Degas to Dali

One of reasons I was excited to be heading to Auckland was to visit the Degas to Dali exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery. The exhibition was on loan from the National Galleries of Scotland and I was stoked my visit to Auckland coincided with the end of the show. I took Art history as a subject in my last year at high school and also in my first year at Uni. I think without that exposure, I wouldn't have the appreciation for art that I have now.
I had never been to the Auckland Art Gallery before and the space is very impressive. There was a large installation outside the entrance to the gallery and another in one of the foyers.

The outside installation

This installtion in the foyer was a giant flower chandelier. The flowers constanly inflated and deflated sporadically, each flower at different times.

 

Once I got inside the Degas to Dali exhibition I was starstruck. I found it such a surreal experience to be standing in front of works from Monet, Degas, Picasso, Braque, Van Gogh, Dali, Matisse, Warhol etc. It's like being in the presence of the celebrities of the art world. The detail and use of colour and form is in no way overrated. So much impressive talent in one space. These were a couple of my favs from the exhibition,

© The Fergusson Gallery, Perth and Kinross Council

© Salvador Dali, Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation, DACS, London 2004

 (Images courtesy of the National Galleries Scotland Online Collection)

So that was the highlight of Saturday, (that and my sister arriving from Australia) and as you can tell I was not disappointed. If you happen to be in Auckland in the next few days and you haven't seen the collection yet I highly recommend you go. It's open until the 17th of June and they have concessions for students so take your id. along. That's enough of my nerd spewing for now..I'll post more about my weekend later..stay tuned xx