§ The Bald Archy Prize (RSASA Gallery, North Terrace) — Created in 1994 as a spoof of that more serious competition, the Bald Archy Prize provides artists of all styles and standards with a genuine opportunity, ranging from the hilarious to the bizarrely vulgar, to create portrait paintings of humour, dark satire, light comedy or caricature. 30 May–20 Jun.

Image: 2010 Bald Archy winner ... Patti's Cake, by Judy Nadin (Bert Newton).

§ John Brack (Art Gallery of South Australia, North Terrace) — More than any other artist of his generation, John Brack (1920-99) was a painter of modern Australian life. Unlike his contemporaries, Brack painted neither myth nor history and when he focused on the landscape, it was the sprawl of suburbia that caught his attention rather than the ubiquitous Australian bush. A National Gallery of Victoria touring exhibition. Until 26 Jan. READ STORY

John Brack
Australia 1920–1999
Self-portrait 1955
oil on canvas
81.5 x 48.3 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with the assistance of the National Gallery Women’s Association, 2000
© Courtesy Helen Brack

UPDATED: 30 DECEMBER 2009

*

ADELAIDE

Already on at publication date ... listed in order of closing date

§ Xmas Mixture (Greenhill Galleries, North Adelaide) — Group exhibition. Until 19 Jan.

§ Trevor McNamara (Greenhill Galleries, North Adelaide) — "A painting should have life and flexibility. Every time you look at it, there should be a new discovery, and changes that relate to a different image or mood. A painting must be as exciting to own as it is to create." Until 19 Jan.

§ Bravura (Art Gallery of South Australia, North Terrace) —Examines Australian contemporary craft in the 21st century from the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia, including acquisitions from the Maude Vizard-Wholohan Art Prize Purchase Awards 2009. The exhibition encompasses the practices of textiles, ceramics, glass, furniture, metalware and jewellery by Indigenous and non-Indigenous practitioners working in Australia. Until 31 Jan.

§ Summer Display (Art Images Gallery, Norwood) — Group exhibition. Until 7 Feb.

Yet to open at publication date ... listed in order of opening date

§ Sydney Ball: The Colour Paintings (Samstag Museum of Art, North Terrace) — A revered graduate of the South Australian School of Art, Sydney Ball is one of Australia's most acclaimed abstract painters, whose journey of discovery, experiment and artistic development was anchored in the celebrated vanguard movement that drove so many talented young artists to New York in the early 1960s, in search of the new. 10–29 Jan.

§ George Lambert: Gallipoli and Palestine landscapes (Samstag Museum of Art, North Terrace) — George Lambert (1873-1930) was for a time one of Australia's most influential artists, and his celebrated work as a war artist with the Australian Light Horse Brigade in Palestine, earned him great success and wide respect. 10–29 Jan.

§ Ariel Hassan, Today all your plans are going to be successful (Greenaway Art Gallery, Kent Town) — 24 Feb–21 Mar.

§ Pieter Hugo, Nollywood (Greenaway Art Gallery, Kent Town) — 24 Feb–21 Mar.

*Synopses and exhibition dates are as listed on relevant gallery and museum websites.