Otomys Marks 15 Years with Still Point Exhibition at Villa Alba Museum

Otomys, a leading contemporary and commercial gallery in the heart of Melbourne, has announced Still Point, a landmark exhibition celebrating fifteen years since the gallery’s inception.

Opening at Melbourne’s historic Villa Alba Museum in Kew Gardens from 13 to 23 November, Still Point brings together new works by emerging and established Australian and international artists responding to the mansion’s storied history. Featured artists in dialogue with the setting include Anna van der Ploeg, Caroline Collom, Chica Seal, Frances van Hasselt, Helen Redmond, Hermentaire, Joel Sorensen, Katy Papineau, Madisyn Zabel, Marie Bernard, Piet Raemdonck, Sophia Szilágyi and Colin Pennock.

Co-curated by Directors Megan Dicks and Hannah Abbott — who remain committed champions of both established and emerging artists — Still Point will be an open invitation for visitors to view contemporary works, each an opportunity to pause, observe and connect more deliberately through painting, sculpture, textile and mixed media. It calls for slow and quiet encounters and a moment of reflection.

Caroline Collom, Madisyn Zabel and Chica Seal are the latest artists to join Otomys, with all three presenting new work in the exhibition.

Caroline Collom is an abstract artist whose practice distils and reimagines visual forms, exploring the multi-dimensional possibilities of painting. Her process uncovers subtleties that might otherwise go unnoticed, creating works where form, colour and texture intersect to evoke both spatial depth and sensory engagement.

Madisyn Zabel explores the transformative nature of glass through geometric forms crafted using lamination, gluing and coldworking techniques. She is interested in the ways in which colour, light and form interact. The juxtaposition of machined and hand-finished surfaces creates dynamic contrasts, enhanced by shifting natural and artificial light.

Chica Seal is a British painter and sculptor whose interdisciplinary practice reclaims and reimagines the female perspective, responding to the historical misrepresentation of women. Fascinated by the depiction of women throughout art history and the evolving nature of beauty ideals, Seal draws on contemporary culture, mythology, medieval folklore, storytelling and popular culture to construct layered narratives.

Other Still Point artists on the Otomys roster include Colin Pennock, who has a forthcoming solo exhibition at the gallery slated for 16–31 October 2025. Pennock came to painting and drawing from unlikely beginnings as a Police Constable in Northern Ireland, sketching while on duty during the height of the Troubles. His uniquely original style was born from a desire to be immersed in nature and find harmony after a turbulent past.

Artist Sophia Szilágyi will also exhibit her deeply contemplative printmaking. She creates composite images with photographs, film stills and computer scans of paintings, heightening strangeness in scenes and creating supernatural spectacles through a layering technique.

Helen Redmond will utilise Villa Alba Museum to examine the psychological and sensory dimensions of space, drawing on her background in architecture and design to explore how light, form and spatial relationships shape human perception — the ‘psycho geography’ of space.

“In a world saturated by cultural clamour, Still Point offers an alternative, a moment of quiet engagement set within the layered architecture of Villa Alba,” said Otomys Co-Director Megan Dicks. “The works reflect process, perception and philosophy. These are not artworks that demand attention. They reward it. The still point is a call to slow looking, a quiet encounter, a space for resonance, not reaction.”

“Still Point at Villa Alba offers artists the chance to create new work within a new context. They are invited to respond directly to its spaces, shifting their perspectives and processes. This immersive encounter between artist and place fosters work that could only emerge from the dialogue between contemporary practice and Villa Alba’s richly evocative setting,” said Co-Director Hannah Abbott.

Since its beginnings in 2010, Otomys has established itself as a destination for both Australian and internationally acclaimed art. Over the past 15 years, more than 60 artists have exhibited their work at Otomys, with artists from Australia as well as Europe, Asia, South Africa and America.

Today, the gallery’s roster reflects the deep relationships that the gallery’s team nurture. The presentation will feature artworks that pay tribute to the gallery in their own quiet way, hung on the walls at Villa Alba Museum.

As one of Melbourne’s most storied and ornate landmarks, Villa Alba Museum offers a fitting backdrop for Still Point. The beautifully preserved 1880s Italianate mansion in Kew has long been cherished for its elaborate façade, finely detailed decorative ceilings and walls adorned with trompe l’oeil effects and expansive murals of national significance. Within its historic rooms, visitors are encouraged to slow down, find a quiet corner and experience the art in a way that feels far removed from the pace of the outside world.

As a physical homage to the history of Otomys and a catalyst to be still, the exhibition celebrates the role that the gallery has played in nurturing the careers of highly regarded Australian and international contemporary artists.

More info: otomys.com