Buxton Contemporary

Buxton Contemporary is the new purpose-built home for one of Australia’s most significant collections of contemporary art.

Located within Melbourne’s Southbank arts precinct and embedded at the University of Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), Buxton Contemporary houses the expansive art collection of Melbourne property developer and art collector Michael Buxton. Australian architects Fender Katsalidis transformed pre-existing structures on the VCA campus in creating the museum, which features five galleries and a teaching space.

Inspired by the philanthropy they witnessed in America, Michael and Janet Buxton began acquiring art in 1995 with the aim of creating a museum-quality collection based around six major Australian artists. The collection has grown to encompass more than 300 works by 58 artists, including Howard Arkley, Mike Parr, Tracey Moffatt, Bill Henson, Patricia Piccinini, Pat Brassington, Marco Fusinato and Daniel von Sturmer.

In 2014, Buxton donated the collection – valued in excess of $26 million – to the University of Melbourne as well as the funds to build a new museum, an endowment and further operational support for a 20-year period.

The inaugural exhibition, ‘The shape of things to come’, curated by Melissa Keys, features 77 works by more than 20 artists from the Buxton collection. The presentation explores the various roles and agencies of contemporary artists – as visionaries, storytellers, dissenters and alchemists. Highlights include major works by Ricky Swallow, Emily Floyd, Hany Armanious and Mikala Dwyer.

EXHIBITION:
The Shape of Things to Come
9 March – 24 June 2018
Buxton Contemporary, Melbourne