INSIDE WONDER: Curatorial Framework
Curated by Angelina Mirabito, Inside Wonder is constructed as a spatial system in which painting is extended beyond the canvas and into an integrated field of perception. The exhibition operates through the alignment of artwork, architecture and intervention, establishing a continuous relationship between image, structure and viewer.
Within this framework, the works of Xinzhi Li and Usha Newland engage colour as a primary material condition rather than a purely visual attribute. Their practices are positioned not as isolated expressions, but as components in dialogue within a larger perceptual environment shaped through spatial continuity and variation.
In Xinzhi Li’s work, painting functions as a site of instability and reconstruction. Fragmented anatomical forms emerge within saturated chromatic fields, resisting fixed resolution. The works hold a tension between presence and dissolution, where internal states are articulated through shifts in density, gesture and spatial compression.
Usha Newland’s practice operates through a contrasting but complementary logic. Her works emphasise tonal modulation, atmospheric sensitivity and temporal unfolding. Rather than asserting form, they sustain a condition in which perception adjusts gradually, allowing spatial and emotional registers to remain open.
This perceptual field is structurally reinforced through the inclusion of sculptural furniture by Mark Alexander. His works introduce a formal language of curvature, weight and continuity, anchoring the exhibition within a material and architectural rhythm that extends beyond the pictorial plane.
A series of spatial interventions, developed as part of the curatorial framework, activate the exhibition environment. Columns, suspended spheres and an impact wall function as connective elements, allowing colour and form to move across surfaces and into space. These interventions establish a system in which individual works are experienced as part of a larger, interconnected structure.
The architecture of The Gladstone foyer is engaged as an active component of this system. Sightlines, scale and movement are integral to the exhibition’s operation, shaping how relationships between works are formed and perceived over time.
The title Inside Wonder operates as a conceptual index for this system, identifying a condition in which perception is directed inward while remaining spatially and materially distributed. It frames the exhibition not as a fixed narrative, but as an active field of encounter.
Inside Wonder positions perception as an embodied and spatial process. Meaning is not contained within individual objects, but emerges through the interaction between work, environment and viewer. The exhibition establishes a condition in which painting, design and architecture operate as a unified field, allowing experience to unfold through movement, attention and duration.
Artists: Xinzhi Li, Usha Newland, Mark Alexander
Curator: Angelina Mirabito
Installation: Scott Ross
Installation Assistant: Lousia Chu
Location
55 Gladstone Street
South Melbourne VIC 3205
Opening Hours
Wednesday to Friday 12pm to 7pm
Saturday to Sunday 12pm to 5pm