The National Gallery of Australia’s summer exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of the birth in 1921 of Australian artist Jeffrey Smart. One of Australia’s most celebrated artists, Smart sought inspiration from the world around him, looking to the environment of urban and industrial modernity, which he transformed through his imaginative sense of theatre and intimate understanding of geometry and composition. These potent and intriguing images have become emblematic of 20th and 21st century urban experience. The exhibition will also reveal insights into Smart’s working methods and incorporate archival material to present the trajectory of his life from Adelaide to Sydney and to Italy, where he lived from 1964 until his death in 2013.
The exhibition is curated by Deborah Hart, the Henry Dalrymple Head of Australian Art, and Rebecca Edwards, the Sid and Fiona Myer Curator of Ceramics and Design. Their article about the exhibition for Artonview can be read here: https://medium.com/national-gallery-of-australia/a-life-in-pictures-72e7baee61bd.
Jeffrey Smart at the NGA, Canberra opens on Saturday December 11 2021 and tickets can be booked at https://nga.gov.au/jeffreysmart/default.cfm.
