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“Normality is a paved road: It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.”
― Vincent van Gogh
The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has revealed its Autumn/Winter 2017 season, including the exclusive to Melbourne, world-premiere exhibition Van Gogh and the Seasons which will open in April 2017 as the NGV’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition for 2017.
The announcement was made by Tony Ellwood, NGV Director and Martin Foley MP, Minister for Creative Industries, in front of a 4.5-metre tall recreation of a van Gogh artwork, Vase with Cornflowers and Poppies, made of thousands of fresh and artificial flowers. Melbourne florist Flowers Vasette produced the installation bringing into full bloom van Gogh’s love of the seasons.
Curated by Sjraar van Heugten, art historian and former Head of Collections at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Van Gogh and the Seasons will explore one of the most expressive and original artists of the late 19th century through the prism of the circle of life – representing birth, bloom, maturity and death through depiction of nature. Van Gogh and the Seasons will feature more than forty paintings and 25 drawings, presented within sections devoted to each of the four seasons.
Tony Ellwood said: “Van Gogh was a true original. His love of the seasons was deeply profound and played an important role in his life and practice. This reverence for summer, autumn, winter and spring and the eternal cycles of nature is seen in the energy and dynamism of his distinct brushstrokes, which almost leap off the canvas with vitality. His inimitable style and extraordinary use of colour has cemented his place in art history as one of the greatest painters of all time. Van Gogh and the Seasons is a true coup for the National Gallery of Victoria, and an opportunity for our audience to see a group of more than 60 van Gogh works, most of which have never travelled to Australia.”
Ellwood continues, “Van Gogh knew well the role the seasons played in his artistic vision
and how the changing landscapes acted as a constant and deeply profound source of inspiration. He wrote to his brother, Theo: ‘Now
those with an eye for it see something beautiful and good in all weathers, find snow beautiful and burning sun beautiful and storm beautiful and calm beautiful, cold good and heat, are fond of all seasons and don’t want to miss a single day of the year’.”
Other key exhibitions announced include the NGV Festival of Photography, which will be the largest display of photography in the Gallery’s history and span across 11 gallery spaces. Solo exhibitions will be presented by leading artists including Patrick Pound, Bill Henson, Zoë Croggon and Ross Coulter as well as the major survey William Eggleston Portraits that comes to Melbourne direct from its critically acclaimed showing at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
The NGV will present Hokusai in July 2017, the most comprehensive exhibition of Hokusai ever seen in Australia. Hokusai, the founding father of manga, is of the most creative minds in the history of Japanese art. The exhibition will feature loans from the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum as well as key works from the NGV Collection including the iconic image The Great Wave. The exhibition will “highlight the raw genius of this self- professed ‘drawing maniac’”, says Ellwood.
The Autumn/Winter 2017 program also includes an array of public events from conversation panels, public lectures, talks, panels and critical symposia with artists and design practitioners, designed to enrich and enhance the visitor’s experience. Without a doubt, highlights will be the NGV Art Book Fair and NGV Kids Festival.
The Autumn/Winter 2017 program reflects our strong commitment to offer compelling and dynamic art experiences relevant to the Gallery’s diverse audience.
