Yoko Ono Artworks Exclusive to NSW

Yoko Ono - Helmets/Pieces of  Sky

Artworks by Yoko Ono will feature exclusively at the Sydney International Art Series next year to be held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Arts, George Souris, has announced.

"Curated by Rachel Kent specifically for the MCA, Sydney will be the only Australian venue for the exhibition entitled: War Is Over! (if you want it): Yoko Ono;" Mr Souris said.

   

The exhibition title comes from a text work by Yoko Ono and her husband, the late John Lennon that first appeared across public billboards in twelve cities worldwide, including New York and London, in 1969.

"The fact that Yoko Ono, an internationally renowned avant-garde artist and musician, has agreed to exhibit here is a real coup for NSW and reconfirms our reputation as the country's major events and cultural capital.

   

"I'm also pleased to learn that Yoko Ono is expected to come to Sydney to open the exhibition when it begins in November next year".

 

"This will be the first major presentation of Yoko Ono's work in Australia and I am delighted that her first comprehensive exhibition will feature in the Sydney International Art Series at the MCA in Sydney next year," Mr Souris said.

 

Created by the NSW Government, the Sydney International Art Series brings the world's most outstanding exhibitions to the city's two pre-eminent art museums, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the MCA.

Yoko Ono joins a world-class line-up of international artists who have previously exhibited in the Sydney International Art Series, including photographer Annie Leibowitz and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer at the MCA and Pablo Picasso at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Mr Souris said that since Sydney International Art Series began in 2010, more than $75 million in new money had been generated for the State and the exhibitions had attracted about 900,000 attendees, with more than 80,000 interstate and overseas visitors coming specifically to Sydney to see the exhibitions.

"Bringing major exhibitions such as these to Sydney showcases our Harbour City and I am confident that these exhibitions will be successful in attracting local, interstate and overseas visitors and will be a boon to NSW's cultural life and economy," he said.

MCA Director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor said the MCA was thrilled to be presenting this major exhibition by one of the world's most recognised artists and personalities.

 

"It offers Australians a rare opportunity to view the range of Yoko Ono's practice which takes the form of performances, sculpture and installation, written texts, films, sound compositions, and participatory art works that involve gallery viewers in a range of activities," Ms Macgregor said.

Now in its third year, the Sydney International Art Series this year presents the first major Australian exhibition of British-Irish painter Francis Bacon at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (17 November 2012-24 February 2013) and the first major exhibition of one of the world's most influential sculptors, Anish Kapoor, at the MCA (20 December 2012-1 April 2013).

Mr Souris also announced that Destination NSW has helped secure an additional artwork for the MCA's upcoming exhibition by world renowned British sculptor Anish Kapoor, as part of the Sydney International Series 2012-13, called Sky Mirror.

"Sky Mirror is a ten-metre-wide concave dish of polished stainless steel and angled up towards the sky. It is a public sculpture and will be positioned outside of the MCA for everyone to marvel at and enjoy."

 

The Sydney International Art Series is one of five signature events on the NSW Events Calendar, developed by Destination NSW.

 

Tickets for the Sydney International Art Series 2012 are now on sale. A special Sydney International Art Pass is also available and will provide discounted entry to both exhibitions. To purchase tickets visit www.ticketek.com.au