Ben Apfelbaum

THE NGA COLLECTIONS : THE NED KELLY SERIES GALLERY

The recently opened, specifically constructed oval space, to greatest effect, one of the most iconic artists Sidney Nolan, and his greatest ‘muse’ Ned Kelly.

In  1977 Sunday Reed the early 20th Century art collector and benefactor donated 25 of the 26 paintings on the National Gallery of Australia’s entry level. Nolan’s paintings were inspired by Kelly’s own words, the French artist Rousseau, and sunlight. It is clear from  the paintings titles that Sidney Nolan meticulously researched Kelly’s life and in particular the events leading up to his capture.Accordingly, Nolan’s two passions – literature and the visual arts combined perfectly in the Ned Kelly series.Nolans’ bright, sunlit landscapes utilise commercial house painter’s  vivid enamel colours  are in sharp contrast to the dusty hues of the Burke and Wills series in the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

The vibrancy of the colours with that ‘black slash’ in the middle, the simplicity and naivety of style, the scholarship behind the images, and the oval display assault the senses such that the Kelly story is elevated to that of myth.

This exhibition is on permanent display at the National Gallery of Australia.

http://nga.gov.au/nolan/

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.