On October 2, 1979, Charles Court, the then Premier of Western Australia, opened the new Art Gallery of Western Australia building – a dramatic example of late Brutalist architecture designed by Polish born Charles Sierakowski.

Interior Art Gallery of Western Australia 1979. Photo © Fritz Kos

As part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, AGWA is presenting a suite of exhibitions and events under the banner AGWA 40. These include two free related exhibitions, Perth Brutal: Dreaming in Concrete, and That Seventies Feeling… the Late Modern, both curated by Robert Cook, AGWA Curator of 20th Century Art.

Perth Brutal: Dreaming in Concrete takes a chronological look at the two decade-long development and design of the building with plans, diagrams, drawings and models, as well as striking images from influential Australian architectural photographer Fritz Kos.
This month, That Seventies Feeling… the Late Modern opens its doors, showcasing some of the Gallery’s best works from the decade that saw the opening of the longed-for new building.

Speaking to Limelight on the phone from inside the Perth Brutal exhibition, Cook says: “Weirdly, I have been here 17 or 18 years but I feel that this project has allowed...