Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 10 : Record of press coverage, March 1982 - May 1984

.. - ..,-. \rt Gallery Foundation was t·his ing Hercules :tnd Omplmlti. The : TED HOLLIOA Y) . -.r Reports: DES PARTRIDG!= . MONDAY. JUNE 21. 98! A final home for the gallery TAKE TWO million man houre, 61,000 tonnes of concrete, 2000 tonnes of steel, 1700 cubic metres of glass - and you have Brisbane's new landmark build– ing, the Queensland Art Gallery. After 111:i kcshirt qua rters for 11 l111os1a ,·cntury. the ga ll ery now ha, a perrna• ncnt ho111c, as stage one of the South llank Cult um I omplcx, due to be com– pleted in I9k5 with a performing arts bu ilding, museum a nd library. Apart from its eye-ca tching design by Rob111 Gillson and Pa rtners, the gallery has a glorious site on the Brisbane Riv– er.just a few minutes walk from 1heci1y ..:cntrc. Walk th rough the main entrance, framed by bronze-glazed doors, and you step into nn ex pansive foyer or llnlian marble. In this area is an informatiou desk, a cloakroom and a gallery shop. A new fea ture is a n nricnl a lion theatre where visitors ca n wa tch nn audio-visual pres• cntal ion introducing the building and its facilities. GAl.1.ERY staff members Andrew Dudley a 1d Debbie Short prepare sculptures and paintings to he displayed in the South Bank gallery. To the right is n unique view - the gallery's water mall , runninz parallel to the river 10 echo its relationship lo the ga llery.The Queen ElizabLlh II Silver Jubilee fountain is set in the river direct– ly in frnm of the gallery. '· The mall, a series of six pools, has a water display with submerged jets and two fountain systems. A skylight is de– signed 10 deflect direct sunlight, yet to fill the nrea with na tural light. The mall separates the 15 exhibition )!a lleries. wi th their relaxed environ- 1nen1. frnm the administration, educa– tion and lillrary areas. ••• Almost 8000 pla nts were used to sor– ten the rectangular outline of the build– ing. A large outdoor sculpture garden is integrated with the gallery, and a cafe– teria , on the water ma ll level, overlooks 1he sculpture garden and mall. A feature not previously available in the Queensland Art Gallery is a sound :,ml light-proof exhibition nrca. The"licw gallery comes 14 years after Qncensland Art Gallery trustees asked the Stale Government for improved fa. cilit ies a nd a site other than the cranoper.1, out-of-date q,uarlcrs it then occupied in the museum building on' <i r<:,llO!.Y,.Ie.rrace.• _ • . , . 1., :tt " 1'1tc•l'i,~t Queells t:t'nd ' A'rt Gallery opened on March 29, 1895, after efforts hv the urtist Isaac Walter Jenner over 1,vo years. Jenner ( 1830-1902) wrote to the Stale Government in 1893 urging a slate interest in a home for art. NATURAL light reaches the s11ace including the watc>r mall, which nms the length of the gallery. A skylight ahm·e the mall allows light into the area. cmphasisinJ.: the gallery's abundant spac('. The following year, Godfrey Rivers, president of the Queensland Art Society and nrl master of the Brisbane Tcchni– c:o l College, joined the campaign. Rivers pcrsunded the Mayor, Alder- man Robert Fraser. 10 provide a room in ohc nnw demolished Town 1-lall building in Queen Street. Rivers painted and fit• tc1I \JUI this room a t his own expense, :11ul was rcimhurscd by the government. I le ac1cd ns honorary cura tor of the gal– lery from I R9 5 lo 19 14. In I905, Ihe ga IIcry was re-opened on the third noor of the newly com~leted Executive Bu ildin g in George Street (now lhc I :o nds Admin istra tion build– ong). ••• The ga ll ery's fi rst full- ti me curntor, l:i 111es Wat I , wa~appoin ted in 191 5, and ""''" not unt il 1'>49 that the firs1dircc- 111r, Rnbert Campbel l, wns appointed. l11 l 1 JJO, the ga llery wns moved again, this time to the then 40-ycar-old Exhibi• '""' llu ilding con cr l hull (where Dame ~cllir Mellla :11nong others h:orl sung) a\ <; rcgor Terrace. ' The Queen~land Art Ga llery Fund, l'nun,led b pain te r Vidn La hey nod ,culp111r llrophnc Mayo, presented paint• ing, 1111he opening of the new gttllcry on ,\ pril ~. 1911, hy the Governor, Sir .l ohn Cinmlwin. 'I he gallery remai ned in tit se prcm– i,c, 11111il tl)7S, when it moved 10 tcmpo- 1.ir1 pr1•111i,r, Ill I lw f f h11ilotin1' j ( I C (