The NGV Reopens This Week with Seven Eye-Catching Exhibitions Ahead of a Huge Summer Lineup

Throwing open the doors after spending more than three months in lockdown is a rather huge deal, both for Melburnians keen to venture out of the house for whatever reason they like and for venues eager to welcome patrons back in. So, the National Gallery of Victoria is marking the occasion in a big way — and reopening with seven exhibitions.

While cultural venues have been permitted to reopen since the last set of eased restrictions kicked in at 6pm on Friday, October 29, both the NGV International on St Kilda Road and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square will welcome back art lovers from Wednesday, November 3. And, it'll do so with a mix of returning and new art, ahead of a few huge additions when summer hits.

Didn't get the chance to see NGV Australia's world-premiere Maree Clarke: Ancestral Memories exhibition before lockdown? The first retrospective dedicated to the Melbourne-based artist and designer, it's returning until February 6, 2022, and covers more than three decades of the Yorta Yorta/Wamba Wamba/Mutti Mutti/Boonwurrung woman's art.

Also at Fed Square, you can check out Big Weather if you missed it earlier in the year. Exploring the appreciation of weather systems within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural knowledge, it's sticking around until the same February date.

And, NGV Australia is also bringing back its newly acquired Naomi Hobson painting and photographic series, which focuses on Hobson's cultural identity, connection to Country and love for her community.

Plus, over at the NGV International, Camille Henrot: Is Today Tomorrow and Reko Rennie's newest work Initiation OA_RR will be on display upon reopening. The former is the first Australian showcase of the French-born, Berlin-based contemporary artist's work, while the latter features a pink Holden Monaro in a striking video piece — and both will display until January 30, 2022.

That's what you'll be able to peruse the moment the NGV opens its doors across both its sites, and they'll be joined by two more exhibitions at NGV Australia before the week is out. From Friday, November 5, Sampling the Future will highlight design items with a futuristic feel (think: 3D-printed coral and hand-knitted architecture). Then, on Saturday, November 6, Found and Gathered: Rosalie Gascoigne | Lorraine Connelly-Northey will examine pieces by both artists — more than 75 wall-based and freestanding sculptural works, in fact.

From late November till mid-December, NGV International will just keep adding new exhibitions, too, starting with Golden Shells and the Gentle Mastery of Japanese Lacquer on Thursday, November 25. It's all about kai-awase, the Japanese historical 'shell matching' game, and features two large lacquerware shell boxes alongside 360 matching pairs of gold-gilded and hand-painted shells.

As already announced earlier in 2021, the Australian-exclusive Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto exhibition will launch on Saturday, December 4 — and with more than 230 garments, accessories and jewellery on display, it's clearly a fashion must-see.

Next comes this year's NGV Architecture Commission, pond[er], on Monday, December 6, adding a pink wading pool to the NGV Garden.

Finally, both Bark Ladies: Eleven Artists from Yirrkala and The Gecko and the Mermaid will open on Friday, December 17 — celebrating bark paintings and larrakitj (painted hollow poles) made by women artists working out of Yolngu-run art centre Buku Larrngay Mulka Centre, and also exploring the Yolngu people's culture in an all-ages exhibition.

The NGV International on St Kilda Road and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square reopen on Wednesday, November 3. For further details, visit the NGV's website.

Top image: Visitors at the NGV Waterwall, NGV International, Melbourne. Photo: Eugene Hyland.