MELANGE Exhibition Launch 2022

In a momentous ‘tour de force' artist Anthony Breslin presented his first major show in over a decade, ‘Melange’, at Burrinja Cultural Centre in Upwey on October 15th, 2022.

Having overcome crippling health challenges, including bone marrow and kidney transplants, over that period, he refers to his recovery from over eight years of illness as similar to emerging from a “coma”.

Breslin’s extraordinarily courageous return brought a celebration of life and colour, embodied in new artistic explorations that left young and old spellbound.

“I want ‘Melange’ to be an all-encompassing, theatrical
encounter for the audience, drawing on my past theatre production creations,” said Breslin of the exhibition. “Melange plays with the gallery space to provoke people’s imaginations as they experience the works, walking around them to explore and engage with them physically.”

‘Melange’ merged together Anthony's never-before-exhibited early surrealist compositions with an extensive number of new works, including artistic collaborations, mixed media paintings, animation, art installations and interactive ‘art games’; playfully inviting viewers to immerse themselves as they explore this extraordinary melange of colour, form and composition.

“It is a real honour to present an exhibition with new and old works by Anthony Breslin,” said J.D. Mittmann, Burrinja’s Curator and Manager of Collections. “He is a much-loved artist and a real institution in Melbourne. His vibrant public works can be found in a number of inner-city suburbs. Despite serious health issues in recent times, he has been working undeterred towards this major exhibition, which will be distinctively Breslin: joyful, colourful, playful, interactive – something for all generations.”