Photo: Kate Shanasy. Also on show is Dancing Pumpkin , a towering, five-metre-tall bronze pumpkin sculpture newly acquired by the NGV. Ethel Carrick was born in England but spent much of her life in France and Australia, creating bold and vibrant Post-Impressionist scenes of the leisured middle classes. Her depictions of fashionable society at the beach, in the park or at the market are characterised by a palette of bold, brilliant colours and her close observation of tonal values.
I love the colour, life, movement and individuality of a crowd. Oil on canvas. Among the highlights on display are Luxembourg Gardens, Paris circa and a luminous beach scene from , Christmas Day on Manly Beach , which masterfully captures an Australian summer, its heat, light and colour so different from England and France.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the courts of Beijing and Versailles were fascinated by one another. Facilitated by enlightened rulers and travelling French missionaries, China and France engaged in extensive exchanges in science, art, culture and philosophy. Shown alongside royal portraits, porcelains and textiles are books, scientific instruments and glassware. The Nanjing Market , The Palace of Versailles. Highlights from the Palace Museum include a chrysanthemum pot from , created by the renowned French enameller Joseph Coteau and likely offered as a gift from French officials to the Qianlong Emperor r.
On loan from the Palace of Versailles and on display in Hong Kong for the first time is a perfume fountain dating from , formerly in the collection of Louis XV.
The porcelain body was produced by ceramic artisans in China, while the bronze mounts were probably made in France β a testament to the exchange of craftsmanship between the two countries at that time. Working across tapestry, sculpture, photography and video, the Ghanaian-American artist Rita Mawuena Benissan celebrates the rich traditions of Ghanaian culture, with a particular focus on Asante customs.
