ART
Arthur Boyd: Landscape of the Soul comes to Tweed Regional Gallery
WORDS: Tweed Regional Gallery PHOTOGRAPHY Arthur Boyd, Shoalhaven as the River Styx c1996, oil on canvas. Boyd Family Collection
Arthur Boyd: Landscape of the Soul is a touring exhibition from the Bundanon Trust that explores a lifetime of landscape paintings by renowned Australian artist Arthur Boyd.
Curated by Barry Pearce the exhibition is drawn principally from Bundanon Trust’s own collection of the artist’s work.
On display at Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre from 8 January to 28 February 2021, the exhibition features up to 60 paintings, including a group of masterpieces borrowed from major state art museums, as well as 20 works on paper, letters, photographs and sketchbooks spanning almost half a century and featuring works from his adolescence through to his final years.
Arthur Boyd: Landscape of the Soul focuses on Boyd’s diverse notions of landscape and traces one of the most celebrated careers in the history of Australian art through this lens. Presenting a number of never-before-seen works created by Boyd as a teenager, the exhibition offers the first in depth look at the artist’s powerful early grasp of the landscape as a subject.
Bookended by Boyd’s youthful paintings of the Mornington Peninsula in the 1930s and the final phase of his career depicting the Shoalhaven area in southern New South Wales in the mid-1970s, Arthur Boyd: Landscape of the Soul considers not only the topographic landscape, but also the landscape Boyd carried within himself.
As a personal friend of Boyd, guest curator Barry Pearce brings a unique insight to his curatorial role, allowing this exhibition to move beyond the traditional academic understanding of Boyd’s career and delve deeper into the rich personal landscape of the acclaimed Australian artist.
The 1100 hectare property at Bundanon was gifted to the Australian people in 1993 by Arthur and Yvonne Boyd and remains one of the largest donations in Australian cultural history. Bundanon Trust continues to operate the property as a centre for creative arts, education, scientific and environmental research and artist residencies.
Tweed Regional Gallery director Susi Muddiman OAM said, “Arthur Boyd is undeniably one of the nation’s most revered artists. I’m delighted that the Gallery has been included as a venue in the tour.”
On Friday 15 January, 5.30-7pm, the Tweed Regional Gallery will be hosting a special Sunset Session with Jennifer Thompson, Collections and Exhibitions Manager, Bundanon Trust, who will deliver a floor talk to the exhibition.
Bookings essential: https://trg-boydsunsetsession-
As part of the exhibition acclaimed painter Luke Sciberras will host 2 sold out one-day en plein air painting workshops on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 February 2021 where participants will explore painterly approaches to the landscape along the Tweed River in the beautiful town of Tumbulgum.
This exhibition is supported by the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians.
