For Melbourne Art Fair 2026, Broached designed and curated a VIP Lounge into an environment where Enlightenment-era naturalism meets contemporary bio-digital art. This space became a living archive of how women artists, from the 18th century to today, have rendered the natural world as both scientific inquiry and emotional landscape.
Across centuries and continents, these artists have rendered the natural world as reflection, rebellion, and rebirth. From Dietzsch’s quiet painterly precision on vellum to Crespo’s code-based morphogenesis on OLED screens, from Ana Mendieta’s earth imprints to Patricia Piccinini’s hybrid forms, the exhibition charts a genealogy of women rewilding representation.
The lounge merges the tactility of natural materials with the sophistication of contemporary design. Floral gestures by Hattie Molloy entwine with sculptural furniture by K5 and the warm acoustics of B&O sound systems, creating a contemplative refuge amid the fair’s intensity.
The art will be placed within Molloy’s floral arrangements, an immersive relationship between staged and artistic explorations of nature. An ambient soundscape of abstracted natural environments, produced by artist k8 mo55, will inhabit the lounge, unifying it as an immersive experience.
This presentation is significant for Broached as it unites several threads of our practice – our long-standing research into colonial-era art and design, our collaborations with landscape architects on public art commissions, and our enduring fascination with history as material. It also reflects our desire to dissolve the boundaries that separate art movements, disciplines, and markets. For us, all creative expression belongs to one continuous conversation.
Artists include Claudia Martinez Garay (Peru, b.1983); Barbara Regina Dietzsch (Germany, 1706–1783); Maria Fernanda Cardoso (Colombia, b.1963); Fiona Hall (Australia, b.1953); Bianka Rafaella (UK, b.1992); Sofia Crespo (Argentina, b.1991); Patricia Piccinini (Australia, b.1965 in Sierra Leone); Imogen Cunningham (USA, 1883–1976); and Ana Mendieta (Cuba/USA, 1948–1985); Yanyun Chen (Singapore, b.1986).
Participating Galleries and donors of work: Sullivan Strumpf, Flowers Gallery (HK, London), Broached art collection, Roslyn Oxley and Arader Galleries (NYC).