The Grollo Equiset Garden, NGV International

Spring 2006 welcomes the opening of the newly designed Grollo Equiset Garden at NGV International. Made possible by the generous support of the Grollo family and Equiset, the refurbished garden will provide excellent public facilities for Gallery visitors.

The Grollo Equiset Garden will be open to the public from Wednesday 18 October.

The redesign and upgrade includes:

• tended paved area
• wisteria-covered shade structures
• a children's playground
• new lighting design for evening events and to complement the Garden's art works
• 20th century furniture designed by Frank Gehry (architect for the Guggenheim in Bilbao)

Dr Gerard Vaughan, Director, NGV said: "The National Gallery of Victoria is deeply grateful to Rino Grollo, Diana Ruzzene-Grollo and their son Lorenze Grollo for this magnificent gift to the people of Victoria.

“The refurbished garden will make the experience of visiting NGV International even more enjoyable for all our visitors, and especially those with young families. It will be a delightful, relaxing environment to spend time in."

The sculptures in the Grollo Equiset Garden have been cleaned and relit and are ready to welcome visitors to the new garden! The works include:

• Willem de Kooning Standing Figure
• Fernand Léger Grand parade with red background (La Grande Parade sur fond rouge)
• Henry Moore Draped seated woman
• Auguste Rodin Balzac
• Geoffrey Bartlett The messenger
• Bruce Armstrong Guardians
• Pino Conte The tree of life

“I’m also delighted to announce a major new addition to the sculpture garden; George Rickey’s Three M’s and one W IV, gyratory,” Dr Vaughan said.

“A generous gift from Victor and Loti Smorgon, the work’s response to the natural environment is perfect for an outdoor garden setting and we are delighted to be able to present this kinetic sculpture in this context.”  

There will be a range of public programs, entertainment and events developed over summer so keep an eye out for details on the website: www.ngv.vic.gov.au. NGV International is open Wednesday to Monday, 10am to 5pm. Closed Tuesdays.

For more information please contact:

media@ngv.vic.gov.au
(03) 8620 2346