Picasso exhibition comes to vibrant Perth

IT'S not just visual art that's luring people to Perth, there's a whole new vibe reflected in bars, restaurants and fashion, writes Fleur Bainger.

glenn lowery and warhol

A FEW years back, you'd be guaranteed a laugh if you used the words "Perth" and "culture" in the same sentence.

Placed as it is in the eye of the country's mining boom, the city's image is little more than dust and dollars.

But while the rest of Australia has been focused on the state's resource riches, the western capital has been transforming itself into a surprisingly sophisticated - even edgy - art lover.

Last month, it pipped even Tasmania's Museum of New and Old Art with its exclusive Picasso to Warhol: Fourteen Modern Masters exhibition. This is a selection of great artworks loaned by New York's iconic Museum of Modern Art, known as MoMA. Included are masterpieces such as Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans, Pablo Picasso's Painter and Model, Henri Matisse's Goldfish and Sculpture, Piet Mondrian's Trafalgar Square and a piece sure to evoke impassioned debate a shovel signed by Marcel Duchamp, entitled In Advance of the Broken Arm.

Many of the works have never before touched Australian soil and you have six months to see them.

The journey begins the second you walk through the Art Gallery of Western Australia's sliding glass doors they're covered with the New York City skyline.

As you enter the gallery concourse you'll be wowed by a chic, black and white lounge straight out of Manhattan. On Fridays, a nearby pop-up bar and live jazz add to the scene.

"It'll be kind of like stepping into the streets of New York," the gallery's Robert Cook says.

Once up the winding staircase, Alexander Calder's standing mobile, Spider, grabs the attention first, followed by a repertoire of Picasso's paintings that spread over half a century, including The Bather and Night Fishing in Antibes.

Matisse is next, leading the viewer from his early, dark-hued paintings to the flashes of colour he's best known for and, unexpectedly, stopping by a series of bronze sculptures.

"His sculptural practice isn't what he's best known for but it's fantastic," Cook says.

"My strong feeling is that among all the modern masters, there'll be a whole bunch of new favourites for people.

"Perhaps they'll come in for something well known, but they'll be stopped in their tracks by the other works."

Mondrian's simplistic street scenes come next his black-and-white grids splashed with cubes of primary colour.

Warhol, of course, closes the show with a selection of works from 1960-66, including his curious screen tests capturing the era's creatives and celebrities: Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, Dennis Hopper, Edie Sedgewick and Marcel Duchamp.

"Warhol got famous really, really quickly so a lot happened in those five years," Cook says.

The past five years have seen a lot take place outside the gallery walls, kick-starting the once failing heart of Perth. Large sculptures, street art, urban gardens and small bars have been popping up faster than you can say "rejuvenation".

Directly opposite the gallery, beds of herbs, fruit and vegetables lure passers-by into the aptly named Urban Orchard, where they're free to pick from the verdant bounty.

To its left, a carpark entrance gives way to the city's most unusual public toilets: geometrically designed creations that feature giant prints of the gallery's permanent works.

A short walk into the recently revamped Forrest Place reveals a large, Kermit-green sculpture, both affectionately and derisively dubbed "The Cactus".

Perth's laneways have also been given the kiss of life. Just off the eastern end of Murray Street Mall, Grand Lane has been splashed with a 99m-long mural that towers over pedestrians. It also features a series of light boxes along the wall that double as exhibition spaces for young, emerging artists.

Across the train tracks that divide the city, small bars in nearby Northbridge are doing their bit.

The newest addition, buzzing Mexican bar-cum-restaurant La Cholita, has a large street-art mural plastered on one of its interior walls.

Diners sit by the work created by artists hired from neighbouring spray-can haven The Butcher Shop spooning ceviche and roasted meat tacos into their mouths while sipping on margaritas edged with black salt.

Just down the road, at Ezra Pound, patrons perch on outdoor benches in a narrow space lined with a long gallery of street art that changes regularly. It's no coincidence it has fast become one of the city's hottest venues.

Nearby, The Bird rivals its edgy status. Decorated with candles, bird cages and op-shop finds, the bar's outer walls, seen from the back carpark, are covered with street art done by local graffiti artists. Across the street, Bivouac Canteen & Bar has a changing line-up of local, framed urban art on its walls.

Perth's arts scene is evolving at a rate of knots and everyone's invited.

It makes a night out on the tiles very different to the jeans-and-thongs affair it used to be.

Picasso to Warhol: Fourteen Modern Masters. Until December 3. Tickets $19, concessions $16, from Ticketek. Price includes entry to Friday night pop-up bar.

Travel specials
Grab a deal to see Picasso to Warhol: Fourteen Modern Masters. Virgin Australia (virginaustralia.com/holidays, ph 13 15 16) is offering return airfares to Perth, two nights at the Ibis Hotel and admission to the exhibition, twin share, from $598 a person ex-Sydney. On sale until October 31 for travel until December 3.
Hotel specials are also on offer at a range of inner-city venues.

WIN
For your chance to win a trip to Perth, including flights, four nights in a studio room at the Novotel Perth Hotel Langley and a double pass to the Picasso to Warhol exhibition thanks to the Art Gallery of WA, visit perthnow.com.au/win and tell us your favourite piece from the collection.
Terms and conditions online. Competition closes at noon on Friday, July 13, 2012. Winner drawn at random from all entries received and contacted by The Sunday Times.

Winter Arts Festival
Until August 31
More than 150 artists will create a whirlpool of comedy, opera, poetry, cabaret and theatre to make the winter-phobic city warm and toasty.
perthwinterarts.com.au

It's Dark Outside
June 29 to July 14
State Theatre Centre of WA
The creators of international hit The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer present an epic western about death, redemption and dementia.
See www.statetheatrecentrewa.com.au

Perth Fashion Festival
September 19-25
Catch the edgiest fashion west of the Nullarbor, with wave-making labels such as Aurelio Costarella, Ae'lkemi and Poppy Lissiman all sprouting from the west.
See perthfashionfestival.com.au

WA Ballet - The Nutcracker
His Majesty's Theatre
November 23 - December 9
A modern interpretation of the classic love story complete with an online romance and haute-couture costumes. Choreography by WA Ballet's decorated artistic director, Ivan Cavallari.
See waballet.com.au

More: showmeperth.com.au

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