As the winter months settle in, art lovers have the perfect excuse to seek warmth and inspiration indoors with an array of compelling exhibitions. Curated for the season, these exhibitions offer a variety of artistic experiences—from evocative contemporary works to insightful historical retrospectives and winter art festivals. Whether you are drawn to soothing pastel landscapes, portraiture, immersive installations, or bold new art, there is something to brighten even the greyest day. Here are my top picks to add to your winter calendar.
On view at the French Impressionism exhibition, NGV, Melbourne
FRENCH IMPRESSIONISM
6 June – 5 October
NGV International, Melbourne
This year, the Melbourne Winter Masterpiece at the National Gallery of Victoria is ‘French Impressionism’. This is a major exhibition developed by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in partnership with the NGV. It follows the trajectory of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism in the late nineteenth-century in France and highlights the renowned avant-garde artists who were at the centre of this period of radical experimentation and the rejection of artistic conventions at the time. It presents over one hundred paintings by key artists including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Édouard Manet, Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot, Paul Signac and Alfred Sisley. The selection of artworks highlights the iconic Impressionism tropes, such as distinctive brushwork, vivid use of colour and light, and depictions of subjects and places that are personal to the artists.
FRIDA KAHLO: IN HER OWN IMAGE
15 March – 13 July
Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, Victoria
This exhibition presents an intimate perspective of an influential and iconic artist of the twentieth century, Frida Kahlo. It will include Kahlo’s personal belongings, clothing, make-up, accessories, and medical items which are on loan from the Museo Frida Kahlo in Mexico for the first time in Australia. These items have been sealed in a bathroom for fifty years after Kahlo’s death, in her family home, La Casa Azul. Following the rediscovery of this collection, it has provided an intimate perspective and greater personal insight into Kahlo’s carefully crafted appearance, which often included vibrant clothing, dramatic make-up and accessories and decorated medical protheses. The exhibition explores the personal, political, philosophical, and artistic influences which shaped Kahlo’s distinctive world view and informed her groundbreaking creative output.
DARK MOFO, MONA
5 – 15 June
Hobart, Tasmania
The iconic winter festival, Dark Mofo will be making a full return to Hobart this year. Dark Mofo is an annual mid-winter arts and culture festival held by the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania. Launched in 2013, this festival celebrates the darkness of the southern winter solstice with various events, including art installations, music, and performances with a line-up of international, local, and Tasmanian artists. Iconic events will be returning this year, such as Night Mass, the Winter Feast, the Ogoh-Ogoh, and the Nude Solstice Swim.
ARCHIBALD, WYNNE AND SULMAN PRIZES
10 May – 27 August (followed by a national tour until September 13, 2026)
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Plan a trip to Sydney or wait for the national tour to see the annual exhibitions of finalists and winners of the art prizes: Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman. The Archibald Prize consists of artists from Australia and New Zealand capturing the spirit of their times through portraiture and reflecting the personalities and issues that define their communities. The Wynne Prize comprises of landscape paintings of Australian scenery, or figure sculpture which celebrates the varying representations of our country, and the Sulman Prize includes subject painting, genre painting or a mural project. Annually, the trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales judge the Archibald and Wynne prizes and invite an artist to judge the Sulman prize and this year it will be the renowned artist, Elizabeth Pulie.
By Amanda North, Senior Fine Art Specialist
Top Image: Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter/ Alamy
May 2025