At an exhibition of the Rijksmuseum’s Dutch masters, the viewer is captivated by the care and penetration in the work of Vermeer, Rembrandt and Hals.

The techno-fascism of Nazi Germany and the West’s postwar mass consumerism have been the subject of painter Gerhard Richter’s decades-long career, whether in photorealism or abstraction.

Two works – a video installation by Mika Rottenberg in Melbourne and a site-specific work in Sydney by Anri Sala – show how incongruous imagery can reveal the absurdity of the forces to which we unthinkingly submit.

At Sydney Contemporary, the commercial realities of the art fair dissolve as he apprehends the elemental power of Rover (Julama) Thomas’s works.

An exhibition of Tony Tuckson’s works on paper reveals an artist whose paintings did not so much respond to the world as express it.

Jenny Watson’s assured handling of paint, and the worlds hidden beneath it, as well as her exploration of feminism and psychoanalysis, make her a vital Australian artist.

An eclectic collection at UNSW Galleries explores human interaction with working models, as they straddle the divide between the imagined and the functional.

The Art Gallery of SA’s crowded rooms of images and sculptures overwhelm the opportunity of its Versus Rodin exhibition to pit contemporary artists against the figurative master.

Two exhibitions of utopian abstraction enable comparison of pure ideological approaches with something gentler. The latter is more satisfying.