Past exhibitions

AGNSW Contemporary Project

This display juxtaposes works by two established contemporary artists on the basis of a currently shared subject matter – birds.

With imagery sourced from general publications – with titles like Birds of the world – Tony Clark’s paintings draw on different cultural conventions and styles of art from the high to the low, including Baroque painting and Middle Eastern decorative art traditions.

Wolseley’s images of birds by contrast, are based on first-hand observation of species in their natural environment.

While visually and theoretically dissimilar, these two artists are joined by a shared inheritance in the gentleman amateur tradition of 18th century collectors of natural history and cultural artefacts, their study often through description, and ordering into systems.

AGNSW Contemporary Projects are supported by Andrew Cameron