One of the world's most prestigious art institutions has opened its vaults and shared more than 70 works with ACMI as part of the world-premiere Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition Light: Works from Tate's Collection.
Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson visited ACMI today to launch the exhibition which explores how some of the world's most renowned artists have harnessed light through painting, photography, sculpture, drawing, installation and the moving image. The exhibition opens to the public tomorrow.
The Melbourne-exclusive exhibition features masterpieces from the extensive collection of the Tate in the UK, spanning 200 years of art history.
Light: Works from Tate's Collection showcases iconic paintings from masters including J. M. W. Turner - whose monumental 1805 work The Deluge will be on display in Australia for the first time - John Constable, Wassily Kandinsky and Josef Albers, and Impressionist painters Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley.
These extraordinary paintings are presented with ground-breaking contemporary works including Yayoi Kusama's The Passing Winter, James Turrell's Raemar Blue, Tacita Dean's 16mm film Disappearance at Sea and Liliane Lijn's moving sculpture Liquid Reflections.
Alongside the exhibition, ACMI will host talks, film screenings, performances and workshops, including in-conversation events with award-winning director and cinematographer Warwick Thornton (Samson & Delilah, Sweet Country) and Oscar-nominated cinematographer Ari Wegner (The Power of the Dog, Zola).
Light: Works from Tate's Collection and NGV International's The Picasso Century are the latest exhibitions in the Andrews Labor Government's Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series which since 2004 has brought major international art exhibitions exclusively to Melbourne.
The series has welcomed millions of local, interstate and international visitors since its inception and has featured treasures from the best galleries, museums and collections across the globe.
Previous Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibitions at ACMI include chart toppers such as Disney: The Magic of Animation, Wonderland, DreamWorks Animation: The Exhibition, David Bowie Is..., and Hollywood Costume.
Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition The Picasso Century is currently on at the NGV.
Light: Work from Tate's Collection runs from 16 June to 13 November at ACMI in Fed Square. For tickets and more information, visit acmi.net.au/light. Patrons who spend $40 or more on tickets before the end of June may be eligible to claim a 25 per cent rebate through the Victorian Entertainment Program.
As stated by Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson
"Melbourne is coming alive this winter with a host of amazing creative experiences."
"Spanning 200 years of art and packed with light-fuelled masterpieces, this exhibition is the perfect reason to visit the new ACMI and enjoy Melbourne at its creative best."
As stated by Acting Director & CEO Graham Jephcott
"After months of anticipation, it's time for ACMI audiences to experience an unforgettable collection from Tate. ACMI is delighted to be presenting this stunning exhibition that inspires us all to see art in a new light."
