MARS Gallery

21/06/2026

For over two decades, MARS Gallery has supported artists beyond the gallery walls.

Alongside our exhibition program, we have also remained steadfast in our commitment to bringing art into new, unexpected spaces and strengthening the cultural fabric of our cities.

Through countless collaborations and commissions, one thing is clear: art has the power to transform the way we experience the world around us.

When artists are given room to experiment, the places around us become richer, more colourful, and more interesting.

Header image: Joanne Mott and John Power, The Eleventh Planet (2023). Courtesy the artists and ADA Consulting

16/06/2026

Hurry in to see Archer Davies’ solo exhibition ‘Borrowed Blue’ before it closes this Friday 19 June at 5pm.

In this series, Archer has examined the gold-rush era facades (c. 1850–1890) which decorate the many Victorian single and double-story terraces within inner-Melbourne.

For any artwork enquiries, please contact Andy at [email protected]

12/06/2026

SAVE THE DATE

POLAROID POLAROID POLAROID
OPENING 23rd JUNE 6–8pm

Speeches from 7pm: Richard Keane (CEO, Living Positive Victoria) &
Tony Clemenger (CEO, Clemenger Consulting + Polaroid enthusiast)

Live DJ performance from 6pm by Eric Della Bosca

MARS is delighted to present our group exhibition Polaroid Polaroid Polaroid. This exhibition aims to raise funds for Living Positive Australia (LPV) by bringing together a snapshot of the MARS community, open to all to take part, whether they were artists, curators, or art enthusiasts.

Inspired by Andy Warhol’s love of capturing the everyday with a Polaroid camera, this exhibition engages with the MARS community to utilise the Polaroid as a medium and object open to personal interpretation.

Please dress in your Warhol best!

Polaroids will be priced depending on what you can afford. First in best dressed, give generously for good art karma! All sales will help the important work at Living Positive Victoria.

To coincide with the Polaroid Polaroid Polaroid display, artist Emil Canita’s series Let Them Know: Why and How to Share Your HIV Story will be featured alongside the works.

Let Them Know: Why and How to Share Your HIV Story was developed in response to a long-standing gap in how HIV disclosure is supported in Australia and globally.

Living Positive Victoria is a not for profit, community-based organisation representing all people living with HIV in Victoria since 1988 and is committed to the advancement of human rights and wellbeing of all people living with HIV. In response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, Living Positive Victoria was created as a safe place to provide support and advocate those living with virus.

Exhibition donations will directly support people living with HIV, as well as fund programs to help them connect with the community. The community sector lost 25-30% of its funding because of Victoria’s “COVID overspend”.

Thank you Papa Salt for sponsoring the event with delicious beverages.

Living Positive Victoria - LPV

09/06/2026

08/06/2026

CALL OUT: Last chance for submissions for our group exhibition!

POLAROID POLAROID POLAROID (20 June – 11 July) aims to raise funds for Living Positive Australia by bringing together a snapshot of the MARS community, open not only to artists but also to art enthusiasts.

We’d love for you to be involved!

Opening night: Tuesday 23 June, 6 – 8pm.

Email [email protected] for more information or to submit your work.

07/06/2026

Earlier this week, MARS Gallery founder and director was invited to speak at to share behind-the-scenes insight into building an art collection today.

During the talk, Andy reflected on a question she is often asked by aspiring collectors: how do you get started?

Her answer begins with two of the art heroes she returns to time and time again: Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, whose remarkable approach to collecting demonstrates the value of simply buying what you love.

Image: Bernard Gotfryd, Art collectors, Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, Library of Congress.

05/06/2026

CONGRATULATIONS DAMIEN SHEN
Finalist in the inaugural Artbank Prize for South Australia!

We are delighted that Damien Shen has been nominated as a finalist for the 2026 Artbank Prize! Selected from over 740 entries, Damien’s video work, ‘My Cuzzy Nate at 654 Club’, will be featured amongst the eight finalists in the exhibition at Artbank Sydney from 3 September until 30 October this year.

One finalist from each state and territory in Australia has been selected by the esteemed judging panel, Tony Albert, Ellie Buttrose, and Elizabeth Fortescue.

The Artbank Prize will be awarded to one artist, whose artwork will be acquired into the Artbank collection. The winner of the Artbank Prize will be announced at the official celebration on 3 September 2026.

The selected work, ‘My Cuzzy Nate at 654 Club’ was born from Damien’s childhood fascination with stage magic and hard-won skills in sleight of hand, this work provides important cultural diversity to the predominately white history of stage magic. The narrative-based, multi-part card trick, Sam the Bellhop, was created in Chicago in the 1930s and made famous by the legendary magician Bill Malone. In this moving image work, the trick is adapted and performed by the artist, in the guise of a professional magician, for an audience of Aboriginal spectators.

Well done Damien!

03/06/2026

MARS is delighted to present Yoko Ozawa’s exhibition, 山端 - Yama no Ha, inspired by the artists’ observation of the transition from summer to autumn while surrounded by the vast Australian landscape.

The title “山端 - Yama no Ha” translates to “Mountain Edge” in English; however, it signifies more than just a ridge. It represents the boundary between land and sky, extending from the land’s silhouette along the ridge deep into the forests at dusk or into the misty valleys of the morning. This poetic expression has been used in haiku since ancient times and remains relevant today. Ozawa’s work articulates this yohaku space, conveying the connectivity between humans and the nature around us.

A Japan- born, Melbourne-based artist, Yoko Ozawa has been making ceramics since 2003 in Japan and Australia. She studied Graphic design in collage, and Japanese painting in university in Tokyo. She discovered pottery whilst working as a graphic designer in Tokyo. After moving to Australia, she set up her studio in 2012 in Melbourne. Since then, she has had the experiences of joining exhibitions and events in Australia and overseas.

31/05/2026

After being named a finalist in the NGV’s prestigious Rigg Design Prize last year, as well as her 2025 solo show at MARS Gallery (Of Bodies Into Novel Shapes), we are thrilled to share that .tyler’s works, Esse I-V (from the Vessels for the By and By series), have been acquired by the .

Originally presented at the Rigg Design Prize, these works have been described by the artist as a “speculative artefact” that draws on “deep geologic time, fossilisation, and the ephemerality of existence.”

This exciting news follows last month’s announcement of Kohl’s participation in the upcoming 2026 NGV Triennial, opening at the NGV International this December.

Congratulations Kohl!

Image credits (cover)—
1. Kohl Tyler. Photo by Harry McAlpine.

28/05/2026

Thank you to everyone that joined us to celebrate the opening of current exhibitions across all floors of MARS.

We are delighted to present solo exhibitions by Chun Yin Rainbow Chan, Yoko Ozawa and Archer Davies.

Thank you to for providing us with beverages to celebrate.

Images by