Inaugural MAF X NGV Design Commission Awarded to Anna Varendorff
Building on Melbourne Art Foundation’s long-standing commitment to supporting practicing artists through grants (over AUD $1.5M since 2003!), we’re proud to introduce a new Design Commission for the 2026 Fair, presented in partnership with the NGV.
The recipient of this inaugural commission: Melbourne-based artist, designer and all-around icon; Anna Varendorff. Trained as a metalsmith, Varendorff’s practice spans jewellery, sculpture, product and lighting designs. Defined by pared-back tubular forms, graceful arcs and slender brass or steel lines, her works culminate in refined objects that merge craft discipline with industrial clarity.
“The commission has given me a chance to create work at a scale that I wouldn’t normally have the ability to. It’s an opportunity to expand my ideas and hopefully amplify the final experience of the work” said Anna Varendorff.
For the Commission, Varendorff will present her most ambitious composition to date of her iconic U lights and vases, expanding her hallmark of tubular forms into a striking installation of ceiling lights, suspended vases and monumental floor vessels. The suspended elements are fabricated from aluminium U-shapes, mirrored in pairs — one upright, one inverted — to create rhythmic compositions that can both hold floral and cast light. The installation spans overhead and underfoot, offering a moment of stillness amid the energy of the Fair (or even the perfect place to spark a conversation).
“The NGV is pleased to continue our successful collaboration with the Melbourne Art Fair Foundation to elevate the role of collectible design in the Australian contemporary collecting ecosystem. Working together, and with the support of the Australian Fund for Living Australian Artists, we have invested together in an ambitious destination work by Anna Varendorff. This project offers Anna the opportunity to push her practice forward, both conceptually and spatially. We are excited to see this commission presented at the 2026 Melbourne Art Fair after which time it will beguile audiences when it is represented, as part of our contemporary design collection, at the Ian Potter Centre, NGV Australia in 2026” said Ewan McEoin, Senior Curator, Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture at National Gallery of Victoria.
The MAF x NGV Design Commission is purchased with funds from the Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2025.
After its debut at Melbourne Art Fair, U lights and vases will be on display at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Fed Square.
Anna Varendorff is an artist and designer whose practice spans jewellery, sculpture, product and lighting design. Since 2013, she has worked under the moniker ACV Studio, producing design works that are at once minimal and expressive, achieving cult recognition in Melbourne and beyond. Trained as a metalsmith, Varendorff fabricates with precision in metal, yet her works retain a poetic lightness. Defined by pared-back tubular forms, graceful arcs and slender brass or steel lines, they culminate in refined objects that merge craft discipline with industrial clarity.
Varendorff completed a Master of Fine Art at Monash University in 2015. She has exhibited extensively around Australia and overseas. She has exhibited at Australian Centre for Contemporary Art as part of NEW16; at CAVES at The Substation; and at TCB Art Inc., Bus Projects, Craft, c3 Contemporary Art Space, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and Anna Pappas Gallery, among others. In 2018, ACV Studio’s Glass Half Full Vase received a Wallpaper* Design Award for Design of the Year, cementing her reputation as one of Australia’s most distinctive contemporary designers.
