National Indigenous Art Triennial
culture warriors

The National Gallery of Australia is delighted to present the inaugural National Indigenous Art Triennial. The work of thirty artists has been selected, representing the diversity of regions around Australia and demonstrating the incredible range of contemporary Indigenous art practice.

nga.gov.au/NIAT07

20 June – 31 August 2008
Art Gallery of South Australia Adelaide SA,

20 September – 23 November 2008
Art Gallery of Western Australia Perth WA

14 Feb –10 May 2009
Gallery of Modern Art Brisbane, Qld

Daniel Boyd Kudjla/Gangalu people Treasure Island 2005 oil on canvas Collection of the National Gallery of Australia

Black robe, white mist
art of the Japanese Buddhist nun Rengetsu

Otagaki Rengetsu (1791–1875), Lotus Moon, was a Japanese Buddhist nun whose tragic life inspired extraordinary creativity. One of a small number of prominent female artists of 19th-century Japan, Rengetsu was a poet, calligrapher, potter and painter.

Largely drawn from international private collections, Black robe, white mist shows contemplative works of paper and clay inscribed with Rengetsu’s elegant poetry and understated calligraphy. Her work reflects the beauty of the imperfect and unconventional.

 

nga.gov.au/Rengetsu

5 June – 28 June 2008
RMIT Gallery Melbourne Vic.

 

Otagaki Rengetsu Fluttering merrily hanging scroll [kakemono] 1840s-50s (detail) calligraphy, painting Private collection, Zurich

War
the prints of Otto Dix

War: the prints of Otto Dix showcases Otto Dix’s war portfolio Der Krieg of 1924, a collection of 51 etchings with aquatint and drypoint which is regarded as one of the great masterpieces of the twentieth century. Consciously modelled on Goya’s equally famous and equally devastating Los Desastres de la Guerra [The disasters of war], the portfolio captures Dix’s horror of, and fascination with, the experience of war.

nga.gov.au/Dix

12 April –10 August 2008
National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne VIC

22 August – 26 October 2008
Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney NSW

7 November 2008 – 1 February 2009
Queensland Art Gallery Brisbane QLD

Otto Dix Nachtliche Begegnung mit einem Irrsinnigen [Night-time encounter with a madman] 1924 (detail) etching, aquatint, drypoint Collection of the National Gallery of Australia The Poynton Bequest 2003 © Otto Dix, Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia

Colin McCahon
A National Gallery of Australia Focus Exhibition

As part of its 25th-anniversary year, the National Gallery of Australia is proud to be touring a focus exhibition that celebrates the work of one of the most widely acclaimed Aotearoa New Zealand artists, Colin McCahon.

The exhibition brings together paintings and works on paper that reflect key concerns in McCahon’s art from 1950 through to the early 1980s. While drawn predominantly from the National Gallery of Australia’s collection, it features one of McCahon’s last paintings, I applied my mind 1980–82, which has been generously lent to the exhibition.

nga.gov.au/McCahon

8 March–15 June 2008
Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu Christchurch New Zealand

5 July–19 October 2008
Dunedin Public Art Gallery Dunedin New Zealand

Colin McCahon ‘Victory over death 2’ 1970 synthetic polymer paint on unstretched canvas Gift of the New Zealand Government 1978 Courtesy of the Colin McCahon Research and Publications Trust

Grace Crowley
being modern

Grace Crowley: being modern is an important retrospective exhibition of paintings and drawings by one of Australia’s most influential modern artists.

This is the first exhibition of Grace Crowley’s work since 1975. It includes important works from public and private collections and traces her remarkable artistic journey from traditional landscapes to avant-garde experimentation and pure abstraction. The exhibition includes several recently rediscovered paintings and the largest number of Crowley’s abstract paintings ever assembled, enabling a new appraisal of her achievement.

nga.gov.au/Crowley

14 June – 21 September 2008
Art Gallery of Western Australia Perth WA

2 October – 23 November 2008
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Hobart TAS

image: Grace Crowley 'Portrait study' 1929 oil on canvas on composition board Collection of the National Gallery of Australia Bequest of Grace Crowley 1979

Imagining
Papua New Guinea

After generations of colonial rule, the free nation of Papua New Guinea was established in 1975. This exhibition celebrates 30 years of independence. Stories and images, both traditional and imaginary, are recorded in pen, pencil, woodcuts and screenprints – all new forms of expression to artists from the region. These prints and drawings, produced in the years around independence, show three ways in which Papua Nuginian artists responded to their contemporary world.

nga.gov.au/Imagining

17 May – 29 June 2008
Tamworth Regional Gallery Tamworth NSW

5 December 2008 – 25 January 2009
Flinders University City Gallery Adelaide SA

 

John Man not titled [Butterfly] 1975 screenprint, Collection of the National Gallery of Australia Purchased through the Gordon Darling Australasian Print Fund 2003

Ocean to Outback
Australian Landscape Paintings 1850–1950

To mark the 25th anniversary of the National Gallery of Australia, an exhibition of treasured works from the National Collection. Ocean to Outback: Australian Landscape Painting 1850–1950 has been curated by National Gallery Director, Ron Radford AM and celebrates the rich history of landscape painting in Australia.

nga.gov.au/OceanToOutback

21 June–27 July 2008
Cairns Regional Art Gallery Cairns QLD

9 August–19 October 2008
Araluen Galleries Alice Springs  NT

8 November 2008–1 February 2009
Newcastle Region Art Gallery Newcastle NSW

14 February –17 May 2009
Canberra Museum and Gallery Canberra  ACT

Jeffrey Smart Wallaroo 1951 (detail) oil on plywood Collection of the National Gallery of Australia

Blue case: Technology
The Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn Gift

The Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn gift enables people from all around Australia to discover and handle treasured objects. Made possible by Jim Wolfensohn, the Australian-born former president of the World Bank, the gift comprises three art-filled suitcases and The 1888 Melbourne Cup, touring to schools, libraries, community centres, regional galleries and nursing homes

 

nga.gov.au/Wolfensohn
nga.gov.au/Wolfensohn/blue.htm

 

Gilbert Riedelbauch 'Double bowl' 2000 nylon, rapid prototyping from a mathematical equation National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Red case: myths & rituals
The Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn Gift

The Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn gift enables people from all around Australia to discover and handle treasured objects. Made possible by Jim Wolfensohn, the Australian-born former president of the World Bank, the gift comprises three art-filled suitcases and The 1888 Melbourne Cup, touring to schools, libraries, community centres, regional galleries and nursing homes

nga.gov.au/Wolfensohn
nga.gov.au/Wolfensohn/red.htm

Unknown artist 'Ceremonial kettle' 17th–19th century, brass National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Yellow case: form, space & design
The Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn Gift

The Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn gift enables people from all around Australia to discover and handle treasured objects. Made possible by Jim Wolfensohn, the Australian-born former president of the World Bank, the gift comprises three art-filled suitcases and The 1888 Melbourne Cup, touring to schools, libraries, community centres, regional galleries and nursing homes

nga.gov.au/Wolfensohn
nga.gov.au/Wolfensohn/yellow.htm

 

John Edgar 'Light stone' 1993, greywacke stone, glass National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

The 1888 Melbourne Cup
The Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn Gift

The Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn gift enables people from all around Australia to discover and handle treasured objects. Made possible by Jim Wolfensohn, the Australian-born former president of the World Bank, the gift comprises three art-filled suitcases and The 1888 Melbourne Cup, touring to schools, libraries, community centres, regional galleries and nursing homes

nga.gov.au/Wolfensohn
nga.gov.au/Wolfensohn/cup.htm

Elkington & Co. 'The 1888 Melbourne Cup' 1887 maker's mark of Frederick Elkington Collection of the National Gallery of Australia