Utopian Slumps was established in Melbourne, Australia in 2007 as a non-profit arts initiative by Melissa Loughnan after she’d studied curatorship at university and had come out of several institutional internships and mentorships. In 2010, the gallery was relaunched as a dealer gallery with a strong curatorial focus. This focus not only means that the gallery’s annual exhibition program is curated, but that owner and curator Melissa collaborates with other curators on group exhibition projects, including recent collaborations with Rebecca Coates, Helen Hughes and Jane O’Neill on jointly curated exhibitions in the space.

Retaining its of-the-hand aesthetic and commitment to the creative development and experimentation of its artists, Utopian Slumps represents a stable of thirteen early to mid career Australian and New Zealand artists.

Upcoming exhibitions:
Falling Down
Featuring work from three Melbourne-based artists: Ry Haskings, James Lynch and Dan Moynihan, grouped together around themes of the cinematic, the theatrical and the absurd.
Dates: 10 February – 3 March 2012

Figure and Ground
The exhibition will investigate the use of earthware in contemporary art practices, particularly concerning intersections between ceramics and collage, the human figure and abstraction.
Artists:  Marco Chiandetti, Sarah Crowest, Rebecca Delange, Misha Hollenbach, Claire Lambe, Sanne Maestrom, Rob McLeish and Stephen Ralph
Dates: 9 – 31 March 2012