Dangerously Modern: Australian women artists in Europe 1890-1940

The first major exhibition to focus on the vital role of Australian women in the development of international modernism, Dangerously Modern explores the art and lives of fifty trailblazing artists. They belonged to an unprecedented wave of women journeying from Australia through Europe and beyond at the turn of the twentieth century, prevailing against centuries of social constraints to pursue international careers.

Featuring more than 200 works of art, Dangerously Modern invites visitors to embark on a journey of the senses. Artistic explorations of colour, light, form and movement offer moments of contemplation, love, loss and transcendence. Ranging from large public statements to private portrait miniatures, the featured works challenge preexisting notions of ambition and success. They also expand understandings of modern art movements such as realism, impressionism, post-impressionism, cubism and the emergence of abstraction.

Including both celebrated and rediscovered paintings, prints, sculpture and ceramics, Dangerously Modern will be one of the largest multi-lender exhibitions to look at the international art of Australian women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It reclaims the place of these artists and their contribution to the development of European art, and explores their role as catalysts for new ideas travelling back to Australia during a time of rapid social and cultural change.

Tickets on sale in 2025.

Presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales