Sidney Nolan's Kiata Revealed as Breakthrough for Australian Modern Art at AGNSW
A painting made during Sidney Nolan's wartime conscription is being presented as a turning point for Australian modern art. The Art Gallery of New South Wales is showing an exhibition devoted to the artist's formative years, and the display includes Nolan's celebrated Ned Kelly series. Senior curator Denise Mimmocchi guides viewers through the show and singles out a lesser-known earlier canvas, Kiata, which Nolan produced in 1943 while serving in the army and stationed in Victoria's Wimmera region. According to Mimmocchi, Kiata marked a breakthrough both for Nolan himself and for Australian modern art more broadly. The exhibition places the famous Ned Kelly works alongside these early experiments, tracing how Nolan's practice developed before the Kelly pictures secured his reputation. The presentation is on view at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Key facts
- Sidney Nolan's Ned Kelly series is included in an exhibition of his formative work at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
- Senior curator Denise Mimmocchi leads a walkthrough of the exhibition.
- The exhibition highlights Kiata, a lesser-known early Nolan painting.
- Nolan created Kiata in 1943 while conscripted in the army.
- Nolan was stationed in Victoria's Wimmera region at the time.
- Mimmocchi describes Kiata as a breakthrough painting for Nolan.
- Mimmocchi also calls it a breakthrough moment for Australian modern art.
- The exhibition focuses on Nolan's formative years.
Entities
Artists
- Sidney Nolan
- Denise Mimmocchi
Institutions
- Art Gallery of New South Wales
- AGNSW
- The Guardian
Locations
- New South Wales
- Australia
- Victoria
- Wimmera