West End Art Space Presents: Art Nouveau Meets Post Baroque for Melbourne Design Week
Thursday May 14 – Sunday May 24
Whole Gallery
Art Nouveau Meets Post Baroque presents two simultaneous exhibitions: Brea Lanyon: Harvest, a sculptural series in blackened steel, and Studio Onyx, a collective working in white plaster, jesso and paper. Through materially opposed practices, the exhibitions explore ornament, revivalism and structural tension—revisiting historic aesthetic languages through contemporary form and material discipline.
Our dual exhibition for Melbourne Design Week: Art Nouveau Meets Post Baroque examines the return of ornament and excess through contemporary material practice. Across two simultaneous exhibitions, blackened steel and white plaster become opposing yet interdependent languages—weight and lightness, density and relief, industrial force and architectural delicacy.
In Harvest, Brea Lanyon works with blackened steel to construct forms that feel both tensile and organic. Curvilinear gestures recall the vegetal movement of Art Nouveau, yet the material asserts a post-industrial rigidity. Steel is bent, welded and balanced into structures that oscillate between growth and containment—ornament reimagined as structure rather than surface.
In contrast, Studio Onyx presents a body of work in white plaster, drawing from Baroque architectural relief and sculptural embellishment. Their practice emphasises light, shadow and depth, using plaster as a medium of both fragility and monumentality. Surfaces appear carved yet contemporary; ornate without nostalgia.
Presented together, the exhibitions create a spatial dialogue: black absorbs while white reflects; mass confronts void; line confronts volume. Rather than revival, the works propose a translation—historic aesthetic languages reframed through contemporary material logic.
We will be hosting Three events over the course of the 10 week show, including: Opening Reception, Panel discussion with our guest speaker as well as a final casual walkthrough with the artists to get an in-depth understanding of the works.
During the 10-day event, we will be hosting a series of programs:
Friday 15th of May: Art Nouveau meets Post Baroque; Opening Event (Click here to buy a ticket)
Celebrate the opening of Art Nouveau Meets Post Baroque at Melbourne Design Week. This special evening brings together Brea Lanyon’s bold steel works and Studio Onyx’s immersive plaster installations in a dynamic exploration of material contrast and revivalist aesthetics. Join us for drinks, conversation and a first look at the exhibition.
Thursday 21st of May: Art Nouveau meets Post Baroque; Panel discussion with Swee Lim (Click here to buy a ticket)
Designer, art consultant and stylist, Swee Lim leads a panel discussion for MDW: Art Nouveau Meets Post-Baroque, offering a thoughtful exploration of how historical aesthetics continue to inform contemporary practice. Drawing on an interdisciplinary approach, Lim reflects on the fluid ornamentation of Art Nouveau alongside the theatrical intensity of Post-Baroque, examining how these visual languages intersect, contrast and evolve. The conversation opens broader questions around materiality, excess and transformation, considering how artists reinterpret and reassemble past styles into new forms of expression. Through dialogue and critical insight, Lim invites audiences to engage with the enduring influence of these movements, encouraging a deeper understanding of how history is actively reshaped within contemporary art. This panel situates the discussion within current artistic discourse, fostering exchange between disciplines and perspectives while highlighting the relevance of historical forms in shaping future creative directions today for emerging and established artists.
Saturday 23rd of May: Art Nouveau meets Post Baroque; Walkthrough with Artist Brea Lanyon (Click here to buy a ticket)
Your invited to a relaxed walk-through of the exhibition with artist Brea Lanyon, as she shares insights into her process, materials, and the ideas shaping the work of Art Nouveau Meets Post Post Baroque and her exhibition; Harvest. This informal tour offers a chance to hear directly from the artist, ask questions, and experience the exhibition through her lens in an intimate and conversational setting.
Tickets can be bought via eventbrite
For more information, visit: designweek.melbourne / westendartspace.com.au or email us at hello@westendartspace.com
Presented for by Riva Ceramica for Melbourne Design Week
The Shape of Gravity
Showcasing two of West End Art Space’s represented artists, Jenny Reddin and Lev Khesin.
Riva Ceramica transforms its Brighton showroom into a creative platform where art, design and architecture intersect. Curated with West End Art Space, the presentation brings together works by Jenny Reddin and Lev Khesin — artists who blur the boundary between painting and sculpture.
Reddin’s award-winning steel sculptures explore balance and gravity. Her work Affinity received the 2025 Acquisitive Art Prize at Sculpture in the Gardens.
Khesin’s richly layered silicone paintings create tactile, sculptural surfaces where colour and material collide.
The exhibition also marks the first public unveiling of a bespoke table by Brahman Perera, developed in collaboration with Riva Ceramica, alongside ceramic works by Alexandra Cerny. Together, these works extend the dialogue between object, surface and space.
Set within the architectural context of the showroom, the presentation invites visitors to experience materiality in dynamic conversation.
Participants
Lev Khesin
Lev Khesin is a contemporary painter whose work explores the intersection of materiality, light and perception. Known for his distinctive process of layering pigmented silicone rather than traditional paint, Khesin creates richly textured surfaces that blur the boundary between painting and sculpture. His works invite viewers into a quiet, immersive experience of colour, depth and material presence, and have been exhibited internationally across Europe and Australia.
Jenny Reddin
Award-winning Melbourne/Naarm-based artist Jenny Reddin works across sculpture and painting, exploring balance, structure and gravity through both meticulously engineered steel forms and surreal painted imagery. Her sculptures include supersized lime green metal cubes suspended as if momentarily floating in space, while her paintings introduce unexpected, dreamlike narratives within landscape. Her sculpture Affinity won the 2025 Acquisitive Art Prize at Sculpture in the Gardens, Wollongong Botanical Gardens.
Brahman Perera
Brahman Perera is a Melbourne/Naarm-based interior designer and creative director known for his richly layered, narrative-driven interiors. Through his studio, he creates immersive spaces that balance history, craftsmanship and contemporary design, often blending bespoke furniture, collectible objects and expressive materials.Since establishing his practice in 2020, Brahman has built a distinctive body of work spanning residential, hospitality and retail projects across Australia. His work has been recognised with multiple industry honours, including Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) and Belle Magazine Interior Design Awards, and he was named Emerging Designer of the Year and included in Vogue Living’s VL50 list of leading creative voices.Known for his sculptural approach to interiors and refined material palettes, Brahman’s work explores the intersection of art, object and architecture – creating spaces that are both emotionally resonant and deeply atmospheric.
Alexandra Cerny
Alexandra Cerny is a Melbourne/Naarm-based ceramic artist and interior designer, and founder of the studio ByCerny. Her practice moves fluidly between object and space, creating ceramic works, limited-edition art pieces and thoughtfully layered interiors.Working across residential, retail and hospitality projects, Alexandra approaches each commission with a strong sense of narrative, materiality and craft, creating spaces that feel grounded, familiar and enduring.Alongside her interior work, Alexandra produces collectible ceramic editions made locally, each piece exploring form, surface and tactility through small series of unique works. with an awareness of how objects truly live within a room.
Riva Ceramica Tile Shop
284 Bay Street, Brighton VIC, Australia
