Update: this world exclusive exhibition must close on Sunday, March 13. To celebrate the final weekend and to accommodate the expected final rush of visitors, the gallery is opening the doors later on Friday, Saturday and Sunday March 11-13 until 9pm. With free drop-in lolly lei workshops, musical performances and DJ sets, plus the café open late for drinks and a bite to eat, you can say adieu to the artworks with a vibrant night to remember.
After the winter (and summer) that was, we all need a massive dose of vibrant colour in our lives right now. Well, Art Gallery of NSW listened and delivered. Matisse: Life & Spirit, Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou presents the largest collection of the revered painter’s joyous work to ever wing its way to Sydney, with thanks to the world-famous Parisian home of contemporary art.
You’ll be able to soak up the spirit-lifting sight of more than 100 of his brilliantly inventive creations – not just paintings but also sculptures, drawings, cut-outs and more – from November 20 right through to March 13, 2022. The show takes in the full scope of his six decade-spanning career, with many of the inclusions having never been displayed in Australia. A special presentation focused on his work in Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, in the south of France, is at the heart of the exhibition. It’s considered to be the culmination of his life’s work. Sydney-based architect Richard Johnson has conjured up life-sized maquettes of the chapel windows.
AGNSW head curator of international art Justin Paton worked with special exhibitions curator Jackie Dunn and Centre Pompidou’s Dr Aurélie Verdier to bring this glowing exhibition to life.
AGNSW director Dr Michael Brand is delighted. “We are proud to offer our visitors an encounter with one of the world’s greatest collections of Matisse’s work here in Sydney on Gadigal country. The exhibition traces the development of the artist’s practice from his early breakthroughs into fauvism through to his late, great experiments in colour. These masterworks from the Centre Pompidou will reveal Matisse’s profound lifelong search to convey the vitality, joy and energy of the world as he saw it, which couldn’t be more relevant to our audiences today.”
And in honour of Matisse’s endless creativity, the gallery presents a gallery-wide festival in his honour, dubbed Matisse Alive. It brings together artworks form the collection that speak to his work, plus a free program of art, music and performance, opening up a dialogue with contemporary artists. Contributors include American artist Nina Chanel Abney, who explores race, gender, homophobia and politics in her work; Australian Sally Smart, a proponent of cut-out art; Angela Tiatia, who unpicks neo-colonialism; and New Zealander Robin White. There is also be a stunning display of tivaevae – the Polynesian art of quilting – crafted by the Cook Islands community of South-Western Sydney.
The gallery is open daily 10am-5pm, and tickets are on sale now.
