By day the weather may beckon you to the coastline, but come dusk, we’ve sourced the best exhibitions to check out over your break with a glass of chilled rosé and a side of nocturnal feasting. Avoid the queues and plan a gallery visit on the special late opening evenings and make a night of it.
SEE TATSUO MIYAJIMA: Connect with Everything Tatsuo Miyajima is one of Japan’s most renowned contemporary artists known for his sculptures, performance pieces and technology-driven interactive room-scale installations incorporating LED lights and numbers that reflect his preoccupation with buddhist philosophy, mortality and the passage of time. This exhibition is the largest survey of Miyajima’s work to date and promises a visceral experience: a heady mix of lights, colour and digital counting devices. When: 10am-5pm Monday-Wednesday; 10am-9pm Thursdays (from January, the late night viewing will switch to Wednesdays); 10am-5pm Fri-Sun Ends 5 March, 2017
DO CHERRY BLOSSOM BAR Get a taste of Tokyo inside the pop-up Tatsuo Miyajima-inspired Cherry Blossom Bar – open through summer. Order share plates of Izakaya-style fare while you watch the ebb and flow of Circular Quay under a canopy of blossoms and lanterns. On the menu you’ll find saké and cocktails plus revered Japanese whiskies. Opening hours: Thursday and Friday from 4pm; Saturday and Sunday from 4pm Closes 5 March, 2017
Art Gallery of New South Wales
SEE Nude It is one of art’s oldest subjects – and often its most controversial. In a partnership between Tate, London and the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, Nude: Art from the Tate Collection presents over 100 major representations of the nude including paintings, sculptures, photographs and prints by renowned artists including Auguste Rodin, Pablo Picasso, Lucian Freud, Henri Matisse, Louise Bourgeois, Marlene Dumas, Ron Mueck and Sarah Lucas. Each artist in the exhibition offers a different gaze and study of the naked human body. Together they explore major art movements including romanticism, cubism, expressionism, realism, surrealism and feminism. When: Open daily 10am-5pm; 10am-10pm Wednesdays Ends 5 February, 2017
DO CHISWICK at the Gallery With knockout views of the Harbour, CHISWICK at the Gallery is open for lunch seven days a week and dinner on Wednesdays (the late viewing evening). Perch for a drink at the bar or settle in for the night to feast. Opening hours: 12pm-3.30pm Monday-Friday; 12pm-9pm Wednesday; 12pm-4pm Saturday/Sunday Also open until late in January on Thursday and Fridays form 12pm-9pm Special: Enjoy a two-course lunch or dinner at CHISWICK at the Gallery before or after seeing Nude. Includes choice from two mains and two desserts, a glass of wine or beer, plus a ticket to the exhibition ($79 per person). Art After Hours pop-up bar On Wednesday nights, you can enjoy a drink and bar snack at the gallery’s pop-up bar in the entrance court.
SEE Scent of Sydney What can the scent of a city tell you, and do cities even possess a particular aroma? Artist Cat Jones distills more than first impressions and seeks to capture the real substance of Sydney – its stories of democracy, beauty, power, and extravagance. In a series of conversations and debates viewers are invited to create an olfactory portrait of the city and contribute ideas and stories regarding the notes of its identity. When: 10am-6pm, 7-29 January (closed Mondays) DO CORNERSTONE BAR AND FOOD Tucked away in the far corner of the cavernous multi-arts centre with outdoor seating to boot, Cornerstone Bar and Food serves a selection of casual plates plus cocktails and vino galore. Opening hours: 10am-5pm daily; 10am-late Thursday-Saturday; 10am-5pm Sunday
