Art thoughts

Five Walls in July

Exhibitions to July 25

1/119 Hopkins Street, Footscray

https://fivewalls.com.au

Soft Geometries: Britt Salt, Sara Lindsay, Shannon Slee, Tia Ansell

Soft Geometries, Brit Salt, Holding Tension, 2026.

'Soft Geometries brings together four Melbourne-based artists whose practices expand the language of geometric abstraction through textile processes. Working across weaving, stitching, embroidery and textile-based construction, Britt Salt, Shannon Slee, Sara Lindsay and Tia Ansell demonstrate that geometry is not confined to the traditions of painting or formal abstraction ...' excerpt, Five Walls Gallery Website.

Selected works:

Britt Salt, Neither-Nor, 2021, woven wool and cotton,
framed in stained timber with museum glass, 95 x 84 cm.

Shannon Slee, Geranium Rag Painting, 2024, woven spun wool,
pigment, ‘femboss’ rags, linen warp, framed in timber, 60 x 33 cm.

Sara Lindsay, Gingham Revisited: White Cross, 2024,
woven cotton, 22 x 23 cm.

Tia Ansell, Sam, 2025, acrylic on cotton and linen weaving,
framed in aluminium 33 x 22 x 5 cm.

Project Spaces

Daniel John Pilkington: Iconicities

'...When the intention to signify is itself written into the process of material production, or the process of production is written into the text, the resulting poem, or work of art, could be considered ‘iconic’. Iconicities explores this idea through a series of visual poems in which language is treated not simply as a transparent vehicle for meaning, but as a material, spatial, and physical form... Daniel John Pilkington, excerpt, Five Walls Gallery Website.

Selected works:

Alphabet Rod, 2023, Bronze, 100 x 3 x 3 cm.

Iconicity 3, 2021, Letterpress Embossing, 42 x 36 cm, Edition of 5.

Tina Douglas: Trying to Touch the Grass

'Trying to Touch the Grass takes its title from internet vernacular’s dismissive command — go outside, reconnect with reality — and asks why that has become so difficult, and what it costs us that it has.' Tina Douglas, excerpt, Five Walls Gallery Website.

Installation view of multiple mixed media works on paper, 2012-2026.

Installation view, R: mirrorcell - trying to touch the grass 2026,
mirror tiles, timber, cardboard, sound, media player,
speaker, 60 x 60 x 200 cm audio 33:58 min.

Mark Wingrave: Negative Positive

The Negative Positive by Mark Wingrave presents a series of paintings developed from a recent residency in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. While there he travelled through Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan ..' Mark Wingrave 2026, excerpt, Five Walls Gallery Website.

The Night was Day, 2026, oil on linen, 45 x 35 cm.

Journey to Central Asia (WIP), 2026, Artist's Book,
water colour and crayon on Arches paper 98 x 30cm.

Visiting Five Walls Gallery Recently

Exhibitions to June 27

1/119 Hopkins Street, Footscray

https://fivewalls.com.au

Sean Hogan: Tapestry

Installation Images:

''Tapestry by Sean Hogan draws on Footscray’s rich and diverse community as the foundation for a new series of abstract artworks. Hogan transforms statistical birthplace data into a vivid and poetic visualisation of shared belonging." Excerpt, Five Walls Website.

Foreground: TAPESTRY S5, 2026, Flagrite fabric with metal tube,
bluestone 8 x 1 m edition of 3 with AP.

The Tapestry series of Giclee prints on Hahnemuhle
305gsm ultra smooth photo rag, each 84.1 x 59.4 cm.

Project Spaces

Elisabeth Bodey: Harmony

From the Harmony series #3, 2026,

acrylic on board, 40 x 30 cm.

"Colour and structure in painting can reflect harmonies of sound ... On the traditional piano, there is the music rack above the keys that holds the pianists music pages. I have referenced this structure in my paintings, acting as a go-between, between music and painting. Its inclusion contextualises the shared aspects of both contemporary classical i.e. New Music and painting. I see it as ‘holding’ the conversation between the two forms." Excerpt, Elisabeth Bodey, Five Walls Gallery Website.

From the Harmony series #8, 2026,

acrylic on board, 60 x 120 cm.

L: Keys to my kingdom, 2024, piano keys, acrylic on board, 72 x 29 x 40 cm.

R: From the Harmony series #11, 2026, acrylic on board, 40 x 30 cm.

From the Harmony series #4, 2026,

acrylic on board, 60 x 120 cm.

Eva Stimson Clark: When Choosing What to Vow

When Choosing What to Vow, 2026,

collage weave of repurposed carton card,

cotton thread and acrylic paint 43 x 31 cm.

Whenever the Words Run Dry, 2026,
collage weave of repurposed carton card,
cotton thread and acrylic paint 32 x 33 cm.

'This body of work explores stitching on cardboard as both a material process and a way of organising thought. Built from fragments, the surfaces evoke digital glitches, yet remain grounded in tactile labour. Much of the cardboard retains its original printed surface—glossy, consistent, and commercially produced—while sections of hand-painted material introduce matte, irregular passages where brushstrokes remain visible...' Excerpt, Eva Stimson Clark, Five Walls Gallery Website.

Stephen Wickham: On An Ideology of Schisms

On An Ideology of Schisms #11, 2025, oil on linen, 54 x 140 cm (Triptych).

L: On An Ideology of Schisms #10, 2025, oil on linen, 65 x 120 cm (Quardriptych).

R: On An Ideology of Schisms #11, 2025.

"The work in this exhibition draws on the tradition of the avant guard artists of Ukraine and Russia: roughly 1900-1930s. Their formal inventiveness and historical significance continue to engage my attention.

The imperatives of Soviet era art being played to an audience and culture so utterly different has a shudder of the absurd. Then perhaps the Eurocentric construct of classical naturalism and multi point perspective have grown beyond the use of the Church?

Non-Objective Art is unpopular and commonplace. The historical complexities and grandeur imbedded in the graphic symbolism of States and Churches are prosecuted as orthodoxy, briefly. Meanings, in art, are malleable and dependent on context which is always in flux. The ever-optimistic hero Candide would love being an artist in Australia today." Stephen Wickham, 2026, Five Walls Gallery Website.

John Peart

Earth & Glow
Exhibition and book launch
To June 20
Charles Nodrum Gallery
Richmond

https://www.charlesnodrumgallery.com.au/

John Peart (1945-2013) was an Australian abstract artist whose work I would always admire when visiting Charles Nodrum Gallery. Dust Green, 1975, has stayed in my mind since seeing it last week for its incredible subtlety and rhythm of mark making.

Peart was included in the legendary NGV’s, The Field, exhibition,1968. He also won the Wynne (1997) and Sulman prizes (2000) at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Selected works

.

Dust Green, 1975, 1985, acrylic on canvas, 156.5 x 83.5 cm.

Nocturne III, 2000, oil on board, 60 x 40 cm.

(Untitled), 2000, acrylic on board, 147.5 x 111 cm.

Caloundra IV, 1975, 1975 ,acrylic on canvas, 87.50 x 48.50 cm.

Installation view.

Grounded Allegories

Healing, Replenishing, Reconnecting

Anna Caione

Dr Jane Connory

Joanna Gardener

John Stanislav Sadar and Gyunju Chyon (Little Wonder)

Presented by Anna Caione

Balam Balam Place, Brunswick

Melbourne Design Week

https://designweek.melbourne/event/grounded-allegories-healing-replenishing-reconnecting/

'The Grounded Allegories exhibition and panel discussion aims to inspire dialogue about design’s responsibility in shaping resilient futures. Through the works, the exhibition asks: How might design mend relationships between humans and nature? What materials, systems and narratives could replenish what has been depleted in our society?'

Installation images from the closing talks May 24, 2026

Anna Caione

Joanna Gardener

Dr Jane Connory

John Stanislav Sadar

Five Walls Gallery

Exhibitions to May 30
1/119 Hopkins Street, Footscray

https://fivewalls.com.au

Abstraction 2026

Artists: Kubota Fumikazu, Sean Hogan, Daniel Hollier, Franky Howell, Emma Langridge, Keisuke Matsuura, Sarah Robson, Britt Salt, Vivian Cooper Smith, Lachlan Stonehouse, Max Lawrence White, and Michael Vandorpe.

Selected works