fortyfivedownstairs

fortyfivedownstairs fortyfivedownstairs is an independent Melbourne based theatre and gallery located in Flinders Lane
(580)

Stockroom Hidden Gems!Discover unique works by local Melbourne artists tucked away in the stockroom at fortyfivedownstai...
05/06/2026

Stockroom Hidden Gems!

Discover unique works by local Melbourne artists tucked away in the stockroom at fortyfivedownstairs.

Browse online via the link in our bio, or visit us in-store to find your next favourite piece.

1. 'Sunset: Discovery of the Great Wollemi Pine', Amanda Johnson, acrylic and oil on canvas, framed, 63.5 x 63.5 cm, $1,550.
2. 'Kintsugi - Green Knotted', Tamara Russell, reclaimed silk shirts, cotton thread, reclaimed ceramics, 14.5 x 14 x 14 cm, $450.
3. 'Yoga is really good for you', Daisi Di**le, acrylic on board, 18.5 x 25.5 cm, $220.

04/06/2026

Drawing on Kate Hunter’s theatre-making, performance, sound-design and painting practices, ‘Unicellular’ intersects personal stories with sounds and images that reflect the barely-visible and the easily overlooked. The exhibition positions microscopic, non-human, single-cell organisms as active participants in an expanded attentional field. ‘Unicellular’ originated from a research residency spanning Victoria and South Australia’s western Wimmera and Limestone Coast, during which Kate Hunter gathered field recordings from subaquatic sites.

Artworks available to purchase on our website. Follow the link in our bio.

The exhibition will continue until Saturday 13 June 2026.

Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 12-7pm, Saturday 12-4 pm.

This Sunday 7 June, 10am - 1pm, we are running our first ‘Developing your Practice’ workshop, a hands on painting class ...
03/06/2026

This Sunday 7 June, 10am - 1pm, we are running our first ‘Developing your Practice’ workshop, a hands on painting class led by Charlotte Ivey () and Lana Daubermann ()

The first workshop will focus on composition in painting, and how you can use it to create harmony, tension, balance, mood and interest in your work. We’ll talk through some basic compositional ‘rules’ then we’ll take you through a series of practical exercises that encourage you to explore compositional ideas for yourself – working within or without the ‘rules’.

These workshops are designed to inspire painters from beginners to those with more experience. This series of six fortnightly workshops can be booked individually, or as a complete set. All materials are supplied, so all you need to do is turn up (in clothing you don’t mind getting paint on!), and be ready to explore.

Spots still available - book now via the link in our bio!

NOW OPEN: ‘Unicellular’ by Kate Hunter ()You are invited to attend the opening night tonight 5-7 pm.Artworks available t...
02/06/2026

NOW OPEN: ‘Unicellular’ by Kate Hunter ()

You are invited to attend the opening night tonight 5-7 pm.

Artworks available to purchase on our website. Follow the link in our bio.

Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 12-7pm, Saturday 12-4 pm.

Image credits: ‘Unicellular’ installation view, 2026. Photographed by George Jefford.

NOW OPEN: ‘Melbourne Studio School New Works’ ()You are invited to attend the opening night tonight 5-7pm.Artworks avail...
02/06/2026

NOW OPEN: ‘Melbourne Studio School New Works’ ()

You are invited to attend the opening night tonight 5-7pm.

Artworks available to purchase on our website. Follow the link in our bio.

Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 12-7pm, Saturday 12-4pm.

Image credits: ‘Melbourne Studio School New Works’ installation view, 2026. Photographed by George Jefford.

31/05/2026

Only 12 days left to enter the Emerging Artist Award!

Entries close Friday 12 June, 12pm.

Follow the link in our bio to apply or read the full Conditions of Entry.

Entry is FREE for First Nations people. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

Image credit: 2025 Emerging Artist Award installation images. Photographed by George Jefford.

CLOSING TOMORROW: ‘In the silence between our heart beats’ by Anthea Vayonitis ()Artworks available to purchase on our w...
29/05/2026

CLOSING TOMORROW: ‘In the silence between our heart beats’ by Anthea Vayonitis ()

Artworks available to purchase on our website. Follow the link in our bio.

The exhibition will close this Saturday 30 May.

Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 12-7pm, Saturday 12-4pm.

Image credits: ‘In the silence between our heart beats’ installation view, 2026. Photographed by George Jefford.

FINAL DAYS: ‘Aural Transferences – Memory of Sound Through Deaf Ears’ by Chelle Destefano ()Join Chelle in the small ga...
28/05/2026

FINAL DAYS: ‘Aural Transferences – Memory of Sound Through Deaf Ears’ by Chelle Destefano ()

Join Chelle in the small gallery for an artist talk this Saturday 30 May at 2pm!

This will also be the final day of the exhibition.

Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 12-7pm, Saturday 12-4pm.

Image credits: ‘Aural Transferences - Memory of Sound Through Deaf Ears’ installation view, 2026. Photographed by George Jefford.

Supported by

Opening next week: ‘Melbourne Studio School New Works’ ()Opening Night | Tuesday 2 June, 5 – 7 pmExhibition runs | 2 - 2...
27/05/2026

Opening next week: ‘Melbourne Studio School New Works’ ()

Opening Night | Tuesday 2 June, 5 – 7 pm
Exhibition runs | 2 - 27 June 2026

Founded in 1998 by Richard Birmingham, Melbourne Studio School grew out of a need to recalibrate painting and drawing in a Post-Modern era where conceptual arts practice and critical theory began to dominate teaching institutions throughout Australia and the world.

Loosely based on the New York Studio School model, an atelier system, the school prioritises the acquisition of fundamental, analogue painting and drawing skills. These skills include manual dexterity in mark making, practice in compositional language and exploration of colour theory. A gradual assimilation is the key to mastering these disciplines whilst holding the observed and the imagined in balance.

This Group exhibition represents the work of 17 artists currently working at the school. Their work represents a cross-section of themes ranging from figuration to abstraction.

Many of these artists pursue independent careers and exhibit regularly outside the school structure. Attendance at MSS provides an opportunity to enhance their professional practice.

Those who attend classes, are encouraged to discover their authentic voice, develop a body of work of exhibition standard and establish an independent studio practice away from school hours.

Drawing and painting flourishes when there’s a willingness to explore process and medium over any predetermined outcome.

A spirit of enquiry creates the best chance for something transformative, something special to take place in the work.

Images:
1. ‘Letters and Numbers’, Lyn Buckingham, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 inches.
2. ‘On the way’, John McCallum, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 76 cm.
3. ‘Scenes from an Australian Garden’, Carsten Segerlund Frederiksen, acrylic on canvas, 91 x 91 cm.
4. ‘Western Australia- Diggers Rest’, Joy Lea, acrylic on canvas, 66cm x 102 cm

Opening next week: ‘Unicellular’ by Kate Hunter ()Opening Night | Tuesday 2 June, 5 – 7 pmExhibition runs | 2 – 13 June ...
27/05/2026

Opening next week: ‘Unicellular’ by Kate Hunter ()

Opening Night | Tuesday 2 June, 5 – 7 pm
Exhibition runs | 2 – 13 June 2026

Unicellular emerged from a research residency spanning Victoria and South Australia’s western Wimmera region and Limestone Coast, during which subaquatic field recordings were gathered from the limestone springs at Ewens Ponds, the brackish water at the mouth of the Glenelg River at Nelson, and from Lake Wallace in Edenhope.

These audio recordings became generative material for an exhibition which positions microscopic, non-human life – single-cell organisms, phytoplankton, the fragile ecosystems already destabilised by climate change – as active participants in an expanded attentional field.

Drawing on the artist’s theatre-making, performance, sound-design and painting practices, Unicellular intersects personal stories with sounds and images that reflect the barely-visible and the easily-overlooked – building on a long-standing interest in giving voice, in all sorts of ways, to the small, unheard, and persistently alive.

Images:
1. ‘Edenhope’, Kate Hunter, 2025, ink on muslin.
2. ‘Nasturtiums 2’, 2023, Kate Hunter, watercolour on paper
3. ‘Estuary’, Kate Hunter, 2025, ink on paper


Address

45 Flinders Lane
Melbourne, VIC
3000

Opening Hours

Tuesday 12pm - 7pm
Wednesday 12pm - 7pm
Thursday 12pm - 7pm
Friday 12pm - 7pm
Saturday 12pm - 4pm

Telephone

+61396629966

Website

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