Throughout 2012 the Gallery has presented a vibrant program
of exhibitions and displays that profiled the strengths of the
Collection and highlighted recently acquired works.
The exhibition ‘Lightness &
Gravity’ showcased the Gallery’s
contemporary collection in a series
of thematic constellations by a
selection of international artists and
included a number of recent major
acquisitions.
Two recently acquired video
installations were showcased at
GOMA.
the meaning of style
2011
is a single-channel video projection
by English artist Phil Collins,
filmed with a group of young Malay
skinheads in Penang and
Ride the
Caspian
2011 is a collaborative
work by Kazakhstan artist Almagul
Menlibayeva and Iranian artist Bahar
Behbahani. ‘Social Networking’
highlighted ways contemporary
artists explore social contact
with their subjects and audiences.
Addressing themes including human
rights, sustainability and cultural
exchange, the works reflected on the
ways that individuals shape, and are
shaped by, their social networks.
‘Impressionists/ Edwardians/
Expatriates: Australian Art from
the Collection’ examined how many
of Australia’s most talented artists
were drawn to Europe at the end
of the nineteenth century to study
due to greater opportunities for
patronage. The display featured
paintings by the ‘Heidelberg school’
artists Frederick McCubbin, Tom
Roberts, Charles Conder and Arthur
Streeton who all shared an interest
in French Impressionism.
‘Propaganda?’ considered the varied
approaches of politically motivated
art. From the traditional forms of
painting and sculpture, to mass
media such as prints, posters,
banners and photography, art has
often been used to express the
ideology of the state, promote the
views of specific groups, criticise
the status quo or document events.
‘Impressionists/ Edwardians/ Expatriates:
Australian Art from the Collection’
(4 August – 14 October 2012) was
specially curated while ‘Portrait of Spain:
Masterpieces from the Prado’ occupied
the Australian Galleries at QAG
COllECTION DISPlAyS
AND EXHIBITIONS
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