Category: ART

The only Australian photographic art you need for your walls

Through Our Lens wall art

Backpacker, traveller, expat of just lover of Australian scenery, this one’s for you. If you’re looking for something to fill the overwhelmingly empty surfaces of your four walls, then I’m pleased to introduce you to Through Our Lens by Australian based photography partners Edger Pudans and Norah Nguyen. They take the beauty that lies in around and under the Australian landscape and turn it into a moment you can dip into at any time, at your convenience, through photographic art pieces. Their story is sweet; they met in Uni and discovered their mutual love for photography and producing quality imagery of their surroundings. They honed their skill and these days, provide portals into Australiana to their global client base of people like you and I: locals, travellers and fans of the rugged beauty-come-urban centres that comprise one of the greatest countries on Earth; Australia. Especially our favourite coastal wall art! To take their words from their website, “For landscape photographers, a certain level of planning will always be a necessity. Being at the mercy of natural light and other elements like wind and cloud cover, it can be tricky to ensure you’re in the right spot at the right time to capture that perfect shot. But thanks to modern technology, Edgar and Norah don’t have to leave things up to chance. We use advanced applications like Sky Candy, designed to demonstrate the direction of sunlight during an allocated time of day. Based on the location of the shoot, this will help us determine the time… Read More

What to see this NIDA Festival of Emerging Artists

man actor stage

This year, NIDA, the National Institutue of Dramatic Arts will bring the Festival of Emerging Artists features seven short productions experienced across three different venues from 7-10 December. So, if ever you wanted to see what the world of drama can really do, this is the opportunity. Established in 2019, the annual festival brings together the many talents nurtured at NIDA across all disciplines, with a particular focus on the next generation of Australia’s leading directors and designers. In the tradition of NIDA alumni immediately finding employment in the entertainment industry, these are the new creative artists to watch in 2023 and beyond. Here are some top shows to add to your diary: LeelaWritten by Sudip Sauden and Grace MaloufDirected by Sudip SaudenDramaturg by Jiva Lamsal (guest artist)Set and costume design by Lochie OdgersThis darkly funny Australian-Nepalese work revolves around Laxmi, an elderly Nepalese woman, and her son, Arjun, as they struggle with the most consequential decision of their lives, a decision with tragic consequences. How to win a Plebiscite (and Tennis)Written by Lachlan ParryDirected by Ryan WhitworthSet and costume design by Hailley HuntHow to Win a Plebiscite (and Tennis) is a queer comedy that wrestles with the question – can a long-term relationship withstand the scrutiny and trauma experienced when a country is asked to vote on the validity of their love? This is a story of community, hope and love set during the 2017 Australian Equal Marriage Plebiscite. SOL.Directed by Emma WhiteheadDramaturg Simon Thomson (guest artist)Set and costume design by Benedict Janeczko-TaylorSOL. is… Read More

Alexander McQueen: the exhibition in Melbourne at the National Gallery of Victoria

NGV Alexander McQueen announcement 1

Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse, the spectacular drama of Alexander McQueen’s design genius and the late ‘90s London scene inspires the musical line-up and design of this season’s NGV Friday Nights.  From 16 December, Melbourne’s favourite and famous gallery, the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) will host its renowned Friday Nights sessions, opening up the gallery in a more accessible and entertaining way for guests from all over than ever before. This year, the 18-week live music series will feature some of Melbourne’s most creative musical minds spanning disco, glam rock, punk, jazz, and soul. Nai Palm’s magnetic neo-soul sound will fill the NGV’s Great Hall on opening night, with further highlights throughout the series including Electric Fields, Kee’ahn, Banoffee and Billy Davis.  And if that’s not enough and you’re really hankering for a visit to the McQueen exhibition, then NGV Friday Nights offers late-night access to Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse, the first major Australian exhibition to explore the work of Alexander McQueen (1969 – 2010). The exhibition, organised by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), in partnership with the NGV, will showcase 60 garments and accessories drawn from LACMA’s holdings of important works by McQueen alongside more than 50 designs by McQueen from the NGV Collection, making this Australian-exclusive presentation especially rich and comprehensive.   Go to the NGV website for more info and to organise your visit

The Melbourne Parthenon: NGV brings a different kind of Greece to Australia

A digital image of the Greek Parthenon

If you’ve been to Greece, or more specifically Athens (its capital), then you would have undoubtedly seen the impressive and imposing Parthenon atop the ancient Greek acropolis. Built by the Greek King Pericles in 447 BCE, it’s one of the ancient wonders of the world and this season, it’s coming to Melbourne. Kind of. Aggressively named Temple of Boom, the Parthenon will take on a digitally inspired and artistically affected interpretation, ranging from vibrantly coloured floral motifs to optical illusions, the artworks draw inspiration from the colourful and artistic embellishments that covered the original building over two-thousand years ago. Designed by Melbourne-based architects Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang, Temple of Boom invites audiences to consider the effect of time on all architecture as the structure gradually transforms with artworks and murals, painted in three phases between November 2022 and August 2023. Who are the artists involved? Drez is a multidisciplinary artist based in Melbourne who uses colour and form to play with perspective. Drawing inspiration from art historical perspectives, including the Greenbergian Modernism and Op-Art schools, Drez’s work creates an intersection between abstract art and street art. For this installation, Drez will create a boldly colourful mural that changes composition when viewed from different angles. Manda Lane is a muralist, illustrator and paper-based artist from Collingwood, Victoria. With a keen focus on botanicals, her art explores the interactions between the natural world and industrial or man-made objects. In this mural installation, Lane will depict various growth behaviours of plants, creating a visual metaphor for personal expression and growth. David… Read More

London’s V&A hosting never-before-seen Renaissance master Donatello works

Donatello Florence southwest painting

Early in 2023, the UK will play host to a very distinguished guest: Renaissance master Donatello. In the first major UK exhibition to explore the exceptional talents of the Renaissance master, Donatello. It will offer a fresh vision of the artist and his impact on both the cultural and artistic development of this crucial time in the history of art. On show at London’s Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, the exhibition Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance will take you on a journey of works that have never been on display in the UK. The exhibition will explore Donatello’s innovations, collaborations and inspirations within the vibrant artistic and cultural context of fifteenth-century Italy, and his influence on subsequent generations of artists.  The exhibition will showcase works never seen before in the UK including Donatello’s early marble David and bronze Attis-Amorino from the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, as well as the spectacular reliquary bust of San Rossore from the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo, Pisa, and bronzes from the High Altar of the Basilica of St Anthony in Padua.  Comprising around 130 objects, the exhibition will also incorporate a significant number of objects from the V&A’s own collections – including the most extensive holdings of Italian Renaissance sculpture outside Italy – notably from the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries. Tickets $20 The exhibition runs 11 February – 11 June 2023 For more and to book a ticket to visit, head to the V&A website Who was Donatello? Arguably the greatest sculptor of all time, Donatello (c.1386-1466) was in the vanguard of a revolution… Read More

Creatures losing the war on nature: an exhibition in Redfern Sydney

fire and water

Longtime Mambo Artists Reg Mombassa & Glenn “Glenno” Smith have joined forces for a highly anticipated exhibition, ‘Creatures – Losing the War on Nature’, currently showing at the Rogue Pop-Up Gallery in Redfern.  The idea for this exhibition, and formidable collaboration, was originally spawned by the question: “What would Reg’s Art look like in Glenno’s lino-print style?” This question ultimately became the seeds of ‘Creatures-’.  We caught up with Glenn to learn a little more about his art, his recent collaboration with Reg Mombassa, and what’s next for this Sydney-based artist.  Glenn Smith is a Sydney-based artist renowned for his incredibly recognisable lino works.  Working independently for over 30 years, Glenn has gained considerable notoriety developing the art and cover work for international and local rock bands and events, as well as collaborating with the globally recognised Mambo Australia. A self-proclaimed art mercenary, Glenn has proven to endure and rise above the sometimes ruthless nature of the art world, remaining concrete in his vision and creative process. Glenn offers passionate advocacy for any person that has an artistic affliction. “The art world is so impenetrable. It’s also not such a nice place BUT making art and keeping to a personal truth as you go is the best thing anyone with a bit of originality of vision should strive for.”  Personal truths and art with an original vision are very evident in the works and worlds of Glenno and Reg as they collaborate for Creatures – Losing the War on Nature.  When asked how this concept… Read More

See the Lucien Freud exhibition at the National Gallery London – and pay what you wish

Lucien Freud

Until 22 January 2023, Lucien Freud is awaiting your visit at the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square, bringing one of the most iconic artists’ work to your doorstep. And the best bit is, as a response to the cost-of-living crisis the National Gallery is to introduce its first Pay What You Wish scheme for an exhibition. On Friday evenings throughout the run of The Credit Suisse Exhibition – Lucian Freud: New Perspectives visitors will be able to pay as much or as little as they like in an excellent method of keeping art as accessible as ever. How can you see the Lucien Freud exhibition? For slots between 5.30pm and 9pm on Fridays, tickets for the exhibition, which opens on 1 October 2022, can be booked from today in advance online (nationalgallery.org.uk), on the phone or in person for a minimum payment of £1. Visitors will also have the opportunity to attend Gallery Friday Late talks and events and enjoy later opening hours at the Gallery’s shops, bars and restaurants.     This landmark retrospective is being staged by the National Gallery to mark the centenary of the birth of the major 20th-century artist (1922-2011.)  Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, London, says: “The cost of an exhibition ticket can sometimes make it difficult to visit. While most of our temporary exhibitions are free, the Pay What You Wish scheme will enable practically anyone who wants to see the Freud centenary show to do so.”  For more info and to get planning, head to the National Gallery website Feature… Read More

At last, Sullivan+Strumpf art gallery opens in Melbourne

Sullivan Strumpf art

Melbourne’s reputation around the country and the world as the artistic and cultural centre of the Australian continent is hardly debated. So, despite the long waiting time, there’s no surprise that finally, Sydney gallerists behind Sullivan+Strumpf have decided that now’s the time to join the crowd. Further to their hometown of Sydney and second expansion into Singapore, Melbourne will now welcome a gallery in the northeast Collingwood, opening with exhibition by Tony Albert, Remark – a follow up to his sellout 2021 exhibition, Conversations with Margaret Preston. Opening in October 2022, the new 300sqm will showcase works by Sullivan+Strumpf’s impressive stable of leading contemporary Australian and Asia Pacific artists – amongst them Lindy Lee, Polly Borland, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Tony Albert, Angela Tiatia, Alex Seton, and Darren Sylvester. For more and to plan a visit, head to the Sullivan+Strumpf website

Explore China’s past at the National Gallery Victoria in Melbourne

China art

Exploring the largest neighbour of Australia is now a lost easier with the latest exhibition at the NGV in Melbourne. The new exhibit named China – The past is present highlights the influence of traditional cultural and artistic practices in contemporary Chinese culture and is open this October from the 15th to 20 February 2023. The exhibition features more than 120 works drawn primarily from the NGV’s historical and contemporary collection of Chinese art and design, which, combined, span over three millennia and an array of art forms – including painting, calligraphy, ceramics, metal works, lacquer ware, textiles, furniture, video, posters, photography and mixed media.   Offering a new interpretation of the NGV’s expansive collection of Chinese art and design, the exhibition features never-before-displayed and recent acquisitions, including a photographic sequence by Sydney-based Xiao Lu, who is widely considered to be China’s first feminist performance artist and one of the best-known artists from China’s Avant Garde art movement of the late 1980s. In the photographs, the artist references traditional Chinese spontaneous calligraphic expression by tipping calligraphy ink over her body.  Tickets are free. For more head to the NGV website

National Gallery London: see Lucian Freud ‘New Perspectives’

Lucien Freud Reflection

Get your tickets into the world of Lucian Freud (same name; not the psychologist you’re thinking of), the artist celebrity has often overshadowed approaches to the artist’s work and the historical contexts in which it was made. This exhibition at London’s National Gallery at Trafalgar Square seeks to present new perspectives on Freud’s art, focusing on his tireless and ever-searching commitment to the medium of painting. Sponsored by Credit Suisse, the exhibition will give visitors the opportunity to see the astonishing range of work and the remarkable artistic development of one of Britain’s finest figurative painters. Think renowned pieces like HM Queen Elizabeth II  (2001, lent by Her Majesty The Queen from the Royal Collection), Girl with Roses (British Council Collection) from the 1940s; to Reflection with Two Children (Self-Portrait) (Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid) in the 1960s and right through to his famous late works, such as The Brigadier, 2003-04 (Private Collection.) As ever at the National Gallery in London, will be an exhibition to journey for and a deep dive into the mind and technical skill of one of surreal expressionists of history. Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, said: ’The Freud centenary exhibition at the National Gallery offers the opportunity to reconsider the artist’s achievement in the broader context of the tradition of European painting. He was a frequent visitor to the Gallery whose paintings challenged and inspired him.’ For more and to book tickets, head to the National Gallery website