With works from Sidney Nolan, Howard Arkley and more, this richly illustrated work illuminates the untold stories and origins of the most important event of the art world.
Before the winds of World War I blew Europe apart, a rowdy and radical group of Australian artists would gather in the salons of Paris and London to embrace new ways of painting and seeing the world. By 1914 twelve of them had shown their works at the Venice International Exhibition, now known as the Venice Biennale. Bundled in with the British, Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Thea Proctor were represented alongside legendary artists Corot, Rodin, Klimt and Renoir
Four decades later Australia sent its first official delegation of artists: Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale and William Dobell; the works of Rover Thomas, Howard Arkley, Patricia Piccinini and Shaun Gladwell continued the story of bold Australian art in Venice.
With the support of the Australian art community, the Venice Biennale today remains an aspiration and career highlight for contemporary artists and Australia's love affair with the exhibition thrives. Discover the untold…
Before the winds of World War I blew Europe apart, a rowdy and radical group of Australian artists would gather in the salons of Paris and London to embrace new ways of painting and seeing the world. By 1914 twelve of them had shown their works at the Venice International Exhibition, now known as the Venice Biennale. Bundled in with the British, Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Thea Proctor were represented alongside legendary artists Corot, Rodin, Klimt and Renoir.
Four decades later Australia sent its first official delegation of artists: Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale and William Dobell; the works of Rover Thomas, Howard Arkley, Patricia Piccinini and Shaun Gladwell continued the story of bold Australian art in Venice.
With the support of the Australian art community, the Venice Biennale today remains an aspiration and career highlight for contemporary artists and Australia's love affair with the exhibition thrives. Discover the untold stories of the world's most important art event through one hundred years of Australian modern art.
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This is a feast for the eye, imagination and intellect.”
Sydney Arts guide
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Australia's participation at the Venice Biennale has a chequered history, and this splendidly produced book is the first comprehensive account of this history with an invaluable appendix that lists and illustrates many of this country's exhibits.”
The Canberra Times
Kerry Gardner
Kerry Gardner is chair of Australia at the Venice Biennale and a documentary film maker with a passion for art history and museum practice. She was Deputy Chair of Heide Museum of Modern Art , and a Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. She also works as a global champion for gender equality with the Global Fund for Women. She was awarded an Order of Australia in 2018 for contributions to the culture…
The Drawing Room: Australia at the Venice Biennale
For decades, the Venice Biennale has seen Australia's top artists given a chance to present their work on the world stage.
But it turns out that our history with the festival stretches back to its earliest years, in the late 19th Century.
Australia's participation at the Venice Biennale has a chequered history, and this splendidly produced book is the first comprehensive account of this history with an invaluable appendix that lists and illustrates many of this country's exhibits.
Barbed wire and bare bums: how Australian art came of age
In the same year that the US unleashed the cutting-edge works of Mark Rothko onto the Venice Biennale’s celebration of contemporary art, Australia fronted up with landscapes that were already more than 50 years old. It was 1958 and Arthur Streeton had been dead for 15 years; of his 14 paintings exhibited, the most recent was 51 years old.
AUSTRALIA AT THE VENICE BIENNALE : A CENTURY OF CONTEMPORARY ART BY KERRY GARDNER
Kerry Gardner is chair of Australia at the Venice Biennale and a documentary filmmaker with a passion for art history and museum practice. She was Deputy Chair of Heide Museum of Modern Art, and a Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. She also works as a global champion for gender equality with the Global Fund for Women. She was awarded an Order of Australia in 2018 for contributions to the culture, environment and equality sectors.