The Intelligence of Painting

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA)

28 February – 20 July 2025

The Intelligence of Painting throws a spotlight on the energy of contemporary painting in Australia today through the work of 14 Australian women artists.

The exhibition includes recent MCA Collection acquisitions, as well as new and recent paintings by Karen Black, Angela Brennan, Eleanor Louise Butt, Prudence Flint, Maria Madeira, Thea Anamara Perkins, Kerrie Poliness, Jude Rae, Jessica Rankin, Julie Nangala Robertson, Gemma Smith, Jelena Telecki, Jenny Watson and Nyapanyapa Yunupingu.

Curated by Suzanne Cotter (Director, MCA), and Manya Sellers.

Macgregor Gallery: Level 1.

mca.com.au/exhibitions/the-intelligence-of-painting/

Installation view The Intelligence of Painting, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2025, left to right: Jelena Telecki, Rendezvous 2, 2024, oil on canvas, image courtesy the artist and 1301SW; Prudence Flint, The Bath, 2022, oil on linen, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, purchased with funds provided by the MCA Foundation, 2022; Eleanor Louise Butt, Within the Garden (Autumn Painting 2), 2022, oil on cotton, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, purchased with funds provided by the MCA Foundation, 2023 © the artists, photograph: Hamish McIntosh.

Eleanor Louise Butt, Within the Garden (Autumn Painting 2), 2022, installation view The Intelligence of Painting, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2025, oil on cotton, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, purchased with funds provided by the MCA Foundation, 2023 © the artists, photograph: Hamish McIntosh.

Installation view The Intelligence of Painting, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2025 © the artists, photograph: Hamish McIntosh.