Here are a few more pictorial mementos of last week's flying visit to Sydney, beginning
with Frida Kahlo's Self
Portrait with Monkey, 1943, snapped on Friday, July 8 at the FRIDA KAHLO and DIEGO RIVIERA
exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
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| Frida Kahlo, Self-portrait with Monkeys, 1943, oil on canvas |
For me Kahlo’s portraits and self-portraits were the standouts of this small, but substantial show. What a mighty painter she was. Considering the length of the queue to get
in (note to self, in future, always book online) I was pleasantly surprised to
be able to spend quality time virtually alone with my favourite
works. I soon figured out why - ironically, the majority of visitors were spending more time looking at the photos
of Kahlo and Riviera than at their actual artworks.
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| Frida Kahlo, Portrait of Natasha Gelman (1943) oil on canvas |
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| Frida Kahlo, Self-portrait with bed (Me and my doll) 1937, oil on canvas |
Later in the day I was surprised and delighted to discover one of my favourite paintings, David Hockney’s Portrait of an artist (Pool with two figures) 1972, on exhibit as part of the exhibition LANDSCAPES
OF PLEASURE from Monet to Hockney. With the majority of visitors in the
continuous queue for the Frida Kahlo - Diego Riviera exhibition, I had the
painting entirely to myself. I sat with it for a long time, not knowing when I would see it again. It's since occurred to me that this may be sooner rather than later. It will very likely be part of the David Hockney 80th Birthday retrospective at Tate Britain next year, which I'm planning to fly over for. I can hardly wait.
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| David Hockney, Portrait of an artist (Pool with two figures) 1972, acrylic on canvas |
