The Sydney Moderns – Art for a New World show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales is a remarkable exhibition which I highly recommend.
It has none of the glitz and glamour of a Picasso or Bacon show, but to me the quality of how it has been curated, it is in the very top league. For me, it redefines the way we look at Australian art, particularly from the 1930s.
The exhibition does look inevitably at overseas influences, but doesn’t rely on them and need not. It’s a wholly Sydney experience with some 180 works, exploring the making of a modern city.
Interestingly, a lot of artist in this show are not so well known, and in the auction room, exceptional works by these artists can be acquired for very low prices in the current market.
You cannot give photographs by Harold Cazneaux away and Max Dupain’s photos are selling for just $ 3,000-$5,000, and paintings by Frank Hinder and Adrian Feint go for similar prices.
Sydney Moderns at the AGNSW is not to be missed – it is on now until 7 October 2013.
