Bill Henson is one of Australia's leading contemporary
artists. His powerful and edgy photographs approach the painterly
and the cinematic, bringing together the formal and classical with
the gritty, casual dramas of the everyday. Henson defines and redefines
his subjects with a rigour that is inseparable from his technical
command. He is a master of the use of light and dark in the tradition
of the great European masters. Beautiful, confronting, and unforgettable
his images capture a universal essence and enliven our own sense
of being.
This landmark exhibition, which is organised by the
Art Gallery of New South Wales, is the first major survey of Bill
Henson's work and includes more than 350 works from more than a
dozen series since 1974.
'The work might begin
with a fleeing impression from first-hand experience or in a piece
of music I am always drawn back to, or perhaps in a paragraph of
writing I cannot forget – and then it takes its own course.
I become like a participant in some larger process I happen to be
fascinated by.' Bill Henson
Home screen image sequence: Bill Henson,
from Paris Opera Project 1991 (detail), from Untitled
1985/86 (detail), from Untitled sequence 1979 (detail),
from Untitled 1983/84 (detail), from Untitled 1985/86
(detail), from Untitled 1985/86 (detail). © Bill Henson
Exhibition screen image sequence:
Bill Henson, from Paris Opera Project 1991 (detail),
from Untitled 1983/84 (detail), from Untitled sequence
1979 (detail), from Paris Opera Project 1991 (detail),
from Untitled 2001/02 (detail), from Untitled 1980/82
(detail). © Bill Henson
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