Year 10 and 11 Visual Art students recently had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a range of exceptional artworks at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. In the morning, students visited the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2024. The exhibition celebrated Australian life, from the unique and inspiring portraits of the Archibald, to the diverse landscape painting and figure sculpture of the Wynne, to the subject and genre painting and mural projects of the Sulman.
The students were amazed by Shaun Gladwell’s exceptional portrait of Julian Assange. It held particular meaning for them after learning about Assange in their legal studies. The idea that the artist had to complete his original sketch with chocolate on a bank note as he was refused a pencil and paper was of particular note. The artwork created some great dialogue between our students around freedom of speech and how art plays a pivotal role in expressing and conveying ideas.
[Shaun Gladwell – A spangled symbolist portrait of Julian Assange floating in reflection (photo from the Archibald Website) ]Students also spent time in the Gallery Halls observing artworks by both Renaissance and modern artists. In the afternoon, students visited the north building of the AGNSW visiting the Art Nouveau Artist, Alphonse Mucha’s exhibition.
Mrs Villareal, Visual Arts Teacher, expressed her praise for the benefits of this excursion:
“This excursion is a fantastic way for our students to consider the role of an artist in the world we live in today. Art plays a pivotal role in politics, activism, commemoration, celebration, and can be a cultural voice through visual representations.”