FLG has been exhibiting contemporary and indigenous artworks for 30 years, supporting a diverse range of practices by some of Australia's leading artists. Cemented within Melbourne's vibrant art scene, this year has been a particularly important one - with the gallery relocating from its original site and onto level one of the Nicholas Building, a thriving creative precinct on the corner of Flinders Lane and Swanston Street. To celebrate this anniversary milestone, we have invited our represented artists to create an artwork that is 30 x 30 - either cms or inches. Each artwork is indicative of the artist's practice and inspired by Melbourne, showcasing the varied yet strong creative talents of the artists of FLG.
Flinders Lane Gallery was established by gallerist Sonia Heitlinger in 1989 at 137 Flinders Lane, where she actively promoted the work of indigenous communities such as Yuendumu and Utopia. One of the first city galleries to promote Australian Indigenous artists - and with a Director willing to go out and visit communities to establish a relationship in a time before the internet - Heitlinger also presented these artworks to the world stage, exhibiting in art fairs both nationally and internationally.
After working alongside Heitlinger for 6 years, Claire Harris took over the gallery in 2006. Continuing with the promotion of indigenous communities but with a strong refocusing on contemporary Australian artists, Harris has established a formidable stable of award-winning Australian contemporary artists that inform its annual exhibition program.
With a deep commitment to supporting the Australian arts industry, the gallery not only presents the work of mid-career and established artists, but also nurtures artists who are emergent in their practices. Since 2000, FLG has presented an annual exhibition titled ‘Exploration,’ specifically designed to showcase a curated selection of emerging and unsigned artists. Not only is this often the first exhibition in a commercial context for these artists, it also offers discerning collectors the opportunity to acquire a work from ‘the next big thing.’ Previous Exploration artists have included well-known artists Heidi Yardley, Sophia Hewson, Ry David Bradley, Zoe Croggan, Valerie Sparks, Michael Staniak, Sanne Mestrom, Camille Hannah, Jo Davenport and James Parrett to name but a few. In total, Exploration has highlighted the practices of close to 200 artists.
FLG has developed a reputation for presenting ambitious exhibitions, along with commissioning critical catalogue essays for every exhibition anchoring the work into the broader contemporary art context. FLG Print has now published extensive monographs on four of gallery artists: Davenport, Blackwell, Schawel and Quinlivan. FLG has facilitated the development of a number of our artist’s practices into the public realm with major public artworks commissioned by Quinlivan, Horstmans, Schawel, and Blackwell.
Artworks are held in prestigious public collections and private collections, and artists have won major awards including the Sulman Art Prize, the Calleen Art Prize, the EMSLA Art Award, and the Rick Amor Drawing Prize. They have been finalists in awards such as the Archibald, the BP Portrait Prize, Ravenswood Prize, The Doug Moran Portrait Prize, the Alice Prize, the Churchie Art Prize, the John Fries Memorial Prize, and the Tattersalls Club Art Prize among others.
In 2019, in its 30th year, FLG left its flagship gallery and relocated to the iconic vertical creative precinct of the Nicholas Building, on the corner of Flinders Lane and Swanston Street. Working closely with an architecture firm to build a bespoke and flexible contemporary exhibition space and a generous stockroom, Harris and her curatorial team launched FLG’s new home in April 2019.
