Heads up: The Look earmarked for Geelong

A touring exhibition from the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) will adorn the walls at Geelong Gallery in March.

The Look showcases striking portraits curated from the NPG’s extensive collection of works, with Geelong Gallery the first arthouse on the exhibition’s national tour map and the only Victorian destination to feature the 68 portraits.

NPG curator Joanna Gilmour said The Look comprised of some of the most astounding photographic portraits from the NPG archives.

“Often our collection-based exhibitions are focussed on a specific thing – a specific artist, medium, timeframe, historical theme or profession, for example.

“The guiding curatorial principle for The Look has been to celebrate a diverse group of sitters who are united in owning and rocking their distinct ‘look’.”

“It’s a way that we can spill a guilty secret: that portraiture can be perky, sexy, sly, wry, honest, contemplative or relaxed; and that sometimes it’s perfectly fine to admire a portrait not just because the subject is compelling, inspirational or distinguished, but simply because they exude their own unique style.

“We also take pride in being able to dismantle the misconception that portraiture is all about crusty old oil paintings of dead white males.”

The subjects featured in the exhibition range from all walks of Australian life: young, old, Indigenous, non-Indigenous, women and men, household names and people seen in the every day.

Geelong Gallery director and chief executive officer Jason Smith said the gallery was delighted to be hosting The Look following its successful display of the 2017 and 2018 Archibald Prize exhibitions from the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Famous faces in The Look include Nicole Kidman, Heath Ledger, Carla Zampatti, Bryan Brown, Lee Lin Chin, Megan Gale, Cate Blanchett, Rachel Griffiths, Ian Thorpe and Layne Beachley, while photographers featured in the exhibition include Adam Knott, Julian Kingma, Michael Riley, Petrina Hicks, Tracey Moffatt, David Rosetzky, Ingvar Kenne and Andrew Maccoll.

Mr Smith indicated that a comprehensive public and education program about the exhibition would be released in the coming months.

The Look opens at Geelong Gallery on March 7 and will run until May 3.