APT 2002 Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, Australia : Report

QUEENSLAND ART GALLERY - COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT Yayoi Kusama, Narcissus garden (detail) The development of the Queensland Art Gallery Collection through the APT project is one of the long term achievements and benefits that continues to enrich the cultural scope of the Gallery’s Asian and Pacific activities. The commitment to display the contemporary art of our region is further developed through collection development, and is as important an aspect as the APT exhibitions. As with the previous three Triennials, APT 2002 provided the Gallery with an opportunity to make significant acquisitions. • A major development with this Triennial was the commissioning of an exceptional group of artwork with acquisition interests signalled at the inception of the project. • These acquisitions were further supported with a group of significant gifts, an unprecedented development in regard to the APT project. • In this regard, of the 91 works of art exhibited in APT 2002, 43 works are now part of the Gallery’s Collection, including the 3 gifts. APT 2002 was built around a curatorial investigation of the work of three senior artists – Yayoi Kusama, Lee U-fan and Nam June Paik. The Gallery’s collection development paralleled an equal energy in ensuring that these artists would continue to be represented with strong coherent bodies of work. Soul under the moon 2002 was a new work by senior Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama commissioned for the APT 2002. This magnificent work was acquired with the assistance of the Myer family, The Myer Foundation and through a public appeal for funds through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation. This acquisition was accompanied by the gifting of Narcissus garden 1966/2002 by Yayoi Kusama to the Gallery. Lee U-fan has representation in the Collection with a group of 2 sculptures and 2 paintings. The acquisition of a major Nam June Paik sculpture TV cello 2000 just prior to the opening of APT 2002 augmented the Gallery’s now substantial holdings of this internationally significant artist. The philanthropy of The Myer Foundation and Michael Simcha Baevski and Ann Gamble Myer continue to be prescient to the Queensland Art Gallery. It is through their collective support that the Gallery’s contemporary Asian art collections have been able to make challenging and visionary acquisitions. All 43 acquisitions from the APT 2002 exhibition signal the Gallery’s ambition in regard to its Collection intentions in light of its second building extension, the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. Together they augment the Contemporary Asian & Pacific Collections by developing the depth and substance of a collection that is now one of the most significant of it’s kind in Australia with a recognised International profile. 87