The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has launched a new retrospective exhibition dedicated to Australian painter Margaret Preston, marking the first such show in over 20 years. The exhibition, co-curated by Michael Gentle and Beckett Rozentals, features more than 200 of Preston's works, including three previously lost paintings that the NGV located through a public appeal.
Preston, born in Port Adelaide in 1875, aimed to create a unique Australian aesthetic, a goal reflected in her still lifes depicting native flora. However, the exhibition highlights the contradictions within her work, showing influences from European modernism, abstract movements, and Japanese woodblock prints, as well as her interest in Indigenous art.
Her practice of appropriating Indigenous art is presented as her most contentious, despite her vocal admiration for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art at a time when it was often dismissed. The exhibition includes works by contemporary First Nations artists, such as Gordon Bennett, Trevor Nickolls, Deanne Gilson, and Tony Albert, who engage with Preston's legacy, illuminating the complexities of her impact.