A photographer’s view: Back when people were patriotic
Imperfect as Australia is, there is no better country in the world to live in. If young people have been told otherwise, their teachers have misled them.
Visual Arts
What’s wrong with this picture? (Try asking the Art Gallery of NSW)
Johannes Leak knew the Archibald Prize trustees might reject his portrait of Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin, but painted him anyway, illuminating Ryvchin’s journey from Ukrainian refugee, born in the shadow of the Holocaust, to proud advocate for his people.
‘Afraid of the reaction’: why this painting should have made the Archibalds cut
The Archibald Prize hang is an annual dog’s breakfast. The judges need to do better.
Packers pick portrait of activist artist
Pro-Palestinian activist artist Abdul Abdullah has taken out the Art Gallery of NSW’s 2025 Packing Room Prize, a curtain-raiser to the $100,000 Archibald Prize, the country’s most celebrated portrait prize.
Truth about Archibald Prize? It’s full of bad portraits
The media have for years been addicted to the cliche that the Archibald Prize is ‘controversial’, but would never dare question the inclusion of any of the truly incompetent pictures – they are generally made by minorities who are today exempt from criticism.
Good art is not supposed to be angry
Part of the idiotic ideological undergrowth that chokes the Australian cultural world today is the idea that serious art should confront or offend audiences. Fortunately, this exhibition suggests otherwise.
‘Got hammered’: how stars cope with sex scenes and how it’s changing
In speaking out against the abuse and exploitation she suffered on the set of Last Tango in Paris, Maria Schneider laid the groundwork for the #MeToo movement – and changed the industry forever.
‘What have I done?’: a student exchange to Iceland starts dismally
Rotten shark for dinner, standoffish host parents: Hannah Kent’s year in Iceland was isolating and bleak, but she remains homesick for the culture she now loves.
‘When you’re painting country – you can feel like you’re not in jail’
Sean Miller cracked the art market back when he was in prison thanks to art program The Torch that got him his first NGV commission. Now the full-time artist is helping others see the light.
Visiting Machu Picchu: what you should know about this ‘spiritual’ pilgrimage
You’re much more likely to find violent human sacrifice than ‘healing’ in the early cultures of the Aztecs and the Incas.
Rifling through Ned’s life
Murder weapon or protector, Ned Kelly’s rifle fires up the same dichotomy as its owner.
Art of suburbia: Why identical houses on small blocks are bad for the soul
Houses in the most pleasant suburbs of Sydney are on generous grounds where owners spend time in the garden. But venture to the new fringe suburbs and you hit a cultural wasteland.
Tantalising echoes of everyday city
A bronze statue of Apollo is one of the most remarkable pieces in an exhibition offering vivid glimpses into the world of ancient Pompeii
Les Miserables storms the barricades with an arena spectacular
Theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh returns to Australia with an arena tour of his beloved musical, bringing it full circle from the historic 1989 open-air performance in Sydney’s Domain.
Why the world is celebrating Germany’s greatest painter of the Romantic era
The first Nosferatu film, the forests in Disney’s Bambi, and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot – all took some inspiration from German painter Caspar David Friedrich.
MCA blames media for ‘Hezbollah rewrite’
Sydney’s MCA has dropped its own description of Khaled Sabsabi’s video installation of a Hezbollah leader as a work ‘suggestive of a divine illumination’.
Incoherent vision of an impossible future
Science fiction is stretched to absurd extremes in an exhibition that mixes futurism with a naively benign view of the past.
What these spears tell us about Captain Cook’s contact with Indigenous people
Rare Aboriginal spears seized by Captain Cook’s crew in 1770 are back home and about to go on display. Their symbolism ‘is huge’.
Inside the $11m job to fix a leak
Work is under way to make the architect’s most famous home water tight – a project that is expected to cost about 40 times more than its entire construction budget.
This rising Australian artist learnt an entirely new skill for her latest exhibition
Nabilah Nordin made her name with her bold, playful sculptures. After relocating to Los Angeles, her newest – and most profound – body of work sees her move in a different direction.
Art of yum cha: Artist revives defunct Marigold restaurant
Chinese artist Cao Fei’s mind-bending exhibition at AGNSW has reclaimed the furniture from a once beloved Sydney institution.
Australian painter Gregory Hodge marks his homecoming with major exhibition
The Paris-based Sydney artist enjoys a global following, with shows around the world. Now, though, he’s returning home for a major solo exhibition that’s not to be missed.
Another view of Europe’s golden age
Henry VIII, Adam and Eve and Aphrodite are among the ‘stars’ of this modest yet intriguing exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia.
Australian Ballet’s David Hallberg: ‘I have no intention of alienating audiences’
The American-born artistic director says he will be choosing ‘vitality’ over ‘dusty museum pieces’ as he renews his artistic directorship for another five years.
‘No pants dance’ just the beginning
‘Mad March’ has revealed more than one naked truth in the festival-fuelled South Australian capital.
A ‘big death trap’ for orchestras
Israeli conductor Asher Fisch argues that orchestras need to avoid this one programming mistake if they want to survive.
Return to art of darkness
Dark Mofo festival has unveiled this year’s first exhibit, with Nathan Maynard’s We threw them down the rocks where they had thrown the sheep headlining another controversial collection.
When did universities become so soulless?
Campus was once a place for intimate, human gatherings and the exchange of brilliant ideas as is evident in this exhibition from the University of Sydney Union’s art collection.
Love, serendipity and a bucket of Nescafe Blend 43
Sam Scoufos captures photographic portraits of people as they appear reflected in various liquids – water, coffee, diesel, wine – ruffled by the wind. He calls the results ‘beautiful accidents’.
New major Frida Kahlo exhibition is an Australian first
The discovery of Frida Kahlo’s personal items, locked away for 50 years in the Blue House, revealed much about her identity and artistry. For the first time, Australians will see a truly intimate portrait of the artist.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/visual-arts