Melbourne Art Fair returns this summer to showcase new and iconic work from artists represented by 63 of the region’s leading contemporary art galleries and Indigenous-owned Art Centres at the Denton Corker Marshall-designed Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Melbourne’s South Wharf.
From February 17–20, Australasia’s most progressive forum for contemporary art and ideas will be highlighted by solo shows, large-scale installations and dizzying video projections as well as a program of conversations, special projects, commissions, and performance.
This year’s Fair places special focus on emerging talents who are shaping the global conversation and breaking new ground in traditional and experimental artistic practice. At the Fair, the art-loving public has a chance to discover and purchase art from the most relevant emerging contemporary artists working today, including:
Thea Anamara Perkins (N. Smith Gallery)
Part of an extraordinary dynasty of First Nations activists and creatives, Thea Anamara Perkins is an Arrernte and Kalkadoon artist whose practice incorporates portraiture and landscape to depict authentic representations of First Nations peoples and Country. With a delicate hand, Thea answers heavy questions about what it means to be Indigenous in contemporary Australia, and how Aboriginal people can and should be portrayed.
Thea Anamara Perkins | Bloomfield Street, 2021, acrylic on gessobord, 30.5 x 40.5 cm
Matlok Griffiths (ReadingRoom)
Born in Perth in 1983, Matlok Griffiths is a Melbourne-based artist whose practice involves paintings, bronze sculpture, and works on paper. His recent solo exhibitions include Hole of Mirrors, Reading Room, Melbourne (2018), Export Quality Paintings, NKN Gallery, Melbourne (2015), New Thoughts on Luxury, Blockprojects, Melbourne (2013), Out of Touch, and Chapter House Lane, Melbourne (2013).
Matlok Griffiths | Detail from The Colour of Time, 2021, glazed ceramic, dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist and ReadingRoom, Naarm/Melbourne.
Nick Modrzewski (Discordia)
Nick Modrzewski is a Melbourne-based artist, writer and barrister who works across painting, sculpture, video and text. His work reads poetic possibility into social interactions, with a focus on law and other shared fictions.
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- Nick Modrzewski | Legislative Assembly (Nose Congregation), 2021, Acrylic on board, 150 x 120 x 3cm
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- Nick Modrzewski | Office Apparitions, 2021, Acrylic on board, 150 x 120 x 2cm
Ben Ward (Waringarri Aboriginal Arts)
A great speaker, Ben was strongly involved in land rights and community issues and worked for the Aboriginal Development Commission, officially opening Waringarri Aboriginal Arts in the 1980s. It wasn’t until 2011 that Ben began painting regularly and carving at the centre. His painting practice focuses on depicting his country and memories of when he was a young man mustering cattle, from his own unique perspective.
Ben Ward | Bilbijim, 2020, natural pigment on canvas 150x180cm. Courtesy the artist and Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Balgo.
Nabilah Nordin (Neon Parc)
Nabilah Nordin is a Singaporean/Australian sculptor interested in material invention. Her installations embrace wonky craftwork, playfully celebrating the visceral and anthropomorphic qualities of materials. Nordin ‘unlearns’ correct methods and techniques to maintain a state of conscious naïveté. She amplifies sculptural scraps and off-cuts, transforming them into parodies of monumental artefacts.
Nabilah Nordin | Laundry, 2021, Stockings, cushion filling, clothes dryer, acrylic paint, spray paint, ostrich feather, 124.98×76cm, Image courtesy Simon Strong, the artist and Neon Parc
Michael Georgetti (The Renshaws)
Michael Georgetti is a Melbourne-based contemporary artist who plays with the role of art and the artist in everyday life. He is currently undertaking his PhD in contemporary art and has exhibited extensively locally and internationally, including with the AC Institute New York and The Merz Barn in England.
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- Michael Georgetti | DESIRING MACHINES (DOLCE & GABANA), 2018, Acrylic paint, spray paint and collage on canvas with custom-made brass frame and vinyl stickers. 187 x 135 X 45cm
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- Michael Georgetti | GNOSSIENE, 2021, Acrylic paint AND ENAMEL on canvas with custom-made brass frame. 185 X 153cm
Set to be the first Australian art fair since the start of the pandemic, Melbourne Art Fair 2022 is once again connecting galleries and their artists with collectors and art lovers, resuming its role as the meeting place of the art world.
What you need to know
- When: 17–20 February 2022
- Where: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in South Wharf
- Tickets are on sale: melbourneartfair.com.au/tickets *Use code HABITUS22 to receive a 15% discount*
