Installed in the restored spaces of the Queensland Art Gallery’s Philip Bacon Galleries, the new display of the International and Asian Collection links both architecturally and conceptually to QAGOMA’s vision for contemporary curatorial practice by offering an historic point of contact from which to begin or end your journey as you navigate your way through the Gallery’s two exhibition buildings.
Drawing on the long history of cultural, mercantile and artistic exchange between Europe, East Asia and Australia the display showcases key holdings of historic European and Asian art and design alongside modern and contemporary art that engage in dialogues with these traditions.
Exploring themes such as art and faith in everyday life, the invention of porcelain in China and its introduction into Europe and the influence of Japanese art and design, photography and film on the development of modern art, the works on display weave a coherent and often surprising new thread through QAGOMA’s permanent collections.