Last year we reported that the NGV’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition for 2020 would shine the spotlight on French post-impressionist painter Pierre Bonnard. Well, a lot has happened since that announcement, and the NGV has been forced to delay the exhibition until 2023.
Yes, you will now have to wait more than three years to see Bonnard’s skilful, stridently coloured works, not to mention the amazing renditions of cats that feature heavily throughout his paintings (seriously, go look up ‘Le Chat Blanc’ for a glorious taste). The exhibition was also to be designed by leading Iranian-French architect and designer India Madhavi.
The postponement is due to the current and ongoing global crisis. Pierre Bonnard was created in partnership with France’s Musée d’Orsay and will feature a large number of Bonnard’s works from its collection, as well as works from London’s Tate Gallery and MoMA in New York. With Australian officials speculating that international travel bans may stay in place until the end of the year, it’s hardly surprising that the exhibition, so grounded in international works, has been delayed for so long.
The NGV is currently closed until June 30.