Feature story: Nov/Dec edition 2024

Those hoping to visit The Brett Whiteley Studio in Surry Hills, New South Wales until late 2025 will be sorely disappointed. Renowned artist Brett Whiteley (1939-92) purchased the former warehouse in 1985 and converted it into a studio and exhibition space, living there from 1987 to 1992, when he died in Thirroul, south of Sydney. The studio has been managed as a museum by the Art Gallery of New South Wales since 1995 and is closed temporarily for upgrades to improve accessibility and address age-related deterioration and artwork conservation requirements. During this temporary closure, a selection of Whiteley’s work is touring four states. It has already shown at the Logan Art Gallery in Queensland, is currently on show at John Curtin Gallery, and will tour to Orange Regional Gallery in New South Wales in March next year, and Shepparton Art Museum in Victoria in June 2025.

Brett Whiteley: Inside the Studio is a fantastic opportunity for Western Australians to get up close and personal with works by the iconic artist across various media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, collage and ceramics. The range surprises. His influences ranged from painters Francis Bacon, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse to poet Arthur Rimbaud. Early works display the influence of Russell Drysdale (in 1959, Whiteley won an Italian travelling government scholarship, which enabled him to travel to Europe and live in Italy for 10 months. The scholarship was judged by Drysdale), to the drug-addled Self Portrait at 36, Comedown, reflecting his unfortunate drug habit which eventually and accidentally caused his demise, there’s a playfulness, flair and willingness to push boundaries.

In Perth for the exhibition, Nick Yelverton, Curator of the Brett Whiteley Studio, says Whiteley is arguably one of Australia’s most recognisable and successful artists. “He’s won all the major art prizes and the Archibald twice. His works have been collected widely and exhibited in important exhibitions here and abroad. And he’s been the subject of countless books, a few documentaries and even an opera – that gives you an idea of how significant Brett Whiteley is in Australian art history.”  Yelverton was quick to point out Whiteley can also be a somewhat of a polarising figure. “His talents and achievements as a painter are sometimes overshadowed by his antics, his fame and his overexposure, and the tragedy and romance of his life story.”

The majority of works in the exhibition are owned by Wendy Whiteley, destined to be donated to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The bequest will be the largest and most valuable gift the Art of New South Wales has ever received in its 120-year history. The two aspiring artists met in the 1960s and were together for around 30 years before separating a few years before his death. Yelverton says she is often called his muse, but Wendy was much more than this. “Even though she was incredibly beautiful and inspirational in his works, she kept him in line,” he says. “She pushed him to work very hard and had a very strong influence on him and his work. So much so that some people believe she should be recognised as a collaborator in his artistic process.” Indeed, Wendy was instrumental in setting up the Brett Whiteley Studio as a public museum 29 years ago and has been deeply involved in the curation of its exhibitions as well as this touring show.

An interesting inclusion in Brett Whiteley: Inside the Studio is a QR code linking to Whiteley’s playlist of music. Yelverton says Whiteley often played music loudly while he worked. “This lends his pictures a very rhythmic, energetic quality,” he says. Also in conjunction with the exhibition is screenings of the 2017 documentary WHITELEY every Sunday until 15 December at John Curtin Gallery’s BankWest Theatre.

Exhibiting concurrently at John Curtin Gallery is the John Stringer Prize 10 Year Retrospective and Aida Tomescu: in the midst of happening. Born in Romania, Tomescu has been living and working in Sydney since 1980. She is the winner of the Sulman Prize (1996), the Wynne Prize (2001) and the Dobell Prize for Drawing (2003) and is represented in all major museums in Australia, as well as international collections.

John Curtin Gallery Curator Lia McKnight revealed Tomescu arrived in Australia from Communist Romania knowing no one, and knowing she could not easily return to her homeland. “Her belief in painting drove her forward with unwavering commitment and courage.” Tomescu, in Perth for the exhibition, says painting is a way of thinking, but we simply refer to it as a process. “But this process is really the distance the work travels towards its resolution and it’s more a matter of sustaining the mental energy to see it through and sustaining its direction.”

Brett Whiteley: Inside the Studio and Aida Tomescu: in the midst of happening are on show at John Curtin Gallery until 15 December.