Your Guide to Art Exhibitions Across Australia
Immerse yourself in the dynamic realm of Australian art and culture,
brought to life by an eclectic range of exhibitions. Take a sneak peek
into the ongoing showcase of creativity that awaits you.
VIC
George Gittoes: Ukraine Guernica
July 3 - August 16
Deakin University Art Gallery
Artist George Gittoes, alongside his partner and the performance artist Hellen Rose, made two trips from Australia to Kyiv after the Russian armed forces invaded Ukraine. Their motivation was to uncover and document the experience of residents as their cities were being destroyed. Through collaboration with local artists and poets, the Australian couple went about capturing the cultural spirit of Ukraine as it was being threatened. This exhibition celebrates Gittoes and Rose’s unflinching belief in the power of art to counteract the devastations of war.
GRACE CROWLEY
& RALPH BALSON
Gallery View of GRACE CROWLEY & RALPH BALSON. (Source: National Gallery of Victoria)
May 23 - September 22
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Fed Square
The first major exhibition of its kind, GRACE CROWLEY & RALPH BALSON explores the creative partnership and reciprocal inspiration between the two pioneering Australian abstractionists. Upon returning from Europe, Crowley taught the modernist principles she learnt in Paris to eager students including Balson. Taking part in the first exhibitions of abstract art in Australia, Crowley and Balson introduced pure abstraction to the nation and significantly shaped the local modern art movement.
NSW
Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2024
Laura Jones, Tim Winton, 2024. Oil on linen, 198 x 152.5 cm. (Source: Art Gallery NSW)
June 8 - September 8
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The county’s most popular art prizes hit the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Featuring the winners and finalists of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes, this annual exhibition offers insight into the nation’s best in portraiture, landscape and genre art.
The Salon des Refusés
Lewis Miller, Portrait of Graeme Drendel II (detail). Oil on Belgian linen, 172 x 182cm. (Source: Art Collector)
June 8 - August 25
The S.H. Ervin Gallery
What isn’t shown in the renowned Archibald and Wynne Prizes? Since 1992, the S.H. Ervin Gallery has exhibited works that weren’t selected for display at the AGNSW. Presenting works of quality, diversity, humour and experimentation, The Salon des Refusés similarly examines Australian contemporary art practices in a way that directly rivals the ‘official’ exhibitions.
Peter Kingston
June 8 2024 - May 18 2025
State Library - New South Wales
Joyful and charming, Peter Kingston is a witty printmaker who is beloved by Australians. In this tribute to the artist, the State Library showcase his love for his hometown. Like his friend and fellow artist Brett Whiteley, Kingston's kinship with Sydney has become part of its cultural identity. Explore the bustling city, iconic landmarks and serene bays through the eyes of the iconic printmaker.
ACT
SELF PORTRAIT: MYSELF AND I
Currently Showing
National Portrait Gallery
Driven by an incessant desire to create, many artists turn to self-portraiture. Showing works from over the last 80 years, the National Portrait Gallery is celebrating the inventiveness and diversity in Australian artists' approaches to the depiction of oneself. Highly personal, the self-portrait is often the result of parallel exploration of creative expression and the self and alludes to the artist’s inner world.
QLD
mudunama kundana wandaraba jarribirri | Judy Watson
Gallery View of mudunama kundana wandaraba jarribirri. (Source: Chloë Callistemon)
March 23 - August 11
Queensland Art Gallery
In her most extensive solo exhibition to date, Judy Watson reflects on her creative practice which spans over 4 decades. Inspired by the stories from her family in Waanyi Country, Watson’s works are powerful and centred on truth-telling. The title comes from a poem by the artist’s son and when translated means ‘tomorrow the tree grows stronger’. As Watson reflects on her past, the message of her work resonates into the future.
The Painter & the Printmaker
William Robinson, Twin Falls (detail), 2000. colour lithograph. (Source: QUT)
September 5 2023 - September 15 2024
William Robinson Gallery, Brisbane CBD
William Robinson is a revered figure in Australia's art world, celebrated for his remarkable ability to capture landscapes and portraits. His artworks breathe life into the rainforests of South East Queensland and the seascapes of Northern New South Wales, offering a genuine portrayal of the Australian bush that evokes profound emotions.
Well known for his paintings, his work in printmaking is rarely acknowledged for its aesthetic metric and contribution in solidifying his creative vision. ‘The Painter & the Printmaker’ provides an insight of how four decades of experience in printmaking helped to shape Robinson’s masterful ability as a colourist and mark-maker.
WA
Origins
May 18 - August 17
Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery
Considering the physical reality of humanity, Origins is an exploration into the circular nature of the beginnings and endings. Presenting photographs and painting from Cruthers Collection of Women’s Art - by artists such as Dorothy Braund and Helen Maudsley - this exhibition celebrates the source of life and draws attention to its presence in the everyday.
SA
Rethinking Australian Art
Currently Showing
Art Gallery of South Australia
By re-hanging these selected artworks from their collection, the Art Gallery of South Australia aims to re-explore Australian Art History. Challenging the notion of a national art scene that was isolated or singular, this presentation of art showcases the intricate and revolutionary shifts that took place in Australian art following the Second World War - including the emergence of Aboriginal art, the momentum of the Feminist art movement, and the ascent of conceptual art and postmodernism.
TAS
Lands of Light: Lloyd Rees and Tasmania
Lloyd Rees, Spring sunshine, 1938. Oil on canvas on paperboard, 39.5 x 48.3 cm. (Source: Art Gallery NSW)
March 7 - October 27
Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery
Capturing his native surroundings in his own unique way, Lloyd Rees is one of Australia’s most beloved landscape artists of the 20th century. Rees was rarely influenced by the trends of his contemporaries, preferring to build on the legacy of European landscapes while being inspired by the Australian artists of the past.
This exhibition brings together paintings from the last decades of Rees’ long career, when the artist lived in Tasmania. The works are expositions of light, capturing how the island state and its environment were as unique as Rees’ sensibilities.