Ceramics, sculptures, and painting that pulse: Your guide to arts exhibitions across Victoria this month

There are immersive experiences that range from kinetic energy to evocative explorations of memory and ancestral loss.

Victoria’s galleries are alive with new energy this season, offering moments of discovery, inspiration, and reflection. From metropolitan hubs to regional spaces, artists are pushing boundaries and inviting audiences into worlds of colour, form, and imagination. Whether you seek contemplative experiences, bold statements, or playful encounters, here’s a guide that maps the exhibitions that are shaping the state’s cultural landscape.

Keep up to date with all things arts, exhibitions and stage here.

Fran O’Neill: On the Move

WHEN: UNTIL 09 AUG

WHERE: Shepparton Art Museum, Shepparton

Fran O’Neill’s large-scale paintings pulse with kinetic energy, blending colour field and action painting through sweeping gestures of luminous hues. Each work is created in intense, focused bursts, balancing spontaneity with rigorous process. Layered yet open to interpretation, her canvases invite viewers to engage with colour, form, and movement. O’Neill is this year’s SAM Selects exhibitor.

 

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Part Interior, Part Object, Part Feeling | Claire Lambe

WHEN: UNTIL 28 JUN

WHERE: Warrnambool Art Gallery, Warrnambool

Claire Lambe’s multidisciplinary practice fuses sculpture, sound, film, and installation, intertwining personal history with art historical and cultural references. Her Warrnambool Art Gallery solo presents a newly commissioned work that blurs private and public realms, creating an immersive space for subconscious association. Lambe’s work invites reflection on existence, revealing how art-making is inseparable from the rhythms of daily life.

Form and Function—Australian Studio Ceramics

WHEN: UNTIL 17 MAY

WHERE: Geelong Gallery, Geelong

Form and Function showcases Australian studio ceramics from Merric Boyd and John Perceval to contemporary innovators. Highlighting utilitarian wares, hand-painted designs, and experimental techniques, the exhibition traces a lineage of local clays, Japanese methods, and distinctly Australian aesthetics. Later works explore figurative forms inspired by popular culture, demonstrating the evolving dialogue between tradition, experimentation, and artistic expression.

I will be the waves and you will be a strange shore

WHEN: UNTIL 18 APR

WHERE: Platform Arts, Geelong

I will be the waves and you will be a strange shore is Shivanjani Lal’s meditation on Indenture, memory, and ancestral loss. Using sound, image, and story, Lal traces shorelines across India, Fiji, and Australia, transforming personal grief into collective remembrance. Commissioned by Platform Arts, the work forms part of the what it means to remember thematic, inviting reflection on histories slipping from view.

 

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Interwoven: Fibre Art and Fashion

WHEN: UNTIL 12 JUL

WHERE: National Wool Museum, Geelong

Interwoven: Fibre Art and Fashion celebrates the intimate, expressive power of textiles across dress, jewellery, photography, and fibre art. Created by artists-in-residence at the Australian Tapestry Workshop, the exhibition highlights the versatility of thread as both material and metaphor. Visitors explore innovative techniques, collaborative processes, and the emotional, cultural, and creative possibilities woven into contemporary textile practice.

Groundswell

WHEN: UNTIL 18 OCT

WHERE: Castlemaine Art Museum, Castlemaine

Groundswell celebrates artists driving change—environmental, cultural, personal, or political—through their work. Pairing historical objects from the CAM collection with contemporary practice, the exhibition highlights creativity rooted in community, networks, and participation. Featuring local artists including Arkeria Armstrong, Aunty Kerri Douglas, Melinda Harper, and others, it honours the collaborative spirit of the women founders of the Castlemaine Art Museum.

There are so many more exhibition experiences on offer. Be sure to engage in all of the gallery offerings across the state this month!