Art Gallery of South Australia

I think that South Australian’s really need to learn to be a tourist in our city. I have spoken to so many people about the Art Gallery. I ask, «when was the last time you have been there?» General answer is, «not for years!» Shame on you!
Art galleries do not all have static displays. They are ever changing and offer an insight to artistic creations from around the world. More importantly, art from around South Australia. The Art Gallery is a wonderful thing. If you are ever in the city and just want something free and chill to do, this is the place just to do that. It’s free too with a couple of free tours as well.
The layout of the Museum is separated into different eras and styles, so you can transition nicely from old to new or skip any style that doesn’t appeal to you. The more contemporary art displays are the ones that appeal to me, so I generally skip the entry and go upstairs or downstairs.
The last time I went to the gallery was for the opening for SALA. A beautiful exhibition of interesting contemporary art. Some pieces tricking your eye to test your comprehension of materials and shapes.
A couple of pieces come to mind. Check out my pictures to see what I am talking about. We saw an array of life jackets that looked like they were material, but they were in fact carved marble.
Another piece was constructed out of cast mice and rodents. Light was directed at the right angle to show a shadow of two faces. How amazing and what attention to detail.
Another piece was in a dark room with a display of mirrors and geometric glowing patterns. Weird standing on different angles, they looked as if they popped out of the walls.
Be on the look out on their website, they offer a bunch of events. A popular one is First Fridays were the gallery stays open late on the First Friday of every month. You can hear talks, listen to live music and check out latest exhibitions and displays.

I took myself on an ‘art date’ here recently, as I’m embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t visited for a year or so … and it really has changed in that time!
I’m assuming that’s due to the new director, Nick Mitzevich — suddenly the Art Gallery is the hip place to be, with openings on Friday nights, and an updated Instagram account. This is great, as the Gallery was becoming a little ‘stuffy’, and not accessible to the non-​arty types.
Another big change is the themed rooms — classical works are being mixed up with contemporary works in themes — for example the ‘Momento Mori’ room, which is astoundingly beautiful — some very clever curating going on there!
Though I must confess, it’s the classics from my childhood that still hold the most power here for me … the Arts & Crafts room is still awe-​inspiring (especially the ‘Adoration Of The Magi’ woven tapestry) — Adelaide is very lucky to have these treasures, thanks to the Barr-​Smith family. Another favourite room is the one which houses the Australian art from the 1930s-​1940s (Gallery 04, I believe) — amazing work from Dorrit Black, Stella Bowen, Grace Cossington Smith, James Cant (amongst many many others), and a very impressive collection of small Sidney Nolan portraits — this was an astoundingly fruitful period in Australian art.
The only downside for me personally were the pieces that I specifically wanted to see, but were in storage — Peter Booth’s work, as well as the famous Duane Hanson sculpture of the washerwoman, which I’m sure every kid who grew up in Adelaide in the 80s knows very well!
So get out there and visit your local Gallery!

Fun place to discover, free quality entertainment for big people and little people. A bit dated feel to it but lots to see!

I remember once when a work college of mine was bored one lunch time so suggested we spend the hour down at the art gallery, which wasn’t bad because it was only a five minute walk away. Okay, maybe back then I didn’t have the same appreciation of art that I do now, but there is something about wondering through a room full of paintings and and getting lost in your imagination. However, I’ve noticed that it has changed since I first used to wonder through its halls because they seem to have removed the European art from the galleries and replaced it with theme based displays. The South Australian art is still there, and it is interesting wondering through the galleries watching how the art has transformed over the years from landscapes to the more modern aspects. There is also an underground area where they have displays of Islamic and Asian art.

Came down to Adelaide for the weekend. Saw the Dorrit Black exhibition which was impressively curated! A great range of artwork from this most underrated of Modern Australian Artists.
The Arts & Crafts room containing works from William Morris, Rene Lalique, Louis Comfort Tiffany and others is always a pleasure. The rest of the galleries were not on the tour for us today due to time constraints, but those we passed through were equally impressively curated.
And its free! If I lived closer, it’d be on my regular visit schedule as I’m positive that I’d see something new every time.
Shop is also stocked with nice items that are well displayed and the staff are very knowledgeable and a pleasure to deal with.

South Australians, you have a great gallery on your hands!
I checked out the Dark Heart exhibition at the start of the month and was so impressed. It was a free exhibit, so I wasn’t expecting a lot. Mostly I wanted to check out the Ian Strange installation at the front. I’m glad I stayed to check out the rest though, because they had curated a world-​class exhibit with a stunning collection.
They run tours all day (also free?!) and while our flight home stopped us from joining one, we eavesdropped in from room to room to get a few interesting tidbits of info.
I’m not sure what it’s like other times of the year, but based on this visit I would definitely check out what’s on next time I’m in Adelaide.

One of my favorite places to get lost.
Peruse collections of art spanning decades and more, with techniques that will inspire, confuse and challenge the way you see art.
I couldn’t possibly pop in for just a few minutes, because there is far too much to see. I encourage everyone to take the opportunity to especially visit when there’s a featured artist having their works displayed. Or a theme being presented. Pay the dollars to see it. Art today is something that is exploding with possibilities, but many don’t realize that the art from years gone often wrote the rules on what art today is now.
Art is everywhere. From the sinking house out the front of the museum, to architecture of new buildings, to the interior design in your favorite café, to the wildlife outside your door. You just have to open your eyes and look around.

So many things going for this place! Great museum, not too big nor too small, housed in a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL, building, and it’s free!
They have a European collection of paintings, and a bit of Islamic and Asian art as well. But I particularly love this museum’s focus on European artists from the 1800’s taking on the Australian landscape. The style is quintessentially European, but they masterfully capture the distinct loveliness of Australia’s natural beauty. When you are so used to seeing paintings in this style depicting clearly European nature, the mish-​mash of European style and Australian subjects feels both familiar and a bit surreal.
Definitely give it a look!

The Art Gallery is beginning to diversify its program of exhibitions and activities in recent years to include a combination of more modern, contemporary work with some well put together historical exhibitions on things like South Australia’s first artists. A lot of this is thanks to its new director, Nick Mitzevich.
One of the main reasons I have begun to appreciate the exhibitions at the Art Gallery is due to the consistently high quality of volunteer guides that each exhibition provides. Offered daily, these guides are worth their weight in gold when it comes to getting a better insight into a collection of works, rather than strolling around an exhibition for hours and not really understanding why or how each piece was created. They are also often offered by the sweetest, oldest men and women that probably knew some of the painters when they were alive. Bless them though because they can remember 100’s more facts than I ever could and are amazingly thorough when it comes to researching exhibitors.
I am also incredibly impressed at the selection of activities the Art Gallery now has on offer including;
— Arts Workshops where all materials are provided (sometimes all for free)
— Free or $ 10 Art Lectures
— Departure (Art After Dark for 20 – 30 somethings with wine)
So go for an exploration with a lovely guide that will remind you of your Nan or Pop and discover an arty farty side you thought you never had. Check out online for when exhibition and general free gallery tours are run.

I have so many fond memories of this gallery. Wether it be coming here on school excursions, visiting with my granny or studying for my university exams as the Barr Smith Library was way too full and oppressively silent.
I’m not much of an arty person but I really love the beauty seen in so many of the paintings here. I studied for my second and third year final exams in the Art Gallery sitting on the Chesterfields scattered throughout the gallery surrounded by so much beauty and and wonderful architecture.
My favourite gallery, and the one I always skip to, is the colonial and pastoral gallery. Tom Roberts and Hans Heysen’s best adorn the walls and capture the essence of rural Australia and are so quintessentially Australian. The colours and the images always remind me of home and when travelling overseas I weirdly dream of Roberts’ A Break Away! and see myself charging on the horse over the hill.
The gallery also has a great collection of Aboriginal artworks and sculpture and the vast canvases are breathtaking.
If you’re visiting the follow paintings are well worth the ponder as you pass through:
— John Waterhouse’s «Circe Invidiosa» (you’ll know it when you see it)
— Tom Roberts’ A Break Away! (Okay it is my absolute favourite ever)
— William Bouguereau’s Virgin and Child
— Charles Conder’s A holiday at Mentone
— Arthur Streeton’s At Templestowe.

14/​12/​2011 5 Photos
I remember old friends back in the school days, talking about the beauty of the Art Gallery of South Australia. This centre of Early and Modern Art is more than just Australian art… it is the source of other beautiful art from overseas, namely Europe, Asia and the Middle east.
Art + Love + Death + Time? I was fascinated! I saw a painting that said that everyone has to die in due time. The sign was pretty much saying that everyone has an expiry date. Great, I came here to enjoy art, not to think about my own death!
But upon first setting my eyes on earliest British colonial art, a painting of a British general on a horse from the first days of arrival in New South Wales, the artistic side of me was quite aroused immediately! I was also beginning to wonder what those young school students and elderly visitors were thinking when listening to their tour guide, as I made my quick moves to the next room of galleries. I overheard one man say out loud proudly to the rest of the tour group, «I think I saw this on TV last week!» to which the tour guide mumbled inaudibly back in response. If you prefer loud entertainment, things that have nothing to do with art, this is not your place and it’s best to move on quickly to the Mall.
I ended up taking some extra time to analyse some of the paintings that captivated me, especially the Italian art from the 1600s. How amazing and intricate their paintbrush work has left a permanent imprint in my mind. That 1600s style will never ever be replicated ever again. They were just too good back then. The Art Gallery of South Australia contains a diverse range of striking beauty. Floor to ceiling arches, very spacious, so clean, strange and eerie dark rooms downstairs containing middle eastern and Asian art (why are only these two areas so dimly lit?), and art is everywhere you look. It’s not that huge of a building, but it’s still very pretty inside. Overall, the visit was really short and quick, but if you’re impressed with old paintings and Renaissance artists like I am, this is the PERFECT place to get a little artistic inspiration… but, get there before it closes to the public at 5pm!

Chloe is right! This place used to be a little dusty to say the least… but radical changes have been afoot in the past year and it is again a place worth visiting for a broader audience than just tourists in search of air conditioning and art geeks, (admittedly I may fall into the later category).
Another really exciting change not previously mentioned is their display approach in the newly refurbished Elder wing (to the right when you walk in the front doors). The gallery has a particularly strong Australian Colonial and more specifically, South Australian Colonial collection. These works, predominantly by settlers, many of whom were amateurs and draftsmen are now being displayed next to first nation (indigenous Australian) art and artifacts, as well as selected contemporary works. In this sense the gallery is critically engaging in exploring and questioning the ongoing reprecussions of colonialism in Australia. Go AGSA for trying to make a difference in the mindset of its attendees!
Although Saatchi was probably a good move for profile and revenue of the gallery, I didn’t like the lack of free access for the duration of the show. If you are maybe more into partying than culturing, the gallery now runs the Departure series, where you can spend friday night at the gallery with champagne, tunes and all the beautiful people who are shown around different features by the galleries knowledgable and friendly curators.

The Art Gallery of South Australia used to be a bit dull. A lot of French Impressionism exhibitions and seniors on tours. Once I got shushed by an old lady for discussing the art with my friend. Thankfully things are a lot ‘fresher’ now — new director Nick Mitzevich has radically improved both the quality of the gallery itself and the wider public engagement.
The Elder wing has been refurbished, and downstairs there is a new kid’s room that encourages visitors to make their own versions of artworks on display using clay and felt and all kinds of fun crafty materials. The Gallery has acquired a bunch of new, exciting contemporary works and has become much better at building a buzz around upcoming events.
There has been a series of exciting shows in the last year — Tracey Moffat, Ben Quilty, Patricia PIccinini and of course the Saatchi show. The Saatchi show was one of the biggest AGSA has ever hosted — the book sold out and the show spread across several wings of the gallery. It featured mostly very recent works from the collection of Charles Saatchi — including Tracey Emin’s bed and work by Turner Prize contender Karla Black.
Really exciting to see Adelaide put back on the cultural map!

Located on the beautiful city stretch North Terrace next to other attractions like the zoo, museum, rundle mall etc.
Entry is free but some exhibitions require a small fee, but its usually not very much and is always worth it.
I honestly haven’t been to the Art Gallery very much, probably because it is in my own city. But it is definitely a worthwhile visit, and kills some time if nothing else.