Art

If you wander into the NGV's Ian Potter Centre this summer you might find yourself face-to-face with some rather creepy spectres. Melbourne-born, Sydney-based artist Ken Unsworth's sculptural installations are full of skeletons, terrifying pianos (we promise that makes sense once you've seen them) and otherworldly figures. But despite the sheer punk attitude conjured up by a grand piano dissected by a giant saw blade, there's a softness and introspective quality to these sculptures. For example, that piano pays homage to Unsworth's late wife Elizabeth, who was a concert pianist. This is the first major survey of Unsworth's sculptural works in Melbourne, and is scattered all around the foyers of the NGV Ian Potter Centre. That means it's totally free to see all the works, which range from his earliest sculpture in 1968, through to four that have been created specifically for the exhibition.

The National Gallery of Victoria is bringing a world-first exhibition of works by MC Escher to Melbourne this summer. Between Two Worlds | Escher X nendo will feature more than 160 prints and drawings from the renowned Dutch artist as well as an immersive Escher-inspired environment created by Japanese design studio Nendo. We can't wait to see how they'll respond to Escher's most iconic image: the physically impossible, Hogwarts-esque staircases. Escher rose to prominence in the 20th-century art world for his mind-bending and mathematically complex works like ‘Hand with Reflecting Sphere’, ‘Relativity’ and ‘Balcony’. Though he considered himself to have little mathematical ability his art has become iconic for its seamless tessellation, warped perspectives and impossible objects – like endless, connected staircases and mirrored self-portraits. The works are on loan from the Gemeentemuseum in the Hague and will be joined by an immersive experience created by Nendo design studio. By manipulating geometry, space and perception like Escher, Nendo will create a never-before-seen exhibit that will bring the artist’s work to life. Cathy Leahy, the NGV's senior curator of prints and drawings says that Nendo is using Escher's playfulness to create the world-first experience. "Escher works with positive and negative space a lot and shapes transforming from one element to another. Nendo have created this space that you walk through that has some of those elements." Between Two Worl

When you think Melbourne, some of the words that come to mind surely must be 'coffee', 'laneways' and 'street art'. Street art covers almost every nook and cranny of our creative, colourful city, but there are more highly concentrated clusters than others. These are the street art hotspots that any self-respecting 'grammer should be snapping: the city's ten best street mural hotspots, in all their spray-painted laneway glory. Continue your art journey through Melbourne at these free galleries, or purchase your very own piece of art at one of these weird and wonderful shops.