Salvatore Zofrea's Monumental 'Day Cycle' to Premiere at Macquarie University Art Gallery

Salvatore Zofrea's 'Day Cycle', a monumental linear oil painting comprising one hundred panels, will be exhibited at Macquarie University Art Gallery in Sydney from 18 August to 16 October 2026. The Italian-born, New South Wales-based artist spent fourteen years creating the work, which is considered possibly the largest linear oil painting ever made in Australia. Spanning over thirty metres, the panorama is divided into four phases and depicts the shifting effects of light on the natural world. Zofrea's palette is informed by musical scores from composers including Frédéric Chopin and Claude Debussy, and his incorporation of lapis lazuli heightens the painting's luminosity and radiant quality. The exhibition will feature 'Afternoon Light' and 'Evening Light', two of the cycle's phases. A detail image shows 'Day Cycle, Afternoon Light (1 of 25 panels)', 2024, oil and lapis lazuli on canvas, measuring 152 by 3,050 centimeters, photographed by Effy Alexakis of Photowrite and courtesy of the artist and Macquarie University Art Gallery, Sydney.