New floor for contemporary art
On 21 May, the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney unveils a new floor for contemporary art.This major development was catalysed by the gift of the John Kaldor Family Collection—the largest donation of art to a public gallery in Australia’s history.
The Kaldor Collection includes over 200 works by some of the most celebrated international artists of our time and features in-depth representations of Robert Rauschenberg, Christo, Sol LeWitt, Richard Long, Bill Viola, Thomas Demand, Francis Alÿs and Ugo Rondinone. With the inclusion of the Kaldor Collection, the Art Gallery of New South Wales now holds Australia’s most comprehensive representation of contemporary art from the 1960s to now.
The new floor comprises the John Kaldor Family Gallery, a suite of contemporary and modern galleries, the project space, a dedicated photography gallery, and a study room for the Gallery’s works on paper collection.
The first display will feature new commissions by Richard Long and Ugo Rondinone, and five vast wall drawings by Sol LeWitt. These will join works by Donald Judd, Carl Andre and Frank Stella that reflect the Kaldor Collection’s significant engagement with American minimalism; performative works by Gilbert & George, Francis Alÿs and Paul Pfeiffer; an exceptional representation of German photography that includes Bernd and Hilla Becher, Andreas Gursky and Thomas Struth; and video works by Nam June Paik, Shaun Gladwell and Paul Chan.
The AGNSW Contemporary Projects series resumes with a video installation by Sydney-based artist Sam Smith, while the first exhibition in the adjacent photography gallery is by Tracey Moffatt. Major works from the Gallery’s Australian collection will also be on display, including the artists Hany Armanious, Simryn Gill, Rosemary Laing, Callum Morton, David Noonan, Susan Norrie, Mike Parr, Patricia Piccinini and Ricky Swallow.
OPEN WEEKEND
On 21 and 22 May, the Gallery will hold an Open Weekend of free events to celebrate the launch of the new contemporary galleries, with keynote presentations by leading international and Australian artists, and an extensive program of floor talks, performances and film screenings.
PUBLICATION
The Kaldor Collection display is accompanied by an extensively illustrated 344-page book featuring an interview with John Kaldor and texts by Klaus Biesenbach, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Anthony Bond and Wayne Tunnicliffe, Art Gallery of New South Wales; and renowned Australian author David Malouf.
VENUE INFORMATION
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery Road,
The Domain, Sydney NSW 2000
Open daily 10am–5pm, Wednesdays until 9pm
Closed Good Friday & Christmas Day
Info line 1800 679 278
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au
