There is not one single piece of Gauguin artwork in Australia and that is one good reason to go to the latest blockbuster exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia, Gaugin’s World: Tona Iho, Tona Ao.
It is unknown why the NGA hasn’t invested in a Paul Gaugin artwork but to make up for this omission, NGA director Nick Mitzevich and a team of art scholars visited 65 galleries around the world to request a loan of their permanent collections to Canberra. That’s a big ask.
They must have good negotiation skills as Nick, along with Parisian scholar (and former director of the Louvre), Henri Loyrette, secured 140 works for Canberra – a first in the Southern Hemisphere.
This is monumentally ambitious when you consider such priceless works of art travelling to the furthest point in the world. It’s been five years in the making.
The beautifully-spoken Henri Loyrette put it wonderfully: “Monet is great … but he’s just a painter. Gauguin was always looking to innovate and use different techniques”.
Henri has been in Canberra for the past three weeks helping to set up this historic exhibition, which showcases Gaugin’s talent – not “just” a painter but also a printmaker and sculptor (ceramic and wood).
“It was not easy,” Henri said at today’s opening. “Canberra’s so far away so I was a bit anxious.”
French Polynesia was the flavour of today. Despite the chilly temperature outside, scantily clad but heavily tattooed islander dancers welcomed us through the gallery according to French Polynesia culture.
Probably the most recognisable Gaugin painting – Three Tahitians – was stunningly brought to life as three islanders dressed as Gaugin’s muses broke out of their pose and danced in the gallery. Poetry in motion.
For a former banker, Paul Gaugin was a visionary artist. His evocative paintings of French Polynesian life (Tahiti, Martinique, Marquesas Islands) will warm even the coldest of Canberrans. He was an avid traveller, seeing much of the world and using it as inspiration for his art (517 paintings in his lifetime), and art lovers will adore joining him on this journey.
Like most great artists, Gaugin only enjoyed moderate success during his lifetime. Today, the 19th-century French Post-Impressionist artist lives on.
A stand-out in the exhibition is his still life paintings, with one featuring the sunflowers that his close friend Vincent Van Gogh favoured. Gaugin ignores the dark hues and favours bright colours, which became even brighter as he travelled in the south seas.
A sobering piece is his Village in the Snow, the last painting he did in the 18 months before he died. Probably his most famous works that the public will recognise, are Tahitian Women (Femmes de Tahiti), Three Tahitians (Trois Tahitiens), and The Sacred Mountain (Parahi Te Marae).
Whatever your artistic preferences and considering that no gallery in Australia owns a Gaugin, Gauguin’s World: Tona Iho, Tona Ao (meaning Gauguin’s soul, spirit, heart, thought, ideas, opinions, views) is the only place in the country to indulge in his world.
Gaugin’s World: Tona Iho, Tona Ao is on at the National Gallery of Australia from 29 June until 7 October. Visit nga.gov.au/exhibitions/gauguins-world for more.
