EUROPEAN MASTERPIECES FROM THE MET OPENS AT GOMA
The most significant exhibition of international art to be presented in Queensland in recent decades, the Australian-exclusive ‘European Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’, opens tomorrow at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art.
Showing at GOMA until 17 October ‘European Masterpieces’ is a remarkable journey through five centuries of European painting from exquisite devotional scenes of the early Renaissance to fleeting glimpses of nature captured by the Impressionists.
The exhibition covers a period of significant religious, societal and cultural change as it charts the most important movements of Western art history through 65 paintings by Fra Angelico, Titian, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens, Raphael, Goya, Turner, van Gogh, Cézanne, Monet and others.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the exhibition was a unique opportunity for art lovers to experience a collection of this calibre in Queensland and a testament to the state’s growing reputation as a destination for arts and culture.
‘It’s an exciting time for our arts community. This incredible drawcard exhibition will give Australians a rare chance to experience 500 years of European art here at home when our international borders remain closed,’ the Premier said.
Since 2016, the Palaszczuk Government has committed more than $20 million to support QAGOMA to present exclusive exhibitions, which have to date injected $85 million back into Queensland’s economy.
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Director Chris Saines said ‘European Masterpieces’ was presented by QAGOMA in partnership with Art Exhibitions Australia and curated by The Met in consultation with the Gallery.
‘After several years of development and planning, we are thrilled to bring these extraordinary works of art from New York to Brisbane,’ Mr Saines said.
Mr Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, said the exhibition presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in which The Met — during the renovation of their galleries for European paintings — could share these masterpieces with the people in Australia.
‘It brings great joy to see such magnificent paintings, and the many stories they tell, come to Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art,’ Mr Hollein said.
Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch said the exhibition told the stories of hundreds of years of European art history. ‘The arts are key to delivering our plan for economic recovery, each year injecting $8.5 billion into the state’s economy and supporting more than 92 000 jobs for Queenslanders,’ she said.
‘It features works by some of the greatest European painters of all time, and it’s through support from the Queensland Government that we’re able to see a world class exhibit like this come exclusively to Queensland.
‘European Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’ is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland and features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.
Tickets to the exhibition are on sale at https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au
