With the recent news of no less than six galleries closing their doors in Perth, talk of a West Australian “Art Bust” has been hitting the pages of most local newspapers. The closure of Gallery East, Perth Galleries, Goddard de Fiddes, Anthony Riding Gallery and Galerie Dusseldorf, all within 12 months, on the surface looks particularly worrying. The truth is, however, that like all major art markets over the years, Perth is in a stage of generational change where many of these dealers have simply opted to retire after carving some pivotal cultural inroads for the state for more than 30 years.
With the addition of some much-needed world class exhibitions at the Art Gallery of WA, the local appetite for contemporary art is most certainly on the way up. The dream of the gallery’s director, Stefano Carboni, of bringing the world to Perth has had a major shot in the arm courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and a three-year partnership was launched in June with the opening of Picasso to Warhol. The exhibition includes celebrated works by Henri Matisse, Constantin Brancusi, Piet Mondrian, Fernand Léger, Marcel Duchamp, Giorgio De Chirico, Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollock and Romare Bearden.
“The launch exhibition will provide visitors with a wonderful opportunity to experience works by the world’s great modern artists, each represented by some of their best and most distinctive pieces,” says Carboni. “It’s an excellent introduction to the six-exhibition series.”
Standouts include the classic soup cans of Warhol and the Jasper Johns works cleverly purchased by the museum from his early commercial exhibitions at Leo Castelli Gallery. The exhibition runs until December 3, and The Friends of the Art Gallery of WA will present a special lecture series and themed closing party in honour of Warhol in November.
Art Gallery of Western Australia
until December 3, 2012
Perth
Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Soup Cans, 1962, synthetic polymer paint on 32 canvases, 50.8 x 40.6cm (each)
Collection of The Museum of Modern Art; image courtesy Art Gallery of Western Australia
