A river runs through presents a major new body of work by Spence Messih that considers how both water and gender are monitored, categorised and disciplined. Moving between sculpture, print and film, Messih develops a material language shaped by tension, movement and contradiction.

Over the past decade, Messih has worked across sculpture, installation, and text to create works that move between abstraction and figuration. Attuned to the nuances of materiality and transformation, Messih’s practice combines intuitive and idiosyncratic processes that challenge notions of truth and reveal the contradictions and mutability of both materials and ideas. His latest works at UTS Gallery continue to deepen this rich material language.

You are invited to celebrate the opening of A river runs through on Thursday 7 May, 6–7.30pm, with a Welcome to Country by Aunty Rhonda Dixon Grovenor.

Banner image: Spence Messih, 'Hiddener abode I-VII' (detail), 2025. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Jacquie Manning.

Contact the host of Exhibition Opening: A river runs through