Museum of Old and New Art

Museum of Old and New Art
Name	Museum of Old and New Art
Established	2011
Location	Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Type	Art museum
Founder	David Walsh
Director	Gerry Connelly

Museum of Old and New Art The Museum of Old and New Art opened in 2011 in Hobart, Tasmania, and rapidly became a prominent venue in contemporary museology. Founded by David Walsh, it houses provocative installations, historical artefacts, and multimedia works that position the institution at the intersection of private collecting, tourism, and cultural debate. The institution has attracted international artists, curators, and public figures, drawing attention across Australia, Europe, North America, and Asia.

History

The museum's origin traces to collector David Walsh and the private gallery movements associated with patrons like Peggy Guggenheim, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, and institutions such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, and Centre Pompidou. Early exhibitions referenced curatorial models from Harry Sealey and the Wunderkammer tradition seen in collections like Rijksmuseum and V&A. The opening year coincided with debates involving cultural policy in Hobart, dialogues with the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, and interactions with Australian cultural bodies such as Australia Council for the Arts and Creative Australia. Touring loans and acquisitions involved collectors and estates linked to names like Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Marina Abramović, Jeff Koons, and historical holdings resonant with Caravaggio and Rembrandt.

Architecture and site

The museum occupies a site on the Derwent River with adaptive reuse and new-build elements influenced by practices seen at Dia Art Foundation, Guggenheim Bilbao, and Kunstmuseum Basel. Architectural interventions reflect dialogues with architects and projects like Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano, and the industrial adaptive reuse exemplified by Tate Modern Bankside Power Station. The spatial experience incorporates subterranean galleries, a theatre, and landscaped approaches recalling the integration strategies of Getty Center and Serralves Foundation. Site planning intersected with local authorities including Tasmanian Heritage Council and urban stakeholders such as City of Hobart and Tourism Tasmania.

Collections and exhibitions

The collection mixes contemporary commissions and historical works, with displays that evoke dialogues between artists and periods represented by names such as Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama, Tracey Emin, William Kentridge, Cindy Sherman, Maurizio Cattelan, Joseph Beuys, Bruce Nauman, Anselm Kiefer, Edvard Munch, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Gustav Klimt, Wassily Kandinsky, Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne, Egon Schiele, Georges Braque, Joan Miró, Mark Rothko, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, Ellsworth Kelly, Alexander Calder, Barbara Hepworth, Isamu Noguchi, Richard Serra, Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Kara Walker, Shirin Neshat, Ai Weiwei, Yoko Ono, Bill Viola, Stanley Kubrick (filmic references), and Andrei Tarkovsky-influenced installations. Exhibitions have included site-specific commissions by Erwin Wurm, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Carsten Höller, Hito Steyerl, Olafur Eliasson, Susan Philipsz, Taryn Simon, Haris Epaminonda, Gillian Wearing, David Altmejd, Adrián Villar Rojas, and Theaster Gates. The museum’s programming sometimes parallels blockbuster loan shows from institutions like Louvre, British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Hermitage Museum.

Programming and education

Public programs have featured symposiums, film screenings, performance series, and artist talks drawing parallels to educational outreach at Smithsonian Institution, Hayward Gallery, Serpentine Galleries, and Walker Art Center. Workshops and lectures have engaged curators and critics associated with Hans Ulrich Obrist, Nicholas Serota, Rosalind Krauss, Jerry Saltz, and scholars from universities including University of Tasmania, Australian National University, University of Melbourne, and Monash University. Residency programs and collaborative projects connect to international exchange models like Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, and International Studio & Curatorial Program.

Controversies and criticism

The museum has been central to controversies involving acquisition provenance debates similar to disputes involving Benin Bronzes, restitution cases linked to Nazi-looted art, and curatorial ethics akin to controversies at Museum of Modern Art and Louvre Abu Dhabi. Criticism has come from art historians, journalists at outlets such as The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Australian Financial Review, and commentators including curators formerly associated with National Gallery of Australia and contemporary art critics like Robert Hughes. Legal and regulatory scrutiny has engaged entities such as Australian Taxation Office and state cultural regulators, while public debates referenced tourism strategies from Tourism Australia and municipal planning issues raised with City of Hobart.

Reception and impact

Reception has been mixed: acclaim from figures associated with Venice Biennale, Documenta, and curators from Guggenheim and Tate Modern contrasts with academic critique published in journals like Artforum, Frieze, Art Bulletin, and October (journal). The museum influenced cultural tourism in Tasmania alongside events such as MONA FOMA (music festival) and collaborations with festivals like Dark Mofo, while contributing to debates on private museums exemplified by Broad Art Museum, Rubell Museum, and Perez Art Museum Miami. Its model prompted discussion in policy fora involving Australia Council for the Arts and comparative studies referencing Museum of Old and New Art-style private initiatives internationally.

Category:Art museums in Australia