The works of one of Australia’s most celebrated artists are coming to Logan Art Gallery.
The exhibition – Brett Whiteley: Inside the Studio – will open in July thanks to a collaboration between Logan City Council, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Brett Whiteley Studio.
Logan Art Gallery is the only Queensland gallery, and one of four regional galleries across Australia, to host the travelling exhibition which offers a special insight into the late Australian artist’s studio practices.
The free exhibition features works across various media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, collage, ceramics and sketchbooks.
It also includes rarely seen photographs depicting Whiteley at work, and sometimes at play, in studios in London, New York and Sydney.
A playlist of songs from Whiteley’s vinyl record collection will add a lively soundtrack to the exhibition and highlights the significant role music played in his creative process.
Sydney-born Whiteley was a multiple winner of the three premier art prizes in Australia – the Archibald Prize (1976, 1978), the Sir John Sulman Prize (1976, 1978) and the Wynne Prize (1977, 1978 and 1984).
The Logan Art Gallery exhibition will feature some of Whiteley’s lesser known but equally important early artworks created in London and New York in the 1960s and exhibits from his final series, Paris ‘Regard de Côté’.
Whiteley died in 1992 at the age of 53.
City of Logan Mayor Darren Power said Logan City Council was proud that Logan Art Gallery had been chosen to host such an iconic exhibition.
“This is a real achievement for Logan Art Gallery,” Councillor Power said.
“This free exhibition offers not only an Archibald Prize-winning painting and other well-known works but it also provides an insight into Brett Whiteley’s life and creative legacy.”
Art Gallery of New South Wales curator, Brett Whiteley Studio, Nick Yelverton said this new touring exhibition offers audiences around Australia a fascinating insight into the studio practice of one of Australia’s most gifted and revered artists.
“Whiteley is one of the most instantly recognisable names in Australian art,” Mr Yelverton said.
“This exhibition brings together some standout works as well as some lesser-known gems to give viewers a real sense of an artist at work.
“Featuring important artworks from the collections of both the Brett Whiteley Studio and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, this is a rare chance for interstate audiences to experience the work of Whiteley that they may have never seen before.”
Brett Whiteley: Inside the Studio is at Logan Art Gallery from Friday, July 19 to Saturday. September 7.
The exhibition, which has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program, will also travel to Perth, Orange and Ballarat.
