#art gallery nsw

[1regardoblique]

Max Dupain · Angels Trumpets

Max Dupain (1911–1992) ~ Salvadorium Dalii, 1983 | src Art gallery of New South Wales view more on wordPress

Max Dupain (1911–1992) ~ Angels Trumpets, 1983 | src Max Dupain Photography more on wordPress

[austechandnature]

The Offerings of Peace, a statue by Gilbert Bayes, 1923, outside the Art Gallery of New South Wales, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

[creature---fear]

Vase with pastoral design of dancing figures by Sydney Long

1909 Mildred Lovett

[artmialma]

Cecil Bostock (1884–1939)

1917

gelatin silver photograph

Art Gallery of NSW

[yinandyanglifestyle]

I went to Sydney for Alphonse Mucha

by: Icie

One thing to know about me, I was an interior design major back in my home country. I absolutely sucked at it, but I fell in love with Art History. In that minor, our professors taught us about different art styles through the ages and bit by bit I saw the progress of art through the ages. I loved the OG Gothic Style, Romanesque, was disillusioned with Baroque and Rococo from the west... It was too Western focused and it didn't interest me as much (because I was an Asian kid) until we got towards the end of the 19th century where the grandparents of weebs (of which I am a part of) hailed from and Japonisme was a thing. Japonisme inspired so much beautiful art and it triggered a domino effect that ultimately led to Art Nouveau where Alphonse Mucha was a main character.

This was it. My favourite art style! I can never go back to loving other art styles after discovering Art Nouveau. It spoke to me about how feminine it was and it awakened something from my mostly masculine soul. I wanted to see more of these beautiful girls surrounded by flowers and stars, wearing kimono-inspired clothes in pretty pastels. The macaroni hair only added to the romanticism of it all. This is what love is like, but in art form!

Fast forward to 2024, The Mucha Foundation collaborated with the Art Gallery of New South Wales to host over 200 of this master's works which was "the most comprehensive exhibition ever seen in Australia of this visionary artist's work". I had to see it. I needed to see it! I am a big fan of Mucha and Art Nouveau, and one of my dreams was to go to Paris, Brussels, and Prague for all of the beautiful swirly-whirlies. Being a Brisbanite, I was exited. Please come to my city! Please, please, please! But AGNSW said "sorry, it's exclusive to Sydney."

Dammit. It's off to Sydney I go. I donned my Sailor Moon dress, packed my bag for a 3 day trip with my partner just so I could see this legend's works and boy, I was not disappointed. I learned to love Mucha and his works even more. We landed in Sydney, didn't check in our hotel, and went straight to the main quest:

Outside, they had this big banner of Mucha's name. Inside was this glorious area that showcased Summer (left) and Rose (right). Oh wait, the exhibit is next door. So we went to the more modern building, down two floors, bought tickets, and enjoyed the art.

In the newer building next door, I was treated to pre-art nouveau Mucha. We learned about what his life was like before his popularity. He designed some clothes for a theatre, hung out with everyone's buddy Paul Gaugin, Ludek Marold and Annah the Javanese. The tour guide said, "if he wasn't a painter, he would've been a great photographer".

Then we were treated to the meat of the exhibit: the Sarah Bernhardt stuff, his lithographs, his sketches, but what struck me most were his concept art to reality. (Excuse my phone's shadow. For some reason, AGNSW decided to put these works on a 45° angle under bright lights. The girl beside me even said "fucking glare!" and I wholeheartedly agreed.)

We were treated to so many wonderful works and I cried when I saw parts of Le Pater. I'm an atheist but this made me think that maybe there is a god. Maybe. But still, beautiful artwork that left me speechless.

I got to stand next to my favourite work of his: White Star. Joy!

At the end of the exhibit, the tour guide talked about how Mucha who was somewhat influenced by Japan, now influenced Japan. Now we come full circle with anime and manga characters depicted in art nouveau styled paintings and posters. Oh boy, we had our Lord Yoshitaka Amano's works in the gallery as well. I was so lucky to see works of my two favourite artists in one day!

It was almost 2PM by the time we finished the tour. We spent at least 4 hours in the gallery after landing just because I fangirled and was willing to spend money on Mucha. Yeah, I bought stuff. A reproduction of Alphonse Mucha's original "Documents Decoratifs" which focused more on his industrial design work (jewellery, cutlery, furniture etc) which I rarely see on the internet, a set of badges and make-up from Japanese brand MilleFée.

I went to Sydney for Alphonse Mucha and it was worth it. I end this rabid fangirling with the parting words of the Art Gallery of New South Wales' tour guide: Mucha's style has never been as well loved and as well represented as it is in Japan.

[jgthirlwell]

Frank Stella at Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, Australia

[page-28]

@thewholedamnworld

[bookscoffee]

two favourites from the Magritte exhibit.

[internationalemeteorologie]

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (Taiso)

Dawn moon of the Shinto rites (Shinji no zangetsu - oyama no matsuri), from One Hundred Aspects of the Moon series. 1886

[cocobytesthebigapple]

Art Installation at NSW Art Gallery

[hotephres]

Stage and lighting: Genesis Owusu plays The Tank @ the Art Gallery of NSW

5 July 2024 | Gadigal Country (Sydney, Australia)

[bigvolcano]

Morandi and new Olley works unveiled beside Monet

New artworks on display in Murwillumbah as part of Sharing the National Collection initiative. Artwork by renowned Italian still life painter Giorgio Morandi and Australia’s Margaret Olley now hang alongside renowned French Impressionist Claude Monet..

New artworks on display in Murwillumbah as part of Sharing the National Collection initiative Tweed Regional Gallery Curator – Exhibitions Tina Wilson and installer Sam Steinhauer carefully hang the Giorgio Morandi masterpiece. The artwork is on display at the Tweed Regional Gallery as part of the National Gallery’s Sharing the National Collection initiative. (Photo Luke Marsden) Artwork by…

[tom-isaacs]

New Year's Resolutions

Hello again friends,

A belated happy new years to you all.

I hope you’ve had a restful and restorative break and that you’re getting on with your new year’s resolutions. I don’t normally make resolutions, but this year I’ve resolved to start.

For my first resolution, I’ve set myself a target to publish a blog post per month. And so far I've held my resolve (maybe next year I will make a resolution to update my social media in a more timely fashion).

In my January update, I did a "quick" recap of my activities from 2023.

In my first February update, I announced that I will be having an exhibition with my good friend Nuno Rodrigues de Sousa at Chrissie Cotter gallery, Camperdown NSW.

In my second February update, I announced that I have been invited to speak at a symposium on Louise Bourgeois at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

If you want to keep up to date with my monthly goings on, you can find these posts (and more) in the newsfeed section of my website. You can also sign up to my mailing list or follow me on any of the various social media platforms: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and here on Tumblr.

[jgthirlwell]

Suspended Stone Circle II by Ken Unsworth at Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, Australia.

[page-28]

[bookscoffee]

“Cymon and Iphigenia”, F.F Leighton, 1884.