Edward Coleridge's 'Letterbox Landscapes' will feature a collection of expressive oil paintings that capture the beauty of the Victorian countryside and cities, presented in a 1:4 horizontal format.

Hamish Tobias's exhibition explores the effects of warped self-perception on mental health and challenges conventional beauty standards through a multidisciplinary practice spanning painting, drawing and sculpture.

In 'fragmentum', an exhibition by Brenton Hill, abstract and fragmented compositions reveal the unreliability of memory and emotion.

Steve Leadbeater's 'RITUAL OF THE SENSES' immerses viewers in a sensory exhibition experience which celebrates energy, contrast, inner beauty and the process of creation.

‘Drawing Space: minus and plus’ is a collection of small-scale drawings by Perth-based artist Suzanne .k. Franklin (also known as sue.k.). By presenting works that are unhindered by narrative, the exhibition offers a viewing experience focussed on material substance.

'Endless Drawing' is a new exhibition by Michael Fikaris of automatic drawings inspired by a recent trip to the Wakka Wakka regions (Bunya Mountains, QLD). Fikaris will create a mural in the gallery, with the installation viewable while in progress that week until opening night of Friday June 13.

Athenie Leckey’s acrylic painting series depicts all 79 species of banksias, capturing distinguishing botanical details in an illustrative style.

fortyfivedownstairs is excited to present the tenth Emerging Artist Award, a prestigious award and exhibition showcasing exciting talent from emerging artists.

Gary Smith's exhibition 'Ætheria' will showcase the artist's fascination with discovering the essence of being. Through an arts practice across painting and installation, Smith distills various subjects to reveal their core and dynamic nature.

'Chrysalis + Aberrations' features a series of abstract paintings by Dawn Allmark and digitally manipulated photographs by Michaela Sandberg. Through their respective mediums, each artist embraces a process of evolution and beauty.

'Danger Danger Danger Danger Danger & Related Works' is the first solo show devoted to artist Chelsea Hickman’s ongoing textile banner project. A maximalist bombardment of information and image - the banner project unleashes the artist’s frustrations within the fashion industry, queerness, and late-stage capitalism. 

'colour.field.echo' will showcase the work of Michele Burder, Susan Watson Knight, and Amanda Johnson. United by their use of bold colours and citational strategies, their practices echo cultural pasts, while ultimately speaking directly to the present.

In 'Going Places', Fiona O'Byrne presents a series of small oil paintings that capture the shared, everyday experience of moving through the city – an essential and uncelebrated part of contemporary urban life.

'Stronger Together' showcases the work of the students at St Albans Secondary College, a co-educational school located in the west of Melbourne. This exhibition is a rare glimpse into the potential that is unlocked when we are able to embrace cultural diversity and share, appreciate, know, collaborate and negotiate cultural divides.

‘Muktoraah’ is a fictional realm of chaos and destruction, developed as part of Braden Howard’s ongoing world-building art practice. This exhibition will delve into this fictional land, showcasing its creatures, worlds, gods, magical beings, and powerful relics.

Drawing from both rural and urban settings, 'Ways Through' features a series of linocut prints by Ballarat-based artist Amanda Western that trace the quiet power of overlooked spaces- laneways, tree lines, and landscapes in flux. This, her first solo exhibition in Melbourne, maps emotional and ecological pathways, asking how we find connection and renewal in the places we pass through.

Melbourne artist Janice Gobey explores the restorative power of nature in her new exhibition, 'The Garden of Life'. Painted primarily in oil, this new body of work, offers viewers a moment of respite - an invitation to rest and reconnect with nature, the subconscious, and the unseen corners of the psyche.

'Naarm Textile Biennale- Social Fabric' is the third biannual exhibition by Naarm Textile Collective at fortyfivedownstairs. This collaborative group exhibition features textile artists from Victoria and will showcase a diverse and progressive range of textile art that challenges traditional conceptions of the medium.

Robert Lee Davis' 'Community Art Card Project' returns to fortyfivedownstairs for the third consecutive year, offering visitors the chance to engage in collaborative art-making by using large playing cards as their canvas to create an installation in the gallery.

Dena Ashbolt's exhibition, 'Time Between', seeks to capture the nuances of human experience and the shifts in our perception of reality. Her signature cinematic drawing technique serves as a core methodology, while also encompassing a broad artistic output, including drawing, painting, photo-media explorations, and spatial collaborative projects.

Ella Whateley's latest exhibition explores various forms of prayer through the language of abstraction, examining this spiritual practice within Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, and Christianity. Her artworks reflect the unique contexts and environments from which these practices originate, drawing inspiration from her experiences in Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Japan, Nepal, Britain, and Australia.