‘The Field’ was a groundbreaking exhibition of Australian abstract art at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, in 1968. Often cited as our nation’s decisive break with Eurocentric cultural traditions in visual art, ‘The Field’ marked the moment when a new generation of artists broadened their approaches to abstraction, prompting a reinvigoration of Australia’s art institutions. The concepts behind the works on display here – overlapping stylistic movements, cultural exchange, and the social progress enjoyed by Australians since the 1960s – can be traced to that exhibition.
