Last chance to see post-impressionist master Paul Gauguin at the National Gallery of Australia

Visitors have less than three weeks to experience Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao at the National Gallery of Australia.

Closing on Monday 7 October, this is the last opportunity to visit Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao in Kamberri/Canberra. Australian audiences have a rare opportunity to view some of the post-impressionist master Paul Gauguin’s (1848 – 1903) most celebrated works of art in the part of the world that influenced him the most.

Curated by celebrated scholar of 19th century French art and former director of the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée du Louvre, Henri Loyrette, the exhibition charts Gauguin’s artistic and life journey from his impressionist beginnings in France to his final years in Tahiti and the Marquesas.

Featuring more than 140 works of art, Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao is among the most ambitious and complex exhibitions ever staged by the National Gallery. Drawn from 65 private and public collections, the exhibition includes important examples of Gauguin’s painting, drawing, prints, sculpture and ceramics. This is the first time many of these works have been shown together. Highlights include Three Tahitians (Trois Tahitiens) 1899, Tahitian women (Femmes de Tahiti) 1891 and Parahi te marae (The sacred mountain) 1892.

Presented alongside Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao and led by artist, poet and scholar Rosanna Raymond MZNM, is SaVĀge K’lub: Te Paepae Aora’i – Where the Gods Cannot be Fooled. SaVĀge K’lub brings together multi-disciplinary artists from across the Moana to explore ideas of hospitality, culture and identity.

Dr Nick Mitzevich, National Gallery Director: ‘We are delighted to give Australian audiences the opportunity to experience the work of Paul Gauguin – a visionary artist whose impact continues to reverberate today. This expansive exhibition has brought together works by the post-impressionist master from all over the world and should not be missed. Curated by the esteemed Henri Loyrette, this exhibition was five years in the making and marked the first dedicated exhibition of Gauguin’s art of this scale in Australia.’

‘In presenting this exhibition, it has been important that we embrace the art, culture and stories of our neighbours throughout the Moana/Pacific. Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao cements the region’s part in a key moment of art history, while we celebrate historical and contemporary Pasifika art with SaVĀge K’lub,’ continued Mitzevich.

Exclusively shown in Australia at the National Gallery, Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao will then travel to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in the United States this November 2024.

Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao has been organised by the National Gallery, Kamberri/Canberra, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Art Exhibitions Australia. The exhibition has been made possible through the continued support and generosity of Principal Sponsor Mazda Australia, Principal Donor Singapore Airlines, Strategic Partner VisitCanberra, Media Partners News Corp, Seven West Media and ARN, and the Government of French Polynesia and Minister for Tourism. The exhibition is also supported by the Australian Government International Exhibitions Insurance (AGIEl) Program.

The organisers are particularly grateful to the Musée d’Orsay, Paris for generously supporting Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao.

The National Gallery acknowledges the generosity of Exhibition Patrons Philip Bacon AO, Kay Bryan OAM, Christine Campbell and Terry Campbell AO, Krystyna Campbell-Pretty AM, Penelope Seidler AM, Lyn Williams AM, Maurice Cashmere, Robert Meller and Helena Clarke.

EXHIBITION DETAILS
Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao
29 June – 7 October 2024
Ticketed: Adult: $35 | Concession: $32 | Members: $27 | Kids (ages 5-16): $12 | Kids (ages 0-5): free
Book here
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PUBLICATION
Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao inspires new ways of seeing and thinking about one of the most renowned artists of the 19th century. Featuring more than 150 colour reproductions, this publication is the first to explore Gauguin’s inner journey and quest to develop his own identity, surveying his practice from its impressionist beginnings and Symbolist leanings to his Polynesian periods. 288pp. 300 x 245mm. Full Colour | Paperback. RRP A$59.95
Download PDF here.

TICKETS
For complimentary media tickets to the exhibition, please reach out to media@nga.gov.au

PODCAST
Hosted by award winning Samoan-Australian journalist Sosefina Fuamoli, this four-part podcast series explores the social, political and art historical themes surrounding Paul Gauguin, asking... can you love the art but loathe the artist? Each episode features interviews with curators, loan institutions, art historians, community and museum representatives and technical experts including artists Yuki Kihari and Angela Tiatia, art historians Elizabeth C Childs and Dr Caroline Vercoe, author Daisy Lafarge and Polynesian knowledge holder Tahi Perinete.
Listen here.

MEDIA KIT
download here

IMAGES
available here

MEDIA RELEASES
read here

MEDIA ENQUIRIES
JESS BARNES
Communications Manager
M | +61 437 986 286
E | jessica.barnes@nga.gov.au or media@nga.gov.au

ABOUT: PAUL GAUGUIN
Born in Paris in 1848, Paul Gauguin’s voyages saw him travel to parts of the world almost unimaginable to most people in the 19th century. His life as an intrepid traveller started in childhood when his family fled to Peru, escaping the 1848 revolution; they later returned to France, settling in Orléans. At 17, Gauguin joined the merchant marines and navy and adventured across the world. Back in Paris, he worked in a stockbrokers office and as an amateur painter, exhibiting his first landscape with the impressionists at the Paris Salon of 1876. Gauguin travelled to Brittany and Arles, Panama, the island of Martinique in the Caribbean, capturing the connections between people and their surrounding landscapes. In 1891 Gauguin left France for French Polynesia, living in Tahiti, where he created his most celebrated and compelling works. Although largely unrecognised in his lifetime, Gauguin’s art is now celebrated – like that of his friend and rival Vincent van Gogh. Gauguin’s work defines Post-Impressionism and Symbolism: it was highly influential for later artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. His vibrant use of colour and flattened decorative surfaces remain a motivating force for many artists in our times. Since his death in 1903, Gauguin has left two enduring and conflicting legacies – his art and himself.

ABOUT: HENRI LOYRETTE
Henri Loyrette is a French 19th century art history scholar and former Director of the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée du Louvre, Paris. As director of the Louvre, Loyrette is recognised for having expanded the display of the museum’s collection, and the museum itself, to the Louvre-Lens in Northern France and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Loyrette’s areas of specialisation are 19th century painting and architecture. He is a renowned scholar and acknowledged expert on Edgar Degas, as well as Edouard Manet and other European artists of the period. His groundbreaking exhibitions include Degas at the Opéra at the Musée d’Orsay Paris, and National Gallery of Art Washington (2019); The Origins of Impressionism (1994); Degas, 1834–1917 (1988) and Chicago, Birth of a Metropolis (1987).