Brisbane set for unique displays and artwork never seen in Australia​on February 20, 2025 at 10:42 am

The outdoors will come indoors this year, with a rainbow suspended in mist, a rocky landscape with a creek running through it, and audio waves translated into visual phenomena.

All will feature in a solo exhibition by Scandinavian art star Olafur Eliasson at GOMA.

The exhibition of the Danish-Iceland artist, who typically works with light, water, earth and air, has been announced as the summer blockbuster capping off a packed year’s programming at QAGOMA.

Director Chris Saines said that the show, opening on December 5, will include work never before seen in Australia and two new site-specific installations created especially for the gallery.

Eliasson’s work “invites reflection on our relationships – with ourselves, the environment, culture, and society”, Saines said.

Another major exhibition, Wonderstruck, opens at GOMA mid-year with crowd-pleasing work by Michael Parekowhai, US artist Nick Cave, Melbourne-born maker of facsimile people Ron Mueck and Japanese ‘dot artist’ Yayoi Kusama.

Mid-century paintings of Brisbane feature in Under a Modern Sun: Art in Queensland 1930s-1950s, opening at QAG in August, and Great and Small from June showcases animals in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture.

While the war of words escalates over Creative Australia’s decision to rescind the contract of Khaled Sabsabi to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale, Brisbane audiences will have the chance to see the work that won the top prize there last year.