'Monet's Garden' exhibition at NGV

I don't think many people know that NGV is open on Tuesday for this exhibition. It was far much quieter than I had expected.

Nothing is more relaxing to have lunch outside the gallery, basking in the beautiful autumn sunshine in Melbourne.

As usual, I joined a guided tour. They offered us a wireless headset. It's a fantastic idea, so that we could hear her from a distance.

To focus on one aspect of a famous painter and put together his works around that subject is a great way of presenting his creative outputs .

In this case, it's his garden in Giverny.

It opens with some Impressionistic paintings. 

Then, paintings of water lilies and gardens.

These are beautiful paintings. All those colours.... It's really astonishing to see these in my naked eyes.


Toward the end of his life, he started to lose sight due to cataract, but, he continued to paint by reading labels of paints, then applied them to canvas.
In other words, he didn't paint what he saw, he painted from his knowledge of how it supported to be.

Imagine, a painter losing his sight. It must have been punishingly painful. But, he didn't give up.

I tremble in awe, standing in front of these paintings, "The path under the rose arches, Giverny".

It's a triumph of this man's dedication to art.

In the last room, there's a panoramic video display of the garden in Giverny, with beautiful orchestra soundtrack.
It's a great way to exit the exhibition, but, I couldn't help thinking that I wish I could go see the real one.


I also went to see 'Top Art' at Federation Square.
The only thing that caught my eyes was a video work 'Waiting (l' Attente)' by Rex Kane - Hart.

This is a brilliant clay animation, dealing with an elderly man's loneliness.

It's very touching, really. It's amazing someone at this age actually created this splendid work.