The best art exhibitions in Melbourne this weekend

Actress Elizabeth Taylor’s stunning diamond and ruby necklace. Dazzling tiaras worn by singer Rihanna. Princess Margaret’s rose-shaped diamond brooch. Treasured pieces owned by Australia's first international opera singer (and beloved Melburnian) Dame Nellie Melba. Yes, we’re talking obviously Cartier. Founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier, this French brand is synonymous with high-end luxury – and now, you can see it in all its glittering glory up close and personal.  The NGV’s blockbuster Winter Masterpieces exhibition, Cartier, will give you a chance to see some of the world’s most famous jewels on display. Exclusive to Melbourne and running from June 12 to October 4, the exhibition brings together nearly 400 jewels, gemstones, watches and decorative objects, many of which have never travelled to Australia before. Created by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in partnership with the NGV and Cartier, the exhibition explores the evolution of the legendary French maison. Check out more than 20 spectacular tiaras, the iconic ‘Tutti Frutti’ collection with colourful rubies, emeralds and sapphires, as well as timeless timepieces and contemporary creations featuring Australian opals from Lightning Ridge. It promises to be a glittering journey through nearly two centuries of artistry, innovation and timeless style. Interested? Find out more here. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your...

Creative cookies, rejoice! The Finders Keepers Melbourne Design Market is back at the Royal Exhibition Building from July 10-12, bringing together more than 200 independent designers and makers for a three-day celebration of thoughtfully made, beautifully designed goods.  For 18 years, this market has been where emerging talent breaks through, limited-edition pieces disappear in a flash and design lovers get first dibs on what will surely be trending on Insta. As always, you’re in for a treat. Stallholders have everything from handcrafted ceramics, small-batch nibbles and eclectic fashion to homewares, unique jewellery and art, plus drinks and snacks you won’t find anywhere else. It's your one-stop shop for all things crafty and tasty, so bring your friends, bring your family.  New this year, the Dining Room presents Taqueria, a Mexican-inspired feast by Dingo Ate My Taco, paired with resident pours from Fin Wines, Sailors Grave Brewing and Meet Gertrude. There’s also The Finders Bottle-Oh! – a playful twist on the classic bottle-o featuring locally made drinks to take home. Got a sweet tooth? Make a beeline to the Sweet Spot for some decadent desserts (plus coffee). For a change of pace, head to the Change Room to try on fashion and hear the stories and inspiration behind the pieces. Add in the chance to win a Peachi chair by Grumpi (valued at $469), and you’ve got a winter weekend that blends design, food and ideas in one very good-looking package. Kids under 13 enjoy...

Do you consider yourself somewhat of a Monet maestro, or even a Degas devotee? You can thank Paul Durand-Ruel, the dealer who backed the Impressionists when no one else would dare. A major new exhibition at Geelong Gallery puts the man who made the movement possible in the spotlight. Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel brings together more than 70 paintings across five galleries, many from private French collections and never before seen in Australia. Alongside household names like Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot and Camille Pissarro, the show celebrates a second generation of artists long overlooked, including Albert André and Gustave Loiseau, whose work expands and reshapes the way Impressionism has been looked at in its later years. At the centre is Paul Durand-Ruel, the visionary dealer who staked everything on a movement once ridiculed by the establishment. Over his lifetime, he bought thousands of works, championed their artists and helped transform public taste across Europe and America. Without him, Impressionism as we know it might not exist. Beyond the works on display, highlights in the exhibition will include rare decorative panels created for Durand-Ruel’s Paris apartment and a partial recreation of the salon where he hosted collectors, offering a glimpse into the world that helped shape modern art.  Marking Geelong Gallery’s 130th year, this is its most ambitious exhibition to date, and the only Australian stop for a show...

From the bush to our own backyards, the eucalypt has long shaped the Australian landscape and imagination. A new exhibition at the Potter Museum of Art delves into the significance of this iconic tree with more than 163 works and five significant new artist commissions. Opening on July 10, Ngarn Wa’ngal: Art of the gum tree draws on Australian art history and contemporary works from the University of Melbourne's collection, alongside major loans from across the country to explore the tree as a source of creative inspiration. Colonial paintings by John Glover, Eugene von Guérard and Frederick McCubbin will sit alongside 20th century works by Arthur Boyd, Hans Heysen, Albert Namatjira, Grace Cossington Smith and Jessie Traill, as well as contemporary artists like Nici Cumpston, Vincent Namatjira, Joan Ross and Christian Thompson. Translating to “breathing for us” in the Woi Wurrung language, Ngarn Wa’ngal considers the gum tree as both subject and symbol, prompting conversations around Indigenous sovereignty, Australian identity, ecology, climate and the global legacy of the eucalyptus.  A major feature of the exhibition is five new commissions created specifically for the showcase, including a photographic work by Jane E. Brown using early carbon-printing techniques; an installation of seed-filled papier-mâché forms by artist Dean Cross of Worimi descent; a large-scale piece by interdisciplinary artist Megan Evans featuring eucalyptus leaves collected over decades; a...

From Raphael’s 'Madonna and Child' to Louise Bourgeois’ 'Maman', the maternal bond has long been one of art’s most enduring subjects. And now, a new exhibition at the NGV, Mother: Stories from the NGV Collection, puts motherhood firmly in the frame, bringing together more than 200 historical and contemporary works to examine how the experience of being, becoming and relating to motherhood has been imagined across cultures, generations and media. Running from March 27 to July 12, 2026, at the NGV's Ian Potter Centre, Mother will span painting, sculpture, photography, weaving, decorative arts and moving image, moving beyond sentimental tropes to grapple with the realities and contradictions of motherhood – warts and all. Themes range from societal expectations and invisible labour to mythology, religion and the deep connections between motherhood, nature and Country for First Nations communities. A standout from the exhibit is Ruth O’Leary’s 'Flinders Street, 2017', created after the birth of her first child, in which a public photobooth becomes a makeshift studio: a poignant meditation on care and the blurred boundaries between public and private life. Other highlights include two new acquisitions by David Hockney, a moving image work by Hayley Millar Baker and a towering sculpture from 1893 by Betram Mackennal. The exhibition features works by an expansive roster of artists, including Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin, Camille Henrot, David Hockney, Tracey Moffatt, Iluwanti...

As Jane Austen wrote in Northanger Abbey, “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” So bookworms and bibliophiles, this one's for you. World of the Book, Australia’s largest and longest-running rare book exhibition, returns to State Library Victoria with more than 300 extraordinary works spanning from around 2000 BCE to the present day. This year's exhibition shines a spotlight on some of literature's most influential women writers. We're talking rare and remarkable editions by Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Octavia E. Butler, Virginia Woolf and the Brontë sisters, including a newly acquired first edition of Jane Austen's Emma (1816) in its original Regency-era binding. You'll also be able to admire special versions of Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion, alongside rare editions of Agatha Christie's best-loved mysteries featuring her legendary detectives, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Head to the beautiful domed La Trobe Reading Room to check out everything from intricate miniature books to Australian punk music fanzines, early comic books and centuries-old treasures. One must-see is The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886) – Melbourne's first publishing blockbuster, which famously outsold Sherlock Holmes. “The Fund’s first ever purchase, A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf, will be displayed in a space intentionally designed to celebrate extraordinary women writers,” said State...

Traversing time and space, Wurrdha Marra is an ongoing exhibition celebrating the diversity of First Nations art and design. Since late 2023, the ground floor and foyer of the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia has become home to a dynamic and ever-changing exhibition space that displays masterpieces and never-before-shown works from the NGV’s First Nations collection. Translating to ‘many mobs’ in the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung language, Wurrdha Marra showcases pieces from emerging and established artists from across Australia, including Tony Abert, Treahna Hamn, Kent Morris, Marlene Gilson, Rover Thomas, Christian Thompson, Gary Lee, Nicole Monks, Gali Yalkarriwuy, Dhambit Mungunggurr, Nonggirrnga Marawili and more.  Highlights of the free exhibition include a large-scale installation of fish traps produced by Burrara women from Maningrida – the objects have been crafted over weeks using vines from the bush. Also on display is a new collection of contemporary resin boomerangs by Keemon Williams, a First Nations queer artist hailing from Meanjin/Brisbane. Another unseen work is titled History Repeats by Girramay/Yidinji/Kuku Yalanji contemporary artist Tony Albert, who has used mass-produced objects – from tea towels to ashtrays – to reframe Indigenous histories.  More recently, the exhibition has been updated to include the largest-ever display of the NGV's expansive collection of bark paintings. Bark Salon subverts the traditional European salons of the 18th and 19th...