The Art Gallery of NSW has invited visitors back into the Brett Whiteley studio after being closed for extensive renovations since June 2024. The reopening celebrates the continuing legacy of one of Australia’s most acclaimed artists, ensuring the studio can be enjoyed by future generations.
The Surry Hills creative home of the Australian artist has undergone multiple renovations to ensure its longevity and meet contemporary museum standards. Architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, under the direction of Wendy Whiteley, Brett Whiteley’s former wife and long-time custodian of his legacy, have installed a new lift, stairs, roof, floor and climate-control system.
Walking through the studio, visitors are met with an immersive experience as they explore Whiteley’s world in his later years. Visitors walk alongside the paint splatters on the floors and his thoughts written all over the walls. Paintings, drawings and sculptures are displayed across the two floors, the top floor offering a glimpse into his creative process, where his paints and tools are left untouched.
The reopening presents a new exhibition, Brett Whiteley: Coming Home, showcasing 80 works, primarily from the 1970s. The new exhibition focuses on Whiteley’s life after returning to Australia in 1969 following years living abroad. The reopening now includes the return of his famous work, Alchemy (1973), displayed in the studio for the first time since late 2023. The work was temporarily taken down to allow it to rest from public display.
Maud Page, director of the Art Gallery of NSW, described the studio as a “soul-filling experience” and a reflection of Whiteley in his later years, noting that he “slept here, worked here, dreamed here”.
Wendy Whiteley worked alongside the Art Gallery of NSW in restoring the studio. For her, the place is “unique and individual to Brett”. With her commitment to preserving his legacy, Wendy has spent the last 30 years buying back Whiteley’s work, wanting young artists to be present with not just his paintings, but the wider world of visual art.
Brett Whitely Studio
2 Raper St, Surry Hills
Free entry
Open Thursday to Sunday
10am – 4pm
