Past exhibitions 2017

Over 80 magnificent but seldom-seen watercolours made between the 1830s and 1900 from the Gallery’s collection are presented in a Victorian-style display in the historic Grand Courts.

Begun in 1999, this scholarship for young Australian painters is now in its 19th year. Its inspiration was the profound effect international travel and study had on the artist Brett Whiteley.

Showcases Brett Whiteley’s affinity with the land west of Sydney – encompassing Bathurst, Oberon, Sofala and beyond.

Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, this small collection display offers contemporary Australian perspectives on some of the defining moments of Russian avant-garde art.

The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes is an annual exhibition eagerly anticipated by artists and audiences alike.

A celebration of a central figure in Australian photography and his contribution to art and photojournalism over half a century.

Drawn from the Gallery’s collection, this exhibition considers the diversity of ancestors who inhabit and enliven country and the complex, ongoing attachments to country held by Aboriginal people.

Discover how these three renowned artists championed a new way of picturing the world as trailblazers of a shared modernist vision.

Works by artists associated with 1960s minimalism are displayed alongside contemporary works that question or expand upon the minimalist tradition.

One of the most important Australian photographers of his generation subverts traditional approaches to landscape photography and alters the way we look at the world and consider our place within it.

This is the first of three biennial surveys of contemporary Australian art – a collaboration between the Gallery, Carriageworks and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.

Works from the Gallery’s collection that explore the tensions, conflicts, suspicions and political struggles that are central to any discussion about rights to land in Australia.

Surveying the remarkable, seven-decade career of one of Australia’s most distinguished artists, this is the most comprehensive exhibition ever mounted on John Olsen’s work.

Selections from the personal archive of performance/installation artist Katthy Cavaliere, reflecting the recurring themes of her childhood and family in her art.

The most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Andy Warhol’s early career in more than 25 years.

Bask in and interact with Japanese art exploring time and light through video, photography, sound and installation from the 1990s to now.

Featuring Wendy Whiteley in various poses in the bath, these intimate works, a celebration of love, are both erotic and sensual in form and subject.

Explore 1000 years of the beauty, power and spirit of calligraphy in Asian art, with works in different mediums from the ancient to the contemporary.

A dynamic and popular exhibition featuring a selection of outstanding student artworks developed for the artmaking component of the HSC examination in Visual Arts 2016.

Sydney collective Barbara Cleveland explore the life and legacy of their namesake: the mythic performance artist Barbara Cleveland, who they have recovered from the margins of Australian art history.

Does the art of our time still offer signs and symbols to live by? From Colin McCahon to Cy Twombly, the artists in this exhibition all respond to this question in different ways.

Drawn from the Gallery’s collection, this exhibition features recent work by Australian and international photographers who expand the limits of photographic representation.

In this video installation, German artist Julian Rosefeldt works with Australian actor Cate Blanchett to give new life to some of the most famous and provocative writings by artists of the modern era.

Discover the playful spirit, visual energy and political thrust of graphic art from the 1960s and 1970s.

With its distinctive fusion of styles and influences, the art of this acclaimed Indonesian artist defies categorisation.

Over 100 major representations of the nude, including paintings, sculptures, photographs and prints by renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso, Lucian Freud, Henri Matisse and Louise Bourgeois.

Presents the Gallery’s exceptional collection of exquisite bark paintings and sculptural forms from the small island community of Milingimbi in Arnhem Land.

Drawn from the Gallery’s collection, this exhibition showcases prints and paintings from the community of Yuendumu, most of which refer to the elements of fire or water or both.