BRISBANE--1 Dec--MediaNet International-AsiaNet/InfoQuest Brisbane’s new Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) and refurbished Queensland Art Gallery open tomorrow (Saturday, 2 December) with ‘The 5th Asia—Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT5) and new Collection displays.Wayne Goss, Chairman of the Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees said GoMA was a major new contemporary art museum for Australia and the Asia-Pacificregion, and a cultural triumph for Brisbane. “The Queensland Government is to be congratulated for having the vision to build Australia’s largest gallery of modern and contemporary art,” Mr Goss said.‘With the addition of GoMA, Queensland Art Gallery remains a single institution with two magnificent sites: the celebrated Robin Gibson-designed Gallery, which opened in 1982, and the Architectus-designed Gallery of Modern Art at Kurilpa Point, the last reach of the Brisbane River overlooking the city,’ he said. ‘The two buildings complement each other yet remain architecturally distinctive.‘Separated by only 150 metres, the buildings enjoy an easy physical connection, which encourages visitors to enjoy both sites during a visit.’ Thirty percent larger than the existing building, GoMA also features facilities for the Gallery’s Australian Cin?math?que and Children’s Art Centre. Developed and launched in the lead-up to GoMA, the Children’s Art Centre will continue the Gallery’s ground-breaking programming for children, while the Australian Cin?math?que — the first of its kind in an Australian art museum — will present programs that explore the relationship between art and film, one of the most influential art forms of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The Australian Cin?math?que has two cinemas and a media gallery, and the Children’s Art Centre, has exhibition spaces as well as resources and facilities to present children’s programs in both buildings.Mr Goss said GoMA’s opening is a new beginning for the Queensland Art Gallery.‘With APT5 the Gallery launches a Triennial to Triennial approach to exhibition programming across both buildings. ‘Future major exhibitions include Australia’s first survey of Andy Warhol’s work across all media at GoMA, organised with the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, and a Kenneth Macqueen exhibition at QAG,’ he said Gallery Director Doug Hall said the five-level GoMA building — designed by Kerry and Lindsay Clare of Sydney-based firm Architectus — was a pavilion-like space that would bring art and visitors together in galleries that were grand, yet welcoming. ‘The building’s design suits the scale and character of contemporary art, and its materials and spaces exploit Queensland’s light,’ he said. ‘With two sites, the Gallery is now able to present its Collection on a scale not previously possible.’ Mr Hall said GoMA would be the only gallery in Australia able to present the art of our time in such depth and in all its forms, including film.‘The spectacular displays of contemporary Australian and international works include many significant new acquisitions, and the integrated displays in both buildings present Queensland and Australian works in an international context,’ he said. ‘Two galleries are dedicated to the rich and diverse contemporary Indigenous Australian art collections.’ The refurbished Queensland Art Gallery features dynamic new displays of the historical and early modern collections, and a sweeping new glass entrance by the building’s architect, Robin Gibson, directly opposite the GoMA entrance. The Queensland Heritage Gallery explores the State’s cultural history from colonial times to the 1930s, while the Australian Collection display includes a room permanently dedicated to the great twentieth century artist, Ian Fairweather. The new Historical Asian Gallery presents works from the Collection and significant works on long-term loan from Japan’s Idemitsu Museum of Arts, China’s Shanghai Museum, the National Museum of Korea and the Smithsonian Institution’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington. Media contact: Amelia Gundelach, Media Coordinator Queensland Art Gallery tel: +61 (0) 7 3840 7162 email: [email protected] APT5 images: www.asiapacifictriennial.com/mediacentre SOURCE: Queensland Art Gallery --Distributed by AsiaNet ( www.asianetnews.net )--