Location: McCubbin Gallery
This exhibition is presented alongside the annual Association of Sculptors of Victoria 2025 Exhibition.
“The body of this work emerged from quiet, contemplative walks along the coastal shoreline - moments of stillness where the mind could drift and the patterns of nature could speak. Each painting reflects the subtle marks left by the sea: the etched lines in sand from receding waves, the rhythm of tide and time, and the feeling of being suspended between movement and stillness.
I’ve sought to capture the essence of those transient traces - organic forms that suggest both permanence and change. The works are an emotional response; they are about presence, memory, and the deep calm that comes when we let ourselves be shaped by nature’s quieter rhythms.
There is a quiet inevitability in the way the sea reshapes the shore - never hurried, always returning. I wanted these paintings to hold that same sense of serenity and flow, inviting the viewer into a place where stillness and movement coexist, where breath slows, and where we can feel, even briefly, part of something enduring.”
Melissa Fraser is a Melbourne-based painter whose practice focuses on still life and landscapes. Her recent work moves between abstract and representational, and is inspired by quiet observation. Her practice is grounded in exploration, observation, and quiet emotional resonance.
Melissa has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions. She has appeared regularly at the Victorian Artists Society Select Exhibitions (2017–2024), Banyule Open Studios, Montsalvat, and the Rotary Exhibition in Eltham. She has been awarded numerous commendations, including prizes at VAS, and finalist selections in prestigious national awards Bluethumb Art Prize and Mavis Little Artist of the Year.
Her works are held in public and private collections both locally and internationally including Epworth Healthcare and Melbourne Magistrates Court. Melissa is a member of the Victorian Artists Society.
We would like to pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land on which our building stands, their leaders, past, present and emerging.