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UP NEXT | Julius von Bismarck: This is not the storm

Acclaimed German artist @juliusvonbismarck blends art, technology and the environment to challenge our habitual understanding of the natural world, teasing apart the idea of “nature” as a social construct. Encompassing a major new kinetic sculpture, photography, and immersive video installations, ‘This is not the storm’ brings together more than two decades of work, much of it never before seen in Australia.

Von Bismarck’s works emerges from direct, physical encounters with elemental forces that defy human control. Accentuating the dual sensations of awe and terror provoked by natural phenomena, he creates poetic, unsettling, and oftentimes absurd meditations on perception, scale, and agency.

Julius von Bismarck: This is not the storm
Fri 17 April – Sun 14 June

Curated by Dr Shelley McSpedden @smcspedden

Supported by: @goetheinstitut_australien

Media partner: @guardianaustralia

Exhibition partner: @duluxaus

Government partners: @creative_vic @creative.australia @cityofmelbourne

Video: Julius von Bismarck, Punishment #7 2011, Courtesy the artist; alexander levy, Berlin; Esther Schipper, Berlin; Sies + Höke, Düsseldorf © Julius von Bismarck, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Nineteen Years Today — and you're still my best friend, and my forever life partner @milkwithonesugar 💕

Such an incredible group of works on display in ‘Significant’, now showing with @dlangalleries. Was lovely also to hear from @luke.scholes on the incredible group of Papunya boards as well. This particular paper installation by Nyapanyapa Yunupingu surely belongs in an institution. Just magic. Definitely worth a visit.

Such an incredible group of works on display in ‘Significant’, now showing with @dlangalleries. Was lovely also to hear from @luke.scholes on the incredible group of Papunya boards as well. This particular paper installation by Nyapanyapa Yunupingu surely belongs in an institution. Just magic. Definitely worth a visit.

Such an incredible group of works on display in ‘Significant’, now showing with @dlangalleries. Was lovely also to hear from @luke.scholes on the incredible group of Papunya boards as well. This particular paper installation by Nyapanyapa Yunupingu surely belongs in an institution. Just magic. Definitely worth a visit.

Such an incredible group of works on display in ‘Significant’, now showing with @dlangalleries. Was lovely also to hear from @luke.scholes on the incredible group of Papunya boards as well. This particular paper installation by Nyapanyapa Yunupingu surely belongs in an institution. Just magic. Definitely worth a visit.

Such an incredible group of works on display in ‘Significant’, now showing with @dlangalleries. Was lovely also to hear from @luke.scholes on the incredible group of Papunya boards as well. This particular paper installation by Nyapanyapa Yunupingu surely belongs in an institution. Just magic. Definitely worth a visit.

Such an incredible group of works on display in ‘Significant’, now showing with @dlangalleries. Was lovely also to hear from @luke.scholes on the incredible group of Papunya boards as well. This particular paper installation by Nyapanyapa Yunupingu surely belongs in an institution. Just magic. Definitely worth a visit.

Such an incredible group of works on display in ‘Significant’, now showing with @dlangalleries. Was lovely also to hear from @luke.scholes on the incredible group of Papunya boards as well. This particular paper installation by Nyapanyapa Yunupingu surely belongs in an institution. Just magic. Definitely worth a visit.

A strong head on your shoulders.

Come see @juliusvonbismarck’s newly commissioned work ‘Two heads with one stone’ 2026, fabricated on-site at ACCA. Open this weekend, 11am—5pm. Entry is free.

Image: ‘This is not the storm’ opening celebrations, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, 2026. Photograph: @astridmulder.photography

#juliusvonbismarck #accamelbourne

A strong head on your shoulders.

Come see @juliusvonbismarck’s newly commissioned work ‘Two heads with one stone’ 2026, fabricated on-site at ACCA. Open this weekend, 11am—5pm. Entry is free.

Image: ‘This is not the storm’ opening celebrations, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, 2026. Photograph: @astridmulder.photography

#juliusvonbismarck #accamelbourne

From the opening of ‘Portals’, by @kentmonkman

From the opening of ‘Portals’, by @kentmonkman

From the opening of ‘Portals’, by @kentmonkman

Loved this show of small landscapes by the Group of Seven. Formed in Toronto in 1920, the original members were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and F.H. Varley. They reimagined the Canadian landscape as something bold, modern, and entirely their own.

Loved this show of small landscapes by the Group of Seven. Formed in Toronto in 1920, the original members were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and F.H. Varley. They reimagined the Canadian landscape as something bold, modern, and entirely their own.

Loved this show of small landscapes by the Group of Seven. Formed in Toronto in 1920, the original members were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and F.H. Varley. They reimagined the Canadian landscape as something bold, modern, and entirely their own.

Loved this show of small landscapes by the Group of Seven. Formed in Toronto in 1920, the original members were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and F.H. Varley. They reimagined the Canadian landscape as something bold, modern, and entirely their own.

Loved this show of small landscapes by the Group of Seven. Formed in Toronto in 1920, the original members were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and F.H. Varley. They reimagined the Canadian landscape as something bold, modern, and entirely their own.

Loved this show of small landscapes by the Group of Seven. Formed in Toronto in 1920, the original members were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and F.H. Varley. They reimagined the Canadian landscape as something bold, modern, and entirely their own.

Loved this show of small landscapes by the Group of Seven. Formed in Toronto in 1920, the original members were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and F.H. Varley. They reimagined the Canadian landscape as something bold, modern, and entirely their own.

Loved this show of small landscapes by the Group of Seven. Formed in Toronto in 1920, the original members were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and F.H. Varley. They reimagined the Canadian landscape as something bold, modern, and entirely their own.

Loved this show of small landscapes by the Group of Seven. Formed in Toronto in 1920, the original members were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and F.H. Varley. They reimagined the Canadian landscape as something bold, modern, and entirely their own.

Loved this show of small landscapes by the Group of Seven. Formed in Toronto in 1920, the original members were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and F.H. Varley. They reimagined the Canadian landscape as something bold, modern, and entirely their own.

Destiny Deacon, snow storm, 2005

This is the quite possibly best and most appropriately ironic display I have ever seen of this work. I think Destiny would have approved. If you’re in Denver, go see it on display in ‘The Stars We Do Not See’, showing now at @denverartmuseum drawn from collection of @ngvmelbourne

Thank you @nativeartdenver for this brilliant curation.

In the studio with @seanqsnyder and @ad.matthias during their residency at the Denver Art Museum — alongside their gown worn at the “Indigenous Met Gala” (Indigenous Fashion Collective Gala).

Two-Spirit artists, dancers, and cultural leaders reshaping powwow spaces — from being excluded to now becoming the first same-sex couple to dance the sweetheart’s dance in 2018.

Also in the carousel: their ruby moccasins (LOVE!!) and I couldn’t resist getting a Heart of the Ocean of my own.

In the studio with @seanqsnyder and @ad.matthias during their residency at the Denver Art Museum — alongside their gown worn at the “Indigenous Met Gala” (Indigenous Fashion Collective Gala).

Two-Spirit artists, dancers, and cultural leaders reshaping powwow spaces — from being excluded to now becoming the first same-sex couple to dance the sweetheart’s dance in 2018.

Also in the carousel: their ruby moccasins (LOVE!!) and I couldn’t resist getting a Heart of the Ocean of my own.

In the studio with @seanqsnyder and @ad.matthias during their residency at the Denver Art Museum — alongside their gown worn at the “Indigenous Met Gala” (Indigenous Fashion Collective Gala).

Two-Spirit artists, dancers, and cultural leaders reshaping powwow spaces — from being excluded to now becoming the first same-sex couple to dance the sweetheart’s dance in 2018.

Also in the carousel: their ruby moccasins (LOVE!!) and I couldn’t resist getting a Heart of the Ocean of my own.

Last night we opened ‘This is not the storm’, a major new exhibition by @juliusvonbismarck at @acca_melbourne. Danke an @goetheinstitut_australien for their support.

Thoughtfully curated by @smcspedden, the exhibition invites us to engage with elemental forces and consider the human interface with the natural world. Humanity is not apart from nature — it is a part of it. Brutality and beauty coexist.

This is a complex and ambitious show, and I’m proud to welcome audiences to experience the work of an artist of such international consequence.

As always at ACCA: New. Now. & FREE.
Hope to see you there.

Thank you for having me @beechworthbiennale
Would recommend Beechworth to anyone wanting a get away.

Thank you for having me @beechworthbiennale
Would recommend Beechworth to anyone wanting a get away.

Thank you for having me @beechworthbiennale
Would recommend Beechworth to anyone wanting a get away.

Thank you for having me @beechworthbiennale
Would recommend Beechworth to anyone wanting a get away.

Thank you for having me @beechworthbiennale
Would recommend Beechworth to anyone wanting a get away.

Thank you for having me @beechworthbiennale
Would recommend Beechworth to anyone wanting a get away.

Thank you for having me @beechworthbiennale
Would recommend Beechworth to anyone wanting a get away.

Thank you for having me @beechworthbiennale
Would recommend Beechworth to anyone wanting a get away.

Thank you for having me @beechworthbiennale
Would recommend Beechworth to anyone wanting a get away.

Rashid Johnson, The Changes, 2025
Olafur Eliasson, Round Rainbow, 2005
Franz Kline, Delaware Gap, 1958
@hirshhorn

Rashid Johnson, The Changes, 2025
Olafur Eliasson, Round Rainbow, 2005
Franz Kline, Delaware Gap, 1958
@hirshhorn

Rashid Johnson, The Changes, 2025
Olafur Eliasson, Round Rainbow, 2005
Franz Kline, Delaware Gap, 1958
@hirshhorn

Rashid Johnson, The Changes, 2025
Olafur Eliasson, Round Rainbow, 2005
Franz Kline, Delaware Gap, 1958
@hirshhorn

Rashid Johnson, The Changes, 2025
Olafur Eliasson, Round Rainbow, 2005
Franz Kline, Delaware Gap, 1958
@hirshhorn

‘The Stars We Do Not See’ has always been about the spaces between — about how the lights in the night sky hold both past and future, about the connections between what we know and what we don’t.

It was meant as a gesture. A new way to imagine how art history might be shaped not by singular ‘masters’, but by collectives, communities, matriarchs, and songlines sustained across generations.

It was our love letter to First Peoples art, to the leadership and innovation of women and men, and to the people and stories that shine beyond the narrow frame of a white, masterpiece-centric canon.

Drawing only from the NGV Collection and presenting within an institution like the National Gallery of Art, this was never going to be simple. Progress within institutions like those takes time — but moments like this matter.

I am grateful to both the NGV and the NGA for taking some risk and for opening their spaces to a different story.

After spending hours today incognito, listening to audiences, I believe the exhibition has done what I hoped it would — invited people to see art history differently.

To reconsider the story we have been told about what makes a masterpiece. To celebrate the immense power that exists in that which is unseen. To have an encounter, to feel deeply, and to think differently.

We are living in a dangerous time when political spectacle, dominance, and the volume of despotic voices are too often mistaken for strength. I believe the most enduring power is the one that is quietly sustained — collective, relational, and impossible to erase.

The stars we do not see.

‘The Stars We Do Not See’ has always been about the spaces between — about how the lights in the night sky hold both past and future, about the connections between what we know and what we don’t.

It was meant as a gesture. A new way to imagine how art history might be shaped not by singular ‘masters’, but by collectives, communities, matriarchs, and songlines sustained across generations.

It was our love letter to First Peoples art, to the leadership and innovation of women and men, and to the people and stories that shine beyond the narrow frame of a white, masterpiece-centric canon.

Drawing only from the NGV Collection and presenting within an institution like the National Gallery of Art, this was never going to be simple. Progress within institutions like those takes time — but moments like this matter.

I am grateful to both the NGV and the NGA for taking some risk and for opening their spaces to a different story.

After spending hours today incognito, listening to audiences, I believe the exhibition has done what I hoped it would — invited people to see art history differently.

To reconsider the story we have been told about what makes a masterpiece. To celebrate the immense power that exists in that which is unseen. To have an encounter, to feel deeply, and to think differently.

We are living in a dangerous time when political spectacle, dominance, and the volume of despotic voices are too often mistaken for strength. I believe the most enduring power is the one that is quietly sustained — collective, relational, and impossible to erase.

The stars we do not see.

‘The Stars We Do Not See’ has always been about the spaces between — about how the lights in the night sky hold both past and future, about the connections between what we know and what we don’t.

It was meant as a gesture. A new way to imagine how art history might be shaped not by singular ‘masters’, but by collectives, communities, matriarchs, and songlines sustained across generations.

It was our love letter to First Peoples art, to the leadership and innovation of women and men, and to the people and stories that shine beyond the narrow frame of a white, masterpiece-centric canon.

Drawing only from the NGV Collection and presenting within an institution like the National Gallery of Art, this was never going to be simple. Progress within institutions like those takes time — but moments like this matter.

I am grateful to both the NGV and the NGA for taking some risk and for opening their spaces to a different story.

After spending hours today incognito, listening to audiences, I believe the exhibition has done what I hoped it would — invited people to see art history differently.

To reconsider the story we have been told about what makes a masterpiece. To celebrate the immense power that exists in that which is unseen. To have an encounter, to feel deeply, and to think differently.

We are living in a dangerous time when political spectacle, dominance, and the volume of despotic voices are too often mistaken for strength. I believe the most enduring power is the one that is quietly sustained — collective, relational, and impossible to erase.

The stars we do not see.

‘The Stars We Do Not See’ has always been about the spaces between — about how the lights in the night sky hold both past and future, about the connections between what we know and what we don’t.

It was meant as a gesture. A new way to imagine how art history might be shaped not by singular ‘masters’, but by collectives, communities, matriarchs, and songlines sustained across generations.

It was our love letter to First Peoples art, to the leadership and innovation of women and men, and to the people and stories that shine beyond the narrow frame of a white, masterpiece-centric canon.

Drawing only from the NGV Collection and presenting within an institution like the National Gallery of Art, this was never going to be simple. Progress within institutions like those takes time — but moments like this matter.

I am grateful to both the NGV and the NGA for taking some risk and for opening their spaces to a different story.

After spending hours today incognito, listening to audiences, I believe the exhibition has done what I hoped it would — invited people to see art history differently.

To reconsider the story we have been told about what makes a masterpiece. To celebrate the immense power that exists in that which is unseen. To have an encounter, to feel deeply, and to think differently.

We are living in a dangerous time when political spectacle, dominance, and the volume of despotic voices are too often mistaken for strength. I believe the most enduring power is the one that is quietly sustained — collective, relational, and impossible to erase.

The stars we do not see.

‘The Stars We Do Not See’ has always been about the spaces between — about how the lights in the night sky hold both past and future, about the connections between what we know and what we don’t.

It was meant as a gesture. A new way to imagine how art history might be shaped not by singular ‘masters’, but by collectives, communities, matriarchs, and songlines sustained across generations.

It was our love letter to First Peoples art, to the leadership and innovation of women and men, and to the people and stories that shine beyond the narrow frame of a white, masterpiece-centric canon.

Drawing only from the NGV Collection and presenting within an institution like the National Gallery of Art, this was never going to be simple. Progress within institutions like those takes time — but moments like this matter.

I am grateful to both the NGV and the NGA for taking some risk and for opening their spaces to a different story.

After spending hours today incognito, listening to audiences, I believe the exhibition has done what I hoped it would — invited people to see art history differently.

To reconsider the story we have been told about what makes a masterpiece. To celebrate the immense power that exists in that which is unseen. To have an encounter, to feel deeply, and to think differently.

We are living in a dangerous time when political spectacle, dominance, and the volume of despotic voices are too often mistaken for strength. I believe the most enduring power is the one that is quietly sustained — collective, relational, and impossible to erase.

The stars we do not see.

‘The Stars We Do Not See’ has always been about the spaces between — about how the lights in the night sky hold both past and future, about the connections between what we know and what we don’t.

It was meant as a gesture. A new way to imagine how art history might be shaped not by singular ‘masters’, but by collectives, communities, matriarchs, and songlines sustained across generations.

It was our love letter to First Peoples art, to the leadership and innovation of women and men, and to the people and stories that shine beyond the narrow frame of a white, masterpiece-centric canon.

Drawing only from the NGV Collection and presenting within an institution like the National Gallery of Art, this was never going to be simple. Progress within institutions like those takes time — but moments like this matter.

I am grateful to both the NGV and the NGA for taking some risk and for opening their spaces to a different story.

After spending hours today incognito, listening to audiences, I believe the exhibition has done what I hoped it would — invited people to see art history differently.

To reconsider the story we have been told about what makes a masterpiece. To celebrate the immense power that exists in that which is unseen. To have an encounter, to feel deeply, and to think differently.

We are living in a dangerous time when political spectacle, dominance, and the volume of despotic voices are too often mistaken for strength. I believe the most enduring power is the one that is quietly sustained — collective, relational, and impossible to erase.

The stars we do not see.

‘The Stars We Do Not See’ has always been about the spaces between — about how the lights in the night sky hold both past and future, about the connections between what we know and what we don’t.

It was meant as a gesture. A new way to imagine how art history might be shaped not by singular ‘masters’, but by collectives, communities, matriarchs, and songlines sustained across generations.

It was our love letter to First Peoples art, to the leadership and innovation of women and men, and to the people and stories that shine beyond the narrow frame of a white, masterpiece-centric canon.

Drawing only from the NGV Collection and presenting within an institution like the National Gallery of Art, this was never going to be simple. Progress within institutions like those takes time — but moments like this matter.

I am grateful to both the NGV and the NGA for taking some risk and for opening their spaces to a different story.

After spending hours today incognito, listening to audiences, I believe the exhibition has done what I hoped it would — invited people to see art history differently.

To reconsider the story we have been told about what makes a masterpiece. To celebrate the immense power that exists in that which is unseen. To have an encounter, to feel deeply, and to think differently.

We are living in a dangerous time when political spectacle, dominance, and the volume of despotic voices are too often mistaken for strength. I believe the most enduring power is the one that is quietly sustained — collective, relational, and impossible to erase.

The stars we do not see.