Sidney Nolan and Dean Cross: Heide Museum of Modern Art

Add Heide Museum of Modern Art to your autumn outing to-do list. A popular institution on the Melburnian cultural scene, the stunning art exhibition, the architecture and the sweeping grounds are very much a portrait of Australiana, past, present and future. Currently on display is a major thematic retrospective of renowned artist Sidney Nolan and new work by Dean Cross.

Originally intended to coincide with Heide’s 40th anniversary, the Sidney Nolan: Search for Paradise exhibition traces the distinguished artist’s career, from humble beginnings in St Kilda to exploring the globe in search of beauty. Featuring 81 key works – including several iconic masterpieces – the fascinating collection is framed around Nolan’s life-long pursuit of paradise. The pieces explore Nolan’s relationship with Heide – his “garden of Eden” – as well as the concept of paradise inverted, highlighting the barren terrain of Australia’s outback.

Search for Paradise is crafted through six themes: Childhood Heaven, Garden of Eden, Paradise Lost and Found, The Promised Land, Search for Self and Paradise Garden. Each body of works explores a specific period of Nolan’s life. We see youthful nostalgia through abstract paintings of Luna Park and a childhood spent at the St Kilda Pier. We learn about Nolan’s formative period with Heide art patrons John and Sunday Reed and the ménage à trois that ensued. From there, we journey through Queensland, Fraser Island and the outback through surrealist-inflected drought images to the pristine landscape of Italy, the Greek Islands, and then finally, Africa and Antarctica.

Highlights include the iconic portrait of Ned Kelly and Nolan’s complex and romanticised take on Ned Kelly. Paradise Garden is a vibrant and decorative installation that features a series of wild yet beautiful flora, vengeful poems exemplifying Nolan’s relentless quest for paradise.

‘Search for Paradise is an important project for Heide. It acknowledges Nolan’s significance to not only the history of Heide and its reputation as a crucible of modernism in Australia but also to its legacy … the exhibition also considers Nolan’s diversity of interests, techniques and aesthetic approaches during pivotal periods in his career as he sought critical recognition and commercial success and embarked on his life beyond his enmeshment with the Reeds,’ comments Kendrah Morgan, Head Curator.

The inter-disciplinary artist Dean Cross further explores the persona of Nolan through his work, Sometimes I Miss the Applause. Drawing upon some of Nolan’s most recognisable imagery, and donning a mask, two characters are presented in the unfolding parallel narrative, rehearsing a dance performance. The dual screens examine how history and culture are marked by a chaotic storm of ideas, practices and social gestures that are constantly in conflict, rewritten and realigned.

‘Sometimes I Miss the Applause explores Heide simultaneously as a site of Australian modernity and millennia of First Nations cultural practice and continuing history. The work confronts and explores the legacy of modernism, shifting perspective from dominant cultural and social histories, offering audiences a timely and fresh celebration, critique and rebalancing take on Nolan’s contribution as a pivotal figure in visual culture and national identity,’ says Melissa Keys, Senior Curator.

Dean Cross: Sometimes I Miss the Applause is on display until Sunday 29 May and Sidney Nolan: Search for Paradise is on display until Sunday 12 June.

Heide Museum of Modern Art
7 Templestowe Road, Bulleen, 3105
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm
heide.com.au