About the exhibition

The exhibition, Journey to Now: John Kaldor Art Projects & Collection, showcases Australia's most outstanding private collection of international contemporary art. Since Christo and Jeanne-Claude created Wrapped Coast - One Million Square Feet, Little Bay, Sydney 1969, John Kaldor has invited many leading international artists to Australia. Journey to Now displays many of these project-related works in conjunction with acquisitions since the 1960s in areas ranging from Pop Art, Minimalism, Conceptualism, through to Australian Indigenous Art.

Consisting of nearly 100 works, the display has been organised in a broad chronological approach with thematic groupings of works representing various art projects - such as Christo, Gilbert and George, Richard Long, Jeff Koons and Vanessa Beecroft. A feature of the exhibition is the focus on recent art by some of the most seminal figures of recent decades, such as Christo and Sol LeWitt. A number of the most recent figures to emerge in the international contemporary art scene are also represented in this exhibition.

The exhibition contains many artists who explore non-traditional media, such as photography, video, performance and site-specific installation. Among the photo-media and moving image artists represented in the exhibition are Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, Thomas Demand, Nam June Paik, Richard Prince and Bernd Becher.

In addition to a room brochure, the display will feature several audio-visual displays inside the exhibition and further material will be available on the Gallery's website.

About John Kaldor

Kaldor, John William (1936 - )

John Kaldor escaped from Hungary with his family in 1948 and came to Australia after five months in Paris. Following secondary schooling in Sydney, he trained in textiles in England under Sir Nicholas Sekers. He subsequently studied at the Textile College, Zurich, under the directorship of Professor Johannes Itten, one of the founders of the Bauhaus.

John Kaldor returned to Australia in 1957 and worked as a designer at Silk and Textile Printers Ltd. in Hobart under the guidance of Claudio Alcorso. He moved to Sydney in 1960 and joined Sekers Silk which was managed by his parents, Andrew and Vera Kaldor.

In 1959 John Kaldor founded his own company, John Kaldor Fabricmaker Pty Limited. and in 1977 established subsidiary companies in the U.S.A. and in 1979 in the U.K. Product has included apparel and furnishing fabrics, sold to major manufacturers and retailers internationally.

John Kaldor has been passionately involved with contemporary art from a young age. Following his first project with the artist Christo & Jeanne Claude in 1969, John Kaldor developed a series of Art Projects involving international artists including Gilbert and George, Sol Le Witt, Jeff Koons and Richard Long.

Among the many Australian patrons and collectors in the visual arts, John Kaldor stands out as exceptionally significant. John Kaldor’s Art Projects have won him a unique and respected place in the international art world, from which Australia has already derived a considerable benefit. He is considered to be Australia’s foremost curator-patron of contemporary art and strongly desires to engage an ever-expanding audience to the contemporary art form.

On numerous occasions since the earlier 1970’s, John Kaldor has lent or donated particular works from his own personal collection to museums and special exhibitions as a result of his desire to share his passion for contemporary art. His pioneering patronage has been a highly significant factor in the development of contemporary art and its audience in Australia.

John currently serves on the International Council of both the Museum of Modern art in New York and the Tate Modern in London. Additionally, John Kaldor currently serves on the Board of the Biennale of Sydney. His previous roles have included being the Chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney and Trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

John Kaldor has expressed his commitment through Art Projects to continue to bring to Australia the latest developments in international contemporary art.

John Kaldor's contribution to contemporary art was acknowledged with the award of the Order of Australia in 1994.

.Admission charges

Guided Tours

Tours
Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday at 1 pm
Meet at the entrance to the exhibition. Entry charges apply - see above

Private Tours
Get a group together of ten people or more and have your own private tour.
Telephone 8207 7075 or 8207 7035 to be put in touch with the Gallery Guide Booking Officer

Talks & Lectures

ARTISTS VOICE (a series of talks by contemporary artists)
Well known Adelaide based artists talk about selected works on display in the exhibition Journey to Now: John Kaldor Art Projects & Collection.
All talks commence at 12.45 pm. Exhibition entry is free when attending these talks

LUNCHTIME TALK

Tuesday 20 May at 12.45 pm
Free Lunchtime Talk
Adam Free, Curator of European Art and curator of Journey to Now, speaks about the works by Christo in the exhibition. Gallery 23. Free with exhibition entry

LECTURE

Saturday 21 June at 2 pm
Free Public Lecture
Adam Free, Curator of European Art and curator of Journey to Now, presents a free public lecture with slides on the John Kaldor art projects and collection. Auditorium

MEMBERS' EVENT

Friday 25 April
11am
John Kaldor talks about Journey to Now
John Kaldor presents an exhibition talk introducing the works in his remarkable collection of contemporary art. He talks about the development of this unique collection and tells of the many inspiring artists he has met and the ground breaking Australian art projects he has supported over some forty years.
Tickets: $5 exhibition entry and talk only
or $10 exhibition entry, talk with coffee and cakes in the Members’ Lounge
Bookings: call Yvonne 82077050

Thursday 8 May at 6.15 pm
Private Viewing: Journey to Now with the Curator
Over five decades John Kaldor has assembled a collection of remarkable contemporary art pieces, from sculpture to photographs and new media. The Gallery’s Curator of European Art, Adam Free, takes us through the collection placing the pieces in the context of movements in art over five decades.
This exhibition presents works by major artists of the 20^th century such as Frank Stella, Donald Judd and Christo and invites the viewer to examine the directions in which art travelled in the second half of the 20^th century. An opportunity not to be missed. Join Adam and other Friends for a light supper with a glass of wine after the viewing.
Tickets: $25, $22 Members. Bookings: call Yvonne 8207 7050

Thursday 15 May at 6.15 pm
Mark Kimber and Deborah Paauwe:
The Contemporary Photographer
Mark Kimber, Studio Head of Photography at the University of South Australia, and Deborah Paauwe, freelance photographic artist, explore the techniques of contemporary photographic practice in their work. Both are highly regarded and internationally recognised artists working in an artform which is in a continuous state of change and development. In this joint presentation, they talk about their most recent work and speak about the dynamic of two individual artists living and working together. Both will respond to works in the exhibition Journey to Now.
Join Mark and Deborah for a light supper and glass of wine after the talk.
Tickets: $26, $22 members. Bookings, phone Yvonne on 8207 7050.

Free film screenings

FREE FILMS IN THE AUDITORIUM

Saturday 26 April commencing at 2 pm

American Visions: The Empire of Signs at 2 pm
Abstract expressionism and its successor – Pop Art. VHS (1996) 55 mins
Roy Lichtenstein at 3 pm
Lichtenstein reminisces about his aims and the optimism of the sixties. VHS (1997) 50 mins
Art in the Age of Mass Culture at 4 pm
Includes interviews with artists Roy Lichtenstein, Elizabeth Murray, Jeff Koons, Jenny Holzer and James Rosenquist. VHS (1991) 31 mins

Sunday 25 May commencing at 2 pm

Christo and Jeanne-Claude at 2 pm
Christo and Jeanne-Claude met in Paris in 1958 and soon after began producing a series of spectacular public art works. This portrait of the indefatigable duo reviews their main projects since 1958 including Wrapped Coast (Australia 1969), Valley Curtain (Colorado 1972), Running Fence (California 1976), Surrounded Islands (Miami 1982), Pont Neuf (Paris 1985), and concentrates on the Wrapped Reichstag project finally completed after a 20 year struggle for permission to use Germany's parliament for the creation of a work of art. 16mm (1995) VHS 56 mins
Stones and Flies: Richard Long in the Sahara at 3 pm
Richard Long, one of Britain’s leading artists, walks on a volcanic desert in the Sahara making new sculptural works along the way. The sculptures are simply made, almost from nothing, sometimes little more than scuffing a line in the dust or moving stones to make a circle. When represented in a gallery these sculptures echo the wild empty places in which they were made. 16mm (1988) VHS 38 mins

Saturday 7 June commencing at 2 pm

Christo: Packed Coast at 2 pm
Christo’s art event of the wrapping of a section of the Little Bay Coastline in Sydney is shown through to its destruction by strong winds. 16mm (1969) 30 mins
Running Fence at 2.30 pm
The Maysles Brothers documentary on the artist, Christo and his work. Running Fence shows the erection of an 18 foot high, 24 mile long white nylon fence in California. Emphasis is placed on the struggle between the artist and the state bureaucracy, who wanted to prevent the fence being erected, even though the ranchers whose land it crossed wanted it. 16mm (1977) 60 mins
Christo: Four works in progress at 3.30 pm
A documentary without narration, showing the process of installation of four of Christo’s projects: Wrapped Girl (London 1963), 5,000 cubic metre package (Docmenta 4, Kassel, Germany 1968), Wrap-in Wrap-out (Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago 1969) and Wrapped Coast (Little Bay, Sydney, Australia 1971). 16mm (1974) 28 mins

Sunday 22 June commencing at 2 pm

The World of Gilbert and George at 2 pm
A personal film by and about Gilbert and George who have worked together as sculptors since 1968, making living sculptures, photo-pieces, drawings, paintings, video sculptures, books and works in other forms. 16mm (1982) 71 mins
Robert Rauschenberg at 3.15 pm
Robert Rauschenberg is interviewed on the opening of the retrospective exhibition of his work at the Museum of Modern Art. The interview profiles the artist’s life, education and influences and includes interviews with John Cage and Merce Cunningham. 16mm (1979) 45mins

Enquiries: call Cate on 82077035

For families and children

Tuesday 22 to Thursday 24 April
School Holiday Program
Come into the Art Gallery for some great holiday art & craft activities. One activity per child/session, under the expert tuition of our Art & Craft tutors.
Suitable for ages 5-10 years. $5 per child
1 hour sessions daily at 10:30am, 12noon & 1:30pm
Bookings essential. Pay on arrival. Call Megan 82077005

FAMILY DROP IN DAYS with art & craft activities

from 12 noon - 3 pm
April 27, May 25 & June 22
Free family drop in day activities at the Art Gallery on the 4th Sunday of each month.
Enjoy art & craft activities and live entertainment.
Activities suitable for children aged 5 - 10 years (accompanied by an adult)
Families also receive special entry prices to exhibitions on Family Drop In Days

Sunday 27 April
Topic: Wrap it up
Curious shapes and mysterious forms to baffle your parents

Sunday 25 May
Topic: Sweet adornments
Lolly jewellery - good to wear, better to eat!

Sunday 22 June
Topic: Paint a portrait
Create your own family heirloom

supported by ETSA utilities and Health Promotion SA
For more information, telephone Megan 8207 7005

Education

Education notes

Click here for education notes and a list of useful links.

For Artist Bibliographies, click here

School group booking information

Introductory sessions for primary groups provided by Education Guides.
Discussion tours for secondary groups provided by the Education Officer
(Session duration: approx. 30 minutes)
Bookings are required for all school group visits to the Gallery and to this exhibition.

Bookings: Telephone 8207 7033 (Schools Booking Officer available Monday, Tuesday & Friday) or fax: 82077070

Exhibition entry: FREE for booked groups.

For more information on EDUCATION SERVICES at the Art Gallery of South Australia, visit the AGSA Education Section of this website

To see what other events and activities are on at the Gallery,
click here to go to the Calendar of Events

At the Exhibition Shop

Printed Information booklet
An illustrated booklet accompanies the exhibition and is available from the Gallery Bookshop at the very reasonable price of $5.

Remember, Members of the Gallery - both Foundation and Friends, full-time students and school orders receive a 10% discount on all items not marked nett.) The Bookshop is open from 10 am until 4.45 pm every day except Christmas Day.

For more information about the Gallery Bookshop, click here or telephone: (08) 8207 7029 Fax (08) 8207 7069

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