The Art Exhibitions To See This Spring

Spring has arrived, and with it comes an incredible line-up of art exhibitions. Here’s a guide to some of the most exciting shows and major art events taking place in Australia right now. 

Melbourne

ARCHIBALD PRIZE 2022

From September 3 to October 16, Bunjil Place Gallery will host the Archibald Prize. Notably, this year Blak Douglas won for his portrait of artist Karla Dickens — the first time a portrait of an Aboriginal woman has been awarded the prize. Also on display is the Packing Room Prize winner Claus Stangl’s portrayal of director Taika Waititi. The gallery is the first stop on the prestigious prize’s regional tour, which will continue at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre from October 22.

HELMUT NEWTON: IN FOCUS

Helmut Newton defined the sexually charged fashion photography of the 1970s and ’80s. Erotic and avant-garde, his oft-imitated black and white portraits remain ubiquitous but it’s perhaps less well known that in 1940 the German-born Jewish photographer arrived in Melbourne as a refugee. Until early 2023, the Jewish Museum of Australia is showcasing an irresistible collection of Newton’s works, which delve into his youth and attempt to illuminate his time spent in Australia.

BRUCE MUNRO: FROM SUNRISE ROAD

Spring is the perfect time to spend a day at Melbourne’s Heide Museum of Modern Art amid manicured gardens and a sculpture park, and this season, it’s worth staying after dark for Bruce Munro’s From Sunrise Road. Light is a crucial element of the British artist’s experiential artworks, which inhabit the gallery’s indoor and outdoor spaces and are spectacularly illuminated at night. On until October 16.

LIGHT: WORKS FROM TATE’S COLLECTION

Curated by Tate, this expansive show brings 200 years of art history from the UK to Melbourne’s ACMI. The theme — light — is explored through painting, photography, sculpture, installation and the moving image by the likes of iconic painters such as J. M. W Turner and Claude Monet, as well as contemporary artists including Olafur Eliasson, Yayoi Kusama and James Turrell. By presenting these works in dialogue with one other, parallels emerge between artists and eras. On until November 13.

Sydney

SOL LEWITT: AFFINITIES AND RESONANCES

Before his death, American artist Sol LeWitt created hundreds of drawings intended to be executed by others, and one of them is now at the Art Gallery of NSW. At over 30 metres long and almost 10 metres high, Wall drawing #955, Loopy Doopy (red and purple) reveals the influence Australian Central Desert painters had on LeWitt by placing his work in conversation with paintings by Anmatyerr artists Gloria Tamerre Petyarre and Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Incorporating music by American and Aboriginal musicians, the installation is open until February 12, 2023.

DANIEL BOYD: TREASURE ISLAND

Now is the perfect time to learn more about acclaimed Australian artist Daniel Boyd. Treasure Island is Boyd’s first major exhibition in a public Australian institution, and it features brand new pieces as well as commissioned spatial interventions. Boyd has both Aboriginal and Pacific Islander heritage, and the exhibition unpacks the ways his art holds a lens to colonial history, asking us to look closer at histories that have been hidden from view. Treasure Island is on at the Art Gallery of NSW until January 29, 2023.

I LOVED YOU

Has there ever been a greater muse than love? From romantic embraces and eternal friendships to unrequited crushes and haunting grief, I Loved You invites to us to witness the sites, moments and memories of the artists’ most intimate encounters. The exhibition will take you from an underground bar in Beijing to a family home completely reconstructed in fabric, and is open until November 21 at White Rabbit Gallery, home to one of the world's most significant collections of Chinese contemporary art.

PARALLEL LANDSCAPES 

Situated in the NSW Shoalhaven region, Bundanon Art Museum is a new must-visit destination and a work of art in its own right. This season’s program, Parallel Landscapes, encompasses three exhibitions that unearth parallels between the environment and art: Arthur Boyd: Landscape of the Soul; The Hidden by Tim Georgeson and William Barton; and The River and the Sea by Reuben Ernest Brown. Spring is the perfect time to plan a trip to the South Coast and visit Bundanon — the program runs until November 6.

Adelaide

YAYOI KUSAMA: THE SPIRITS OF THE PUMPKINS DESCENDED INTO THE HEAVENS

The most famous polka dots in the world have taken up residence at the Art Gallery of South Australia until April 2023. Australia is enamoured with Yayoi Kusama — there have been several exhibitions of her work here in the past few years — and now South Australia is hosting one of her most beloved artworks. The installation is on loan from the National Gallery of Australia and is comprised of a mirrored yellow and black polka dot room of optical illusions and seemingly infinite pumpkins. 

Canberra

LINDY LEE: MOON IN A DEW DROP 

Throwing molten bronze, scarring paper, staining surfaces with rain water. These are some of the ways in which Australian Chinese artist Lindy Lee explores our place in the cosmos. Lee’s practice is informed by the philosophies of Taoism and Buddhism and their teachings on the relationship between humanity and the universe, and the works in this major survey exhibition draw on her experience of living between two cultures. The national tour of Moon in a Dew Drop will wrap up at Canberra Museum and Gallery on December 3. 

WHO ARE YOU: AUSTRALIAN PORTRAITURE

Gaze into the eyes of Cate Blanchett and 129 other enigmatic faces at the National Portrait Gallery’s Who Are You. Featuring works across painting, film, photography, screen printing and sculpture by artists including Patricia Piccinini, Atong Atem and John Nixon, the exhibition explores our inner worlds, outer selves, intimacy, isolation and celebrity. It’s showing until January 29, 2023.

Darwin

Gumurr’manydji Manapanmirr Djäma

Gumurr’manydji Manapanmirr Djäma (Making successful business together) is a community-curated photographic exhibition produced by an all Indigenous team for the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA). Each photo has been selected by community members and leaders and celebrates the contribution Yolŋu people have made in building their community, independence and future. Presented by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in collaboration with ALPA, this historical, bilingual exhibition is open until December 31.

Brisbane

 JOSEPHINE ULRICK AND WIN SCHUBERT PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD 

The Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Photography Award is a celebration of photographic excellence and plays a pivotal role in representing the work of artists across Australia. 2022 marks the award’s 20th anniversary, and this year’s finalists will be presented alongside previous winners and highlights. Hosted by HOTA Gallery on the Gold Coast, this major exhibition offers a revealing look at our shifting cultural and social landscape through the medium of photography.  On until January 8, 2023.

TRANSITIONS

Experience eight decades of Australian Aboriginal bark painting alongside contemporary Aboriginal art at Queensland Art Gallery. Transitions: Historic and Contemporary Barks 1948–2021, and Transitions Now: Contemporary Aboriginal Forms and Images are two chapters of a compelling exhibition that showcases the innovation, tradition and transformations that  are shaping Aboriginal art. Explore the immeasurable contribution Aboriginal artists continue to make to visual arts culture at these shows, which are open until April and June in 2023.

Perth

SPEECH PATTERNS

Works by contemporary artists Nadia Hernández and Jon Campbell have come to life at the Art Gallery of Western Australia. On until January 8, 2023, Speech Patterns is comprised of paintings, drawings, posters and banners by two artists grappling with experiences of relocation and questions surrounding identity and class. Though they emerge from different cultures and generations — Hernández was born in Venezuela and is based between Melbourne and Sydney; Campbell was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in Melbourne's western suburbs — their practices share a message of inclusivity.  

Launceston

ARCHIE 100: A CENTURY OF THE ARCHIBALD PRIZE

The Queen Victoria Museum at Inveresk is the only location in Tasmania to host the touring Archie 100. Celebrating 100 years of the Australian portrait prize, the exhibition looks back at the Archibald’s history, artists and controversies, and reveals the stories behind 100 specifically chosen artworks. Locals have plenty of time to visit — Archie 100 will be in Tasmania from October 22, 2022 to January 8, 2023.