Review of The John
Kaldor Family Collection
In recent years the Art Gallery of New South Wales received one of its
greatest gifts yet, the John Kaldor Collection. The collected works are made up
of over $35million worth of international and Australian owned art, and
collected over the past fifty years. It is the largest donated collection in
Australia. Hence, the Art Gallery of New South Wales was given a grant of
$27.6million to expand the gallery space in order to make room for the
collected works.[1] There are
over 200 works, which range across international contemporary artworks, and
young Australian artists.
The collected works include some of the most influential artists of our
time such as; Carl Andre, Sol LeWitt, Jeff Koons, William Kentridge, Christo
and Jean Claude, and Robert Rauschenberg, to mention a few. The works range
from sculpture and installation, to painting and film. It covers a vast range
of different themes yet there is a strong emphasis on minimalist sculptures and
installations.
The large areas that hold these incredible works do much justice. The
descending stairs into the gallery space enhances the excitement and suspense.
The space is flooded with light and air, and there is plenty of room to ponder
each work individually. The works are spread out around the spaces, across the
corners, walls and floors. As well as that, there are allocated rooms that hold
pieces which all embody a certain theme or concept, such as the room with
mostly minimalist works, which includes Carl Andre’s pieces. Other spaces also
held certain styles, such as the room with photography in it.
The interactive program that the gallery is running for children and
adults, engages the audience in the works further. It is also an attempt to
include the Australian (and international of course) public in this great gift
that the gallery received. It could be considered just as much of a contribution
to the Gallery as it is to Australian art intellectuals and collectors.
The contribution of the John Kaldor Collection will bring in an audience
from all over the world. The different cultures and nationalities that the
collection represents will be forever appealing to the public, of all ages. It
is also the range of style, theme, materials, and scale that will enhance its
value.
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