Exhibitions in Sydney
January 2027
January at a glance: 0 exhibitions opening, 1 closing, and 18 more on view across the city.
Closing in January
Also on through January
Just Because: CAO Yuto 7 Feb 2027ArtspaceFree
Ideas Platform show of multidisciplinary work by Beijing artist CAO Yu, using her own image, fallen hair and urine to probe gendered expectations and beauty ideals.
Nolan: Originsto 7 Feb 2027Art Gallery of New South Wales
A major survey of over 150 works from Sidney Nolan's formative Australian years, including the 1946-47 Ned Kelly series.
Dana Claxton: Headdressto 7 Feb 2027ArtspaceFree
Hunkpapa Lakota artist Dana Claxton's first international First Nations Banner Series commission, pairing regalia-adorned portraiture with redacted FBI surveillance files on Indigenous activism.
Hayley Millar Baker: No Spectacular Soulto 7 Feb 2027ArtspaceFree
Multi-screen video installation critiquing systems that decide whose lives are deemed worthy of protection, centring Indigenous voices asserting rights to resistance and survival.
Robyn Kahukiwa: My Ancestors Are Always With Meto 7 Feb 2027Museum of Contemporary Art AustraliaFree
A survey of Māori artist Robyn Kahukiwa's paintings addressing Indigenous identity, sovereignty and whakapapa.
2026 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Yearto 14 Feb 2027Australian MuseumFree
100 award-winning nature photographs from Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea, produced by the South Australian Museum.
Chromatic Luminosityto 21 Feb 2027Manly Art Gallery & MuseumFree
Nine contemporary abstract painters explore how light and glow can be crafted on canvas, reclaiming a quality screens haven't replicated.
Connections: MCA x Tateto 1 Mar 2027Museum of Contemporary Art AustraliaFree
Contemporary art from the shared collections of the MCA Australia and Tate Modern, London, including works by Yhonnie Scarce.
Chronos: Australian Ceramics from 1933to 14 Mar 2027Manly Art Gallery & MuseumFree
Traces a century of Australian ceramic practice from the earliest piece in MAG&M's collection, presenting clay as a medium that stores and transmits cultural memory.
- 200th Anniversary Exhibitions: Amaze Galleryto 18 Apr 2027
State Library of New South WalesFree
Marking the Library's bicentenary, over 200 items on display including the Endeavour journals and a 1297 copy of the Magna Carta.
Migrating Modernism: The Architecture of Harry Seidlerto 26 Apr 2027Chau Chak Wing MuseumFree
Traces architect Harry Seidler's path from Nazi-occupied Vienna and studies with Gropius and Breuer to a major Australian career, with drawings, models and photographs.
Philippe Parreno: 5 Moonsto 26 Apr 2027Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Sydney International Art Series 2026-27: a major survey of French artist Philippe Parreno's immersive film, light and sound installations.
Ai Weiwei: Neil Balnaves Tallawoladah Lawn Commission 2026to 3 May 2027Museum of Contemporary Art AustraliaFree
A new large-scale outdoor sculpture commission by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei for the MCA's Tallawoladah Lawn.
Definitive Dupainto 18 Jul 2027State Library of New South WalesFree
A landmark retrospective of Max Dupain's complete body of work, drawn from the Library's archive of over 250,000 negatives and prints.
Takashi Murakami: When the Mountain Is High, the Moon Rises Higherto 18 Jul 2027Art Gallery of New South Wales
Australia's first major Murakami retrospective, spanning three decades of his Superflat paintings, sculpture and installation.
Fibre Optics: First Nations women in fibreto 15 Aug 2027Chau Chak Wing MuseumFree
Celebrates the artistry and technical mastery of First Nations women's fibre works from Arnhem Land, the Torres Strait and Boggabilla, presented as masterworks rather than craft.
Terraforming: Works from the Gene & Brian Sherman Collectionto 15 Aug 2027Chau Chak Wing MuseumFree
Six pioneering Chinese contemporary artists, including Ai Weiwei and Xu Bing, who reshaped China's creative landscape after 1976, from the Sherman family's collection.
Tracey Moffatt: Sorted – a look at her Archiveto 22 Aug 2027Chau Chak Wing MuseumFree
The first archive of its kind donated to an Australian museum, tracing photographer and filmmaker Tracey Moffatt's career since 1985 through photo series, films and ephemera.
Image credits
18
- David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)Photo by Justin Sutcliffe © David Hockney
- Just Because: CAO YuCourtesy the artist and Galerie Urs Meile. Photo: Yang Hao
- Nolan: OriginsCourtesy of Art Gallery of New South Wales
- Dana Claxton: HeaddressCourtesy of Artspace
- Hayley Millar Baker: No Spectacular SoulCourtesy of Artspace
- Robyn Kahukiwa: My Ancestors Are Always With MeCourtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
- 2026 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the YearImage: Lewis Burnett © Lewis Burnett (Conditional use only for AGNPY)
- Chromatic LuminosityCourtesy of Manly Art Gallery & Museum
- Connections: MCA x TateCourtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
- Chronos: Australian Ceramics from 1933Courtesy of Manly Art Gallery & Museum
- Migrating Modernism: The Architecture of Harry SeidlerPhoto: David James
- Philippe Parreno: 5 MoonsCourtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
- Ai Weiwei: Neil Balnaves Tallawoladah Lawn Commission 2026Courtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
- Definitive DupainMax Dupain / Google Art Project, Public domain
- Takashi Murakami: When the Mountain Is High, the Moon Rises Higher©2020 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved
- Fibre Optics: First Nations women in fibrePhoto: Trixie Young
- Terraforming: Works from the Gene & Brian Sherman CollectionPhoto: Trixie Young
- Tracey Moffatt: Sorted – a look at her ArchiveCourtesy of Chau Chak Wing Museum
Stay in the loop on Sydney
A short note now and then when something new opens worth your time.