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The Arts Intel Report

Light & Darkness: Late Modernism and the Power Collection

July 22 – Nov 27, 2022
University Pl, Camperdown NSW 2006, Australia

Though he is best known as a collector, John Power (1881–1943) was an artist in his own right. His work as a surgeon during the slaughter of W.W. I led him to reject medicine for art, and in the 1920s he became part of the international avant-garde movement. Aside from his considerable skill with a paintbrush, Power went on to amass kinetic work by Jean Tinguely, Bridget Riley, Julio Le Parc, and Lucio Fontana. Later, he focused on conceptual art and Oceanic revolutionaries. Power particularly loved plays of light—solar discs, spheres, and orbs. In this major exhibition, 70 works from his fittingly named collection are on view. —Elena Clavarino