Sharing the National Collection

From November 2024, Ipswich Art Gallery will host four significant works from the National Gallery of Australia’s collection. The Sharing the National Collection initiative, funded under Australia’s National Cultural Policy Revive, enables major works of art to be exhibited outside the nation’s capital.

Ipswich Art Gallery will feature powerhouse American artists Mark Rothko (1903-1970) and Agnes Martin (1912-2004), both exponents of international abstraction.  Works by renowned former Ipswich ceramicist, Gwyn Hanssen-Pigott (1935-2013) will also complement those held in the Ipswich Art Gallery collection.

Agnes Martin is known for her minimalist and serene abstract paintings characterised by grids, lines, and subtle colour variations. Her work often evokes a sense of tranquillity and introspection. Mark Rothko is renowned for his large-scale colour field paintings that explore the emotional and spiritual aspects of colour through expansive, immersive canvases. Both Martin and Rothko created work that asks us to spend time contemplating their subtle form and colour.

Australian artist Gwyn Hanssen-Pigott is regarded as one of the world’s greatest contemporary potters. Deeply influenced by the quiet still-life paintings of Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964), Hanssen-Pigott leaves behind a body of exquisite still-life assemblages of refined, spare vessels in subtle colours and shapes.

These important works promise to captivate and delight with their profound beauty and sensitivity.