Art Gallery of New South Wales opens their exclusive Magritte retrospective this month. Don’t miss the 2-for-1 ticket offer every Wednesday from 5–10pm for an after-dark dose of mind-bending art.
René Magritte has landed at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in a retrospective that’s got everyone from art geeks to casual passers-by feeling delightfully unhinged.
Magritte wasn’t just some weirdo who painted floating hats and pipes with cryptic captions. He’s the mastermind behind some of the most iconic images in surrealism – think apples, clouds, mirrors, and windows that play mind games with your perception. He made you look at a pipe and say, “Well, that’s not a pipe,” and then spend the next hour questioning your life choices.
AGNSW’s retrospective is a huge get. It’s Magritte’s greatest hits – over 100 works, many of which have never graced Aussie shores before. Prepare for a trip through time, from his earliest experiments in the 1920s (when he was just getting weird) to his mind-blowing contributions to surrealism, and all the way to the provocative works of his later years. Spoiler alert: things get really strange before his death in 1967.
Magritte’s art isn’t just about looking at skilful painting; it’s full of a weird tension that you never fully figure out.
You know how Magritte’s works are all over Instagram? There’s a reason for that. His art practically begs to be meme-ified. Those mysterious, deadpan images – apples, pipes, bowler hats – have not only influenced modern art but also seeped into pop culture.
2-for-1 tickets
The exhibition is part of the Sydney International Art Series, which means it’s exclusive to Sydney (sorry, Melbourne). The Art Gallery of New South Wales teamed up with the Magritte Foundation in Brussels and the Menil Collection in Houston to make it happen, and it’s all thanks to NSW’s Blockbusters Funding initiative.
Every Wednesday night, the gallery stays open late with a 2-for-1 ticket deal from 5–10pm. So, bring a mate, a date, or that one person who’s always saying “I don’t get art.”
Whether you’re a hardcore Magritte fan or just someone who likes to stare at things and think “huh?”, this exhibition is for you.
Fun Magritte Facts
- John Cale’s 2003 song “Magritte” and Paul Simon’s 1983 “René and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War” are about Magritte and since the 1960s, many of his works have appeared as album covers, including his 1952 The Listening Room, which appears on The Jeff Beck Group’s band Beck-Ola, and The Lovers 1928 as the Punch Brothers’ album cover for The Phosphorescent Blues, and many others.
- The city of Brussels, where Magritte spent much of his life, named a street Ceci n’est pas une rue meaning “This is not a street” after his most famous work, The Treachery of Images.
- In 2009, two armed men stole Magritte’s painting Olympia, a nude portrait of the artist’s wife, from the museum in Magritte’s former home. It was returned in perfect condition in 2012 because the painting’s fame and recognisability made it impossible to sell on the black market. It is appraised at $1.1 million.
Tickets to see Magritte
artgallery.nsw.gov.au
When: 26 October 2024 – 9 February 2025
Where: Art Gallery of New South Wales Naala Nura, south building, Lower level 2
Tickets: Tickets are dated but not timed, and can be used once
$35 adult
$32 concession
$30 member
$88 family (2 adults + up to 3 children)
$18 youth (12–17 years)
Free for members, children under 12 and companion card holders
See Magritte + Cao Fei and save!
$60 adult
$55 concession
$50 member
$150 family (2 adults + up to 3 children)
$30 youth (12–17 years)
Free for children under 12 and companion card holders
Art Pass for Sydney International Art Series
Magritte + Cao Fei + Julie Mehretu at the MCA
$83 adult
$73 concession
$30 youth (12–17 years)
Free for children under 12 and companion card holders
Ticket FAQs for more information, including refunds
