Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027

Maiden Mother Crone runs at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra from 14 November 2026 to 23 May 2027.

The exhibition brings together contemporary artists Del Kathryn Barton, Emily Hunt and Jess Johnson for the first time.

Working across painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics, video and immersive visual worlds, the three artists challenge traditional female archetypes and explore how identity can simultaneously embody beauty, aggression, fantasy, sexuality, ritual and contradiction.

The title refers to the ancient three-part archetype of maiden, mother and crone.

These categories have often been used to define women according to age, fertility and social role.

Rather than accepting those identities, the exhibition disrupts and transforms them.

For ArtExpoWorld readers, Maiden Mother Crone offers a highly visual contemporary exhibition that combines portraiture with fantasy, mythology, worldbuilding and feminist critique.

Maiden Mother Crone presents new and existing works by three artists with distinctly different visual languages.

Del Kathryn Barton is known for elaborate figurative paintings filled with layered decoration, pattern, colour, and psychologically complex bodies.

Emily Hunt works across ceramics, drawing, and installation, often exploring ritual, witchcraft, grotesque imagery, and historical forms of symbolism.

Jess Johnson creates elaborate fictional universes through drawing, animation, virtual environments, installation, and textile-based practices.

Together, the artists create an exhibition where portraiture becomes unstable.

A portrait does not need to present one recognisable face or one fixed identity.

Instead, bodies can become mythical, monstrous, futuristic, spiritual, or deliberately excessive.

The exhibition includes new works produced specifically for the project.

Its combination of painting, sculpture, ceramics, drawings, and video creates a visually dense environment rather than a conventional sequence of framed portraits.

Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027 Event Overview

Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027 – Del Kathryn Barton, Emily Hunt and Jess Johnson in Canberra

Maiden Mother Crone is the first exhibition to bring Del Kathryn Barton, Emily Hunt, and Jess Johnson together. Their practices span painting, sculpture, ceramics, drawing, animation, and video, giving the exhibition an unusually broad interpretation of portraiture.

Dates:

14 November 2026 - 23 May 2027

Location:

National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, ACT, Australia

Mission:

The mission of Maiden Mother Crone is to examine how female identity has been shaped through inherited archetypes. The maiden, mother and crone have appeared across mythology, religion, folklore and popular culture. These categories can appear powerful, but they can also reduce women to simplified roles based on youth, reproduction and ageing. The exhibition asks what happens when artists take control of those images. Barton, Hunt and Johnson create worlds where identity is unstable, excessive and resistant to easy classification. Portraiture becomes a tool for transformation rather than simple description. The exhibition also expands the National Portrait Gallery’s definition of what a portrait can be. Instead of focusing only on likeness, the works explore inner worlds, symbolic identities and imagined bodies.

Organizer:

Maiden Mother Crone is organised by the National Portrait Gallery of Australia. The exhibition brings together Del Kathryn Barton, Emily Hunt and Jess Johnson in their first joint presentation. The gallery develops exhibitions that broaden the definition of portraiture and examine contemporary Australian identity through different artistic languages. The National Portrait Gallery also maintains a permanent collection and public programme of talks, workshops, tours and educational activities.

Why attend to Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027?

The exhibition is worth visiting because it offers three very different approaches to contemporary image-making within one tightly focused project.

For painting audiences, Del Kathryn Barton provides richly layered figurative work.

For visitors interested in ceramics and material practice, Emily Hunt introduces a darker world of ritual and symbolic objects.

For audiences interested in digital culture and speculative environments, Jess Johnson expands drawing into animation and immersive worldbuilding.

For students and artists, the exhibition demonstrates how portraiture can extend far beyond realistic representation.

The relatively affordable ticket also makes the exhibition easy to combine with the gallery’s free permanent collection.

Ticket Information

General admission costs

Adult admission to Maiden Mother Crone is AUD 12.

Concession admission is AUD 10.

Circle of Friends members pay AUD 8.

Visitors under 18 enter the exhibition free.

General entry to the National Portrait Gallery is free, but Maiden Mother Crone is a separately ticketed exhibition.

The gallery is open daily from 10:00 to 17:00 except Christmas Day.

Advance booking is available and may be useful during weekends and holiday periods.

Getting There:

The National Portrait Gallery is located on King Edward Terrace in Parkes, Canberra.

It stands beside the National Gallery of Australia and near the High Court of Australia.

Visitors can reach the gallery by bus, taxi, rideshare, bicycle, or private car.

An underground public car park is available.

Canberra Airport is approximately 15 minutes away by road under normal traffic conditions.

Visitors arriving from Sydney can travel by air, coach, train, or car.

The gallery’s location within the Parliamentary Triangle makes it easy to combine several national cultural institutions in one day.

Accommodation

Barton is one of the most convenient districts for visitors focused on Canberra’s national institutions.

Kingston offers restaurants, apartments, and relatively easy access to the gallery.

Manuka provides boutique accommodation and a quieter neighbourhood environment.

Canberra city centre has the largest concentration of hotels and transport services.

NewActon may appeal to visitors interested in contemporary architecture, design, and restaurants.

Visitors planning several museum days should prioritise central access rather than staying far outside the city.

Don't Miss an Exhibition

Gallery: Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027

Secure Your Spot at Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027 — Before It's Too Late

Tickets are limited and sell out fast.
Get instant access to the Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027 registration page and be the first to know about exclusive events, VIP passes, and travel perks.

Early access. Limited availability. Global art at your fingertips.

History & Context of a Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027

The National Portrait Gallery in Canberra opened its permanent building in 2008.

Its collection and exhibition programme explore Australian identity through representations of people who have shaped the country’s cultural, political and social life.

Maiden Mother Crone extends that mission into a more experimental area of contemporary portraiture.

The three participating artists represent different artistic backgrounds and approaches.

Del Kathryn Barton is one of Australia’s most recognisable contemporary painters.

Emily Hunt has developed a practice informed by ritual, folklore, historical imagery and ceramic traditions.

Jess Johnson was born in Aotearoa New Zealand and has built an international practice centred on fictional visual universes and immersive worldbuilding.

Bringing these artists together allows the exhibition to connect portraiture with wider contemporary questions about gender, mythology, technology and fantasy.

The project also reflects growing institutional interest in how identity can be represented without relying on traditional portrait conventions.

Tips for Visitors of Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027

Allow at least one hour for Maiden Mother Crone and additional time for the permanent portrait collection.

Do not expect conventional portraiture.

The exhibition explores symbolism, fantasy, and constructed identity.

Look closely at recurring patterns, bodies, and decorative forms.

In all three artists’ practices, visual excess often conveys conceptual meaning.

Spend time with video works rather than treating them as background.

Photography is generally permitted in the National Portrait Gallery, but restrictions may apply to individual loaned works.

Check exhibition signage before taking images.

Download the gallery’s digital resources if additional interpretation is available.

Tips from the ArtExpoWorld

Do not try to assign one artist to maiden, one to mother, and one to crone.

The exhibition is more interesting than that.

Each artist disrupts all three categories and shows how identity can move between beauty, power, vulnerability, and strangeness.

Look for contradiction rather than neat symbolism.

Be the First to Access Official "Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027" Tickets

Don’t miss your chance to attend one of the world’s leading art fairs. Get direct access to the official ticketing page, exclusive updates, and important visitor information.

Early access. Limited availability. Global art at your fingertips.

Editor’s Note

Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027 matters because archetypes survive long after societies stop noticing them.

For ArtExpoWorld, the exhibition’s strength lies in exposing those inherited roles and then making them unstable.

Barton, Hunt and Johnson refuse to present identity as tidy or comfortable.

Their worlds are decorative and disturbing, beautiful and grotesque, ancient and futuristic at the same time.

That tension gives Maiden Mother Crone the energy of a contemporary exhibition rather than an illustration of an old myth.

Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027

Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027 Event Overview

Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027 – Del Kathryn Barton, Emily Hunt and Jess Johnson in Canberra

Dates:

Location:

Why attend to Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027?

Ticket Information

Getting There:

Accommodation

Don't Miss an Exhibition

Gallery: Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027

Secure Your Spot at Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027 — Before It's Too Late

History & Context of a Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027

Tips for Visitors of Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027

Tips from the ArtExpoWorld

Be the First to Access Official "Maiden Mother Crone 2026/2027" Tickets

Editor’s Note

Current and Upcoming Art Expos

South America

Europe

Europe

Africa

Africa

Africa

Africa

Europe

Europe

Europe

Asia

North America

North America

North America

South America

South America

South America

Africa

Africa

Africa

Africa

Africa

Africa

Africa

Australia