Art Gallery of NSW just opened its 21st free exhibition of the year, but many more can they afford?

• Thomas Demand: The Object Lesson is a major international collaboration that is free to visit
• The opening comes amidst financial uncertainty for the Art Gallery of NSW and other art institutions
• Suspended walls, seminal works and a “kaleidoscope of colour” await visitors

It’s been quite a week at the Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW). On Wednesday, staff walked out in protest after director Maud Page announced job cuts as part of a plan to save the institution $7.5 million (it was the first industrial action in more than a decade). Then, on Thursday, it was revealed that the Sydney gallery is considering a price increase on its ticketed exhibitions.

While all that’s been going on, the team have been getting ready to present a major new exhibition, Thomas Demand: The Object Lesson.

German artist Thomas Demand is famed for his large-scale photographic and sculptural works, and he’s been invited back for a second collaboration with Kaldor Public Art Projects to create their 38th commission, The Object Lesson.

This morning, I went to the media launch to find out what this latest temporary addition to the gallery is all about.

The Object Lesson

Walking into The Object Lesson feels less like stepping into an artwork itself. The architecture of the exhibition is unusual. The space has been transformed by suspended structures, floating in the centre of the room, which is lined with a giant curtain wallpaper around the perimeter wall.

Demand carefully selected almost 60 artworks from the John Kaldor Family Collection—a collection of more than 200 artworks that Kaldor donated to the gallery in 2008. They’re spaced out across the temporary structures, encouraging visitors to wind and weave through the maze.

The exhibition brings together masterpieces and overlooked gems alike, offering fresh encounters with familiar artists while spotlighting those less well known.

You’ll see a pencil and ink drawing by Sol LeWitt first, chosen by Demand as its geometric lines mirrored the floorplan of the exhibition “almost exactly”. It hangs opposite a portrait of John Kaldor himself, as a direct nod to the collector who made the display—and so many others—possible.

A giant monochromatic canvas by Frank Stella is hung on a magenta wall; Jeff Koons’ White Terrier pokes out from a wall, peering out towards Woolloomooloo, and Christo’s Wrapped Paintings is propped up against the perimeter wall as if forgotten.

These are all objects, and at some point, these have all been at some point objects of desire for John, which then came into the museum. But then, in a museum we overlook the fact that paintings are also objects, and actually quite fragile objects. They are artefacts of a very special kind, and it’s a miracle that they survive

— Thomas Demand

His comment on the fragility of artworks reminds me of the title of an exhibition I saw in London last year, that used similar architecture which was as intriguing as the displayed works.

A kaleidoscope of colour

Fragile Beauty, the exhibition of Sir Elton John’s vast photography collection that was staged at the Victoria and Albert Museum, used similar cutaway wall designs to break up the flow of the exhibition. It was the largest temporary display ever staged at the museum; you needed something to interrupt the pace and maintain interest, regardless of how remarkable, beautiful or intriguing the artworks were.

At The Object Lesson, it’s a much smaller exhibition but a much bigger, open space. Taking over that amount of space must have been daunting but Demand has done it so smartly. Visitors peer through windows and around corners, wandering into intimate chambers where films are projected on to screens.

This exhibition is unmissable because it’s a way to experience and seem some really seminal pieces—by Christo, Sol LeWitt and so on—in a completely different way. Thomas has spoken about it being a kaleidoscope of colour which I really like… when you walk in, it’s like an explosion of light and colour which is really quite different.

— AGNSW director, Maud Page

It’s part sculpture, part stage set, part exhibition. Wallpaper wraps the perimeter, while inside, artworks are grouped in surprising, non-chronological combinations. Sculptural pieces are bathed in the natural glow of the vast Woolloomooloo-facing window, while smaller, more delicate works sit tucked into the shaded interior.

“Everything here is an object, fragile and miraculous in its survival,” says Demand. “I wanted to bring that sense out—to show how paintings and sculptures are not just images, but artefacts in the language of art.”

The result is a show that feels alive, unpredictable and distinctly different to the usual linear art history lesson. In fact, I overheard Kaldor comment that it is “radically different” to other exhibitions he’s been involved with.

The bigger question

The Object Lesson marks the 38th Kaldor Public Art Project, a landmark international collaboration that positions Sydney within a global conversation on contemporary art. For audiences, it’s a rare chance to experience a world-class exhibition free of charge, something that feels increasingly precious as cultural institutions face mounting financial pressure—the Art Gallery of NSW included.

The opening comes at a turbulent time for the Art Gallery of NSW. Staff protests, looming job cuts and the possibility of charging more for blockbuster shows all raise the question: how sustainable is free access to ambitious projects like this?

By the end of the year, the gallery will have hosted 35 exhibitions in just 12 months, and only four of them come at a cost to visitors.

Magritte (October 2024–February 2025), Cao Fei: My City is Yours (November 2024–April 2025) and the upcoming Ron Mueck: Encounter all cost $35 per adult and $18 per teen. The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prize, meanwhile—one of the gallery’s big hitters every year—costs a relatively modest $25 per adult and $13 for teens.

Yesterday’s announcement that the gallery is considering raising the price of its ticketed exhibitions came with reassurance that they have “categorically” ruled out any changes to free general admission. Unlike the Museum of Contemporary Art, who introduced admission fees at the start of the year.

But the bulk of the program at AGNSW remains free, from the permanent collection and contemporary commissions through to major exhibitions like The Object Lesson. It’s a breadth that highlights the gallery’s ongoing commitment to accessibility, even as financial realities start to bite.

For now, at least, Sydney audiences can enjoy one of the gallery’s most significant exhibitions of the year without paying a cent. And perhaps that is The Object Lesson—a reminder of the value of art that is shared, not gatekept.

Thomas Demand: The Object Lesson

Where: Naala Badu Building, Art Gallery of NSW, The Domain, Sydney NSW 2000
When: From Saturday, August 30 until Sunday, January 11, 2025.
Opening times: Thursday–Tuesday 10am – 5pm, Wednesday 10am–10pm.
How much: Free entry.

For more information visit artgallery.nsw.gov.au