After delighting us in 2017 and 2020, NGV Triennial is coming back to Melbourne for its third iteration. This incredible exhibition will take over all floors of NGV International, showcasing works by 100 artists, designers and collectives from 30 countries, including Yoko Ono, David Shrigley and fashion label Schiaparelli. Get ready for painting, sculpture, robotics, fashion, multimedia and interactive art installations, and marvel at over 25 world-premiere projects commissioned by the NGV. This free exhibition will launch on Sunday December 3.
NGV Triennial
The exhibition this year will be centred around three key themes: Magic, Matter and Memory. These entangled themes offer a glimpse into the concerns of the artists and designers featured in the exhibition.
Magic looks at belief systems, allegory and symbolism, revealing the ways that spirituality has shaped the world around us. Meanwhile, Matter highlights the role that materials and the natural world play in shaping human culture. And lastly, Memory examines the histories of people, places and objects that make up our contemporary world.
“Through the world of more than 100 artists, designers, architects and collectives from Australia and around the world, the NGV Triennial offers a powerful insight into the ideas and concerns empowering creative practice in 2023,” said NGV Director Tony Ellwood AM.
What can you expect?
See Polish artist Agnieszka Pilat train three Boston Dynamics robot dogs to paint over the four months of the Triennial. They will be programmed to understand a range of commands, and they will choose to execute the commands in whichever way they like. These robots will use sticks of oil paint inside a purpose-built art studio, and you can watch them work during the exhibition.
Outside the gallery, you’ll see Really Good, a seven-metre-high thumbs up sculpture from British artist David Shrigley. When you step inside, you’ll see a giant text-based work on the NGV façade by Yoko Ono.
Wander into a room-sized installation of Australian flowers and botanicals frozen in acrylic blocks by Tokyo-based artist Azuma Makoto, and discover a display of surrealist pieces by haute couture house Schiaparelli .
Then, check out a five-metre-high neon light installation by British artist Tracey Emin, and walk through Min-dirra, a 100-metre-long woven fish fence by ten artists working in Arnhem Land.
With over 75 projects and 100 artists, there’s a lot to look forward to.