At PICA we recognise that we are situated within the unceded lands of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation. We pay our respects and offer our gratitude to Elders past and present, and to those emerging leaders in the community. We acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the importance of their care and continued connection to culture, community and Country.

Always was, always will be.

Galleries are open today, 10am–5pm. Our exhibitions are always free.

John Nixon

John Nixon

John Nixon

John Nixon is one of Australia’s most celebrated and prolific artists. Known best for his ongoing EPW (Experimental Painting Workshop) series, Nixon relentlessly interrogates the medium of painting with expansive and systemic bodies of work rife with bold colour schemas and the ability to create optically charged environments.

For his solo exhibition at PICA John Nixon presents a connected pair of epic projects made five years apart. Project for a Kindergarten I (2006) was inspired by the discovery of a book about the design of the Kindergartenhaus Wiedikon in Zurich, by Swiss architects in 1932, whereas Project for a Kindergarten II (2011) was a response to the design of a kindergarten in the Swiss mountains by contemporary architects Marianne Burkhalter and Christian Sumi.

As with many of Nixon’s Applied Painting projects, these works are made with a space or event in mind, such as a stage set for a ballet or musical score for a concert. His PICA exhibition represents an expansive catalogue of images for potential placement throughout the referenced kindergarten buildings, described in vivid colour through over 100 paintings, assemblages, drawings and posters.