Art Gallery of New South Wales

Art Gallery of NSW had been one of the art galleries I have visited in Australia, and it was certainly one of my favourites there. On the outside, this early Greek-styled building with the names of great painters, sculptors and architects in the history lettered on the walls in bronze had already left me with an excellent impression (I love the early architectures). Upon entering, I fell in love with this art gallery even more, due to both the designs of the building, the use of gallery space, and of course, the art works. 

One thing I really liked about this gallery was that it was split into half. There were two main wings in the building, with one showcasing classical, traditional paintings and sculptures of the old masters, while the other one exhibited contemporary modern art pieces, so one can really look at how art has evolved through the ages, and it is a great place to go if you love both types of art!

Art Gallery of New South Wales

The Offering of Peace (1923)

The Lobby

A series of this type of statues were placed along the walls of the lobby

'The Classical Wing'

Don't you just love this??I could literally spend a whole day just wandering in a gallery like this

This piece reminded me of Raft of the Medusa by Gericault-- a much much calmer (and sleepy) version of that though.

Although the subject matters are definitely rocks, the brushstrokes brought movement into the work.

I love marble sculptures too!

'The Contemporary Wing'

 even the design of this wing is so different from the one above!

    I think this was kind of a native art from some tribes in Australia- I've seen it in several art museums there.

                                                Canvases do not have to be square/rectangle!
          

This is one of my favourites in the contemporary wing, I love how the artist made use of the colour of the panel for the base colour of this painting, and applying paint only where colours are needed.

Overall, this gallery walk had been a really enriching experience, the classical paintings made me learn to appreciate the old masters' works even more (I love their works!!), and several of the contemporary pieces had inspired me through their uniqueness.

Generally, I think visiting museum/galleries a great pleasure, and I love to walk through galleries with a beautiful exhibition hall (this is important too!) and great works, so I am looking forward to visiting more galleries abroad (through visiting them, I get to learn about the country and its art culture too!) and hope that Singapore will one day have our SAM as impressive as them.

Meanwhile, here's the gallery's website, do take a look if you have time:)
http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au