What's on in Australia: March 2013 - May 2013

A selective round up of exhibitions and events

Compiled by Tina Burge

NSW

Alexander the Great: 2000 years of Treasures
Australian Museum, Sydney
24 November 2012 - 28 April 2013
The largest collection of treasures to come to Australia from the State Hermitage in St Petersburg, Russia includes over 400 objects from classical antiquity through to the modern age, spanning almost 2500 years.
For further information go to:
www.alexandersydney.com.au

Anish Kapoor
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
20 December 2012 - 1 April 2013
This first major presentation of Anish Kapoor’s work in Australia includes works from the entire gamut of his career and illuminates the artist’s constant experimentation with materials ranging from clay, plastic, steel, pigments and wax.
For further information go to:
www.mca.com.au

Soul of Simplicity – Seven centuries of Korean ceramics
Art Gallery of New South Wales
8 February 2013 – 21 April 2014
Focuses on 38 Goryeo and Joseon ceramics from the 12th to the 19th centuries, which reveal the unique aesthetic sensibility and outstanding technical prowess of Korean potters. The pieces come from the Museum of Oriental Ceramics in Osaka.

Jim Masselos’ South Asia Archive
Research Library, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
5 February 2013 - 4 May 2013 (Tuesday to Saturday only, restricted hours)
In 2011 Dr Jim Masselos donated a collection of images on paper related to India to the Art Gallery of NSW Archive. It ranges from early European woodcuts to later engravings and etchings, Indian prints, lithographs and chromolithographs as well as photographs, posters, paintings and drawings. A selection of the works will be on display.

Coffee talks: Auspicious Asia - a series of talks to inaugurate the Year of the Snake
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
19 February 2013 - 19 March 2013
This five week talk series showcases a different area or religion in the Asian region by a curator in the Asian department, followed by a walkthrough of the relevant section of the gallery.
For more information go to:
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

QUEENSLAND

The 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of
Contemporary Art
Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane
8 December 2012 - 14 April 2013
APT7 marks the 20th anniversary of the APT series. A central theme is our relationship to place at a time of rapid urbanisation and flux of people, trade and influence. APT7 will feature new and recent work by 75 artists and artist groups from 27 countries across the region, including painting, installation, sculpture and photography by Indigenous Australian artists; new works by artists from Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Vietnam; and a special focus on West Asia, with works and major commissions by artists from Turkey through the Middle East to Iran and Central Asia.
For further information go to:
www.qagoma.qld.gov.au

VICTORIA

Contemporary Asian and Pacific Art Gallery
National Gallery of Victoria (International), Melbourne
Ongoing
The NGVI’s newly opened Contemporary Asian and Pacific Art Gallery displays a number of new acquisitions including the video work ‘Farmer’ by Thai artist Sudsiri Pui-Ock, which represents the life of a farmer in a rice field from a planar perspective. The gallery is also providing a space for conceptual artists such as Rirkrit Tiravanija’s Untitled (lunchbox), which invite visitors to share a Thai takeaway meal and as a consequence, take part in making art.

Rally: Contemporary Indonesian Art, on until 1 April 2013, presents the work of contemporary Indonesian artists Eko Nugroho and Jompet Kuswidananto in a series of installations in the NGVI Contemporary Project Space and Federation court. Jompet is an installation artist while Nugroho works across diverse media; creating paintings, murals and handmade comic books, contemporary updates of the tradition of shadow puppet theatre, and collaborations with local craftspeople to produce embroideries.

The NGVI is having a series of floor talks in conjunction with Cultural Diversity Week including:

• 2pm 22 March, Southeast Asian Observations by Mikala Tai, former Director of Melbourne international Fine Art gallery (MiFA), about cutting edge work from Southeast Asia.
• 3pm 22 March, artist Tintin Wulia will provide insights into the art work of her Indonesian compatriots in Rally Contemporary Indonesian Art.

Other events include:
12.30pm 18 April: floor talk by Carol Cains, Curator, Asian art, discussing new works from South and Southeast Asia
12.30pm 27 April: Shoji Hamada: A demonstration by Shoji Hamada part of the Slow Art Day Film program.
For more information go to:
www.ngv.vic.gov.au

Detail of man’s ikat sarong, Trengganu, Malaysia c.1900.

Woman’s embroidered dress, Afghanistan 1965-75

Ceremonial textile, Toraja people, Celebes (Indonesia) c.1900-1920

 Palempore, Made for Export Market, India C. 1800

Collection Powerhouse Museum, Sydney