EXHIBITIONS OPENING at Ladder Art Space in Melbourne

Echoes in Bloom - A Group Exhibition

Echoes in Bloom reflects on the season of renewal as spring turns toward summer,  a time when life feels vivid, expansive, and in motion.

The exhibition invites works that consider how growth and transformation take shape, not only in the natural world but also within memory, identity, and the quiet transitions of everyday life. Artists may respond through the imagery of blossoms and cycles in nature, or through more abstract explorations of change, resilience, and becoming.

Together, the selected works will create a dialogue on renewal and possibility, a celebration of moments when something new begins to emerge, and the echoes of transformation continue to unfold.

Suburbia’s Quiest Crisis - Tom Phillips

Suburbia’s Quiet Crisis explores the pervasive hardship and alienation of contemporary urban life. At its core is the fear of loneliness and disconnection—anxieties heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic but deepened by a quieter, ongoing crisis: the erosion of community and belonging. Neoliberal policies and fragmented city living have left many feelings abandoned by families, industries, and institutions, trapped in an existence where busyness replaces genuine engagement.

Through my paintings, I aim to give voice to those overlooked and forgotten. My figures are outsiders—individuals struggling to endure within an unforgiving landscape. Rendered in a crude, raw style, they embody vulnerability, anxiety, and the fragility of modern life. Each brushstroke is heavy with emotion, reflecting both hardship and resilience. My aggressive mark-making and deliberate use of colour amplify the psychological tension within these works, inviting viewers to confront their own experiences of alienation.

Ultimately, the series seeks to foster empathy and awareness, highlighting the quiet crisis unfolding in the suburbs we inhabit.

Internal Consequences - Luca Siliquini

Luca Siliquini is a contemporary Italian artist whose work is rooted in observation – of himself, of others, and of the world around him. His creative process is deeply introspective, driven by dreams, imagination, and a profound exploration of the psychological dimensions of human existence.The paintings in this exhibition are visual translations of Luca’s inner responses to the relentless stream of global events.
Through bold lines, symbolic forms, and geometric structures, he captures the tension between external realities and internal reflections. Colour and texture play a vital role, serving not only as aesthetic choices but as emotional and psychological markers on the canvas.
Through the words of the poem below (translated from the original in Italian), Luca expresses the sentiments that moved him to create the visual artworks present in this exhibition.

Pierced by words, entwined and echoing
Curious compositions born of self-interest.
Defenceless, I yield to their invasion,
No time remains for quiet reflection.

Time slips away – irretrievable, indifferent.
How much I absorb, I cannot tell.
The modern tempo, master of impudent uproar,
Blocks the passage from the head to the heart.