NEWS

TAI SNAITH ACQUIRED BY SHEPPARTON ART MUSEUM

May 28, 2026

Works from Tai Snaith’s ‘Flotilla (there’s no dignity in haste)’ series of slugs have been acquired by the Shepparton Art Museum. The Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) holds the most significant collection of historic and contemporary Australian ceramics in regional Australia. The collection strives to encompass all aspects of ceramic production in Australia and be comprehensive in its representation of major trends, developments and important periods of production. Tai Snaith’s slugs have previously been exhibited with Nicholas Thompson Gallery at Spring 1883 (2025) and Heide Museum of Modern Art (2021). Installation image by @alicehutchison_photography

JUDITH VAN HEEREN EXHIBITED IN ‘GROUNDSWELL’ AT CASTLEMAINE ART MUSEUM

May 14, 2026

Judith Van Heeren is exhibited in Groundswell at Castlemaine Art Museum until the 19th of July. In order to effect change, you need a groundswell, a groundswell of opinion, a surge of emotion, a desire for new thinking. This exhibition celebrates artists who want to build a groundswell for change whether that be environmental, cultural, personal or political. This exhibition has evolved from earlier projects celebrating the women who worked together to found the gallery in the early 20th century. Like them, any of the contemporary artists in this exhibition value networks, community connection and participation. Contemporary local artists include: Arkeria Armstrong,…

ANTONIA SELLBACH EXHIBITED IN ‘THE CONCENTRIC INFLUENCES OF SOL LEWITT: FOUNDATIONS, PIVOTS AND PLACE’ AT RMIT GALLERY

May 7, 2026

Antonia Sellbach is exhibited in ‘The Concentric Influences of Sol LeWitt: Foundations, Pivots and Place’, opening at RMIT Gallery on 5 June 2026. ⁠ ⁠ Instigated and directed by Dr Irene Barberis (RMIT School of Art), this exhibition emerges from her long-term friendship and mentorship with the esteemed American conceptual artist Sol LeWitt. ⁠ ⁠ In the 1960s, LeWitt revolutionised the definition of contemporary art by presenting the simple but radical idea that a work of art’s concept is more important than its form. ⁠ ⁠ RMIT Gallery is delighted to centre this exhibition around a LeWitt wall drawing; the…

HEIDI YARDLEY EXHIBITION REVIEWED BY CHRISTOPHER HEATHCOTE

March 5, 2026

Heidi Yardley’s brief, if attention catching show at the Melbourne Art Fair continues to run for an additional fortnight over in Nicholas Thompson Gallery. Yardley has produced twelve large erotic paintings of female nudes which, in a flamboyant application of visual references, allude to the high Surrealism of Paul Delvaux, Meret Oppenheim and Man Ray. Each piece is weighted with suitably Surreal symbolism. A nude may have musical sound holes along her limbs, as if she can be played like an instrument (vulnerable personality?); or the eye sockets in a figure’s face are quite empty, revealing a shadowy hollowness inside…

HEIDI YARDLEY IN ART COLLECTOR, ISSUE 115 ‘MELBOURNE ART FAIR – IF I COULD HAVE’

February 22, 2026

Heidi Yardley in current issue 115 of Art Collector – Melbourne Art Fair special edition ‘If I could have’ ‘Naarm/Melbourne-based Heidi Yardley has established herself as one of Australia’s most compelling figurative painters, mining imagery from vintage media, psychological archives and esoteric traditions to create evoc­ative paintings that explore porous boundaries between memory, identity and the uncon­scious. Drawing upon visual languages of film noir, surrealism and the occult, Yardley reconstructs and dissolves familiar forms into haunting, fragmented compositions that linger in states of tension-between presence and erasure, intimacy and estrangement, clarity and disquiet. Her layered approach blurs narra­tive and invites…

NICHOLAS THOMPSON INTERVIEWED IN BROADSHEET ON PICKS FOR THE MELBOURNE ART FAIR 2026

February 17, 2026

The Most Exciting Australian Artists Right Now, According to Top Gallerists Every February, the city’s art scene goes up a gear. For close to 40 years, the Melbourne Art Fair has brought together the most exciting and sought-after artists across Australasia. This year, 60 of the country’s leading galleries, Indigenous-owned art centres and design studios join under one roof, offering a snapshot of who to watch right now. There are at least 200 artists on show, so even the most seasoned visitors may struggle with where to start or focus their energy. We asked 11 gallerists, along with fair director Melissa…

HEIDI YARDLEY IN MELBOURNE ART FAIR AMBASSADOR REBECCA HARDING’S MUST-SEE MOMENTS

February 10, 2026

“Each piece of Heidi’s work could be a snapshot from a film or a hazy memory. There’s so much beauty and mystery in every painting which invites us as viewers to imagine the narrative behind the work rather than read it explicitly.” Rebecca Harding

WENDY STAVRIANOS EXHIBITED IN ‘SUPER NATURE’ AT THE ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

February 9, 2026

Wendy Stavrianos’ ‘Celebration of the Palms, Darwin’ 1976-78 is exhibited in ‘Super Nature’ at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until February 2027. The painting was acquired through Nicholas Thompson Gallery in 2022.   The exhibition from the Art Gallery’s collection charts the adventure of human immersion in nature. Across four spaces, it explores places where humans and nature interact and intertwine, the role of gardens as memorials, the wild nature that lives alongside (and sometimes within) us, and the cultivation of nature for survival and sustenance. Several new acquisitions will also be shown for the first time, including…

MARTIN GEORGE RECIPIENT OF BAYSIDE’S 2026 BILLILLA ARTISTS STUDIO PROGRAM RESIDENCY

February 6, 2026

Martin George is a recipient of Bayside’s 2026 Billilla Artists Studio Program residency, housed in the former servants’ quarters of the Billilla Mansion. The Program provides complimentary studio space, supporting artists from diverse practices and across career stages, and fosters community engagement through public programs. Martin George has held solo exhibitions since 2016 and has been included in group exhibitions in Melbourne, Sydney, Baltimore, Newburgh, Lisbon and Rotterdam since 2015. He has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from RMIT (2016) and was awarded a Summer Residency at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles (2017). Martin has…

ANTONIA SELLBACH ACQUIRED BY NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA

February 4, 2026

Antonia Sellbach’s ‘Unstable object 11’ has been acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria.   Antonia Sellbach has held exhibitions in Victoria and Tasmania since 2010, including solo exhibitions at Heide Museum of Modern Art (2016-17), Schoolhouse Gallery (2022), BUS Projects (2015), C3 Contemporary Art Space (2014) and Faculty Gallery, RMIT (2011). Her work has been included in group exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria; RMIT Gallery, Melbourne; La Trobe Art Institute, Bendigo; SVPA Gallery, University of Tasmania, Launceston; M16 Artspace, Canberra; Counihan Gallery, Melbourne and Bundoora Homestead Art Gallery, Bundoora. Sellbach’s work is held in prominent private and…

TAI SNAITH FINALIST IN MAQUETTE: SCULPTURE AWARD AT MCCLELLAND GALLERY

December 10, 2025

Tai Snaith is exhibited as a finalist in the Maquette: Sculpture Award at McClelland Gallery with her sculpture Black dog slippery dip until 22 February. The inaugural Maquette: Sculpture Award brings together 61 sculptures by contemporary Australian artists. One entry will be awarded $20,000 and will become part of McClelland’s renowned permanent collection, which is focused on modern and contemporary Australian sculpture. The title of this new sculpture prize refers to the scale of the entries—no more than 50 centimetres in any dimension. Finalists were selected by artist Lisa Roet and McClelland’s Artistic and Executive Director Lisa Byrne, with the winning work…

HEIDI YARDLEY EXHIBITED IN ‘SYNCHRON CITY’ AT GIPPSLAND ART GALLERY, SALE

November 26, 2025

Heidi Yardley’s ‘Femme en fourrure’ is exhibited in ‘Synchron City’ at Gippsland Art Gallery from 6 December to 22 February.   Curated by special guest Cassie May, Synchron City leads visitors on a strange and immersive journey through contemporary art where artworks disrupt and question everyday life. The concept of ‘synchronicity’, according to Carl Jung (1875–1961), suggested that coincidences could be related to unconscious processes, mirroring internal states and potentially offering guidance or insights. Through our collective unconscious, memories, dreams and reflections bubble beneath the surface. In this world of inner and outer space, our relationship to the environment is…