George Baldessin and Brett Whiteley were both born in 1939, achieved meteoric success in their respective cities of Melbourne and Sydney, and died tragically young. Yet the similarities don’t stop there. In the most comprehensive exhibition of both artists in more than 20 years, the National Gallery of Victoria explores the parallels between the two artists and the ways in which their provocative and expressive approach to the human figure created work with a distinctly Australian sensibility.
Featuring more than 120 works,it includes such masterpieces as Whiteley’s 20-metre long painting The American Dream (1968-69), as well as five of Baldessin’s Pears sculptures (1971-72) and his acclaimed MM of Rue St Denis (1976) drawings.