“ One of today’s most original and thought-provoking painters. The New York Times “ There are a myriad of positive and negative aspects to the world we are living in. It’s overwhelming…I am deeply committed to the language of abstraction as a place to negotiate these complexities and contradictions. Julie Mehretu Julie Mehretu (b. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1970) is one of today’s most acclaimed living painters. The New York artist’s first exhibition in Australia reveals her commitment to painting as a contemporary art form. It traces Mehretu’s ongoing engagement with abstraction as a richly layered language, informed by histories of art and mark-making across millennia, from Chinese ink painting and Japanese manga to rock art, literature and music.

Blurring distinctions between abstraction and figuration, Mehretu’s paintings have a unique ability to inhabit the present moment. To experience them in person is nothing short of a visual and physical event. Her work speaks to the power of art to express the dynamic and intersecting movements of history, people and cultures that shape our understanding of the world.

The exhibition is accompanied by a major publication edited by MCA Director Suzanne Cotter, with contributions from a range of authors including Julie Mehretu, the exhibition curators Suzanne Cotter and Senior Curator, Exhibitions, Jane Devery, artist Daniel Boyd and American writer Erik Morse. The publication is available to purchase from the MCA Store.

Curators: Suzanne Cotter with Jane Devery