The Immersive World of Thom Roberts is the first solo exhibition of the multidisciplinary artist Thom Roberts at the prestigious National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, Australia.
In Thom's world, people are given new identities, and places become intertwined. Everything in Thom's orbit undergoes a transformation as it travels through his kaleidoscope eyes. This manifests in some of Thom's most iconic motifs, with his subjects often being gifted with extra eyes and noses, together with his signature piano teeth.
Featuring painting, installation and animation, this landmark exhibition showcased over 100 of Thom's most iconic works spanning his prolific career to date, as well as major new works created for the exhibition. As viewers entered, they were greeted with a wall of Thom's emotion cards, sculptural cityscapes, and an invitation to play a game of ping-pong in a performative work from Thom's Courthouse Cats installation.
"The work of Thom Roberts is exciting, delightful and complex. He does portraiture his own way but honours its storytelling purpose, building connections between objects and people, art and ideas, and stretching how expansive a portrait can be." - Bree Pickering, National Portrait Gallery Director.
Thom had the privilege of handing over to the Governor-General, Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC (whom he named the Excellent Tonio), to officially open his exhibition.
Alongside the exhibition, Thom was the cover star of the 72nd issue of Portrait Magazine.
The Immersive World of Thom Roberts ran from the 12th of April to the 20th of July 2025.
Words by Sam Kalis.
Photography by the National Portrait Gallery.
