The Authentic Consequence: Forty years of John Baird

MPRG Local Focus
Curated by Rodney James

6 September – 16 November 2025.

The Authentic Consequence presents the first major survey of accomplished Mornington Peninsula artist John Baird.

The exhibition traces Baird’s beginnings as an artist through to key examples drawn from his most recent paintings, drawings, collage, and sculpture. Unique features of the exhibition include a mini-tableaux comprising paintings, hand-built furniture and associated table-top sculptures, a wall of inspirations (sketches, photographs and musings) and a group of new paintings specially produced for the exhibition.

The Authentic Consequence explores the artist’s exploration of the frisson between the real and the imagined­­, and the innate difference between what is seen and what can be felt. Landscape and seascapes are richly loaded evocations that ameliorate past histories and combine fresh observations with memories, shared experiences, and storytelling. Surfaces pulsate, shift and transition over time as they do in the arrangement of his still lives.

This exciting new exhibition asks: ‘How does art communicate and what is its continuing relevance?’ 

John Baird, Dancing Floral (Klimt Vase) 2024, synthetic polymer paint, Blackwood veneer, wallpaper, Private Collection