The Studio, which was once the workspace and home of the prolific Australian artist, has been managed as a museum by the Art Gallery of NSW since 1995. This new exhibition, Brett Whiteley: pathways to figuration, features rarely-seen paintings and works on paper, mapping his artistic development to figuration through abstraction.

Whiteley received a scholarship in 1960 that allowed him to travel Italy and visit the great museums, galleries, and churches. ‘Whiteley’s work from this period glows with the colours of Australian earth,’ says the Studio – one of his paintings from this time was purchased by the Tate in London, where he became the youngest artist in the collection! The desire to grow as an artist saw a move from ‘his early 1960s abstractions into a bathroom series, celebrating the sensuality of his wife Wendy’s body’.

The work featured in this exhibition is from this profoundly influential period in Brett Whiteley’s life, and tracks artistic developments reflecting his life experiences, following his mastery of line, tone, and edge.

Brett Whiteley: pathways to figuration
March 31st-October 2018
Friday-Sunday, 10am-4pm

Brett Whiteley Studio
2 Raper Street
Surry Hills
Sydney, New South Wales