2007-08 Report

EXHIBITIONS AND AUDIENCES

QUEENSLAND ART GALLERY ANNUAL REPORT 2007–08 25

EXHIBITIONS

AND AUDIENCES

An intensive program of exhibitions and events was presented at

both the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) and the Gallery of Modern

Art (GoMA), maximising the opportunities made possible by the

expanded infrastructure. With established facilities now including

the Australian Cinémathèque and the Children's Art Centre, and a

creative commitment to access, education and interpretive issues,

the Gallery's exhibitions and programs were enjoyed by record

numbers and diverse audiences.

The Gallery also worked with partner institutions within the Cultural

Centre precinct and Arts Queensland to identify and implement

opportunities for collaborative programming and marketing.

Outcomes included the collaborative production of two promotional

guides for Cultural Centre visitors, with details of exhibitions,

performances, talks and films, and activities for children and

families.

EXHIBITIONS

The presentation of 'Andy Warhol' and 'Picasso & his

collection' — both exclusive to Brisbane — were highlights

of the year. Australia's first major Andy Warhol

retrospective, curated by QAG in conjunction with The

Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, presented more than

300 art works and attracted attendances of more than

232 000. 'Andy Warhol' included a film program

presented by the Australian Cinémathèque, dedicated

children's activities in the Silver Factory: Andy Warhol for

Kids at the Children's Art Centre; talks and tours; and a

new initiative, the Gallery's highly successful Up Late

series of Friday night talks, live entertainment and films.

See Focus: 'Andy Warhol', p.31.

Less than two months after the close of 'Andy Warhol',

'Picasso & his collection' organised by the musée national

Picasso, Paris, in association with the Queensland Art

Gallery and Art Exhibitions Australia, opened at GoMA.

The exhibition showed more than 100 works from

Picasso's personal art collection and around 80 important

works by Picasso himself. The Australian Cinémathèque

presented an extensive curated program of films about

Picasso, as well as films about artists represented in

Picasso's collection. The Children's Art Centre extended

its audience reach — in addition to Yo Picasso Kids, which

included art-making activities for children and two works

by Picasso, the Centre presented I Art History lectures

for secondary school students and a Contemporary

Media Lounge.

Coinciding with the Picasso exhibition, New York-based

Taiwanese artist Lee Mingwei re-created

Gernika in sand

a massive sand painting depicting Pablo Picasso's famous

oil painting

Guernica

1937. Previously shown only in

London and Chicago, the work was transformed in a

performance between sunrise and sunset on 9 June.

An engaging and diverse program across both Gallery

sites included major solo exhibitions and retrospectives

of works by Queensland, Australian and international

artists. German artist Katharina Grosse presented a major

installation in the Long Gallery at GoMA. Also at GoMA,

the Gallery showed two National Gallery of Victoria

touring exhibitions — a retrospective of works by Howard

Arkley and a major survey of the work of internationally

acclaimed, Queensland artist Gordon Bennett. At QAG,

'Making it Modern: The Watercolours of Kenneth

Macqueen' highlighted the importance of this Queensland

painter as a key Australian modernist. Curated by the

Gallery, the Macqueen exhibition featured some 130

watercolours from the Gallery's Collection and from

private and public collections. Also at QAG, the Gallery

presented 'Sidney Nolan: A New Retrospective', an

exhibition organised by the Art Gallery of New South

Wales and the first major retrospective since Nolan's

death in 1992. 'Mountains and Streams: Chinese

Paintings from the NGV Asian Collection' was also shown

at QAG. This National Gallery of Victoria Touring Exhibition

focused on Chinese landscape paintings from the

fourteenth to the twenty-first century. With support from

Xstrata Coal, the Gallery also developed and presented

the 'Xstrata Coal Emerging Indigenous Art Award 2007'.

Major exhibitions of moving-image works were curated

for the GoMA Media Gallery, an exhibition space with

high-end media capabilities. These included Pierre

Bismuth's first exhibition in Australia and 'The Leisure

Class', featuring film, video and installation by

international artists whose work responds to the

contemporary packaging of leisure and consumption as

markers of status and identity.

A number of annual award exhibitions continued,

including the 2007 'Education Minister's Awards For

Excellence in Art' and the 2008 'Creative Generation

Excellence Awards in Visual Art and Design', showcasing

the work of state and non-state secondary school

students from throughout Queensland.

Ian Fairweather

Scotland/Australia 1891–1974

(Snake charmer)

c.1949

Gouache, ink and watercolour

21.5 x 17.5cm (sight)

Purchased 2007. Queensland Art

Gallery Foundation

Viscopy, Sydney, 2008