The son of Italian migrants, Steve Lopes explores how cultural and psychological identity can evolve and expand in an Australian environment, with its “intensity of colour and light”, as he puts it. His latest show is at Orange Regional Gallery.
Melbourne’s RISING festival of art, music and performance is something of a fever dream, having been delayed from 2020 and then running for just one night in 2021 before again being impeded by lockdowns. Now taking place this June with over 200 events by 800 artists, it may be tricky deciding what to see—so here’s our top picks, with tickets still available.
Solitude is a habit for Belynda Henry and, as an artist, immersion in the landscape drives her paintings. Her latest works at Edwina Corlette distil imagery which is vested in place, conveying its many moods and experiences.
Congratulations to Blak Douglas who has won the 2022 Archibald for his exquisite, urgent portrait of Karla Dickens, aptly titled Moby Dickens. The winners of the Wynne and Sulman Prizes have also been revealed.
For those seeking refuge from the election, the 101st Archibald Prize is almost a politician-free zone. Unless you count Joanna Braithwaite’s amusingly titled McManusstan, a portrait of bird lover Sally McManus. Former Labor minister Peter Garrett painted by Anh Do is in the line up – but more accurately described as a rock star.
Confined 13 shows how art can change lives. With 400 works created by First Nations artists either currently in or recently released from Victorian prisons, the exhibition is a tribute to how artistic expression strengthens a person’s connection to their story and culture, while giving further artistic possibilities.
Richard Blackwell’s latest exhibition at Flinders Lane Gallery explores the places where the real and unreal intersect in our increasingly digitised world.
Porcelain and sound waves do not immediately come to mind when thinking about textiles, yet these are the materials some artists are using to produce their textile-based work. Casting a wide net for Pliable Planes at UNSW, co-curators Karen Hall and Catherine Woolley specifically looked for artists whose practice expanded the creative parameters of contemporary textiles.
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