Painting Between Two Bays: Inside Graeme Altmann’s Studio & Gallery in Highett

Tucked away on Advantage Road in Highett sits a quiet industrial unit that holds far more atmosphere than its modest exterior suggests. Graeme Altmann Studio & Gallery is the working home and occasional exhibition space of one of Victoria’s most respected contemporary landscape painters — a place where the rugged drama of the state’s southwest coast meets the subtler light of Port Phillip Bay.

Born in Warrnambool and raised along Victoria’s south-west coastline, Altmann has lived and worked in Melbourne’s Bayside area for more than twenty-five years. His practice remains deeply rooted in the places that shaped him. “I work between two bays now: Lady Bay and Port Phillip Bay,” he has observed. The southern coastline is “an orchestra — dramatic, loud, emotional,” while the landscape around Melbourne is “subtle and quiet.” That tension between power and restraint runs through almost everything he makes.

Altmann works primarily in oil on linen, building atmospheric compositions through thin, translucent layers. His paintings rarely offer a single focal point. Instead they invite the viewer to look into and behind forms — twisted Moonah trees, coastal tracks, shifting light, the quiet weight of a late-afternoon stillness. Recent works such as Moonah steps (2026) capture exactly this quality. The large oil on linen, inspired by walks along Bayside coastal paths, won the People’s Choice Award at the 2026 Bayside Painting Prize. It is a painting that feels both immediate and slow-burning — the kind of work that rewards extended looking.

His practice extends beyond painting into drawing, sculpture and assemblage, yet the core concerns remain consistent: the shifting relationship between people and the natural world, the sense of stability and change, and the quiet pleasure of paint itself. “Painting joy is hard,” he has said. “That’s my challenge now — to make work where viewers feel the pleasure of paint, colour and movement.”

After decades of commercial representation and a teaching stint at Chisholm, Altmann established his own studio in Highett. The space functions both as a working studio and as a gallery where visitors can encounter the work in the environment in which it was made. Reviews describe it as a “hidden gem” of unique, atmospheric art. The industrial setting on Advantage Road feels fitting — unpretentious, practical, and removed from the more polished gallery precincts further north, allowing the work to speak without distraction.

Altmann has also shared his knowledge through workshops, including sessions exploring the tonal approaches of Clarice Beckett using water-mixable oils. These classes reflect the same generosity visible in the paintings: an invitation to slow down, observe closely, and find one’s own way into the landscape.

Collectors of Altmann’s work include public and private collections across Australia — among them Artbank, university collections, corporate holdings and regional galleries. His paintings continue to find new audiences through solo and group exhibitions, most recently the Moonah series at Boom Gallery.

For those who appreciate contemporary Australian landscape painting that values subtlety over spectacle, Graeme Altmann Studio & Gallery offers something increasingly rare: direct access to an artist still deeply engaged with the places that formed him, working quietly and persistently between two very different bays.

Visit & Contact

Graeme Altmann Studio & Gallery Unit 2/15 Advantage Road Highett, Victoria 3190

Phone: 0430 101 478

Opening hours are generally 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (recommended to phone ahead, as the space operates primarily as a working studio with gallery access by arrangement).