News

Paul Yore announced as FINALIST in Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award

We're delighted to share that Paul Yore is a finalist in the Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award for 2025, congratulations Paul!

The Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award, established in 2009, is organised by the Art Collection and Galleries Unit at Deakin University, Victoria. The award celebrates contemporary sculptures from artists around Australia, culminating in an exhibition of finalists' work held in August to October each year at the Deakin University Art Gallery.

The finalist exhibition will be presented from 27 August to 10 October 2025 at the Deakin University Art Gallery, Melbourne Burwood Campus.

Paul Yore's 'SOUVENIR' at Hugo Michell Gallery, 2025.


Pictured: Paul Yore, Vegemite Jar (installation view), 2025, acrylic yarn needlepoint, cotton thread, and board, 18.5 x 15 x 15 cm, ed. of 5 + AP. Photography by Sam Roberts

Fiona McMonagle announced as FINALIST in The Lester Prize

Congratulations to Fiona McMonagle, who has been announced as a finalist in The Lester Prize for 2025 with her painting ‘Eve #2’!

About this series, Fiona shares: “In patriarchal systems, women unconsciously absorb and enforce sexist beliefs, creating divisions and perpetuating cycles of blame and shame. Disappointingly, such judgment often comes from within the community of women, fuelled by internalised misogyny.

This body of work, Eve, explores these dynamics, depicting women’s faces boldly and unapologetically, inspired by the confrontational format of mugshots. These raw portraits, painted with fluid acrylics on raw canvas, reflect society’s tendency to label and shame women. The work challenges viewers to confront their biases and complicity in this culture of judgment.”

The exhibition will be on display from 19 September - 16 November 2025 at the Western Australian Museum, Boola Bardip.

Pictured: Fiona McMonagle's 'Eve' at Hugo Michell Gallery, 2025. Photography by Tobias Titz

Hugo Michell Gallery Opening: Zaachariaha Fielding + Daniel Emma

Please join us for the launch of Zaachariaha Fielding’s ‘Ngangkali (Night Sky)’ and Daniel Emma’s ‘World Expo 2025’ on Thursday 24th July from 6-8pm, presented as part of the 2025 South Australian Living Artists Festival.
Zaachariaha Fielding
Ngangkali (Night Sky)

Zaachariaha Fielding's solo exhibition ‘Ngangkali (Night Sky)’ continues his exploration of ancestral narratives and songlines. His paintings pay homage to his inherited Tjukurpa (ancestral knowledge and law) through a vivid palette and expressive use of Pitjantjatjara language.

Fielding is a multidisciplinary artist, originally from the Mimili Community in the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands of South Australia, currently working out of the APY Collective Art Centre. Widely recognised as the frontman of the electronic musical duo ‘Electric Fields’, his visual arts practice has gained momentum in recent years, having exhibited at prominent Australian institutions such as the National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of New South Wales, and Art Gallery of South Australia, in additional to international presentations.

DANIEL EMMA
World Expo 2025

‘World Expo 2025’ captures the unique moments intertwined with exploring new places and the experiences shared, resulting in a still life scene of furniture and objects embodying magic memories.
Daniel To and Emma Aiston established the design studio Daniel Emma in 2008 as a platform to express their ideas through Industrial Design. The studio engages in a wide range of projects, from desk objects to large-scale installations. With a focus on creating the unexpected from simple objects and forms, Daniel Emma draws inspiration from the rich and diverse culture of Australia. Their designs aim to be “just nice,” blending subtlety with originality.
Hugo Michell Gallery are proud to partner with Bird in Hand Winery for this opening event.
Please join us in celebrating the launch of these two exhibitions!
Hugo Michell Gallery acknowledges the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region, and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today.

Janet Laurence announced as WINNER of the Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize 2025

Congratulations to Janet Laurence who has been announced as the Winner of the Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize for 2025 with her work ‘‘Moss Water Ice Temperature Rising’!

Patron and judge Jade Oakley praised Laurence’s winning piece for presenting “a powerful message about climate change, addressing notions of care and healing for our natural world.” The work’s translucent paint and printed photographic imagery speak to nature’s fragility, while gestural, poured paint demonstrates human impact on the landscape—a reminder of melting, dissolving, and hoped-for rehydration and nurturing.

The Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize is an annual acquisitive prize, launched in 2017 to advance art and opportunity for emerging and established women artists in Australia. It is the highest-value professional artist prize for women in Australia.

The finalist artworks will be on display from 21 June to 6 July 2025 at the Ravenswood School for Girls in Gordon, Sydney.
Pictured: Janet Laurence, Moss water ice temperature rising, 2024, chromogenic print, oil paint, acrylic, 150 x 100 cm

Hugo Michell Gallery Open: Maningrida Arts & Culture Group Exhibition + Josephine Burak

Please join us on Thursday 18 June 6-8pm for the launch of ‘Living Waters’, an exhibition by Maningrida Arts & Culture artists Maureen Ali, Nola Garrba, Lorna Jin-gubarranguyja, Sylvia Marrgawaidj, Anniebell Marrngamarrnga, Jennifer Brown, and Indra Prudence. We’re also delighted to launch ‘Yiminga Ampirnipapurti - Sunrise’, a solo exhibition by Josephine Burak from Munupi Arts.
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Maureen Ali, Nola Garrba, Lorna Jin-gubarranguyja, Sylvia Marrgawaidj, Anniebell Marrngamarrnga, and Jennifer Brown
Living Waters

‘Living Waters’ presents a powerful body of work that speaks to the deep interconnection between culture, Country, and ancestral knowledge. Working from Maningrida Community and the surrounding homelands in central Arnhem Land, these artists maintain and reinterpret the enduring weaving traditions of fish trap and net making. These skills are passed down through generations of women and intrinsically tied to the seasonal rhythms of freshwater and saltwater life.
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Josephine Burak
Yiminga Ampirnipapurti - Sunrise

Emerging with a quiet strength from the Tiwi Islands, Josephine Burak's first solo exhibition marks a significant recognition of her practice. Working from Munupi Arts on Melville Island, she is the daughter of respected custodian of traditional medical knowledge, Lydia Burak. Having gained her mothers’ carving skills as well as painting skills Josephine Burak often prepares her own pwoja (comb, painting tool) to shape it to her exact needs.
Burak’s practice is deeply rooted in ancestral knowledge, Tiwi cosmology, and lived experience. Her paintings honour traditional bark painting techniques and often feature the significant Kulama Ceremony and her designs are also wonderfully reminiscent of astronomic star charts.

Hugo Michell Gallery are proud to partner with Bird in Hand Winery for this opening event.

Hugo Michell Gallery acknowledges the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region, and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today.

Please join us in celebrating the launch of these two exhibitions!

Hugo Michell Gallery Opening: Paul Yore

Please join us for the launch of Paul Yore's 'SOUVENIR' at Hugo Michell Gallery on Saturday 17th May, 1-3pm.

This event will also feature Paul Yore in conversation with Leigh Robb, Curator of Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of South Australia

Paul Yore
SOUVENIR
The word ‘souvenir’ refers to memory, that vital faculty of the mind that allows us to form our identities, communicate, and create relationships with each other and the world around us. Seeking beauty and wonderment in the familiar, this exhibition brings together a collection of sculptural works that mirror popular Australian images, engaging memory, nostalgia, and our collective cultural histories. Adapting traditional craft methodologies across assemblage, mosaic, appliqué and embroidery, Paul Yore monumentalises humble mass produced motifs into highly decorative tableaux, allowing new possibilities for participation, contemplation and meaning. By playfully breaking down hierarchies between high and low cultural forms, Yore opens up a dialogue directly with our own subjective responses as spectators, empowering us to feel curiosity and wonderment. Optimistic and affirming, this exhibition reasserts Yore’s belief that art is an important space for expression, acceptance, and potentiality.

Hugo Michell Gallery are proud to partner with Bird in Hand Winery for this opening event.

Hugo Michell Gallery acknowledges the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region, and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today.

Please join us in celebrating the launch of this exhibition!

Clara Adolphs, Richard Lewer, Zaachariaha Fielding, Ildiko Kovacs, and Josina Pumani announced as FINALISTS in the Archibald, Sir John Sulman, and Wynne Prizes

We are thrilled to share that Clara Adolphs and Richard Lewer have been announced as finalists in the 2025 Archibald Prize; and Zaachariaha Fielding and Ildiko Kovacs have been announced as finalists in the Sulman Prize! Also celebrating the inclusion of upcoming exhibiting artist Josina Pumani, who is also a finalist in the Wynne Prize.

The finalist exhibition will be presented from 10 May to 17 August 2025 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Clara Adolphs, Adrian Jangala Robertson (paintbrush and hat), 2025, oil on linen, 62.5 x 62.5 cm

About this painting, Clara states: "I first saw Adrian’s work at last year’s Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, and I was completely drawn in by a small painting of his depicting two figures, which I soon discovered were family members. I loved his use of colour and mark-making,’ says Clara Adolphs, who lives and works in the Southern Highlands, NSW. Her portrait subject, Adrian Jangala Robertson, is a Warlpiri man from the Central Western Desert region, who is also a finalist in this year’s Archibald.

I spoke to Adrian at the Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists studio a few times via video call, alongside the studio manager, before travelling to Mparntwe/Alice Springs for a few days of painting together. We come from different worlds but there are a lot of similarities in our work. He paints his family and I draw on old family photography. Adrian is non-speaking and English is his second language, but we communicated through our painting, sitting side by side,’ says Adolphs.

‘I took a lot of photos, as my usual work is photography-based. Back in my studio, I made several more portraits. This painting is quite simple, but I think it captures Adrian’s quiet confidence and self-assurance as a painter."

Richard Lewer, You are only as good as your last painting, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 200 x 200 cm

Richard Lewer’s self-portrait depicts him stepping back to examine his painting, having taken off his glasses.

"This portrait is an exploration of artistic discipline and the relentless pursuit of improvement. The title of the work, You are only as good as your last painting, speaks to the collective experience of being an artist, the solitude of the studio, and the unending drive to make a painting better than your last,’ he says.

Born in Aotearoa New Zealand and based in Melbourne, Lewer is a five-time Archibald finalist.

"In the portrait, my clothes are flecked with the smears and splotches of paint from months in the studio. There is a physicality to the outfit; it is a palette, a uniform, and a record of repetition, routine and the discipline of making. The glasses in one hand and paintbrush in the other are metaphors for the act of looking and making; the tools of observation and inspiration."

Richard’s latest exhibition ‘The stories that persist are not always true’ is currently showing at Hugo Michell Gallery until 10 May 2025.

Zaachariaha Fielding, The Scandal - Nganalu Tjalamilanu Who Sold Out?, acrylic, ink and aerosols on linen, 240 x 198 cm, 2025. Photo by Andy Francis, courtesy of the APYACC

This work was born from discomfort – painted in the shadow of the APY Art Centre Collective scandal, but shaped by deeper questions. Who controls our stories? Are we selling stories or celebrating them? Why must Black success be regarded with suspicion or framed as cultural betrayal?

Cultural knowledge, once held in ceremony, now sits on canvas. Does this make us sellouts, mark us as survivors, or victors in a game we never designed?

This work doesn’t offer answers. It lives in the grey areas. It’s a protest. A prayer. A reminder that our stories are alive – and so are we. And no matter how they’re told – on cave walls or on canvases – they belong to us.


Ildiko Kovacs, Tracing light, 2025, oil and oil stick on plywood, 240 x 180 cm

About this painting, Ildiko states: "The afternoon sun falls onto my studio wall, cutting a beam of light through the translucent corrugated roof. The shadow it casts moves slowly across the painting I’m working on. Sometimes, the wind in the trees creates a jiggling line.

While contemplating the painting, I trace the light, following the shadowed line. It’s an intuitive response to the brightness and movement of the afternoon sun as it passes through my studio."



Josina Pumani, Ngayuku tjukurpa – Maralinga (My story – Maralinga), 2025, hand-built stoneware, underglaze, 69 x 49 x 48 cm irreg. Courtesy of the APYACC

Josina Pumani has been told the story of Maralinga since she was a little girl. "My family were hurt by the bombs,’ she explains. ‘Many Aṉangu got sick or died, including my uncle Yami Lester, who was blinded by the bomb."

Using the coil method to build her vessel, Pumani has given form to the British atomic weapons testing program undertaken in remote South Australia during the 1950s and 1960s. The effects of these tests were severe and have had lasting impacts on Aṉangu. She uses a vibrant red to represent the poison from the bombs and the internal grey to refer to the smoke. The texture and detailed depictions on the exterior form includes punu (trees), circling toxic winds, and Aṉangu gathering in a wiltja (shelter).

Pumani works through the APY Art Centre Collective’s Tarntanya/Adelaide studio and has been making ceramics since 2024. This is her first time as a finalist in the Wynne Prize.

We look forward to presenting an exhibition by Josina Pumani in September 2025.

Register your interest at mail@hugomichellgallery.com

Clara Adolphs and Bridie Gillman announced as FINALISTS in Ramsay Art Prize

We’re thrilled to share that Clara Adolphs and Bridie Gillman have been selected as finalists for the 2025 Ramsay Art Prize!

The Ramsay Art Prize is a $100,000 acquisitive prize for contemporary Australian artists under the age of 40, supported in perpetuity by the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation.

This year's expert judging panel was comprised of leading Australian artist Michael Zavros; Associate Professor and Program Director of Visual Art at the Queensland College of Art and Design and recipient of the inaugural Ramsay Art Prize’s People’s Choice Prize, Julie Fragar; and Emma Fey, Deputy Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia.

All finalists will exhibit in a major exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia from 31 May to 31 August 2025, and the winner will be announced on Friday 30 May 2025.

Fiona Roberts joins Hugo Michell Gallery as represented artist

Hugo Michell Gallery welcomes the addition of Fiona Roberts to our represented artists!

Fiona Roberts is an Australian contemporary artist whose immersive installations examine themes of psychological and physical safety. Born in Darwin and based in Adelaide, Roberts’ work explores the interplay of symbolism, superstitions, rituals, and belief systems. Her practice frequently addresses dualities such as fear and safety, attraction and discomfort, and the broader complexities of the human experience.  

Roberts holds a Bachelor of Visual Art (Honours) from Adelaide Central School of Art and a Master of Teaching from the University of South Australia. Her solo exhibition, Hereafter, at Hugo Michell Gallery in 2024 engaged deeply with themes of mortality and transformation.

Roberts’ work explores the interplay between familiarity and latent complexity, as seen in exhibitions like Façade (2018) at Adelaide Central Gallery and Intimate Vestiges (2015) at KickArts Contemporary Arts in Cairns, which examined domestic spaces by juxtaposing the comforting aspects of home with their concealed dangers and hidden histories. She has exhibited both locally and internationally, most notably in Pure Not Proper (2018), Los Angeles, TAKE!EAT! (2015), London, and A Book Between Two Stools (2014) at the Boghossian Foundation in Brussels.

She has received awards such as the BankSA Best Visual Art and Design Award at the 2018 Adelaide Fringe Festival and has received multiple grants from the Australia Council for the Arts. Her work has been featured in numerous publications including Victionary’s Dark Inspirations (Hong Kong), Dark and Fetish Art (Japan), and more recently her work was featured on the cover of Art Collector magazine. 

Her works are held in national and international collections; such as the Art Gallery of Ballarat in regional Victoria, and several pieces on permanent display at Galila's POC in Brussels, Belgium.

We congratulate Fiona on her achievements and look forward to working together in the future!

Fiona Roberts' 'Hereafter' at Hugo Michell Gallery, 2024. 
Fiona Roberts' 'Façade' at Adelaide Central Gallery, 2018.
Fiona Roberts' 'Façade' at Adelaide Central Gallery, 2018.

Gallery closure over Easter long weekend

Wishing you a joyful Easter long weekend!

Please note that Hugo Michell Gallery will be closed for the Easter long weekend, re-opening Tuesday 22nd April with our current exhibitions:

Richard Lewer | The stories that persist are not always true
James Dodd | SOUR DREAMS

Exhibitions continue until 10 May 2025. Please also note that the gallery will also be closed for the Anzac Day Public Holiday on 25th April.

Pictured: James Dodd, TANGY SPOIL, 2025, acrylic on canvas in powder coated aluminium tray frame, 79 x 53 cm