Reaching from his early adventures in colour as a fauvist through to the serene and distilled designs for his chapel in Vence, the exhibition follows Matisse’s search across six decades. Through paintings, drawings, sculptures and a compelling presentation of his triumphant cut-outs, it reveals how Matisse renewed his vision time and again across his long career, seeking new ways of celebrating the seen world and expressing the energy he felt in it.

Highlights include the especially important early work Le Luxe I 1907; the mid-career masterpiece Decorative figure on an ornamental ground 1925; and the majestic self-portrait, The sorrow of the king 1952, one of the largest of the famous cut-outs that the artist created in his late career.

Filled with brilliant colour, dynamic energy, visual joy and emotional power, Matisse: Life & Spirit is an inspirational journey through the life and art of this ceaselessly inventive and life-affirming painter.

This exhibition is made possible with the support of the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. Part of the Sydney International Art Series, bringing the world’s most outstanding exhibitions to Australia, exclusively to Sydney.

Matisse: Life & Spirit – Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou, Paris
20 November 2021 – 13 March 2022
Major exhibition gallery, Art Gallery of NSW
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

Through masterworks from collections worldwide and the Gallery’s own rich holdings, Japan supernatural introduces an astonishing array of phenomenal beings from fiendish goblins through to mischievous shapeshifters. Come face to face with these mysterious creatures in an immersive environment featuring large-scale installations and classic Japanese cinema and animation, alongside miniature carvings, humorous paintings and the vibrant ukiyo-e woodblock prints that define the tradition of the supernatural in Japanese art.

Centred on a monumental installation of painting and sculpture by Takashi Murakami, the exhibition features some of the greatest Japanese artists of the past including Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Kawanabe Kyosai, alongside contemporary artists Chiho Aoshima and Miwa Yanagi who update the tradition for our times.

Japan Supernatural
2 Nov 2019 – 8 Mar 2020
Art Gallery of NSW
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

Including approximately 125 works from the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s world-renowned Duchamp collection and archives, this major exhibition will give audiences an informative and comprehensive introduction to one of the 20th century’s most original and influential artists.

The exhibition will feature important early works that have not before been seen in the Asia-Pacific region including paintings from the formative years of Duchamp’s practice. It will also present iconic works such as Nude descending a staircase (no 2) 1912, which scandalised American audiences when it was exhibited at New York’s Armory Show in 1913, and Duchamp’s infamous urinal readymade, Fountain 1950 (a replica of 1917 original).

The exhibition will be shown at the Tokyo National Museum, Japan, to mark the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death, before travelling to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, Korea, and the Art Gallery of NSW.

The essential Duchamp is organised by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The international tour has been made possible by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

The essential Duchamp
27 April – 11 August 2019
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

The National Palace Museum, Taipei, holds one of the finest collections of Chinese art in the world. Accumulated by emperors over centuries, this collection was, for hundreds of years, accessible only to the imperial elite. It is now rarely seen outside Taipei.

Celebrating the rich heritage of Chinese civilisation through the ancient concept of tian ren he yi — unity or harmony between heaven, nature and humanity – Heaven and earth in Chinese art presents a series of 87 artworks including paintings, calligraphy, illustrated books, bronzes, ceramics, jade and wood carvings, dating from the Neolithic period to the 19th century.

This is the first time the collection has travelled to the southern hemisphere and it is unlikely to be seen in Australia again. The Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney is the exclusive venue.

Heaven and Earth in Chinese art Exhibition
2 February – 5 May 2019
Art Gallery of NSW
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

Part of the French avant-garde of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, John Russell was a close friend of Vincent van Gogh and Auguste Rodin, taught impressionist colour theory to Henri Matisse and dined with Claude Monet. Yet history has largely forgotten Russell, who was a key member of this ground-breaking group of artists during one of the most exhilarating periods in art history.

Bringing together 120 paintings, drawings and watercolours – including a number of works by his contemporaries – this major retrospective is the first survey of Russell’s work in 40 years. It offers fresh perspectives on French impressionism, reintroducing Russell’s extraordinary painting to today’s audiences.

The exhibition presents the breadth of Russell’s art from his studies in London and Paris, through impressionism and experimentation with pure colour, to his later fauve-like luminous watercolours. It features significant works that were only rediscovered recently and are exhibited publicly for the first time.

Many of the works – which include loans from the Van Gogh Museum, Musée d’Orsay, Musée Rodin, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Harvard Art Museums and public and private collections in Australia, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom – have not been shown for decades and some never before.

John Russell – Australia’s French impressionist Exhibition
Art Gallery of NSW
21 July – 11 November 2018
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

Revered as a national treasure in France, and known as the 15th-century ‘Mona Lisa of the Middle Ages’ The lady and the unicorn tapestry cycle will be making its exclusive appearance in Australia at the Art Gallery of NSW through a generous and exceptional loan from the collection of the Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge in Paris.

The six large tapestries each depict a richly costumed lady flanked by that most mysterious animal, the unicorn, with jewel-like millefleur (‘thousand flowers’) backgrounds. The tapestries present a vivid meditation on earthly pleasures and courtly love. They can also be viewed as an allegory of the five senses – sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell – plus a sixth ‘internal’ sense – heart, desire or will – which was widely known at the time.

With an engaging program of events and activities for all ages, and a specially designed digital experience, a visit to The lady and the unicorn will allow a close encounter with one of the world’s greatest treasures.

This exhibition is made possible with the support of the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

The Lady and the Unicorn Exhibition
Art Gallery of NSW
10 February – 24 June 2018
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

Robert Mapplethorpe: the perfect medium celebrates one of the most renowned photographers of the 20th century, an artist who understood the medium’s ability to alter perceptions and push boundaries.

This comprehensive survey of Robert Mapplethorpe’s career features over 200 works, including floral still lifes, portraits, figure studies and erotic imagery that charts his involvement in New York’s gay scene, as well as a selection of archival material providing insights into his working methods and life.

An icon who photographed other icons, Mapplethorpe captured and shaped an era with portraits that immortalised the cultural idols of the 1970s and 1980s, including lifelong muse Patti Smith, fellow artists Cindy Sherman and Louise Bourgeois, actor Isabella Rossellini and musicians Debbie Harry and Philip Glass.

Whether he was photographing a figure, a fetish or a flower, Mapplethorpe pursued what he called ‘perfection in form’. The legacy of his unflinching quest for beauty has an enduring political and artistic resonance.

Accompanying the exhibition is an unmissable range of programs, including partnerships with VICE/iD and with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2018, presenting special Art After Hours on 8 November and in February.

The exhibition is organised by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and J Paul Getty Museum, in collaboration with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation and the Art Gallery of NSW. Support for the exhibition and its international tour has been provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium Exhibition
27 October 2017 – 4 March 2018
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

Drawn from the Rijksmuseum, the renowned national collection of the Netherlands, this exhibition includes a rare painting by Johannes Vermeer and a room dedicated to one of the greatest minds in the history of art, Rembrandt van Rijn.

Rembrandt and the Dutch golden age presents a richly unfolding panorama of Dutch society during an era of unparalleled wealth, power and cultural confidence. In the Dutch golden age, the art of painting flourished like never before. Artists sensitively observed the beauty of the visible world, transforming it, with great skill, into vivid and compelling paintings. Their subjects ranged from intense portraits and dramatic seascapes to tranquil scenes of domestic life and careful studies of fruit and flowers.

Part of the Sydney International Art Series, bringing the world’s most outstanding exhibitions to Australia, exclusively to Sydney.

Rembrandt and the Dutch golden age – masterpieces from the Rijksmuseum
11 November 2017 – 18 February 2018
Art Gallery of NSW
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

In many ways it can be seen as an optimistic period which witnessed the beginning of modern times: the Victorians promoted the middle class, developed a global vision, fostered legal justice and attempted to eradicate poverty and child-labour. Conversely, it can be seen a time of oppression and hypocrisy.

Victorian society was bound by inflexible rules and social inhibitions. These codes were especially harsh for women. With the institution of marriage often becoming a commercial transaction, most women were financially dependent on husbands and fathers and had few options professionally. Up until the outbreak of the First World War, the class system, with its subtle gradations, was maintained throughout the British Empire. The rise of the middle class saw a subsequent drive for material success. Victorians enjoyed economic progress – from a boom in manufacturing, to the first railways, to widespread urbanisation – but the price was poverty and exploitation for the working class and a physical landscape scarred by industry. Towards the end of the era the costs of Empire became increasingly apparent, and England was confronted with growing threats to its military and economic pre-eminence.

Encapsulating the fundamental paradoxes of Victorian life, this collection of feature films includes works by some of the most significant directors of the 20th century, including David Lean, Martin Scorsese, George Cukor, Mike Leigh and David Lynch. Screening in conjunction with the exhibition Victorian watercolours, the series reflects the morals, rituals, etiquette and political consciousness of late 19th-century society. Many of the stories are drawn from the literature of Charles Dickens, Henry James, Edith Wharton and Oscar Wilde; writers renowned for holding a mirror to society and the aristocracy while displaying a mastery of wit and paradoxical wisdom.

Film series: Straight-laced and scandalous – Stories from the Victorian era
Wednesdays 2pm & 7.15pm, Sundays 2pm
21 June – 10 September 2017
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

Victorian watercolours were among the very first works of art acquired by the Art Gallery of NSW. Painted in an elaborate, highly finished style that claimed consideration on equal terms with oil painting, they were highly prized in the 19th century. Watercolour painters embraced new and ambitious subjects and usually displayed their pictures in ornate gold frames to set off their jewel-like colours.

Following an extensive conservation project, this exhibition is a rare chance to see these works on paper. Presented in the historic galleries that were originally designed to showcase such pictures, it also offers visitors a new experience of these exceptional architectural spaces.

Victorian Watercolours Exhibition
2 June – 3 December 2017
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au