Michelle Belgiorno - Resilience (Copy)
Michelle Belgiorno, Stand Off, oil on linen, 41 x 41 cm
$900
Michelle Belgiorno
Resilience
11 July - 1 August 2026
Art Atrium 48 is proud to present Resilience, a new body of work by Michelle Belgiorno that contemplates nature's enduring capacity to adapt, withstand and renew itself. Inspired by observations of coastal landscapes around Sydney and Pittwater, the exhibition situates the Australian bush as a site of constant flux, where life continues to emerge despite competition for light, water and soil. Through this lens, Belgiorno presents the natural world not as orderly or idealised but as something shaped by an ever-changing ecology of struggle, coexistence, survival and renewal.
This complexity plays out in the forms and relationships that unfold throughout the bush - branches twist, rocks shift, and decaying matter gives way to new growth, sheltering insects, birds, mammals and sea creatures in turn. Some plants sustain one another through unseen networks above and below the ground, others strangle and overwhelm their host outright, and others settle into something closer to symbiosis.
These observations draw Belgiorno back to the Japanese notion of transience and impermanence, Mujō 無常 - the understanding that ecosystems exist in constant transition, where life, death and regeneration are part of one continuous cycle. As our world grows more populated and complex, Resilience invites viewers to consider the spiritual sustenance nature provides, and the urgent importance of preserving our bushland for future generations.
Exhibition Opening
Exhibition Opening to be launched by:
Dr Kristen Sharp
Director & CEO of the National Art School and Honorary Professor at RMIT University
Saturday 11 July 2026
2:00 - 4:00 pm
Artist Talk
Michelle Belgiorno in conversation with:
Blake Griffiths
Director of Mosman Art Gallery and Mosman Council’s Manager of Arts and Culture
Saturday 25 July 2026
2:00 - 2:00 pm
Artist Statement
“Resilience: The ability to adapt well to adversity.
Having spent the last couple of years painting from coastal landscapes around Sydney and Pittwater, I have observed the constant cycle of resilience and renewal in nature. Despite the vigorous competition for good light, clean water, and nutrient rich soil, life goes on in some form or another.
In the Australian bush, the result of this competition is not always tidy or fair. Some plants help each other, communicating above and below the ground, some strangle and destroy their host, and some find a symbiotic arrangement that allows an accommodation of host and client. Branches twist and turn and rocks fall, creating weird and wonderful forms. Decay and renewal are part of the story, often providing homes for new residents, including insects, birds, mammals and sea creatures.
Observing this resilience leads me back to the Japanese notion of transience or impermanence: Mujō 無常. It reflects the reality that ecosystems are constantly changing and that nothing lasts forever. Climate and seasons change, trees and branches fall, plants and rocks erode, soil and sand are formed. Impermanence is the driving force behind the continuous cycle of life, death, and regeneration.
As populations grow and we navigate an increasingly complex world, it is important to preserve our natural bushland wherever possible now, and for future generations. For the joy and spiritual sustenance nature provides and for the important lessons about life that nature can teach us all.”
– Michelle Belgiorno
About the Artist
Michelle Belgiorno is a Sydney based artist who works across various media including oil painting, sculpture and collaborative fabric-based installations. Michelle has been a practicing artist for 25 years.
Michelle Belgiorno has exhibited in several solo and group exhibitions and been a finalist in many art competitions including the King’s Art Prize, Paddington Art Prize, Mosman Art Prize and the Portia Geach Portrait Prize. She has undertaken five overseas residencies, four in Japan, including at Arts Chiyoda 3331.
With a long-term interest in the culture of Japan, drawing on a fifty-year engagement with the language, people and aesthetics, her art practice moves between locally inspired landscape painting and Japanese-inspired exhibitions. A reoccurring theme of Belgiorno’s work is the exploration of cross-cultural exchange through art. The current body of work melds the Japanese notion of transience Mujō 無常 with the resilience of the Australian natural environment.
Belgiorno believes art is a gentle but powerful way to build human connections and to open our minds to new perspectives.
Belgiorno holds a BA Fine Arts in Painting from the National Art School and a BA Honours in Japanese and a Master of Commerce and is Chair of the Dobell Art Foundation.
ARTWORK
