentation. It looks to a best-practice future where programming is developed in deep collaboration with communities, with accessibility at the forefront. Push / Pull is many things at once: an exhibition, performance series, public programs, community-led workshops, and interventions by 38 artists and non-artists, including 33 from South Australia. The gallery will feature works by Jingwei Bu, Patrick William Carter, Trudy Tandberg, Shenshen Zheng, Shan Michaels, and students from South Australian School…

Shinrin-yoku is the Japanese term for forest bathing—a practice where one immerses in nature as a form of self-care. The key is mindfulness, to connect deeply on all sensory levels with the natural world. In a sense, shinrin-yoku relates to the idea behind Material Nature—an exhibition of artists who engage with nature through their creative practice. Curated by Dr Anne-Marie Jean, the show brings together the work of Ros Auld, Manini Gumana, Jahnne Pasco-White, John Peart, Ana Pollak, Annika Romeyn, Garawan Wanambi and Savanhdary Vongpoothorn. “In curating the show I’ve asked how contemporary artists are articulating their complex physical and cultural relationships to the environments they engage with, and how the material structures of their works invite us as viewers to consider our own intimate relationships to the material wonders…

Each of the seven artists in Tender, at the Southern Highlands Regional Gallery Ngununggula, has their own gestures, application, and fluidity to the way they paint. And yet, the colour red appears throughout. The raw state of bodies cut or torn or separated open. Tender care and tender sensation. “[The] association of the word ‘tender’ is that you instantly think of femininity and softness, and almost a weakness. But it’s the complete opposite. Tenderness can be such a fierce force to have,” says gallery director and curator of Tender, Megan Monte. Artists Sally Anderson, Sarah Drinan, Laura Jones, India Mark, Dionisia Salas, Julia Trybala, and Amber Wallis explore the exhibition’s theme of tenderness and care. Considering tenderness as physical feeling, Trybala works through personal experiences and memories in her gestural…

Adelaide-born modernist artist Bessie Davidson built a career in Paris. She wrote home to her father, urging him not to worry, that she had many buyers for her paintings, which were usually of interior furnishings or women she knew well. “I was born under a lucky star,” she reassured him. The letter’s optimistic twinkle belied the earthy reality for many Australian women artists such as Davidson who travelled to Europe around the early 20th century yet were often “overlooked or misunderstood” at home during their lifetimes and were “certainly obscured in written accounts of art history,” says associate curator Elle Freak of the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA). Davidson first travelled to Europe in 1904, at age 25, with her Adelaide-born art teacher and close friend Rose McPherson, later…

Artisan www.artisan.org.au 45 King Street, Bowen Hills, QLD 4006 [Map 15] 07 3215 0800 Wed to Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 10am–4pm. See our website for latest information. 24 April—19 July The Shape of Time Art Centres: Hope Vale Arts & Cultural Centre, Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre, Yalanji Arts, Pormpuraaw Arts and Culture Centre and MOA Arts. Artspace Mackay www.artspacemackay.com.au Civic Precinct, corner Gordon and Macalister Streets, Yuwi Country, Mackay, QLD 4740 [Map 14] 07 4961 9722 Tue to Fri 10am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–3pm. Free admission. See our website for latest information. 11 April—22 June Maximum Madness: Art inspired by Mad Max 11 April—29 June Alun Rhys Jones: Rainbow Sport 11 April—22 June Natalya Hughes: The Interior Bribie Island Seaside Museum www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/sea-side-museum Kabi Kabi and Joondoburri Country, 1 South Esplanade, Bongaree,…

Adelaide Contemporary Experimental www.ace.gallery Kaurna Yarta, Lion Arts Centre, North Terrace (West End), Adelaide, SA 5000 [Map 18] 08 8211 7505 Tue to Sat 11am–4pm. See our website for latest information. 3 May—28 June Push / Pull Antony Abrraciavento, Emiko Artemis, Stephen Atkinson, Troy-Anthony Baylis, Alycia Bennett, Matt Huppatz & Adam Birchmore (Adam & Steve), Jingwei Bu, Patrick William Carter, Luna Chan, Allison Chhorn, Dr Dylan Crismani, Amber Cronin, Paul Gazzola, Alex Grant, Sasha Grbich, Dominic Guerrera, Aidan Hughes, Heidi Kenyon, Kirsty Martinsen, Monte Masi, VNS Matrix, Shan Michaels, Ariella Napoli, Alexandra Nitschke, Chris Reid, Tikari Rigney, Yasemin Sabuncu, Fiona Salmon, Gabriella Smart, Trudy Tandberg, Sione Teumohenga, Sarah Tickle, Shirley Wu, Jake Yang, Shenshen Zheng, and Students from South Australian School for the Visually Impaired. Art by Farquhar www.farquhar.art 1070…

MAP 1 VICTORIA MAP 2 MELBOURNE CBD MAP 3 FITZROY/COLLINGWOOD MAP 4 GREATER MELBOURNE MAP 5 & 6 NORTHERN MELBOURNE AND SOUTHERN MELBOURNE MAP 7 SYDNEY MAP 8 SYDNEY CITY MAP 9 & 10 DARLINGHURST/REDFERN/WATERLOO & PADDINGTON MAP 11 & 12 GREATER SYDNEY & NEW SOUTH WALES MAP 13 & 14 GREATER BRISBANE & QUEENSLAND MAP 15 & 16 BRISBANE & CANBERRA MAP 17 & 18 HOBART & ADELAIDE MAP 19 & 20 PERTH & FREMANTLE…

STEVE DOW is a Melbourne-born, Sydney-based arts writer, whose profiles, essays, previews and reviews range across the visual arts, theatre, film and television for The Saturday Paper, Guardian Australia, The Monthly, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Sunday Life, Limelight and VAULT. BRIONY DOWNES is an arts writer based in Hobart. She has worked in the arts industry for over 20 years as a writer, actor, gallery assistant, art theory tutor and fine art framer. Most recently, she spent time studying art history through Oxford University. GOK-LIM FINCH is a writer, curator, and artist living on Noongar Boodjar. Their work has been published in Art Review, Westerly, Australian Poetry, Djed Press, Voiceworks, 4A Journal, and Fremantle Press. They are interested in abolition feminism, liberatory politics, Indigenous self-determination, queer histories, divination,…

Writers Revealed HOTA On now—3 August The sheer historical scope of Writers Revealed might initially seem a daunting prospect for visitors to this unprecedented exhibition at HOTA. Covering six centuries, it presents manuscripts, letters, illustrations and rare editions from many of the most influential authors in English literature. All pieces are taken from the British Library and the National Portrait Gallery, London. Among the items on display is a manuscript from the 16th-century poet Thomas Wyatt (the oldest piece in the exhibition), a portrait of Shakespeare believed to be the only one painted in his lifetime, and Jane Austen’s handwritten notes about her 1814 novel Mansfield Park. The extra-ordinary artefacts keep coming in an exhibition that was several years in the making. “I’m particularly excited to see the handwritten draft…

A MURRIALITY Gordon Hookey Plimsoll Gallery 8 June—11 August Waanyi artist Gordon Hookey has been creating artwork for more than three decades. Describing his style as pictograms of a scenario, with images and symbols connecting a sprawling narrative, Hookey’s work is imbued with elements of activism, pop culture and lived experience. Surveying Hookey’s oeuvre of paintings, sculpture, and prints, A MURRIALITY includes many billboard-sized works, filled to the edges with witty text, corrupt politicians and anthropomorphised native animals. Co-curating the exhibition with Liz Nowell, José Da Silva reveals, “While Gordon is deadly serious about his concerns, his practice includes plenty of bawdy caricatures and jokes. He is a master of political satire and enjoys a good bout of silliness to disarm viewers.” Commissioned specifically for the exhibition is a collection…

In the Sticks Max Mueller Handmark Gallery 23 May—16 June The paintings of Max Mueller are the result of the artist’s urgent, spontaneous need to immediately capture a certain scene or image. “I’ve used painting in the same impulsive way you take a phone photo of a special moment, without intent or a complicated motive,” he says. “I’m only interested in the essence of a moment at this time in my life. I feel I don’t have the time to philosophise on painting.” Hobart-based Mueller’s In the Sticks exhibition at Handmark features oil-on-linen works that show tranquil scenes of Tasmania: seascapes and landscapes along-side several paintings of garden or park settings, where nature is managed and maintained in a context of civilisation and curation. “Living in Tasmania/Lutruwita my whole life…

Describe your practice in seven words? Sensitive, colourful, gestural, evolving, beautiful, ugly, messy. Your first art love? The linocut! Your paintings explore the relationship between humanity and nature—what is it about this intersection that interests you? The world holds us and we are inseparable from the environment. With climate change we are all constantly living in an existential state of concern. It’s the umbrella and backdrop to all of our life events, and human interactions and emotions. I feel like that is worth documenting as we navigate our everyday lives. Nature will go on without humans, which makes you think about your mortality all the time. How important is place to you when creating? It’s everything. My environment is very important to me. I also like my studio to feel…

The Asia-Pacific region is exceptionally rich in biodiversity. The tropical forests and river basins of Southeast Asia, for example, as well as the reefs of the Coral Triangle, are among the most unique on earth. As an area that harbours a significant portion of the world’s flora and fauna, it’s a given that seeds have dispersed over time, particularly as the Asia–Australia tectonic collision—beginning about 20 million years ago and which still continues today—led to a large exchange of plant and animal species between the landmasses. Last year, seeds from the black bean tree were found in South Kalimantan; once thriving in that region, the plant is now only found in the coastal rainforests of northern Australia. The story of plant migration can easily be mapped to that of the…

ACAE Gallery www.acaearts.com.au Wurundjeri Country, Australasian Cultural Arts Exchange, 82A Wellington Street, Collingwood, VIC 3066 [Map 3] 0406 711 378 Tue to Sun 10am–5pm. See our website for latest information. ACAE Gallery is a cultural venture presenting artworks and exhibitions by contemporary Australian and Asian artists. Our bilingual service, delivered in English and Mandarin, offers access to a range of artworks and public programs. Alcaston Gallery www.alcastongallery.com.au 84 William Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000 [Map 2] 03 8849 9668 Thu 12pm–6pm or by appointment. See our website for latest information. Established in 1989, Alcaston Gallery is based in Melbourne with a national and international focus and exhibition schedule. Anna Schwartz Gallery www.annaschwartzgallery.com 185 Flinders Lane, Woiwurung Country, Melbourne, VIC 3000 [Map 2] Wed to Fri 12noon–5pm, Sat 1pm–5pm. See our website…

Aarwun Gallery www.aarwungallery.com.au Ngunnawal Country, 11 Federation Square, Gold Creek, Nicholls, ACT 2913 [Map 16] 0499 107 887 Daily 10am–4.30pm and by appointment in the evening. See our website for latest information. We proudly have “Art for everyone”, in a newly refurbished exciting art space. We are glad to have been part of the cultural fabric of Canberra for over 25 years. We describe our collection as rich and eclectic. We represent some of Australia’s finest classical landscape and portrait artists as well as carrying a wide portfolio of stunning contemporary works which sit alongside exquisite works from our Indigenous artists. Paintings, printmaking, ceramics, glass, bronze and sculpture; we embrace the endless diversity of the best of which Australia has to offer in art. Open 7 days and by appointment…

Melbourne/Naarm Inheritance Phuong Ngo West Space On now—7 June The story of Inheritance is an epic: it spans generations and continents, incorporates objects bought and sold across family lines, and draws on both spiritual and everyday rituals. At times over its long development, Phuong Ngo tells me, he wondered if the project might be cursed. After three marble table tops, produced near his family’s village in Vietnam, shattered upon arrival in Melbourne, a good friend asked if Ngo had requested his ancestors’ permission. Ngo started burning incense and offering cognac, and things improved. Inheritance is full of mysterious confluences, complex family lore, wry humour, and tough love. It’s centred around the family table: a site of gathering, meals, celebrations, and punishments. There are the tables with marble tops (successfully re-made)…

Look What I Found Pia Murphy Nicholas Thompson Gallery 7—24 May Pia Murphy leans into curiosity for her latest exhibition at Nicholas Thompson Gallery. Look What I Found is “referring to that experience in childhood of discovering surprising things in nature.” It’s a methodology Murphy uses in her practice, working with the sole intention of honest discovery. “I find planning and controlling is not something I enjoy. It doesn’t feel natural. Not having a plan, throwing away the idea of the end result, frees me up and allows me to just paint.” The textured, colourful paintings are mostly abstract, though some natural forms emerge—a tree, a butterfly, a fish. The final product is produced through both the application and removal of paint, carving parts away, adding sand to achieve a…

Kattidj Nagãr [Peaceful Quiet Reflection] John Curtin Gallery On now—19 December Described as “a space for reflection, remembrance, and the sharing of truth”, Kattidj Nagãr is dedicated to the Aboriginal people who once resided at the Carrolup Settlement in Western Australia. Forming a major part of Kattidj Nagãr are reproductions of artworks and personal objects once kept by the children of Carrolup. Working mostly with pastel and watercolour on paper, the children created many images of the natural world surrounding them—landscapes with kangaroos, wide plains and vibrant sunsets. Expanding on what the images contain, Carrolup collections officer Lisa Liebetrau and Carrolup engagement advisor Patricia Ryder explain, “You will see the canola crops of Katanning in a bright yellow landscape painted with gouache by Barry Loo, with kangaroos moving across the…

Physics of Uncertainty Jose Dávila COMA Gallery On now—10 May According to COMA Gallery director Sotiris Sotiriou, Jose Dávila is not the type of artist to turn up before an exhibition saying, “Let’s just chitchat and eat lunch over the next few days and figure out what looks good.” Says Sotiriou, “He’s turning up and we already have schematics. We have plans. We have what angle each sculpture should be facing and in which direction; all of that has already been decided.” For anyone familiar with Dávila’s poetic, finely calibrated sculptural investigations of spatial perception, balance and equilibrium, this perhaps isn’t surprising. One of Mexico’s most acclaimed contemporary artists, the architecturally trained Dávila’s work was first shown in Sydney in 2020 as part of Brook Garru Andrew’s 22nd Biennale of…

The tireless advocacy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the country against systems of incarceration that disproportionately target and criminalise our people is an ongoing fight. Blak In-Justice: Incarceration and Resilience, a major exhibition at the Heide Museum of Modern Art developed in partnership with The Torch, highlights the stories of our people who are affected by the so-called justice system. The groundbreaking show focuses on a selection of artworks from trailblazing artists such as Vernon Ah Kee, Gordon Bennett, Destiny Deacon, Julie Dowling, Jimmy Pike, Judy Watson and Richard Bell. Combined with artists from The Torch including Thelma Beeton, Stacey Edwards, Felicity Chafer-Smith, Robby Wirramanda and Sean Miller, this show highlights the collective strength of the artists in speaking back to the systems which actively impact the…

Now in its 17th year, Revealed: New and Emerging WA Aboriginal Artists is one of the most exciting visual art events in Perth/Boorloo. From its beginnings in 2008 at Gallery Central in Northbridge to its move to the Fremantle Arts Centre in Walyalup in 2016, the successive iterations of this annual celebratory exhibition of Aboriginal artists from across the state have a community spirit and passion that grows each year. This year, for the first time, it is exhibited at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA). This year is also the first time that Revealed has a dedicated role for a curator. Zali Morgan, Whadjuk Ballardong & Wilman Noongar woman, and one of the most promising young artists and curators in Australia, has stepped into that role. She approached…

Annandale Galleries www.annandalegalleries.com.au Gadigal Country, 110 Trafalgar Street, Annandale, Sydney, NSW 2038 [Map 7] 02 9552 1699 Wed to Sat 11am–4pm. See our website for latest information. May—June Matisse Motherwell Artbank Sydney www.artbank.gov.au 222 Young Street, Waterloo, NSW 2017 [Map 9] 02 9697 6000 Tue to Thu 12pm–4pm, or by appointment for all leasing requirements. See our website for latest information. 5 May—5 June Artbank Window Gallery: Face Value Billy Bain, Jon Campbell, Katthy Cavaliere, Zhong Chen, Amala Groom, Alan Jones, NELL, Titus Nganjmirra, Mike Parr, Julia Trybala, WART. There is an accepted test of portraits that the eyes must follow you around the room. Some portraits try to control the viewer and command them, some want to be friends and some just want to meditate in peace, undisturbed by…

Araluen Arts Centre, Mparntwe www.araluenartscentre.nt.gov.au 61 Larapinta Drive, Mparntwe/Alice Springs, NT 0870 08 8951 1122 Open daily 10am–4pm, closed Mondays. See our website for latest information. 25 April—15 June Archibald Prize 2024 Regional Tour This Art Gallery of New South Wales touring exhibition is travelling to the Northern Territory for the first time in its history offering audiences outside of NSW the opportunity to see all 2024 finalists. First awarded in 1921, the Archibald Prize was established to foster portraiture, support artists, and perpetuate the memory of great Australians. The Archibald Prize 2024 recorded 1,005 entries with the highest known number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. The Araluen Arts Centre will also be presenting the Young Archie Mparntwe competition with four age categories awarded. 15 March—11 May Know…