Melbourne Now is warm and fuzzy but goes to dark places

Contemporary blockbuster Melbourne Now will leave gallery-goers with a case of the warm fuzzies in more ways than one.

First, because all of the art on show at NGV Australia was made by contemporary artists working in Victoria, and second, because several of the works really are pretty fuzzy.

One of the first is Troy Emery's Mountain Climber, a 3.5-metre-high feline that is by far the biggest the sculptor has ever made.

"I've given it a pelt of pompoms, there are about 9000 pompoms on there," he told AAP.

Then there's James Lemon's Swarming, an entire multi-sensory room that imagines the inside of a beehive in gold and ultraviolet, with furry bee sculptures people (kids especially) can climb inside.

In Lemon's psychedelic vision, being a bee would be pretty overwhelming. There are spray-painted walls, UV lights, stacks of gold ceramic beehives, and, when viewed through the artwork's phone camera filter, the air is full of flying insects.

Melbourne Now showcases the work of more than 200 Victorian-based artists, designers and studios.

It also marks 10 years since the inaugural exhibition, which paved the way for the NGV's much-loved Triennial, and even for its new contemporary gallery, set to open in 2028.

"Not only did the exhibition set an important benchmark for us in this space, it also gave the institution an exhilarating framework for a future that's sill continuing to unfurl," NGV director Tony Ellwood told reporters on Thursday.

Artist Georgia Banks has imagined that future. Having spent almost two years applying for reality-TV dating shows, she designed a ChatBot to see if she could fall in love with it.

Gallery-goers can sit back on lounges surrounded by climbing roses and romantic beach scenes, and watch her interactions with the ChatBot on television screens - a disconcerting and humorous commentary on reality TV, technology and dating.

So, did the artist fall in love with her ChatBot?

"It was a love-hate relationship, it was tumultuous, most of my relationships have been like that," she told AAP.

The ground floor of the gallery is entirely devoted to the show, while the upper floor sees contemporary works interacting - in intentional and surprising ways - with the gallery's permanent collection.

Melbourne Now goes to some darker places, too. Shaun Gladwell's Passing Electrical Storms is not for the faint-hearted.

In a dark blue, curtained space, people are invited to lie on one of five vibrating beds. They don VR headsets and heart monitors, and through these devices they experience a heart attack.

"The first two minutes are a bit rough," the artist deadpans.

Brave participants then find out through their headsets what happens - in Gladwell's vision - when they die.

His installation is one of 70 new commissions, while an extensive public program will see artists and curators host 350 talks during its run.

All up, it's an inspiring mix of established artists and rising stars, giving a sense of the breadth and diversity of the art and design being made right here, right now.

Melbourne Now is at NGV Australia from March 24 until August 20.