Suspended in tense moments of imprecision, Redgate’s body of work asks the viewer to question what things are and what they can be. In her hands, photographs appear as objects, objects look like sculptures, and sculptures are rendered invisible.

Reflecting on the traditions of modernity in particular, Redgate enquires into the technological, scientific, philosophical and aesthetic ideas that we have inherited. While pulling these apart, she also demonstrates that there is a positive, poetic value in such deconstruction, as can be seen in her seductively mysterious photograph Light throw (mirrors) #1 2009.

The movement had an enormous impact across Europe in the late 1800s. While Australian painting from the period is best known for landscapes, figures of fantasy and mythology were an increasing presence.

“Australian Symbolism: the art of dreams” brings together some 70 paintings, sculptures, photographs and decorative arts objects by expatriate Australians working in Europe and by artists here who used Symbolist themes to define Australian conditions.

The exhibition features works by some of the era’s most admired artists, including Charles Conder, Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts, Rupert Bunny, Bertram Mackennal and George Lambert – some rarely seen.

It also investigates the crossover between Symbolist subjects and art nouveau style in Australia, including two seminal works by Sydney Long, the country’s best-known exponent of art nouveau painting.

The show centers on an outstanding group of works by the artist John Coplans from the holdings of the Albertina. In his serially conceived large-format pictures, the photographer focused on the rendering of his own nude body which he defamiliarized through fragmentation far from current forms of idealization. Relying on an extremely sophisticated lighting, he presented himself in a monumental and sculptural manner for years.
The body also features prominently in the work of other artists such as Hannah Wilke, Ketty La Rocca, Vito Acconci, Hannah Villiger, Bruce Nauman, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Miyako Ishiuchi. These positions not only emphasize crucial dimensions of Coplans’s oeuvre, but also convey a diversified impression of the critical representation of the human body since 1970.

To celebrate the event, the museum will present the masterpieces of the Lambert Collection throughout the summer. The public can thus discover or rediscover the great names of Yvon Lambert’s unique collection, conserved in Avignon, but rarely presented within the Hôtel de Caumont rooms. Yvon Lambert has amassed the collection representing his tastes, aspirations and passions since the sixties. The dealer-collector rejected academicism and soon realised that the world’s creative centre had shifted from the Paris of the Glory Years to a triumphant America. In avant-garde style, he imported from the U.S. the Minimalist, Conceptual, and Land art works that form the basis of the collection. In the eighties, Lambert turned towards a new form of painting that was more figurative; in the nineties, photography caught his eye. Since the nineties, video art, installations and painting have formed the backbone of his acquisitions, enhancing the collection with the work of young up-and-coming creators.

The collection is now formed of very coherent series from each artist, to the extent that, for some, Avignon is the only place in France where so many masterpieces can be admired. This was the case for Cy Twombly, whose “Blomming” exhibition in summer 2007 introduced the public to over 30 of his works. This was also the case for: Robert Ryman, at least 10 of whose canvases have been exhibited; Andres Serrano, who offered the museum 120 photographs in 2006; Sol LeWitt, offering more than 35 sculptures, paper works and wall drawings; and Nan Goldin, with 70 photographs. Others in this list include Donald Judd, Brice Marden, Daniel Buren, Dennis Oppenheim, Gordon Matta-Clark, Anselm Kiefer, Miquel Barcelò, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Barbara Kruger, Douglas Gordon, Bertrand Lavier, Loris Gréaud, Vincent Ganivet, Zilvinas Kempinas, and many more besides.

The artists included in “Now Dig This!” represent a vibrant group whose work is critical to a more complete and dynamic understanding of twentieth century American art. Several prominent black artists began their careers in the Los Angeles area, including Melvin Edwards, David Hammons, Maren Hassinger, Senga Nengudi, John Outterbridge, Noah Purifoy, and Betye Saar. Their influence, like that of all of the artists in the exhibition, goes beyond their immediate creative circles and the geography of Los Angeles-including to New York, where a number of the artists exhibited their work and ultimately settled.