Wilder Times: Arthur Boyd and the mid 1980s landscape

6 July – 13 October 2024

In 1984 Arthur Boyd was commissioned to create a series of Shoalhaven landscape paintings for the new Arts Centre Melbourne.

In this exhibition, Boyd’s series of fourteen powerful paintings returns to Bundanon for the first time since its creation.

Responding to these paintings, WILDER TIMES brings together over 60 works by seminal Australian artists from the same time Boyd created this momentous body of work. The exhibition provides a window into a period of cultural dynamism in Australia, when ideas of landscape, land ownership and environmental protection were actively interrogated.

Buy your tickets Wilder Times Publication

DAVID ASPDEN

MAC BETTS

VIVIENNE BINNS

BRIAN BLANCHFLOWER

ARTHUR BOYD

MIKE BROWN

ARTHUR & CORINNE CANTRILL

JUDY CASSAB

BOB CLUTTERBUCK

LIZ COATS

BONITA ELY

GERRIT FOKKEMA

HELEN GRACE

ROBERT JACKS

TIM JOHNSON

ROBERT MACPHERSON

SUSAN NORRIE

JOHN PEART

TONI ROBERTSON

HOWARD TAYLOR

ROVER JOOLAMA THOMAS

IMANTS TILLERS

TIMMY PAYUNGU TJAPANGATI

RICHARD WOLDENDORP

THE WOMEN OF UTOPIA

Art Centre Melbourne Commission

Drawn from rough paintings and sketches made in the landscape and painted in Boyd’s studio at Bundanon, this grand, lyrical series captures the passing of time, recording the river (Bangli/Shoalhaven River) from dawn to midnight.

Landscape Painting in Australia

Ideas of landscape, land ownership and environmental protection were actively interrogated by many artists and filmmakers during the mid-1980s.

The mid-1980s

The second chapter of Wilder Times offers an insight into the political and cultural scene of the mid-1980s.

The mid–1980s was an energetic time of growth and change for Australia, with significant social reforms and financial shifts, as well as questions of nationhood very much being in question. Looking back at the mid–1980s, specifically through the lens of Australian collections to show a snapshot of those years, is a view onto a recent history that has very much informed today’s cultural, social and political landscape.

ACCESS

WILDER TIMES is an accessible exhibition with several resources available below and at the Art Museum Reception. Visitors are advised that this season is an 80% visual exhibition, predominantly featuring painting, photography and film.

SENSORY MAP

The sensory map for Wilder Times includes information specifically on the Art Museum and current exhibition, noise and lighting levels and other information relevant to sensory processing. Please contact the museum staff if you have any questions about the exhibition or Bundanon Relaxed dates for sensory-friendly visits to the exhibition.

Download the Sensory Map.

Phone: 02 4422 2101

LARGE PRINT

Large print versions of the exhibition roomsheet are available to borrow from museum reception.

TACTILE MATERIALS

Tactile and sensory materials that support the experience of the exhibition are available to visitors from the museum reception.

SEATING

There is seating in every gallery in the exhibition, varying between backed and bench seating. Individual seating is available from museum reception, please speak with the friendly staff if you would like extra seating to experience the exhibition.
There is also a wheelchair available to borrow from the museum reception.

Audio Descriptions

A selection of audio descriptions are available below for rooms and works in the exhibition. For support in accessing the descriptions below, please speak to the gallery reception staff.

Audio descriptions are listed by room, clockwise.

Bundanon