The Art Gallery of NSW is reopening today - Monday June 1. And there's a lot you need to know. For one, entry is free. And new safety measures at the gallery include timed-entry tickets, physical distancing, no cloaking and BYO water bottles.
But AGNSW are billing it as a more intimate experience for art lovers, and we have to agree. Below, are some of the exhibitions we can't wait to get up close to. In the real world. Wow.
Shadow catchers
An exploration of the way photography and can capture and distort reality. It's power to seduce, daze and confuse. The exhibition's preoccupation with shadows, body doubles and mirrors is encapsulated via the works of more than 57 artists. From Sydney based artist Coen Young's mirrored works to photographs by Olive Cotton taken in 1935. "Photographs can provide doubles and
emotional surrogates on which to affix our attachment," says senior curator of contemporary Australian art, Isobel Parker Philip. "But what kind of doubles and what kind of intimacy?"
Under the stars
"We can all look at the stars, whichever sky we’re looking at." - Gulumbu Yunupingu
A notion that feels particularly pertinent right now - one starting point for this exhibition was the 250 year anniversary of Captain Cook's landing in Australia. In conjunction with this, Cook was also recording the transit of Venus - an astronomical event that occurs when the planet passes directly between the Earth and the Sun. With a display of Indigenous and non-indigenous art, Under the stars brings focus to Indigenous knowledge of a place that is not owned.
Some mysterious process
An opportunity to reacquaint yourself with AGNSW international contemporary art collection as the gallery reopen. With works from Ed Ruscha, Cy Twombly, Bridget Louise Riley, Yves Klein and so many more. Some mysterious process - a reference to the words of artist Philip Guston (featured within the exhibition) - examines how the collection came together, gathering multiple threads of history. I.e. curation, philanthropy, serendipity, and the evolution of societal expectations.
What else you need to know ...
You can find the AGNSW's new visiting guidelines here. And book your timed e-ticket entry here.
Images from top: Edward Ruscha, Gospel 1972, synthetic polymer paint and aluminium on raw canvas, 137.2 x 152.4 cm, Art Gallery of New South Wales. Gift of the Art Gallery Society of New South Wales and Ed and Danna Ruscha with the support of Gagosian Gallery 2013 © Ed Ruscha. Photo: AGNSW, Jenni Carter.
Olive Cotton, The photographer's shadow, 1935, printed 1983-85, gelatin silver photograph, 8.2 x 8 cm, Art Gallery of New South Wales, accessioned 2013. Photo: AGNSW, Felicity Jenkins.
Julie Freeman, Gulaga, 2009, woodblock print, 45.5 x 60.5 cm, Art Gallery of New South Wales. Purchased with funds provided by the Aboriginal Collection Benefactors Group 2012 © Julie Freeman. Photo: AGNSW, Mim Stirling.
Dana Schutz, Breastfeeding, 2015, oil on canvas, 213.4 x 203.2 cm, Art Gallery of New South Wales. Purchased with funds provided by the 2015 USA Foundation Tour and the Mollie and Jim Gowing Bequest Fund © Dana Schutz. Photo: AGNSW, Felicity Jenkins.
