Logan lapping up Brett Whiteley art experience

Visitors are flocking to Logan Art Gallery to view ‘the real deal’ in Australian artistic talent, following the 20 July opening of Brett Whiteley: Inside the Studio, a touring exhibition by The Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Art Gallery of New South Wales curator, Brett Whiteley Studio, Nick Yelverton said this is a unique opportunity for Logan audiences to see iconic works by Whiteley – one of Australia’s most gifted and revered artists. 

Mr Yelverton travelled from Sydney to curate the exhibition at Logan Art Gallery, and told a local radio station Whiteley was ‘the real deal’ of the art world.

‘He was terribly talented, he was charismatic and he achieved extraordinary success for an Australian artist at home and abroad as well,’ Mr Yelverton said on radio.

On opening day, 20 July, as hundreds of visitors passed through the gallery, Mr Yelverton told Our Logan how pleased he was that the City of Logan was embracing the opportunity to host the travelling exhibition.

‘The Logan locals are absolutely lapping up the Brett Whiteley exhibition here and I couldn’t be more excited about it,’ he said.

Above: Opening day of the Brett Whiteley exhibition at Logan Art Gallery

‘The Art Gallery of New South Wales is very keen on partnering up with regional galleries across Australia for touring exhibitions like Brett Whiteley: Inside the Studio. The Art Gallery has a very large and rich collection and would like to share it with as many people as possible.

‘When we heard that Logan was interested in taking on the show, we jumped at the chance to work with them because we knew they had a dedicated and experienced staff working here.

‘We loved their gallery and we know that the audience here is very diverse and they love their art.’

Brett Whiteley’s wife Wendy Whiteley attended the Logan Art Gallery opening as a guest speaker and commented that she was thrilled with the curation of the exhibition by Mr Yelverton.

Drawn from the collections of The Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Brett Whiteley Studio in Sydney, the exhibition presents a selection of works across various media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, collage and ceramics.

Above: Visitors explore the large variety of items on display at the Brett Whiteley exhibition at Logan Art Gallery on opening day.

The free touring exhibition runs from 20 July to 8 September at Logan Art Gallery in Logan Central, then travels to John Curtin Gallery in Western Australia, Orange Regional Gallery in New South Wales, and the Art Gallery of Ballarat in Victoria.

Included in the exhibition are some of Whiteley’s most iconic paintings, such as The balcony 2 1975 and Self portrait in the studio 1976, alongside lesser known but equally important early abstractions, works made in London and New York in the 1960s, and works from Whiteley’s final series, Paris ‘Regard de Côté’.

Rarely seen archival photographs depicting Whiteley at work (and sometimes at play) in studios in London, New York and Sydney show some of the artworks in various stages of completion, offering a glimpse into his creative world.

In a career spanning three decades, he won the coveted Archibald Prize for portraiture twice, participated in significant exhibitions of contemporary art in Australia and Europe, and now has his work held in the collections of every major museum in Australia as well as in prestigious institutions abroad.

Whiteley’s practice was predominately studio-based, with the artist often working at an easel, on a table or sometimes directly on the floor, giving him complete control over the conditions of his art-making.

A popular feature at Logan Art Gallery is guests being able to listen to a playlist of music that Whiteley used to listen to, as they walk through the exhibition.

‘He lived a very romantic bohemian lifestyle, a little bit of a rock and roll lifestyle and I feel like that captivates people – that romantic life of an artist,’ Mr Yelverton said on radio.

‘He had very broad eclectic musical tastes. He liked to listen to rock, pop, folk, punk, reggae, classical.’

Above: Brett Whiteley painting ‘Self portrait in the studio’ at Lavender Bay, 1976 (detail), National Art Archive, Art Gallery of New South Wales, donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Louise Walker 2008, photo: Robert Walker © Estate of Robert Walker

It is free to attend the exhibition, however a ticket is needed. Ticket bookings can be made through the Logan Arts website at lccqld.com/secure-brett-whiteley-tickets 

There are other public activities that coincide with the exhibition, including ‘Brett Whiteley Inside the Studio Movie Presentations’, which provide a visual journey into his private life and creative legacy, and the ‘Brett Whiteley Inside The Studio Artists’ Studio Bus Tour’, which is a half-day tour to explore  a range of Logan’s artist studios. For details and tickets visit Brett Whiteley: Inside the Studio Movie presentations – LoganARTS and Brett Whiteley: Inside the Studio Artists’ Studio Bus Tour – LoganARTS

ABOUT BRETT WHITELEY

• One of Australia’s most celebrated and successful artists.
• Career spanned three decades.
• His work held in the collections of every major Australia museum as well as in prestigious institutions abroad.
• Was a multiple winner of three of Australia’s premier art prizes: the coveted Archibald Prize for portraiture twice in 1976 and 1978; the Sir John Sulman Prize in 1976 and 1978; the Wynne Prize in 1977, 1978 and 1984.
• Participated in significant exhibitions of contemporary art in Australia and Europe and had studios in London, New York, Paris and Sydney.
• Whiteley’s practice was predominately studio-based working at an easel, on a table or sometimes directly on the floor.
• His studio practice began in the mid to late 1950s when he converted his parents’ backyard glasshouse into a makeshift studio.
• A former warehouse in Sydney’s Surry Hills served as his studio from 1985 and home from 1988 until his death in 1992.
• Since 1995 it has been administered as a public museum by the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
• Whiteley was awarded an Order of Australia medal in 1991 just prior to his death.

Photo at top: The Art Gallery of New South Wales curator Nick Yelverton at the opening of ‘Brett Whiteley: Inside The Studio’ at Logan Art Gallery.