Ben Apfelbaum

SCULPTURES IN THE FORECOURT : PART OF ARCHIE PLUS @ ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Marino Marini – Rider
Louise Bourgeois – Arched figure
Auguste Rodin – The Burghers of Calais

For ten weeks from March 2020 the AGNSW forecourt was silent and desolate due to the Gallery’s closure because of Covid 19. 

To celebrate the return of visitors to the forecourt the Gallery ‘peopled it’ with an extraordinary collection of sculptured bodies entitled ‘Passage’. Among the treasures are sculptures by Rodin and Giacometti. They represent the states of feeling and passages of human experience that were a hallmark of last year’s crises and challenges.

These figures offer moments of tenderness alongside experiences of conflict, solitude and uncertainty felt by so many. They express our capacity for joy, persistence and resilience. 

This presentation is accompanied by a new song by Ngaiire backed by a choir and videotaped in the Gallery’s forecourt to amplify the feelings evoked by the sculptures. 

Ngaiire

The sculptures were part of the Archie Plus set of exhibitions that took place around the Art Gallery of New South Wales. 

Archie Plus at the Art Gallery Of New South Wales concludes on Sunday 21st February, 2021.

https://www.artgallery/nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/archie-plus/

Alberto Giacometti – Woman of Venice V11
Auguste Rodin – The Prodigal Son

Featured image : Louise Bourgeois – Arched figure. All photos by Ben Apfelbaum.

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.