EXHIBITIONS

Group and Solo exhibitions

2025:

Small Works Art Prize, group show, Bruswick Street Gallery
Midsummer Night’s Dream, group show, Artemisia Gallery, Windsor
Pink, group show, Unassigned Gallery, Brunswick
Threaded: feminal artists working with fabric and thread, group show, Caelene Nee Glen Gallery, Brighton
In Plain View, group show (private collection) Bullarto Hall, Bullarto
ELEMENTAL|METAL 2025, group show, Caelene Nee Glen Gallery, Brighton

2024:

Textile Palette Exhibition, The Warehouse, Clunes
Reality and Its Double, group show, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy
Feminine Mystique, Solo show, SOL Gallery Fitzroy
9 to 5, group show, The Old Bar Gallery Fitzroy
Small! group show, fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne
OFF THE KERB’S AWARD group show, Off the Kerb Collingwood
Christmas Group Show, Red Gallery, Fitzroy North

2023:

Buy or Cry, group show, SOL Gallery, Fitzroy
60BYSIXTYFOR60, group show, Red Gallery, Fitzroy
Bare, group show, SOL Gallery, Fitzroy
Fifty squared art prize, group show, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy
The Future Is…, solo exhibition, Ladder Art Space, Kew
Small Works Art Prize, group show, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy
Falling out of Red, group show, SOL Gallery, Fitzroy

2022:

The End is Nigh, Solo exhibition, in.cube8r Gallery and Emporium, Fitzroy
Fifty squared art prize, group show, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy
Rainbow Group Show, In.cube8r, Fitzroy
My Healthcare Story Group Show, Capital Theatre Bendigo
Vinyl Art Collective, group show, Bendigo and Shepperton
Secret Sitter 2022, Group show (presented online)

2021:

Narcissus Herself, solo exhibition, Dudley House 60 View Street Bendigo
RAW Art Awards, 60 View Street Bendigo and Capital Theatre Foyer, Bendigo
My Health Journey, group show, Capital Theatre Foyer, Bendigo

2020:

Online Exhibition: What I did This Week, Bendigo Regional Website. Weeks 11, 17 and 26
“MUGSHOTS” solo exhibition, Art on View Bendigo
“Coming Together” group exhibition, St John of God Atrium Bendigo, 28 Nov- 1 Feb 2021

2018:

Graduate Exhibition “Chrysalis”, Deakin University Searby Space, Burwood.

2017:

Class exhibition, Deakin University Pheonix Gallery, Burwood

SOL Gallery
17th-29th September 2024

Exhibition review by Scarlet Thomas (@luminosa.artscene)

"At SOL GALLERY, Melanie Thoren flips the script on traditional 'female craft' by embracing embroidery as a bold expression of feminine identity.
The exhibition features paintings inspired by women in science fiction, adorned with shimmering gold leaf.
'Sarah' radiates energy with vivid green and blue against a deep purple, while 'Eve' juxtaposes monochromatic purples with a bold sky, presenting a striking vision of femininity intertwined with futuristic themes.
Thoren's emotion dolls embody feelings like anxiety, frustration, cunning and despair, reflecting the emotional spectrum women navigate daily. Her sister dolls explore the intersection of feminism and technology, challenging traditional representations. The technology dolls delve into the relationship between our bodies and the ever-encroaching influence of technology. 'Bi-Centennial Woman' uses neon green to draw attention to the nuances of physical and psychological reactions, sparking conversations about wellness and illness in a tech-driven world.
'Starry Night' merges embroidery with cyanotype, paying homage to Van Gogh while exploring art and identity. This delicate piece invites intimate viewing, encouraging you to lean in and appreciate its intricacies, reflecting the historical confinement of women's crafts and supportive connections that foster creativity.
I was immediately drawn to the cyanotype work '100 Tampons', inspired by my favourite silent film, Georges Melies' 'A Trip to the Moon' (1902). This piece also draws on Marcia Belsky's song, which challenges the gendered narrative of space exploration and female representation in science, sparking important conversations about inclusion and innovation.
Thoren crafts a rich tapestry of identity, emotion, and technology; her work is a reclamation of power, a celebration of resilience, and a bold statement about the future of women's narratives in art and society."

'The Future Is...'
3-19th May 2023, Ladder Art Space, Kew VIC

“The Future is…” is an exhibition from emerging artist Melanie Thoren, which explores feminism through the lens of post-apocalyptic paranoia. Melanie’s works are distractingly vibrant while the imagery alludes to larger catastrophes, such as disease and man-made apocalypses. The incorporation of female identifying figures in these works explores the place and representation of feminine existence within these events. Her work also explore links to the natural world, something which is often associated with feminine existence in a maternal and mythical sense.

Melanie was inspired to make this apocalyptic work when observing imagery of war-torn Ukraine in 2022, as well as the various advancements of technology that are increasingly present, such as Tesla, Space X, and the use of AI technologies in art.

Melanie takes inspiration from artists such as Maria Lassnig and Mirka Mora, but also from vintage science fiction such as ‘Star Trek’, ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century’ and Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’, all prime examples of science fiction which struggled to find a legitimate space for feminine existence other than ‘eye candy’ or the damsel-in-distress.

Melanie strives to subvert the norms of ‘pretty’ with a darker message; what is the future?

THE END IS NIGH

in.cube8r Gallery and Emporium, 321 Smith Street, Fitzroy
6th-19th October 2022

This exhibition is a collection of pieces created by Melanie Thoren which explore ideas surrounding femininity and apocalyptic paranoia.
Melanie first got the idea for this show at the start of this year, when we were confronted with images coming from Ukraine of refugees and the carnage of modern warfare. Melanie asked close friends to pose for ‘apocalypse portraits’ for inspiration, asking them what their apocalypse outfit would be if they had only to choose things from their house. These images served as the basis for many of the artworks created for this exhibition. Research into historical images also informed these ideas, particularly those that show scientific advances and the paranoia surrounding surveillance prominent in the 1960’s. This was an era where technology was starting to reflect the overzealous ambition of man, particularly with the ‘Space Race’ between Russia and America. Bringing this perspective back to femininity, Melanie explores the loss of the feminine perspective in matters regarding technology, and the priorities directed at women - such as prioritising the evolution of beauty standards, rather than tending to survival. Melanie draws inspiration from artists such as Jeffrey Smart, Barbara Hanrahan, Hannah Wilke, Frida Kahlo and Maria Lassnig.
Using a combination of mediums such as acrylic paint, watercolour and printmaking, Melanie has strived to represent a feminine perspective of the future, inspired by events of the past. Melanie also researched art styles surrounding retro futurism and pulp fiction, which can be seen in the narrative of each artwork.