Art is where you find it, from tip sites to road signs Using found objects, Rosalie Gascoigne made art that re-envisioned the Australian landscape. Her career is being celebrated with a major retrospective. AAP · Oct 22
David Hockney: Portraits in Print reveals lesser-known aspects of the celebrated artist I first fell under the spell of David Hockney’s prints as a student of printmaking and life drawing. Australia had been my home for only a few years and I found a key to my experience of movement and growth in the series A Rake’s Progress (1961–63), completed after Hockney’s… The Conversation · Sep 15
Perspectives on a collection: why you should explore New Asian Art at the National Gallery of Australia Displays of artworks from the permanent collections of state and national galleries are often overlooked. Critics tend to flock to a crowded calendar of blockbusters and temporary shows. These may offer greater novelty and relevance for current events. But this isn’t always true. The Conversation · Apr 20
Epic battle over Epic Country as NGA exhibition opens As the exhibition at the centre of "white hands on black art" allegations opens, the damage wrought on an Aboriginal-run art collective becomes clear. AAP · Apr 10
After three years, investigations and now a $4.4m lawsuit, Australia’s most controversial art exhibition finally opens Ngura Puḻka at the National Gallery of Australia is a landmark exhibition of 30 paintings by Indigenous artists in the APY Arts Centre Collective, which was investigated over claims white workers had interfered with First Nations art The Guardian - AU · Apr 10
Art controversy in court and on national gallery walls The Ngura Pulka exhibition is finally opening at the National Gallery of Australia, following a three-year delay because of allegations of interference. AAP · Apr 9
The 5th National Indigenous Art Triennial is a collage of an exhibition, and a work of wonder When the rains end, creeks and rivers run full. Suddenly, deserts bloom with all the colours of the rainbow as new life emerges. As Tony Albert, artistic director of the Fifth National Indigenous Art Triennial, says, “After the rain there are always new beginnings.” The Conversation · Dec 10, 2025
Hope, heart and home leads at the National Indigenous Art Triennial: ‘We are going through a stage of enlightenment’ Curated by Tony Albert, After the Rain at the National Gallery of Australia explores cultural and familial legacies two years on from the referendum The Guardian - AU · Dec 4, 2025
'All eyes on us': triennial spotlights Indigenous art Ten immersive, large-scale artworks are featured in the fifth iteration of the Indigenous Art Triennial, focused on themes of renewal, resistance and rebirth. AAP · Dec 4, 2025
Repatriation or political theatre? How the return of stolen artefacts can distort history In late July, during a visit to the National Gallery of Australia, three Buddhist bodhisattva statues caught my attention. The Conversation · Sep 25, 2025
Touch reveals what eyes can’t see – so museums should embrace interactivity Walk into most art galleries with children, and you’ll hear the familiar refrain “look but don’t touch”. This instruction reveals something troubling about how cultural institutions understand learning. Museums have become temples to visual consumption, where knowledge is received through eyes rather than constructed through bodies. The Conversation · Sep 3, 2025
The Jewish dealer who bought art hated by the Nazis – and created one of the greatest collections ever seen A new National Gallery of Australia show draws on Heinz Berggruen’s collection to celebrate the spread of modernism around the world, despite the Nazis’ best efforts The Guardian - AU · May 31, 2025
Modernism from Cezanne to Australia in NGA blockbuster Rarely seen modernist masterpieces by the likes of Cezanne, Matisse and Picasso have come to Australia from Berlin's Museum Berggruen. AAP · May 29, 2025
Intrepid artists get the retrospectives they deserve Retrospectives at the National Gallery of Australia give Ethel Carrick and Anne Dangar the attention they deserve, but time is running out to see them. AAP · Apr 5, 2025
AAP · Mar 21, 2025 How a French artist inspired queens of Aussie fashion A show at the National Gallery of Australia explores how 1980s fashion darlings Linda Jackson and Jenny Kee were inspired by French artist Sonia Delaunay.
The Conversation · Mar 13, 2025 Who gets to be political in Australian art? When the invitation for artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino to represent Australia at the 2026 Venice Biennale was rescinded, the statement from Creative Australia’s board said their selection now posed “an unacceptable risk” and “could undermine our goal of bringing Australians together”.
Pedestrian.tv · Feb 21, 2025 National Gallery Of Australia Covers Palestinian Flags In Artwork, Sparking Mass Backlash The National Gallery of Australia has found itself at the centre of controversy after covering up Palestinian flags in a tapestry on display.
AAP · Feb 21, 2025 Palestine protest gear in art a security risk, says NGA Artworks featuring Palestine protest material have been covered up due to security risks, says the NGA. The gallery has been criticised by an Islamic peak body.
The Conversation · Jan 22, 2025 Carol Jerrems captured Melbourne and Sydney of the 1970s, understanding photography as a collaboration Australian photographer Carol Jerrems took an expansive approach to portraiture. She experimented with seriality – constructing narratives and meaning across multiple frames – and understood photography as a collaboration between her subjects, her camera and herself.
AAP · Oct 26, 2024 Curiosity radiates as crowds reflect on $14m artwork Lindy Lee's $14 million sculpture Ouroboros has been attracting onlookers and is setting tongues wagging outside the National Gallery of Australia.
The Guardian - AU · Oct 24, 2024 National Gallery of Australia’s $14m behemoth artwork unveiled – and it’s a showstopper Lindy Lee’s 13-tonne sculpture, Ouroboros, the most expensive work in NGA history, is in place after three years of anticipation – and questions about cost
AAP · Oct 24, 2024 Holey moley! Massive Ouroboros sculpture eats limelight A massive metal sculpture has been unveiled at the National Gallery of Australia, with artist Lindy Lee relieved it turned out better than she imagined.
AAP · Aug 1, 2024 NGA acquires painting by 'nasty piece of work' Gauguin The National Gallery of Australia has bought a significant artwork by Paul Gauguin, during its exhibition of works by the controversial painter.
The Guardian - AU · Jul 1, 2024 Artist or monster? Mammoth new Gauguin show reckons with colonial legacy – to limited success The National Gallery of Australia’s exhibition Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao acknowledges the French master’s misdeeds in the Pacific – but just as easily omits or distracts from them
The Conversation · Jun 28, 2024 Paul Gauguin was a violent paedophile. Should the National Gallery of Australia be staging a major exhibition of his work? Should the National Gallery of Australia be staging a major Paul Gauguin exhibition?