Queensland Art Gallery Annual Report 1995-96

I N T E R N A T I O N A L PROGRAMS and Manager, International Programs. The Triennial headed the the Gallery's greatest successes, attracting unprecedented critical Flash Asia News section of Flash Art's November/December issue. acclaim and attention. Reviews appeared in a wide variety of media including (in Australia) the Age, Australian, Bulletin, Sydney Morning Visits to the Gallery by officials from places associated with the Herald, Herald Sun, Canberra Times, Mercury and Courier-Mail; Triennial included Mr Kwok Klan Chow, Director of the Singapore and (internationally) the Art Newspaper and the annual supplement Art Museum, to discuss inter institutional links and developments to the Gazette des Beaux-Arts. towards the 1996 project; Ms Yulin Lee from the Taipei Fine Arts Museum; His Excellency Mr Ric Campbell Smith, the Ambassador The 304-page catalogue also received a very positive response from Designate to the People's Republic of China and Mongolia; His critics. john McDonald wrote further that it was 'a superb catalogue Excellency Mr D. P. Gribble, the Australian High Commissioner full of original essays by leading international scholars ... [which] to India; His Excellency Mr C. A. Edwards, the Australian High should be enjoying a wide international audience long after the Commissioner Designate to Vanuatu; and His Excellency exhibition has become a distant memory'. Paul McGillick wrote in Mr David Irvine, the Australian High Commissioner Designate the Australian Financial Review on 2 June 1995 that it was 'a truly to Papua New Guinea, comprehensive and intelligent survey supported by a particularly fine catalogue'. Exhibitions Development 'Paris: In the Late 19th Century' Final attendances for its display at the National Gallery of Victoria This exhibition, curated by the National Gallery of Australia and the were 16 000. With the National Gallery of Australia's 99 453 visitors Musée d'Orsay, will include over two hundred works in a variety of and the Queensland Art Gallery's 87 800, over 300 000 visitors media and continues the Queensland Art Gallery's commitment viewed the exhibition in Australia. to staging major exhibitions of works by international artists. Preparations are currently underway at the Gallery for its Brisbane Loans season, which opens in March 1997. Picasso's La Belle Hollandaise 1905 was exhibited at the Musée Picasso, Paris, in early 1996 as a pivotal work within the exhibition Exchange Exhibitions with Shanghai 'Carnets', which included Picasso's Dutch sketchbooks. The loan was under the Sister State Agreement arranged in recognition of the Musée Picasso's great generosity A proposal has been submitted to the Shanghai Museum for an in making a number of works available for the Gallery's 'Matisse' exhibition 'Vessels and jewels: Contemporary Australian Views' exhibition in 1995, including the major painting Basket of to be shown in 1997 at the new Shanghai Museum and for a return oranges 1912. exhibition from the Shanghai Museum featuring Chinese paintings. A Venetian Renaissance oil on copper, Deposition from the Cross 'Whistler' c. 17th century, has been lent to the Gallery by the Abbey Museum, The Director travelled overseas in May-June to negotiate loans for Caboolture Shire. After receiving some treatment from the this exhibition, to be curated by him and organised by the Gallery Gallery's conservation staff, it has been placed on display where for 1999. it makes an interesting addition to the Gallery's other Italian Renaissance works - Tintoretto's Cristo risorgente (The risen Christ) 'European Modernism: Asian Modernism: c.1555 and Giambologna's The Flagellation of Christ c.1579. Australian Modernism' Considerable interest has been expressed from the region in this Acquisitions initiative by the Gallery, which is planned as a year 2000 exhibition. A surrealist work by Yves Tanguy was purchased with a special State Government allocation of funds for major acquisitions to celebrate Matisse the Gallery's centenary year. Fumier S gauche, violettes S droite The 'Matisse' exhibition, organised and curated by the Queensland (Dung on the left, violets on the right) 1926 is a rare and significant Art Gallery's Deputy Director, Dr Caroline Turner, in association work from the early years of Tanguy's involvement with surrealism, with Art Exhibitions Australia Limited, completed its tour of and was shown at the artist's first one-man exhibition at the Galerie Australia, closing at the National Gallery of Victoria on 3 September. 5urr6aliste, Paris, in 1927 The Gallery has been interested for some time in acquiring an important surrealist work, so the purchase The exhibition's significance was recognised by its inclusion in the of Fumier ô gauche, violettes S droite is pertinent and timely to Cultural Agreement between the French and Australian acknowledge the Gallery's centenary. Governments, and further strengthened the relationship between the Gallery and French cultural institutions. Bringing together some The generous bequest of Mrs Gwyneth Jane Hulsen brought a small 270 works in a variety of media, lent by institutions and private group of Old Master works into the collection, the most significant collectors from around the world, the exhibition offered a being a small panel painting, The Annunciation 1520. This work has comprehensive overview of the artist's career, including some of been attributed to the Flemish master ]an Provost by the late his most acclaimed works. Max FriedlSnder, an internationally renowned scholar of Dutch and Flemish works. Described by john McDonald in the Sydney Morning Herald on I April 1995 as 'a model for the kind of "blockbuster" that Australia In line with the Gallery's commitment to develop a significant should be aiming to initiate', the exhibition proved to be one of collection of works by contemporary artists from the Asia-Pacific