Mapping Our Future

Love & Humour in the Time of Everything heralds the first online exhibition following the temporary closure of Arts Project Australia until 14 April 2020.

We remain in solidarity with our community, recognise the important role art plays during social hardship and are eager to stay engaged and accessible.

Love and Humour in the Time of Everything presents a collection of works that waver between amusement, affection, wistfulness, and the comfort of the ordinary.

Inscribed in the work are the absurd, vulnerable, cheeky truths of human existence. The collection reveals perhaps one of the most the innate qualities of an artist – the ability to be sensitive to the nuances of emotional states and to continuously demonstrate connection, support and affection though visual language.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

At a time when the physical world seems to have hit the pause button, the virtual world is rapidly adjusting to a new normal. A lot of content is being shared and streamed that is unsettling or merely filling space.

On the one hand, global circumstances allow (amongst other things) time to cultivate patience and reflection, while our longing to have personal contact with people, animals and things is as palpable as ever.

For Arts Project Australia’s latest virtual offering ‘In the Moment of In-Between’, we share a collection of artwork by numerous studio artists that present some scenarios we might otherwise take for granted. These things—particularly at this moment in time—are possibly some of the essential interactions and communal activities we should reflect on, hold tightly, and value the most.

Featuring work by Dionne Canzano, Boris Cipusev, Alan Constable, Leo Cussen, Bronwyn Hack, Matthew Gove, Paul Hodges, Bobby Kyriakopoulos, Miles Howard-Wilks, Fiona Longhurst, Lisa Reid, Anthony Romagnano, Adrian Salvatore, Rebecca Scibilia, Amani Tia and Terry Williams.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

It’s not often we get the chance to throw everything up in the air and reconsider the way we do things and how we engage with people.

While it’s been an uncertain, scary and sometimes tragic time, it’s also been creatively exciting when you think about it. For Arts Project Australia, making the difficult decision to close the studio and gallery temporarily has forced us to rethink the way we advocate, support and promote our artists. Like everyone, we’ve had to shift to communicating and sharing our stories solely online.

Our current circumstances have led us to generate new initiatives that (even though it’s early days) show great promise, such as developing an online ‘virtual’ studio space for our artists to connect, talk and share their artwork and ideas on life and art with our staff. In its infancy, the new program has great potential for future engagement, even after the artists return to the studio.

Early in these exceptional times, we decided to move our 2020 exhibition schedule to 2021; to free up space at Arts Project Australia for the gradual return of artists with social distancing. In other words, we have created the space to rethink how we operate this year, and the gallery may very well become an extension of the studio for the short term.

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, which has also prompted a rethink of our exhibitions in 2020…no gallery for people to visit, no worries! We’ll use this time as a circuit breaker and deliver new shows, artist Q&As and innovative projects online. Who knows – we might come up with something new that we would never have thought of (or thought possible) had it not been for life throwing us one hell of a curveball. Our latest group exhibition features artworks that will make you stop, think twice and reflect.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

When times get tough, holding onto some semblance of hope helps us get through the dark days. The saying ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ springs to mind, reminding us that we will get through this and that there are positive things that will come out of this present time.

New opportunities will present themselves and come to the fore. As artists and people working in the creative field, we can impact people’s lives by sharing artwork that reflects good things about the human spirit and ways of viewing the world.

In our latest offering ‘Silver Linings’, we’ve put together a selection of work by artists from our studio who have honed in on moments of joy, freedom and the sublime.

Featuring work by Fulli Andrinopoulos, Alan Constable, Michelle Coulson, Paul Hodges, Kate Knight, Bobby Kyriakopoulos, Julian Martin, Will Murray, Rosie O’Brien, Chris Sahyoun, and Georgia Szmerling.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

When all else fails, throw on a DVD.

We are reasonably sure this is one of the popular solutions for dealing with cabin fever, boredom and the cold weather (in Melbourne at least) that is permeating our home lives at the moment.

Maybe “let’s see what’s on Netflix, Stan, MUBI or Spotify” is your household catch-cry. Whatever medium or streaming service takes your fancy, when life throws us a curve-ball we turn to art, music and entertainment to get us through.

Perhaps, now more than ever, we can tackle that stack of books that have accumulated by our bed, the collection of DVDs on the bookshelf or the movies we’ve saved to our watch-list that we never seem to have time to watch.

In our latest virtual exhibition Time for a DVD, we present a light-hearted selection of past and present entertainment-inspired artworks, that speak to the ‘now’ as well as inspire us to revisit old greats.

Featuring work by Peter Ben, Dionne Canzano, Boris Cipusev, Leo Cussen, Cameron Gresswell, Paul Hodges, Bobby Kyriakopoulos, Lisa Reid, Anthony Romagnano and Cathy Staughton.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Strength in Numbers delights in the moments and reflects on a time when we could do fun stuff (when was that again?…what day is it?).

Outdoor pursuits with groups of friends, family or perfect strangers; swimming in a lake, going on a hike, riding a roller-coaster, going dancing or to the theatre, to a wedding or out for dinner. Just gathering.

Although it seems the adventures and events shared in groups are a distant memory, belief in the common good is very much alive, and realised through collective participation and the formation of a shared will. We are defined as a culture by our stories, thoughts, feelings, images and moments. These things still exist and are being circulated in great abundance in the virtual realm.

We may need to actively avoid the trash, but the impulse to share and keep connected is such that pleasure, meaning and joy can survive through this period. Digital platforms have enabled dancers to keep dancing with one another, artists to keep producing together and friends to keep gathering. And while we can’t ride rollercoasters just yet, we will soon. And until then there’s Netflix Party.

Featuring work by Anthony Romagnano, Paul Hodges, Leo Cussen, Amani Tia, Bobby Kyriakopoulos, Steven Ajzenberg, Terry Williams, Lisa Reid, Michelle Coulson, Samraing Chea and Cathy Staughton.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

In Fortune Favours the Brave, Art Project Australia explores concepts of courage and bold creative undertakings that help to shape the life we live.

Life throws all kinds of circumstances at us—good and bad—that we have little or no control over, and personal rewards don’t always reflect our efforts and good intentions.

However, what we can influence is how we respond to any given situation and, consequently, we can choose a path that gives ourselves the best shot at a good life. In that vein many of our artists, with support from APA, their families and networks, have embraced change and established temporary studios at home; for some artists, it’s a table in the kitchen, while for others it’s an entire room or shed.

One thing is clear—APA artists are making the most of a difficult situation and are responding in the best way possible—by making art. Just before the pandemic, we were in the stockroom admiring recent work created in our studio.

In this new world, as individual artists and as an organisation, we’ve quickly adapted: we have been fearless and dared to be different. Our approach can only bring good fortune and positive vibes our way, right?

The artists selected in Fortune Favours the Brave have a bold and gutsy approach to their art practice, something we can’t help but admire and celebrate, especially in times like these.

Featuring work by Alvaro Alvarez, Suzanne Barnes, Michael Camakaris, Jacob Cartelli, Valerio Ciccone, Alan Constable, Salome Felsinger, Gavin Porter, Adrian Lazzaro, Anne Lynch, Anthony Romagnano, Laura Sheehan, Amani Tia and Paul Quick.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Neither Here Nor There reflects on the ‘COVID-hump’ that has resulted in a general state of collective ambivalence.

Questions abound about whether to stay home or go out, to remain in the digital realm or connect in person. At this particular moment in time, it seems that what we decide to do is neither here nor there. Despite being told we can go back into work and gather in small groups, relaxing the rules is inconsequential.

Societally, we’re not 100% sure what’s best to do, and our longing to race back into the world has waned as we remain suspended in an ongoing state of hypervigilance. Our movements are restricted creating awkward noncontact interactions 1.5-meter apart—it’s hardly a desirable scenario.

As creatures of habit, we’ve quickly adapted to the reality of staying home and, as we hurl toward winter, the thought of emerging from the comfort and safety of home will be more challenging than we first thought.

The artwork selected for Neither here nor there touches on some of these notions of uncertainty and longing. Collections of emotive digital prints are juxtaposed with highly tactile and visceral handmade objects, forcing the viewer to reflect on feelings of ambivalence in this historic moment. Featuring work by Alan Constable, Ruth Howard, Miles Howard-Wilks, James MacSporran, Chris O’Brien, Georgia Szmerling, Lachlan Turk and Terry Williams.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Aptly named The Day We All Went Home, this special fundraising event is presented in partnership with long-time supporter, Leonard Joel.

The exciting suite of artworks include paintings, prints, ceramic and soft sculptures – a range of mediums and styles to delight and entice everyone.

Leonard Joel will host the auction free of charge to Arts Project Australia to enable this to be the most successful fundraising event possible. Participants can leave absentee bids before the auction or join in the fun online with live auctioneers John Albrecht (Managing Director, Leonard Joel) and Sue Roff (Executive Director, Arts Project Australia).

Your purchase will provide payments to the artists as well as contribute to Arts Project Australia’s ongoing viability as we slowly return to normal operations.

Our partnership has been an enduring one spanning 10 years, and this is the perfect time to join forces and raise much-needed funds for Arts Project Australia and its talented artists.

These are challenging times for all of us, and this represents the support and admiration Leonard Joel has for the unique work of Arts Project Australia.

Leonard Joel is sponsoring the event and waiving their buyer’s premium, with 100% of proceeds going to participating artists and Arts Project Australia.

For those of us living in Melbourne, Australia the second lock down in not many months is challenging.

We thought we had permanently emerged from our home-caves and begun adjusting to a new normal, only to take a step back and return, once again, to relative isolation. While gleefully patting ourselves on the back for a job well done in June, by July we had let our guard down. With our tail between our legs, we’ve had to admit that we’re not quite as immune or good as we thought we were.

Meanwhile, a debate has proliferated online regarding whether or not to wear a face mask and, if a necessity, which mask should we wear? Australia’s chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly said people living in Melbourne who can’t remain socially distant when out and about for essential reasons ‘should wear a mask.’ So, why don’t we do it? We’ve worn masks for a multitude of purposes throughout history including to shield, camouflage, disguise and masquerade. Face coverings have transformative qualities and can affect the way we communicate and the way we feel. From a positive standpoint, masks can be creative, liberating and empowering.

When you wear the mask, the mask becomes you features work by Michael Camakaris, Nick Capaldo, Adrian Lazzaro, Julian Martin, Sammie-Jo Matta, Daniel Pace, Gavin Porter, Aidan Sefo, Cathy Staughton, Jimmy Tran and Terry Williams. It reflects on the transformative qualities wearing a mask can have on the wearer. We examine the use of face coverings from a functional as well as fanciful and speculative viewpoint.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Experience the exhibition online here.

It seems that for the foreseeable future we are to be confined to our domestic environment, the dwelling in these intimate spaces generating ever-closer relationships with the objects within them.

While caring about possessions may, for some, appear as a moral failing, it does not necessarily equate to greed or materialism. Objects create meaning and comfort, serving as bridges to people, places and moments in time, tapping into raw emotion. A gift from a loved one, a memento collected as a reminder of places close to the heart, a potted plant tenderly cared for in a favourite light-filled corner, a treasured teacup, a chair lovingly restored or the artwork that indescribably stirs.

Objects can embody goals, manifest drive, generate sentiment and shape identities. We are makers and users of objects, carving meaning out of our domestic environment. And rather than serving as a poor substitute for human interaction, objects amplify connections. They are portals to memories and vessels for notions of a sense of self and belonging. They amplify and cradle our experiences and provide solace, much like a security blanket might serve as psychological comfort for a child in an unusual or challenging situation. And we most certainly find ourselves in one of those.

The Object and the Beholden features work by Alan Constable, Anne Lynch, Kate Knight, Samantha Ashdown, Steven Ajzenberg, Valerio Ciccone, Georgia Szmerling, Chris O’Brien, Simon Paredes and Terry Williams.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Experience the exhibition online here.

For most, the road to success is a long journey and no truer words have ever been said about people who work in the arts.

No matter the discipline, following a creative path and putting oneself out there on the public stage takes guts and determination as well as passion, resilience and sacrifice. It takes aspirational thinking and long-term commitment, as well as an army of supporters, to keep a successful practice alive—and there are many ups and downs.

Artists have to be prepared to weather just about every storm that comes their way. Whether the challenge is political, social, environmental, economic, or a pandemic, artists are often the best placed to respond while also being the most vulnerable members of our community.

With a nod to fellow creatives working in the performing arts — the sector arguably most affected by the pandemic — our latest virtual offering acknowledges the importance of staying committed and focused on the long game as a crucial road map to success. The artists featured have enduring and rewarding careers in the arts, and we celebrate their longevity and dedication to their creative practice.

Artists include Alvaro Alvarez, Dorothy Berry, Monica Burns, Valerio Ciccone, Alan Constable, Patrick Francis, Bronwyn Hack, Paul Hodges, Adrian Lazzaro, Fiona Longhurst, Chris Mason, Lisa Reid and Cathy Staughton.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

At a time when creativity is more critical than ever, why do we still have to work so hard to justify why art is important?

Artists and their art practice need to be supported and invested in – their constant questioning, exploration, raising of societal, environmental and political issues as well as their generosity of spirit make the world a better place.

Art raises awareness, marks time and reflects our values. Art connects communities, shapes culture and fosters wellbeing. Art is vital, it is irreplaceable and one of the most critical aspects of our culture and humanity.

According to Arts Project Australia artist Michael Camakaris, his art practice is the most important thing in his life. Not only is making art enjoyable and purposeful, it gives him a voice while providing intellectual stimulation and meaningful work.

Camakaris reflects, “I make art to express myself about things like my disenchantment with the world, and how I feel about the injustices in life – some people having so much and some people having so little. Through art, you can let out some of your anger and express the way you view the world. Along with all the other disciplines in the arts, like films and theatre, what you express can lead to more acceptance of people with differences and increase understanding in society.”

We know art has an extraordinary impact on our lives – the community tells us, studies tell us and the economy tells us. The jury is in and it’s a no-brainer: art matters and is too important not to share. Mic drop.

Featuring work by Arts Project artists Michael Camakaris, Samraing Chea, Bronwyn Hack, Michael Licenblat, Eden Menta, Lisa Reid, Cathy Staughton and Terry Williams.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

To live and work as a professional artist is a badge of honour and sharing the journey with your peers in an open and supportive environment is something extraordinary.

Being part of a creative network is important for developing a sustainable career in the arts, as well as for general health and wellbeing.

Whether artists come together through artist residencies, as part of artist collectives, progressive studios or galleries, having the space to experiment and test ideas while critically engaging with art and the broader art world is a crucial aspect of the artistic journey. Creative communities help give people a sense of belonging and identity; they build knowledge, reciprocity, collective memories and a shared history.

Collective Memory brings together a selection of work by emerging, mid-career and established artists that illustrate the strong artistic outcomes that stem from a close and aspirational art community. At Arts Project Australia, we see individual artists flourish when working in the studio or online within the best and trying times in a perfect art and peer symbiosis.

Artists include Lygin Ang, George Aristovoulou, Desmond Beavis, Shoshanna Brott, Dionne Canzano, Jacob Cartelli, Valerio Ciccone, Ashlee Cochrane, Alan Constable, Wendy Dawson, Ross O’Meara, Daniel Richardson, Rebecca Scibilia, Michael Trasancos and Doreen Youlten.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

It’s the federal budget week in Australia and, while we don’t want to dwell on this rather dreary subject too long, it does give us pause to reflect, again, on what a roller-coaster year it has been.

Not that we need any reminding, however, our recovery does require generating new cultural opportunities, jobs, and spending. And who better to lead this initiative with considerable flair, creative thinking and positivity than our artists and the arts.

For those winners in Josh Frydenberg’s 2020 budget, there are many ways to spend tax incentives online on all sorts of goods and services. Our call to action is for people to make a conscious decision to invest in culture and support local artists by putting dollars into contemporary art and craft, as well as online performances, music and creative workshops.

Dollars and [Non]sense is an exhibition that responds to the federal budget week with some insights and abstract contemplation, as well as humour and nonsense.

This exhibition features work by Boris Cipusev, along with artists Peter Ben, Samraing Chea, Valerio Ciccone, Adrian Lazzaro, Julian Martin, Chris O’Brien, Gavin Porter, Josef Power, Paul Quick, Lisa Reid and Cathy Staughton.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Just as a QR code stores data in a matrix of geometric cells, the signature marks and commonly recurring motifs in creative works all contain an identifiable signature through which we can ‘scan’ the subjectivity of the artist.

This exhibition invites the viewer to sense the thumbprint of the maker, drawing upon the unique code to think more deeply about the artist’s particular sensibility. Thus, the viewer becomes the receiver or the sensor, accessing the bounty within each artwork.

Like an iPhone that uses fingerprint recognition to open up an abundance of information, each artistic trope becomes a portal into unchartered territory. When ‘scanned’ a whole universe can open up, and through this mechanism or framework the artist reveals their distinct voice.

Sensor encourages the viewer to take a deeper look at what is hidden in the coded form within each artist’s chosen, often idiosyncratic, language or thumbprint and features work by Mark Smith, Julian Martin, Kate Knight, Paul Hodges, Michael Camakaris and Jordan Dymke.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Spot Exhibition brings together fourteen of Samraing Chea’s most recent coloured pencil drawings.

The works blend Samraing’s uncanny skill for recalling images from factual books, found images and animated movies. He devotes hours to the careful construction of each work, relying on memory and a personal library of images on his laptop as reference. The signature line of text at the bottom of each drawing often describes his initial inspiration or adds a humorous thought for the viewer to decode the depicted scene.

Themes are wide-ranging and often mysterious, begging the question; where does it come from? Samraing’s answer is often as cryptic as the drawings themselves yet these small comic type narratives reveal a deep insight into his sentimental love of popular culture, Americana and the urban environment he lives in.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Rebecca Scibilia (b 1980) is a Melbourne-based artist who utilises a variety of media for her works, sourcing her imagery from a range of popular culture items.

In her solo, Scibilia weaves depictions of journeys in Japan, characterised by bold texta colour and assured pattern making which maintains an evocative balance of vibrating energy and personal reflection.

Scibilia has been a regular studio artist at Arts Project Australia since 1999 and had her first solo exhibition in Melbourne in 2014 and a second solo in Sydney in 2019.

She has exhibited in numerous group shows including Hybrid Making, Project Ability Gallery, Glasgow; Heavenly Stems, Neon Parc, Melbourne; and Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne. Her work is held in the Leeuwin Estate Collection in Western Australia and private collections Australia-wide.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Characterised by their rich surfaces, Julian Martin’s pastel works make a unique visual statement.

Methodical in his approach, he carefully works from photographs and arranged still life, deconstructing these references to create highly considered compositions.

With his pastels evoking a strong bodily resonance, his work is a continuous reinterpretation of, and response to, form.

Martin has worked in the Arts Project studio since 1988 and presented his first solo show in 2001. He has exhibited in numerous national and international group shows, and has work in the National Gallery of Victoria, as gifted by Stuart Purves, with work also held in other public and private collections worldwide.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Love me tender, love me true, all my dreams fulfil. For my darling, I love you and I always will.

When you read the words of Elvis Presley’s 1956 Love Me Tender, you can’t help humming along to the music. That’s the enduring power of Elvis. The best music, performance and art does that—it moves you and gets under your skin, long after the work has been created and released. Such is the emotive quality of Dionne Canzano’s paintings and drawings as you experience them. Full of personality and love, her artworks are passionate renderings that are always drawn from the heart.

The artwork selected in Canzano’s solo exhibition Love Me Tender, Love Me True is first and foremost a celebration of heartthrob Elvis Presley. It also expresses her all-embracing love of life: from wild cats and magpies to popular cultural landmarks and gorgeous celebrities. This diverse collection, while focusing on the King, has a little bit of everything and is best enjoyed while humming your favourite Elvis tune.

Canzano (b 1970) is a mid-career artist whose figurative work embodies veils of blended colour and detailed pastel and pencil lines. Her work explores subjects close to her heart, such as Elvis Presley, wild and domestic animals, and possess a dream-like quality with an edge.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Steven Ajzenberg is a figurative painter whose process is considered and often infused with a wry sense of humour.

While his early work explored comic illustrations and paintings accompanied by text, a gradual stylistic evolution has seen Ajzenberg demonstrate a more complete and assured depiction of satire in his work, which is complemented by economical use of colour and composition.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Dorothy Berry is an established artist whose practice spans four decades.

While now in her twilight years, she has always approached her practice with great passion, which is evident in the energy and vibrancy of her paintings and drawings.

Her work demonstrates a keen interest in animals, particularly birds, and often depicts them in a symbolic sense. Berry has developed an intricate set of signs in order to construct personal narratives and her work often recounts an experience, event, belief or opinion relating to her life. Her compositions frequently consist of an accumulation of these incidents or symbols, instilling the works with personal significance.

Dorothy Berry (born 1942) has been a regular studio artist at Arts Project Australia since 1985, and presented four solo exhibitions at Arts Project Australia including; ‘Dorothy Berry – Bird on a Wire’ (2009); ‘A Survey 1987-2002’ (2002); and ‘Recent Works’ (1998). She has been included in numerous group exhibitions including ‘My Puppet, My Secret Self’, The Substation, Newport; ‘Inside Out/Outside In’, Access Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; and ‘Turning the Page’, Gallery 101, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Her work is held in the National Gallery of Australia Collection, Canberra, and MADmusée, Lèige.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Chris Mason is an accomplished artist working across the disciplines of painting, drawing, sculpture and ceramics.

His practice involves extensive research, generating ideas that span across a wide range of subject matter with particular focus on voluptuous female forms and animals such as snakes and fish. Idiosyncratic and humorous, Mason’s works are often inspired by photographs and images collected by the artist. By extension and as part of his process, Mason also writes stories that relate directly to his thematic explorations. With a keen interest in animal rights, Mason has recently extended his practice to experimenting with the possibilities of cruelty-free taxidermy.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Fulli Andrinopoulos’ work is characterised by soft, floating colours that exude richness through the build-up of dense layers of rich pigment.

The works are tactile and ethereal, with an emotive quality akin to that of Rothko. Her works on paper and, more recently, textile translations, are intimate yet evoke a sense of awe and the unknown.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Bronwyn Hack is known for her multi-faceted practice which spans sculpture, painting, printmaking and ceramics.

Her latest suite of 2D works completed towards the end of 2019 continue to display the artist’s characteristic composition; merging subject and background to form a consolidated linear perspective. The subject matter in this body of work is remarkably timely, exploring the intimate bonds that exist between Hack and her friends and colleagues at Arts Project Australia, and in turn the bonds they share with their pets.

The images are particularly poignant in this moment, serving as a reminder of those who are missed as we move through a period of lockdown, the solace found in our furry companions and the notion that the strongest bonds have adversity in their framework.

The tender portrayal of the subject matter unearths ideas around connection, trust, protection, love and companionship.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

James MacSporran has worked toward presenting his first solo show since October 2019—the work is sitting in the Arts Project stockroom stretched, framed, and ready to install.

He’d carefully developed the theme, planned the layout, edited the abstract and titled his show. His solo exhibition, aptly titled From The Streets, was finalised in February 2020 and ready to install in March. Then COVID-19 hit, and our Northcote gallery closed indefinitely.

His solo show is rescheduled for early 2021 and will be one of the first shows presented in our Northcote gallery when it reopens. However, we couldn’t wait to share his latest collection with the world, so here it is—published online as a virtual teaser of what’s to come.

View the exhibition here.

Anthony Romagnano (born 1985) is a mid-career artist who primarily creates small-scale artworks with pencil and paint on paper, with an extended practise in digital media.

He often references popular culture images in his work, which he interprets and draws in the outline before adding blocks of vivid colour.

Romagnano has worked in the Arts Project studio since 2004 and presented his first solo show in 2008. He has exhibited in numerous national and international group shows, and has work in the National Gallery of Victoria, as gifted by Stuart Purves, with work also held in private collections Australia wide.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Emily Dober (b 1992) is an emerging painter and illustrator whose figurative works centre on the female form as portrayed in magazines and advertisements.

Working from a gently drawn pencil and ink outline, her strong sense of composition and considered layers of colour gives her work a distinctive, personalised style. One of her principal concerns is analysing specific movements and gestures of the female body. While her work in this collection appears as abstract studies, strong women are clearly the focus. Represented mid-motion and set within a carefully blended background, Dober creates a highly emotive space to explore perceptions of femininity.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

As Melbourne heads into the third week of its second lockdown, it seems like the right moment to pause and reflect on the beauty and colour in the world.

With news streams inundated with pessimistic and sensationalist headlines, art serves as a positive and uplifting balm under challenging times.

Take a moment to appreciate the impact of colour, an incredible communication tool affecting emotions, responses and signalling action. Cool colours—such as blue, green and purple—while soothing, can make us sad. Warm colours, on the other hand—red, yellow and orange—grab attention, alert and tend to make us happy.

The artwork in Robert Brown’s solo exhibition Bold, Bright and Beautiful, firmly plants itself at the warm and joyful end of the spectrum. It is right where we want to be, while we live with uncertainty and isolation in our personal lives as well as globally.

Brown is an accomplished abstract artist and painter whose work on paper and canvas is characterised by his bold and vibrant use of colour and spontaneous layering. He is a master colourist, whose work makes you unashamedly happy when you view it. Inspired by nature, he draws inspiration from found images of landscapes, reinterpreting what he sees with great freedom.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Robin Warren has an artistic practice that spans over 20 years.

His works on paper explore brightly coloured and organically shaped abstract imagery. Utilising oil pastels, Copic and felt-tipped markers, his work is reminiscent of cellular organisms in bloom that radiate from a central focal point.

Warren often renders multiple layers of colour that create a dream-like state as they reverberate across the paper. Though soothing, his work can have a strangely unsettling visceral quality that is enhanced by his use of unlikely colour combinations.

His current virtual exhibition Mottled Images presents work created in the Arts Project Australia studio from 2017-2019. A few years ago, Warren moved from Perth to Melbourne to build his practice at Arts Project.

In non-COVID times, he gets to work alongside his contemporary peers and tap into broader resources that enable him to take his career in new directions.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Anne Lynch is an accomplished artist who has sustained a professional art practice since the early nineties.

She is known for her pastel on paper artworks; her small-scale landscapes have a sense of melancholy that is also carried within lone figures that hover over gentle fields of colour. Her early work centred on rural landscapes, while recent drawings increasingly focus on subjects closer to home—fleeting domestic moments suspended in time.

In current exhibition Close to Home, viewers will encounter a selection of Lynch’s colourful domestic scenes: people joyfully playing instruments, dancing and waving, while a cat sprawls on a bright blue carpet. Birds perch on and in glass jars, fish swim in a tank surrounded by houseplants, and fresh flowers are arranged in vases perfectly poised on tabletops.

This intimate collection could be interpreted as reflecting an artist’s yearning—a desire for joy, domestic bliss and harmony.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Highly resolved and beautifully composed, George Aristovoulou’s carefully segmented picture planes are filled with heavily rendered swatches of dense colour.

The abstract fields of patterning seamlessly blend together, lending a dream-like quality to the meticulously constructed imagery.

In his current exhibition Fervant Repose, Aristovoulou creates fantastical, vibrant drawings that generate impact with their dense, smudged workings. His practice manifests a flourish of visual energies melded with a somewhat tranquil quality; a complex combination.

The works in this exhibition seem to capture the balance of the serene wildness seen and felt in nature. They demonstrate the palpable energy of the natural world – that feeling that leaves us indebted and in awe.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

Georgia Szmerling’s multi-disciplinary practice includes ceramics, painting, drawing and photography with a dominant interest in the portrayal of the natural world.

Rich in texture and highly expressive, her wild plant formations suggest a sense of lyrical movement while her abstract, whimsical ceramic creatures exude a tender charm.

In her current exhibition Untamed, the freshness and freedom of the environments depicted seem to resonate more than ever after months of indoor living. The colours appear brighter and more saturated, the lines clean and sharp. These scenes are unrestricted, untouched and unburdened, and conjure a deep sense of longing for the experience they speak to.

Playful and filled with uninhibited energy, these works harness a kind of essence that underpins the landscapes, the rambling free-form line windswept and unbridled. They are a delight, and in the absence of (until recently) the real thing, offer a much-needed burst of joy and respite.

View the exhibition catalogue here.

John Bates is an established painter whose striking, delineated compositions are characterised by flat planes and vivid colour.

Through the use of a minimal palette emphasising the two-dimensional surface, the work plays with ordinary perception of landscapes and seascapes.

His process involves creating a dense surface by applying thick layers of acrylic colour.

Mind’s Eye presents a collection of Bates’ 2018 and 2019 iconic landscapes that are of this world, yet ethereal in their conceptual and bold representation.

View the exhibition catalogue here.