In the Galleries: Eight Shows to See in Melbourne This Month, and Beyond

As the temperature drops, it’s time to bundle ourselves away in the galleries. There’s an array of compelling exhibitions to catch in Melbourne this month and beyond.

Izabela Pluta: Lumina, Heide

In this sublime new exhibition, which winds its way through Heide’s iconic modernist gallery, Polish-born Australian artist Izabela Pluta subverts the idea that photographic images are static. To create the site-specific installation, which looks at how photography intersects with time, memory and place, Pluta uses the Heide II building itself as a tool. For a year she laid out long swatches of silver gelatin photographic paper to expose it to the changing natural light, turning the 1960s building into a sort of camera, and revealing the ways in which light and shadow pass through its spaces. The mesmerising results are presented alongside photos and video of Pluta’s childhood home in Warsaw, Poland.
Until October 5. Free with gallery admission ($25).

Teelah George: Theory of pearl, Neon Parc

Teelah George’s sculptural textile works reimagine the horizons of the medium, fusing abstract forms with embroidery and painting. In her new series, Theory of pearl, George reconsiders the concept of the frames that typically border artworks: here, cast bronze supports both frame and merge with the works themselves. The title artwork, Theory of pearl, evokes the topography of the countryside when seen from above. In another work, Object lesson, golden spheres edge the frame, and George has woven strokes of lilac into the artwork to conjure the shadows the spheres might cast. The exhibition shows exactly why George’s works have become so in demand.
Until May 17. Free.

Micheila Petersfield: Melodrama, Mars Gallery

A painter and photographer, Michelia Petersfield has a gift for subverting feminine archetypes and stereotypes by using those very tropes. She skewers mass media portrayals of women and femininity using motifs from advertising, mid-century cinema and glossy magazines, resulting in entrancing, hyper-realistic self-portraits that are both alluring and uncanny. In her latest show, hysteria, seduction, longing and mania all feature in Petersfield’s personas across a number of high-saturation photographs and paintings.
From May 7–June 7. Free.

Blak In-Justice: Incarceration and Resilience, Heide

Acclaimed First Nations artists and those who are, or have been, incarcerated, make up the contributor list for this powerful exhibition about the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in Australia's criminal justice system. First Nations people constitute less than four per cent of the Australian population but make up 33 per cent of the adult prison population. The rate of incarceration is even more dire for young Indigenous people. Alongside works by Tony Albert, Karla Dickens, Jimmy Pike and Reko Rennie, Blak In-Justice features pieces by Palawa artist Thelma Beeton and Taungurung/Boonwurrung artist Stacey Edwards, who each reflect on their journey through prison. Richard Bell’s Walk On (Bell’s Theorem) cleverly reimagines the words of the Old Testament in a striking painting about the legacy of race relations in Australia. The show is not just an insight into the crisis of mass incarceration of Indigenous people, it examines the crucial role art plays in raising awareness and driving change.
Until July 20. Free with gallery admission ($25).

Chutzpah: Spirit. Recollection. Self, Jewish Museum of Australia: Gandel Centre of Judaica

The Yiddish word “chutzpah” has roots in Aramaic. It originally had negative connotations – it meant to be “barefaced” or “insolent” – but over time has come to mean having guts or courage. This vivid group show considers the varied interpretations of the word across 20 works by artists including Hedy Ritterman, Jordy Kerwick and Stephania Windholz Leigh. In striking paintings, sculpture and video, artists examine ideas ranging from the synagogue as a place of both safety and danger to humorous, hopeful works celebrating iconic Jewish foods. It’s an exhibition that showcases the plurality of Jewish identity and examines the complexity of what it means to be Jewish today.
From May 1–July 27. Free with gallery admission ($18).

Melbourne Out Loud: Life through the lens of Rennie Ellis, State Library Victoria

Brighton born and raised photographer Rennie Ellis was a key chronicler of Australian life and society – particularly in Melbourne – from the 1960s until his death in 2003. This show explores Ellis’s Melbourne-specific work, from sunbathers at St Kilda Beach and revellers at the Melbourne Cup to images of superstars like Grace Jones and Tina Turner, offering a colourful and nostalgic snapshot of Melbourne in the second half of the 20th century.
Until May 25. Free.

Cats & Dogs, The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia

For millennia, cats and dogs have been depicted in works of art and design, including by some of history’s most celebrated artists. Rembrandt van Rijn, Francisco de Goya, Eileen Mayo, David Hockney, Jeff Koons and Charles Blackman – all feature in this exhibition of 250 works spanning continents and centuries. There’s Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen’s famous “le chat noir” poster from art nouveau Paris; Australia-based South Sudanese artist Atong Atem’s self-portrait Maria of Mars, which recontextualises classical images of women with lapdogs as a narrative of migrant stories and cultural identity; and pieces by fashion designers including Alexander McQueen and Romance Was Born.
Until July 20. Ticketed; adult tickets $16.

Tina Stefanou: You Can’t See Speed, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA)

Greek Australian artist Tina Stefanou has transformed ACCA into a living instrument in her latest boundary-pushing show, challenging the cultural hierarchies of sight and bringing to life a multisensory landscape for blind, low-vision and sighted visitors. The centrepiece of the exhibition is a filmic collaboration with blind motorcyclist Matthew Cassar. It follows Cassar as he rides his motorcycle around a paddock, guided only by voice; the video is accompanied by a stunt ramp studded with ritualistic and spiritual symbols such as evil eyes and rosettes, to ward off threats. Incorporating sculpture, film, live performance and dirt bikes, the exhibition also addresses class and rural identity, and is layered with symbols reflecting Stefanou’s Greek heritage.
Until June 9. Free.