The world-premiere exhibition ‘Between Two Worlds | Escher X nendo’ is the centrepiece of the National Gallery of Victoria’s Spring/Summer 2018/19 season. Featuring more than 160 extraordinary prints and drawings by Dutch artist M.C. Escher, presented in an immersive environment created by acclaimed Japanese design studio nendo, this exhibition intertwines the worlds of both artist and designer in a masterful and enigmatic visual presentation.
Celebrated as a master of optical illusion, Escher created some of the most iconic images of the 20th century. Drawn from the world’s largest collection of Escher’s work in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, this expansive exhibition is the first major Australian presentation of the artist’s work and will cover the full span of the artist’s career, from 1916 through to his final work produced in 1969.
M.C. Escher, Day and Night. © The M.C. Escher Company, The Netherlands. All rights reserved.
As one of the leading design studios in the world, nendo will draw upon their unique design approach to create a deeply immersive exhibition experience inspired by M.C. Escher. Through the ingenious manipulation of geometry, space and perception, nendo’s never-before-seen exhibition design will transcend tradition and present Escher’s work in new and surprising contexts.
Presented alongside this Melbourne-exclusive exhibition will be a dynamic calendar of events, programs and exhibitions throughout spring and summer at NGV International and NGV Australia, including major solo exhibitions by Polly Borland, Julian Opie, Hito Steyerl and William Wegman.
Australian artist Polly Borland is known for her photographs of noted figures including Queen Elizabeth II, Nick Cave and Gwendolyn Christie. The recent period of Borland’s practice has seen her render the body surreal and abject; inviting the viewer to see the human form in unfamiliar ways, infused both with humour and an unsettling disquiet. The exhibition will comprise works from several of Borland’s important recent series, including ‘Monster’, ‘Bunny’, ‘Smudge’, and a series of new works.
Polly Borland, Pupa XIX, 2012. Courtesy the artist and Murray White Room, Melbourne © Polly Borland
More than any other artist of his generation, the work of British artist Julian Opie has found great influence over the wider field of pop culture with his signature bold, pared back, style of depiction. In this exhibition created specifically for the NGV International spaces, a large range of Opie’s favourite subjects will be on view, including a city of skyscrapers that will take over Federation Court, stretching up to the glass roof. People are a key focus throughout the show which features portraits, including some of his most recent which take his minimal approach to new lengths; life-sized full length figures (including a suite based on Australian passers-by); crowds and his renowned walkers, which through the use of animation recall the famous photographic sequences by Edward Muybridge. More than forty of the artist’s moving image works will also be on display in the exhibition.
Opie will also create an exhibition for the NGV’s dedicated children’s gallery, featuring a new participatory project, which will give insight into the process of his drawing practice. Also on display will be the artist’s fascination with animals, with animated birds, sheep, a school of carp and a horse occupying the garden, waterwall and an unexpected, large-scale fountain sculpture in the NGV’s garden to surprise visitors.
Julian Opie, Walking in Melbourne 1, 2018, vinyl on wooden stretcher, 250 x 284.2 x 3.5cm. Courtesy the artist
German-born, Hito Steyerl’s landmark video installation Factory of the Sun makes its Australian premiere, first shown at the 2015 German Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale. Steyerl’s work takes the digital image as a point of departure for explorations of the ethics, politics, economics and aesthetics of our digital present in ways both critical and playful. She is one of the most critically acclaimed artists working in the field of video today. Factory of the Sun samples different genres of moving image including documentary film, video games, drone surveillance, advertising, news footage, and YouTube dance videos. The video tells the story of workers whose forced actions in a motion capture studio are turned into artificial sunshine. The light produced serves as a metaphor for the light emitted from digital screens, and the electromagnetic frequencies used to transmit information around the globe. Shifting between playful and menacing, Factory of the Sun draws viewers into a game-like world that nevertheless reflects contemporary questions.
William Wegman, Constructivism, 2014, pigment print. Collection of the artist
Later in the year the NGV will present the enigmatic work of William Wegman, renowned as a versatile artist who resists an easy classification, moving adroitly between painting, drawing, photography, film, video, books and performances. Wegman’s muse is a Weimaraner named Man Ray, in honour of one of Wegman’s most admired modern artists, this dog was the first in a line of highly spirited performers and became one of his most celebrated subjects. Wegman’s choices of sets, costumes and props reveal a fascination with art history – cubism, colour field painting, abstract expressionism, constructivism, conceptualism and, of course, photography itself.
A highlight of Melbourne’s event calendar, the NGV Gala, a black-tie ball featuring art, fashion, music, fine wine and food, will coincide with the opening of the world-premiere exhibition, ‘Between Two Worlds | Escher X nendo’, on 1 December 2018 at NGV International. Tickets are on sale from April 26 2018 at 6pm.
