Art Collector (magazine), Issue 106 - October-December 2023

Author: Borham Susan

Tags: art collector magazine art magazine

ISBN: 1328-9586

Year: 2023

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Text

#106 OCT – DEC 2023

THE NATSIAA ISSUE
+ Barbara Mbitjana Moore
+ Monica Rani Rudhar + Kirtika
Kain + Yuki Kihara + Owen
Yalandja + Wendy Stavrianos +
Robert Malherbe + more

06
9 772209 731009

ISSN 2209 – 7317 Print Post approved PP235387/00100

RRP AUD $24.95 (incl. GST) NZ $25.50 (incl. GST)

19 OCTOBER – 11 NOVEMBER

28 OCTOBER – 11 NOVEMBER

EORA/SYDNEY

MARRNYULA MUNUŊGURR

EORA/SYDNEY

NAMINAPU MAYMURU-WHITE

EMILY HARTLEY-SKUDDER, RINSE & REPEAT II, 2023. OIL ON LINEN. 200 X 150MM

EMILY
HARTLEYSKUDDER
RINSE & REPEAT
23 NOV – 20 DEC 2023

JHANA MILLERS

Coen Young
Eight Mirrors
30 Sep – 04 Nov 2023

4 George Street, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 info@1301sw.com 1301sw.com @1301sw_melbourne
Image: Coen Young, studio view, 2023

NEPHI TUPAEA, Beyond, In Conscious Thought, 2023, acrylic on canvas, 100cm H x 150cm W

CHRISTIAN LOCK
6 - 22 December 2023

GAGPROJECTS
39 Rundle Street, Kent Town, SA 5067, Australia | +61 8 8362 6354 | gag@greenaway.com.au | www.gagprojects.com
image: Christian Lock, TechGnosis, 2023, synthetic polymer paint, oil paint, platinum silicone on canvas, 180 x 147cm

Onehunga, Auckland
Opening Soon

GOW LANGSFORD

Holly Grace
Off track...
studio glass
19 Oct – 4 Nov 2023

Everlasting Summer
blown glass with enamel glass paints, sandblasted imagery, gold lustre interiors & steel wire
26 x 22 x 22cm

Jonathan Jones
Jonathan Jones: untitled (transcriptions of country)

15 December 2023 – 11 February 2024
ARTSPACE
43 - 51 Cowper Wharf Road
Woolloomooloo NSW 2011
Sydney Australia

Tuesday – Sunday 11am – 5pm
www.artspace.org.au
artspace@artspace.org.au

Jonathan Jones, untitled (emu eggs) after Étienne-Pierre Ventenat, 2021–23, (detail). Courtesy the artist. Photo: Jenni Carter

ALICE WORMALD
1 NOVEMBER - 2 DECEMBER
ALICE WORMALD
Resonance in Edges, 2023
58 x 48 (framed)
oil on linen

GALLERY 9
gallery9.com.au
www.gallery9.com.au
9 Darley St
9 Darley
Street Sydney
Darlinghurst,
Darlinghurst
+61NSW
2 9380 9909
+61 2 9380 9909
allan@gallery9.com.au

UNSEEN
PHOTO FAIR 2023
AMSTERDAM
A L I

T A H A Y O R I

William Mackinnon
7 NOVEMBER – 2 DECEMBER 2023

2 ARTHUR ST, FORTITUDE VALLEY, BRISBANE ∙ 10AM – 5PM TUE TO SAT ∙ PH: 07 3358 3555
Crossroads II 2019 ( detail) Acrylic, oil and automotive enamel on linen 200 x 300 cm

CONTENTS

The NATSIAA Issue

ON THE COVER: Caroline Zilinsky,
Marlboro Country, 2023. Oil on
linen, 122 x 112cm.

Read about Caroline Zilinsky’s
upcoming show on p46.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND
NANDA\HOBBS, SYDNEY.

UPFRONT

46 |

Previews

66 |

An ARI for your diary

70 |

Art Fair Report

The notable exhibitions to be staged this quarter

The Artist Run Initiative you

The art fairs to take note of in the

across the region.

should visit.

coming quarter.

60 |

Artworld Analysis

68 |

The Test of Time

76 |

On the Couch

This issue we’re looking at: fractionalism taking the

Gallerist Paul Greenaway and artist

Emil McAvoy sits down with John

art world by storm; the perfect collector, according to

Deborah Paauwe tell us the single

Gow and Gary Langsford, founders of

prominent dealers; the practise of artist poaching among

most important thing about their rela-

Gow Langsford Gallery in Aotearoa,

commercial galleries and Larry Gagosian – is he the devil?

tionship that has given it longevity.

talking legacy and new ventures.

ART COLLECTOR

ARTISTS

#106 October-December 2023

92 |

NATSIAA

154 |

Something of Status

Standouts from this year’s Telstra National

Sarah Goffman has always been turned on by

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.

materials. Camilla Wagstaff writes.

106 |

Look Out For...

158 |

The artists on our radar now.
112 |

Pull Focus

The Power of Art

Editor

the history and contemporary experience of her

Rose of Sharon Leake

Dalit culture. Judith Blackall writes.
Art Director

166 |
118 |

Critic’s Choice

Arts, Carriageworks presents her pick of artists

Editorial Director

Camilla Wagstaff

In her latest body of work, Kirtika Kain unpacks

Prominent critics zero in on important major works.

Aarna Fitzgerald Hanley, Senior Curator of Visual

Editor-In-Chief

Susan Borham

Meticulous Pleasures

Justine Scott

Jan Murray’s work offers us a pause, a
moment of reflection in the continuum of life.
Sean Lowry writes.

Publisher

Siobhán Spratt

whose works are more about the process than
the result.

170 |

Close Your Eyes

Monica Rani Rudhar negotiates feelings of
124 |

Collector’s Dossier

For nearly six decades, Wendy Stavrianos has

connection and disconnection to her heritage.
Mariam Ella Arcilla writes.

played with the metaphysical. Anne Marsh writes.
176 |
136 |

In the Way of a Woman

A Dark Turn

Through AI and holograms, Brie Trenerry

Beauty and perception begin to unravel within

takes a sharp look at who we are.

the works of Yuki Kihara. Reuben Friend writes.

Briony Downes writes.

144 |

The Light Within

Gavin Chai likes to think of himself as a poet who
dabbles with paint. Camilla Wagstaff writes.
148 |

Owen’s Country

200 |

Digital Editor

Erin Irwin
Editorial Board

Dr Rex Butler, Sue Cato,
Dr Alan Cholodenko, Dr Edward Colless,
Ben Crawford, Michael Hutak, Lindy Lee,
Dr Jenna Price, Beatrice Spence, John Young
Editorial

Rose of Sharon Leake
rleake@artcollector.net.au

Exhibition

Inside the highly anticipated Artspace exhibition

Subscriptions

Jonathan Jones: untitled (transcriptions of country).

subscriptions@artcollector.net.au
artcollector.net.au/subscribe

216 |

One Sentence Reviews

Owen Yalandja’s recent venture into bark painting

Recent exhibitions summed up in a single

is turning heads. Tina Baum writes.

sentence.

Advertising

feedback@artcollector.net.au
Produced & Published by

Art Edited Pty Ltd
ABN 48 614 849 197

COLLECTING

Director & Founder

Susan Borham
182 |

Art Centre: A Day in the Life

208 |

And the Winner was...

A day in the life of artists and arts workers

A new regular round-up of significant prize winners

at the Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists Studio.

and finalists announced during the previous quarter.

188 |

Dealer: So Far, So Good

210 |

If I Could Have

Art Collective WA operates on a not-for-

Janina Harding, Senior Manager at Creative Victoria’s

profit model, run by mid-career artists in

First Peoples Art and Design Fair and a 2023 NATSIAA

a bid to to support their livelihoods.

judge, selects 10 works for her wish list.

194 |

Collector: A Diligent Eye

212 |

Seen, Heard, Read

Inside Andrew Martin’s who’s who of the

The book, podcast and series you might like to

Australian artworld collection.

know about.

Reproduction in whole or in part is not permitted without the
written authorisation of the publisher. In the reproduction
of artworks all reasonable efforts have been made to trace
copyright holders where appropriate.

ISSN 2209-7317

Art Collector acknowledges and pays respect to the
Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional
custodians of the land on which we operate.
For now, Art Collector magazine has decided not to
publish AI generated artworks in order to maintain
our commitment to showcasing the work of human
artists.

Dale Frank
Cynthia’s Ovaries swelled to
the size of a Grapefruit

Neon Parc Brunswick
6 Oct – 4 Nov, 2023

15 Tinning Street
Brunswick, 3056
(03) 9663 0911

Wed – Sat, 12 – 5pm
neonparc.com.au
info@neonparc.com.au

Dale Frank, He felt so betrayed by everything around him,
his every imagined sexual fantasy was meet with numbing
gaviscon, and no matter how healthy he eat, an hour later
he had to purge all from himself (detail), 2023.
Translucent dyes in pigment and easycast,
epoxyglass, on perspex, 200 x 150 cm.

MORGAN SHIMELD
Confluence
14 September - 7 October 2023

MARTIN BROWNE CONTEMPORARY
15 HAMPDEN STREET PADDINGTON NSW 2021 TEL: 02 9331 7997 MOB: 0414 881 999

Morgan Shimeld, Parallax Black, 2021, bronze, black patina, edition of 6, 34 x 40 x 27 cm
www.martinbrownecontemporary.com

15 Hampden St Paddington, NSW, 2021

MOB: 0414 881 999

ALEXANDER MCKENZIE
Midway through the garden of earthly delights
9 November - 2 December 2023

MARTIN BROWNE CONTEMPORARY
15 HAMPDEN STREET PADDINGTON NSW 2021 TEL: 02 9331 7997 MOB: 0414 881 999

Alexander McKenzie, Twice in a lifetime, 2023, oil on linen, 153 x 137 cm (detail)

gallery@martinbrownecontemporary.com

TUES - SAT 10:30 AM - 6:00 PM

PH: 02 9331 7997

CONTRIBUTORS

Tina Baum holds the position of Curator, Aboriginal

Aarna Hanley works as a Senior Curator,

Eloise Lindeback currently works as Manly Art

and Torres Strait Islander Art at the National Gallery of

Visual Arts at Carriageworks.

Gallery & Museum Business Coordinator She has

Australia. She is a Gulumerrgin (Larrakia)/Wardaman/
Karajarri woma.
Nick De Lorenzo is a Sydney-based photographer.
Brian Doherty is a Melbourne-based photographer.
Sam Armstrong is a Sydney-based photographer.
Mariam Ella Arcilla works as a writer, editor, arts
marketer and creative producer. Committed to a
collaborative practice, she has worked on community
programs and strategies with various arts bodies,

Nick Harvey-Doyle is a descendant of the
Anewan people from the Northern Tablelands

Prof. Anne Marsh has held professorial positions

and journalism, and has worked in advisory

at The University of Melbourne and Monash

roles across multiple sectors including

University since 1999. She is a contemporary art

health, communications, the arts, media,

historian, independent researcher and art critic.

and the built environment. He is currently
studying a Masters of Media, Culture, and
Communication at New York University with
the support of a Fulbright Scholarship.

including 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art and

She is a Lardil and Yangkaal.

Parramatta Artist Studios.
Jessica Hromas is a Sydney-based
photographer.

extensive experience in Australian and international

Briony Downes studied Art History at the University of

Emil McAvoy works as an artist, art writer,
educator, gallery professional and consultant.
Charles Merewether is an art historian and writer
on contemporary and postwar art who has taught

Maya Hodge works as a writer and curator.

contemporary art.

Aboriginal Corporation and Papunya Tjupi Arts.

of NSW. He has qualifications in arts, law,

museums, government, and artist-run collectives,

Judith Blackall is a curator and writer with

previously held positions at Tangentyere Council

at universities in the United States, Central and
South America, and Australia.
Ingrid Periz works out of New York as a critic and
curator.

Duro Jovicic is a writer currently completing

Victoria Pham works as an Australian artist,

his Associate Degree in Professional Writing

evolutionary biologist, writer and composer.

and Editing at RMIT, Melbourne.
Emiko Sheehan (Ngāti Maniapoto, Tūwharetoa,

Oxford and Australian Aboriginal Art at Curtin University,
Liam Keenan currently holds the position of

Waikato, Japanese) is a multidisciplinary artist

Assistant Curator of Aboriginal and Torres

who has worked with video, drawing, muka

Strait Islander Art at AGNSW, Sydney. He is a

and poetry to understand and explore the

Kamilaroi man.

multidimensional planes of whakapapa.

Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America

Victoria Laurie works as a journalist and

Jack Wilkie-Jans works as an Indigenous

and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery,

author.

affairs advocate (and qualified Politologist),

Perth. She has worked in the arts for 20 years as a writer.
Gina Fairley currently holds the position of National
Visual Arts Editor of ArtsHub. For a decade she worked
as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia.

biennale and commercial sectors.

Dr. Sean Lowry holds a PhD in Visual Arts

Elizabeth Fortescue works as a journalist, writer, editor.

from the University of Sydney and is currently

She is the Arts Editor of the Daily Telegraph, and Australian

Head of Critical and Theoretical Studies

correspondent for The Art Newspaper.

and Associate Director (Research), Victorian

Reuben Friend (Ngāti Maniapoto, Pākehā) currently
holds the position of General Manager Community and

College of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts and
Music, University of Melbourne.

multimedia artist (abstract painter, filmmaker,
and photographer). Born in Gimuy/Cairns, he
hails from Weipa and Mapoon (Teppathiggi and
Tjungundji), Cape York Peninsula; and, has
ancestral links to England and Scotland (Wilkie),
Vanuatu (Ling), Denmark (Jans), and the Gulf of

Partnerships at Pātaka Art+Museum in Porirua. He has a

Louise Martin-Chew has been writing about

degree in Māori Visual Arts from Toimairangi School of

the visual arts for 25 years. She completed

Māori Visual Arts at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa (2006), and a

a doctorate at the University of Queensland

Masters in Māori Visual Arts from Te Pūtahi a Toi School

in 2019, and remains an Honorary Research

of Māori Studies at Massey University in Palmerston

Fellow in the School of Communication and

North (2009).

Arts at the University of Queensland.

Indigenous arts worker, arts writer, and emerging

Carpentaria (Waanji).
Chloé Wolifson has a decade’s experience in arts
administration and management. She has curated
exhibitions in public and commercial spaces.
Bianca Woolhouse is a Perth-based photographer.

ANDREW TAYLOR
PAINTINGS FOR TOMORROW’S YESTERDAY
22 NOVEMBER – 15 DECEMBER 2023
OLSENGALLERY.COM

KENNY PITTOCK
22 NOVEMBER – 15 DECEMBER
Hold Your Horses 2023
41 cm x 31 cm x 3 cm
acrylic on ceramic

OLSENGALLERY.COM

Coen Young
Sympathisch

24 November
- 16 December 2023
O p e n 1 2- 6 p m
Th u r s d a y - S a t u d a y
or by appointment
info@m aiswr ight.com
m a i s w r i g h t . ga ll e r y

M AIS WRIGHT
91 S t a n l e y S t
E as t Sy d n e y , NS W, 2 010
A us t r a l i a

Two Rooms

Gretchen Albrecht
Lighting the Path
17 November - 22 December 2023
Image: Illumination (Lee-side 3) 1978 (detail)

16 Putiki Street
Auckland 1021
New Zealand
+64 9 360 5900
tworooms.co.nz

JAN MURRAY
figura
14 Oct - 4 Nov

CHARLES NODRUM GALLERY
www.charlesnodrumgallery.com.au
267 Church Street
Richmond

(03) 9427 0140
Victoria
3121

Glimmering (Berlin), 2023, oil on linen, 153 x 107cm

Joshua Charadia
Nocturnes IV.
October 2023

nsmithgallery.com

N.Smith Gallery
Scan to preview

Natasha Walsh
Hysteria.
November 2023

nsmithgallery.com

N.Smith Gallery
Scan to preview

W E N D Y S TAV R I A N O S

Tr a n sf o rm i n g 2 0 2 3 a c r yl i c i n k on c a n va s 8 7 x 1 0 0 c m

CONNECTING THREADS

15 NOVEMBER TO 2 DECEMBER 2023

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Femare Lutto
19 OCT – 4 NOV, 2023
12 – 14 Meagher Street
Chippendale \ NSW \ 2008

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info@nandahobbs.com

Fermare, 2023, Oil, acrylic, oil stick, graphite and pigment on Belgian linen, 199 x 230cm

KATJARRA BUTLER

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25 OCTOBER - 25 NOVEMBER

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ZARA DOLAN
24 OCT - NOV 19

Osborne Lane,
2-4 Kent Street
Newmarket, Auckland
+64 9 520 0501
+64 210 243 7030
Open 7 days
sanderson.co.nz
info@sanderson.co.nz

Threads

Pulped

Nov 17- Dec 17, 2023

Nov 17 - Dec 17, 2023

Boni Cairncross, Tristan Chant,
Hannah Cooper, Harriet Goodall

David Hamilton, Daniel Hollier, Ochre Lawson,
James Lieutenant, Roman Longginou, Catrin Llwyd

Jennings Kerr
Shop 4, 74-76 Hoddle Street, Robertson NSW 2577
www.jenningskerr.com.au
+61 416 057 186

ED
BATS

14 DEC 2023 27 JAN 2024

BUT TODAY IT’S DIFFERENT
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INFO@PAGEGALLERIES.CO.NZ

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Tāmaki Makaurau 1010
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MAUNGARONGO
TE KAWA

NEW DOG
OLD TRICKS
18 NOV 2023 - 4 FEB 2024
Opening Event SAT 25 NOV, 5PM - 7PM
Billy Bain
David Beal
Del Kathryn Barton
Adam Cullen
Aleks Danko
Marc Etherington
Todd Fuller
David Griggs
Julia Gutman
Louise Hearman
Nadia Hernandez
Robert Walker
Jeff Koons
Guido Maestri
Noel McKenna
Madeleine Pfull
Jason Phu
William Wegman

Image: Del Kathryn Barton, Self-portrait with studio wife, 2018. Courtesy the artist.

1 Art Gallery Lane, Bowral NSW 2576
7 Days 10am - 4pm
ngununggula.com
hello@ngununggula.com
02 4861 5348

New Dog Old Tricks is supported by the NSW Government
through Create NSW

GEORGE HAYNES
In Search of Painting
21 October – 18 November
Exhibition and launch of Artist Monograph

2/565 Hay Street, Cathedral Square, Perth
+61 8 9325 7237 // art@artcollectivewa.com.au // artcollectivewa.com.au

George Haynes, Light, 2023, oil on canvas, 101 x 122cm

FOX JENSEN &
FOX JENSEN McCRORY
SYDNEY/AUCKLAND

Louise Bourgeois Arch of Hysteria 1993, Collection The Easton Foundation, New York
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS/Copyright Agency 2023, photo: Christopher Burke

LOUISE
BOURGEOIS

HAS THE
DAY
INVADED
THE NIGHT
OR HAS THE
NIGHT
INVADED
THE DAY?

OPENS 25
NOVEMBER

EXCLUSIVE
TO SYDNEY

Strategic sponsor

Major partners

Contemporary Art

27 OCTOBER – 18 NOVEMBER 2023

Level 1 / 65 Murray Street
Hobart Tasmania 7000
03 6231 6511
info@bettgallery.com.au
bettgallery.com.au

farms
and other
places

NERIDAH STOCKLEY

Farm rain 2023, acrylic on board, 92 x 92cm

Mark Braunias

21 November – 16 December 2023
& Aotearoa Art Fair, Viaduct Events Centre, April 2024
Image: Dorp (study), acrylic on canvas, 2021

JONATHAN
SMART
GALLERY
jonathansmartgallery.com

UPFRONT |

Previews

Previews
Notable exhibitions to be staged this quarter across the region.
WORDS | ROSE OF SHARON LEAKE

LUCIENNE RICKARD
Threads
BEAVER GALLERIES, CANBERRA |
9 TO 25 NOVEMBER 2023

Made up of two distinct bodies of work, Lucienne
Rickard's solo show Threads examines the ways in
which we flirt with and weave death into our lives.
“I have returned to one of my early obsessions
– Hemingway’s Death in The Afternoon,” says the
artist, “This time, rather than being captivated by
pageantry and ornamentation, I have zeroed in on
the crowd... I am asking why they are there, what
they felt and what parts of myself I see in them.”

CAROLINE ZILINSKY
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
NANDA\HOBBS SYDNEY |
9 TO 25 NOVEMBER

Caroline Zilinsky's For Whom the Bell Tolls, brings
her powerfully direct critique of contemporary
political events potently to the fore. “Zilinsky has
never shied away from the controversial underbelly of society,” says Ralph Hobbs, co-director of
Nanda\Hobbs, Sydney. “This exhibition expands
her repertoire of dark muses with a mixture of
ABOVE: Lucienne Rickard, Faces in the Crowd 2, 2023. Biro works on paper, 54 x 42.5cm.

humour and infamous players on the world stage.

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND BEAVER GALLERIES, CANBERRA.

There is a sensitivity to humanist values, a tender-

OPPOSITE: Caroline Zilinsky, Refract Back, 2023. Oil on linen, 122 x 112cm .
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND NANDA\HOBBS, SYDNEY.

ness in her treatment of her subjects.”

UPFRONT |

Previews

UPFRONT |

Previews

UPFRONT |

E M I LY H A R T L E YSKUDDER
Rinse & Repeat
JHANA MILLERS
G A L L E R Y, W E L L I N G T O N |
23 NOVEMBER TO 20
DECEMBER

Emily Hartley-Skudder's inaugural exhibition with Jhana Millers
Gallery, Wellington, Rinse & Repeat
takes its name from the instructions

OPPOSITE: Emily Hartley-Skudder,
Sanitize, 2023. Oil on linen, 20 x 15cm.

on the back of a shampoo bottle.

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND JHANA MILLERS
GALLERY, WELLINGTON.

LEFT: Gunybi Ganambarr, Garrapara,
2022. Mixed media, 93 x 89cm.

A series of 14 small, single-object
portraits, many of which are caught

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND ANNANDALE
GALLERIES, SYDNEY.

mid-splash, being doused in clear

ABOVE: Steven Ajzenberg, Untitled, 2018.
Pencil on paper, 19 x 56cm.

and colourful liquids will be staged

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND ARTS PROJECT
AUSTRALIA, MELBOURNE.

within a setting of lino floor tiles
and

stucco-imitation

wallpaper

within the gallery. Interested in the

GROUP SHOW
Tones of Home

relationship between paintings and
their surrounding environments,
many of these new paintings include

ARTS PROJECT AUSTRALIA,

oozing cosmetics and ambiguous

MELBOURNE | 21 OCTOBER

but anatomically suggestive imple-

TO 25 NOVEMBER 2023

ments, playing with our sense of
repulsion and attraction and linking
objects to the expectations we place

Curated by Eric Nash, director of

on our bodies.

Benalla Art Gallery, regional Victoria,
Tones of Home draws together more

G U N Y B I G A N A M B A R R Mali’ - the reflection/my spirit

than 50 artworks by artists inspired by
domestic and urban spaces. The exhi-

ANNANDALE GALLERIES, SYDNEY | 25 OCTOBER TO 13 DECEMBER

bition extends beyond these settings
to consider the question: what makes
a place, a home? Touching on notions

Gunybi Ganambarr’s fifth show at Annandale

the Yolŋu artist took out the top prize in the

Galleries, Mali’- the reflection/my spirit is the

35th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres

connection, love, comfort, safety, and

family,

community,

belonging,

first exhibition in which all works are made

Strait Islander Art Awards with a large etching

personal histories, artists include Atong

entirely from metal. The title – Mali’ meaning

on aluminium titled Buyku. A proven master

Atem, Erub Arts Torres Strait and Ghost

shadow or reflection – plays on the reflectivity

of his craft, Ganambarr is moving from

Net Collective, Aishah Kenton, Chris

of his etched and polished material. In 2018,

strength to strength.

O’Brien, Ron McBurnie and more.

UPFRONT |

Previews

D A N M c C A B E Art as Asset
M O O R E C O N T E M P O R A R Y, P E R T H |
4 TO 28 OCTOBER

G R O U P S H O W A Room of One’s Own – Women in Still Life
B E T T G A L L E R Y, H O B A R T | 2 4 N O V E M B E R T O 1 6 D E C E M B E R

In his second show with Moore Contemporary,
Dan McCabe explores topics of currency in the art
world and art market related to distribution, repa-

Featuring the work of 16 female artists,

bear witness to their lives, and which are

triation, museum activism, value and commodifi-

A Room of One’s Own – Women in Still Life

anything but still.

cation. His curiosity in contemporary social and

Exhibiting artists are Rachel Milne,

cultural issues is married with his commitment

spheric found in the fleeting moment of

Elizabeth Barnett, Katherine Hattam,

to technical refinement, resulting in a body of

the everyday.

Amy Cuneo, Melanie Vugich, Kiata

work with layered, thought-provoking content.

Mason, Fiona Cotton, Sally Anderson,

“Visually, there is an abundance of references in

in this exhibition question the rela-

Nicole

Zephyr,

a reductive lexicon of images and symbols,” says

tionship between genre, gender, value

Irene Briant, Pamela Pauline, Myfanwy

Margaret Moore, director of Moore Contemporary,

and work by looking at the spaces and

Gullifer, Natasha Junmanee, Honor

“formally, the works take cues from packaging in

objects around them – the things that

Freeman and Jess Dare.

their shaped designs in printed aluminium.”

captures the delightful and the atmo-

With strength and vitality, the artists

O’Loughlin,

Peggy

UPFRONT |

Previews

MING RANGINUI
Solo show
ROBERT HEALD
G A L L E R Y, W E L L I N G T O N
| 23 NOVEMBER TO
23 DECEMBER

In her upcoming solo show, Ming
Ranginui will present a new body
of sculptures developing upon her
most recent work, Swept under the
rug, 2023, which was the runner
up of this year’s Kiingi Tuheitia
Portraiture Award. “Ming is a very
talented emerging artist whose
work incorporates a blend of

JUDITH WRIGHT
Second Thoughts

Maori techniques and sewing to
bend modern fabrics and traditional fibres to her will,” says

J A N M A N T O N G A L L E R Y,

Robert Heald, director of Robert

BRISBANE | 31 OCTOBER TO

Heald Gallery. “The works aim to

25 NOVEMBER

address social issues faced in her
life, that also connect to wider
themes of Tino Rangatiratanga

Second Thoughts will see Judith Wright pair

(Sovereignty) and survival.”

her favourite medium, large scale works on
paper, with new materials. Wright has created

OPPOSITE LEFT: Amy Cuneo, A Light of One's
Own, 2023. -Oil on wood panel, 30 x 30cm.

her own chipboard substrate, infused with

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND BETT GALLERY, HOBART.

her signature sepia metallic pigments, set in

OPPOSITE RIGHT: Dan McCabe, DAUS NYDN
SOA, 2018. Automotive carbon fiber vinyl,
black acrylic, gun-blued steel and stainless
steel, 152 x 102cm.

playful found frames.
“These new works accent Wright’s interest
in gestural mark making, with a particular

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND MOORE
CONTEMPORARY, PERTH.

rial,” says Jan Manton, director of Jan Manton

LEFT: Judith Wright, Second Thoughts #20,
2023. Acrylic on particle board, with found
wooden frame, 23 x 18 x 1.5cm.

Gallery.

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND JAN MANTON GALLERY,
BRISBANE.

intuition for finding movement in the mate-

Her unique approach to installation art,
which combines sculptural elements with
paintings in dynamic movement-focussed

RIGHT: Ming Ranginui, Swept under the
rug, 2023. Muka, cotton pearl thread and
broomstick, 160cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND ROBERT HEALD
GALLERY, WELLINGTON.

ways, is informed by her experience as a
performer with the Australian Ballet.

2 5 O C TO B E R - 1 3 D E C E M B E R

GUNYBI GANAMBARR
MALI’ THE REFLECTION / MY SPIRIT

ANNANDALE GALLERIES
110 Trafalgar Street Annandale NSW 2038
(02) 9552 1699 Wed - Sat 11am - 4pm
info@annandalegalleries.com.au
annandalegalleries.com.au
Gunybi Ganambarr, Buyku, 2022
106 x 91 cm, mixed media (detail)

in association with
Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre

DAN MCCABE
Art as Asset

detail: Art as Asset, 2023
etched and anodised aluminium

October 2023
MOORE CONTEMPORARY
www.moorecontemporary.com

MICHAEL ZAVROS

ART SG
19 - 21 JANUARY 2024
MARINA BAY SANDS, SINGAPORE

+64 9 307 0703
contact@starkwhite.co.nz
starkwhite.co.nz

⚫ Auckland
94 Newton Road
Auckland 1010

⚫ Queesntown
1-7 Earl Street
Queenstown 9300

KAREN BROWN FINE ART
REPRESENTING NANCY YUKUWAL McDINNY
KARENBROWNFINEART.COM

ARA DOLATIAN

Heavenly Creatures
25 November - 10 December

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS

89 ISLINGTON STREET
COLLINGWOOD VICTORIA 3066
AUSTRALIA

IMAGE: ARA DOLATIAN
ZU, 2023
EARTHENWARE, GLAZE AND OXIDE
46 X 29 X 26CM

+61 439 770 362
INFO@JAMESMAKINGALLERY.COM
JAMESMAKINGALLERY.COM

The Pintupi Way
a major survey
Drill Hall Gallery, ANU
27 October - 17 December

Papunya Tula Artists
Community
Utopia Art Sydney
2 - 23 December

u t o p i a a r t s y d n e y
proudly representing Papunya Tula Artists since 1988

A Geelong Gallery
exhibition

18 November 2023—
11 March 2024

Free
entry

John Nixon—Four Decades,
Five Hundred Prints

Exhibition partner
The William Angliss
Charitable Fund

John Nixon, Untitled 2002, woodblock;
edition 1 of 5, Courtesy of the Estate
of John Nixon and Negative Press,
Melbourne

Second Thoughts

Judith Wright
31 October - 25 November 2023

janmantonart.com | 54 Vernon Terrace, Teneriffe Qld 4005 | @janmantongallery

UPFRONT |

Art world Analysis

C U LT U R A L C A P I T A L

Portrait of
a Perfect
Collector

stepping stones on their journey towards a

deep as that collector. Moore says a collection

fuller appreciation of art.

can be built on almost any budget. “In the best

And finally, the perfect collector will no

interests of the artists and galleries, we all

longer be intimidated by art that poses ques-

hope people can spend good sums of money,”

tions they can’t yet answer. Rather, they will

she says. “But the reality is that good collectors

see that unknowability as an invitation to

are more people that engage with the work

work harder to discover the voice of the artist

and value the practice of art. It means people

behind the work.

are culturally and socially open to the practice

This highly speculative portrait is painted

of art and what artists bring to our culture and

from a variety of comments gleaned by Art

our life. The level of appreciation is far more

From the very first purchase through

Collector from four gallery owners and one art

enduring in a way (than the price paid).”

to the formation of a contemporary

auctioneer when asked to describe the perfect
art collector.

art collection, five leading dealers tell
Elizabeth Fortescue the things they
believe make up the mindset of the
perfect collector.

The

industry

Moore says quickly on-selling a work of art
is very unlikely to produce a good fiscal result,

professionals

went

and, “seems a little less nourishing to me”.

to were Simon Chan from Art Atrium in

Purves thinks the perfect collector is

Sydney, Sophie Gannon from Sophie Gannon

someone who, among other characteristics,

Gallery in Melbourne, Damian Hackett from

recognises that buying art is not about trying

Deutscher and Hackett auctioneers in Sydney

to make money: “You can’t do it for the money;

and Melbourne, Margaret Moore from Moore

it always falls over.”

Contemporary in Perth, and Stuart Purves

Surprisingly, he advises clients against

WORDS | ELIZABETH

from Australian Galleries in Sydney and

buying artworks when it’s love at first sight.

FORTESCUE

Melbourne.

“I say, ‘don’t be 100 percent sure when you’re

As Hackett says, there’s more than one type

making up your mind’,” Purves says. “‘Leave at

The perfect art collector takes their first,

of perfect collector: “There are people who

least 10 percent or more to grow into, because

novice steps by overcoming the natural fear of

come in here and they know exactly what

if you totally love it you might find that it’s too

spending hard-earned money on something

they’re doing and what they want. They’re

unsatisfying in the long run’.”

that can’t be eaten, driven or lived in, and

experienced at bidding and they make surgi-

With a tougher work, however, “the artist

might never be worth any more than what

cal strikes. That’s wonderful. But I much

is going to be ahead of you, and they will pull

they pay for it.

prefer the collectors who engage with us,

you up culturally,” says Purves.

Having hung that first purchase on the wall,
the perfect collector will see that buying a

because that makes our life much more interesting too.”

Purves notes the best collectors are often
very successful people who realise instinc-

piece of art wasn’t so hard after all. That little

Hackett also points to trust as an important

tively that, “they can never defeat an artist,

charge of joy they get from seeing it in the

element: “One of the most expensive pictures

and if they did then that artist is no good for

living room will come to be sufficient reward,

I’ve ever sold was during Covid,” he says. “It

them”.

and they’ll stop fretting about whether the

was a Fred Williams painting and we had an

Asked what he meant by that, Purves says:

artist will be the next wunderkind with values

estimate of $1.4 million to $1.8 million on it.

“You can’t manipulate an artist like you can

to match.

I know this fellow very well and I know that

manipulate business. You can’t take the ingre-

The perfect collector will go on to develop a

he was looking for the best Fred Williams that

dients of a successful business and apply it to

collection that satisfies and challenges them,

money could buy. He ended up paying over

an artist. It’s the challenge the collectors want,

learning more and more about art and artists

$2.8 million for it, but the first time he saw it

as much as anything.”

as they attend openings, read art books and go

in the flesh was when we delivered it to him.

Gannon prizes collectors who are willing

on studio visits.

He made that decision purely by knowing the

to learn, and have the confidence to follow

artist, but also by the information we could

their own tastes. They will eventually see

They’ll never look down on those early
works of art they bought before their tastes
matured. They will still enjoy those pieces as

provide to make him comfortable to do that.”
Thankfully, collectors don’t need pockets as

their collection as something of an autobiography, reflecting the situations they were in at

UPFRONT |

various times in life.
Hackett has seen many collectors face the

Art world Analysis

part of the industry’s practice and a free

relationship,

market.

ency and balanced contracts at all levels of

introducing

transpar-

hurdle that is the first purchase. When he

Historically, art patrons not only collected

the industry, as they sought to find broader

worked with art dealer Rex Irwin in the early

an artist’s work, but provided them with

exhibition options and monetisation models,

1990s, a less than confident first-time buyer

financial benefits. Typically, patrons belonged

such as buy-back options, monthly payment

came into the gallery and bought a $4,000

to the ruling class and their collections were

or fractional ownership. This way forward is

painting by Nicholas Harding. Hackett little

either part of their own private, or city,

as essential for the mega galleries as main-

knew that this timorous debutante had, “more

museums. The use and power of patronage,

taining flagship stores across the globe is for

money than God. I think the last picture I sold

characterised as an informal patron-artist

the luxury goods industry. Multiple exhibition

network, was evident not only in the ancient

this guy was $1.2 million.”

world but most famously during the Western
Art is an esoteric asset class. What is it about the

European Renaissance.

other people who buy and own it that makes you

Since the 19th century, art patronage has

wonder? Send your thoughts to feedback@artcol-

been orchestrated and shaped increasingly

lector.net.au

by the invention and rise of commercial art

Unlike the second
path, these mega
galleries are not
primarily interested
in supporting and
representing the artist,
but mainly in the
exhibition and sale of
her or his artworks.

galleries. Russell Belk, in his book Collecting
in a Consumer Society (Collecting Cultures),
explores the commercial mechanisms inherBEHIND THE SCENES

ent in the art market, in which branding plays
a prominent role alongside the interactions of

Hard Done
The world’s mega galleries

aesthetics and economics.
In the 19th century art market, two increasingly divergent paths began to dominate. The
luxury industry on the one path, with its standardisation and branding strategies, and, on

unashamedly poach artists from

the other path, more earnest art-promotion

smaller galleries. It doesn’t seem fair

initiatives. On the first path, the clients, i.e.

to the galleries that have done the

second path, priority is given to the artists and

hard yards in discovering the artist
and supporting their early, often lossmaking exhibitions. Or is that just
the game we’re playing?

art collectors, are given priority, while on the
the art. As the luxury industry grows, we see
increasing professionalisation and industrialisation of processes and as it expands we
see geographical globalisation in the form
of mega-galleries such as Gagosian, Zwirner,

spaces are seen as crucial for retaining what

Hauser & Wirth, Marian Goodman, Pace, and

the Belgian collector Alain Servais calls Very

White Cube, all with exhibition spaces across

Bankable Artists, (VBAs). Such artists are

the world. Unlike the second path, these

essential-for-business talents who won’t settle

mega galleries are not primarily interested

for only having an exhibition once every two

In the contemporary artworld, economics

in supporting and representing the artist, but

or three years as they would in a single-space,

plays a central role in regard to trading,

mainly in the exhibition and sale of her or his

smaller gallery. They would sooner or later

contracts and ownership rights. These issues

artworks.

present their work somewhere else with a

WORDS | CHARLES MEREWETHER

open up questions not only around art’s visibil-

As a result of various scandals and lawsuits

ity and access, but also its branding, market-

over the past decade or so, the mega galler-

The second path, the art-promotion track,

ing, patronage and the incidence of poaching,

ies reinforced their legal and best-practices

is one that appeals to a narrower and more

which has been virtually normalised as simply

infrastructure by stabilising the artist-gallery

connoisseurial collecting public. For these

competitor.

UPFRONT |

Art world Analysis

smaller galleries, an anchor brick-and-mor-

profit than for the reward of representing the

tar gallery is a plus but not a must anymore,

artist whose practise compels them. The more

particularly in expensive real estate markets

direct threat of poaching comes from the

like New York, London, or Paris. However, a

mega-galleries’ need to finance their growing

physical exhibition space enables a greater

empires by increasing their rosters constantly

range of practices to be shown and potentially

with what Servais calls VBAs.

MONEY SULLIES ART

Taking a Knife
to Art

bought and thereby, supports artists from

As mega-galleries are generally not in the

their beginnings, usually marked as the time

business of discovering new talent, they often

of their graduation from art school.

find these VBAs in the rosters of other mega

Fractionalism is reported to be taking
the art market by storm, but do you

There are some several hundred such

galleries or the smaller galleries. For the

spaces across Australia ranging from the

smaller galleries, losing an artist to a bigger

traditional commercial galleries to artist-run

gallery has long been viewed as simply part of

initiatives (ARIs) and not-for profit art organ-

the business, but the mega-galleries en-masse

isations. Some of these are start-up galleries

have increased vastly the size of their rosters

really want piece of that pie?
W O R D S | G I N A FA I R L E Y

and these new artists were not found in MFA

Many artists have clearly
absorbed the idea that
loyalty is sentimental
and that, in a free
market, they should
always keep an eye out
for a better deal.

programmes or open studio tours, but through

A new trend in collecting has emerged across

artists switching from smaller galleries. Deep

international markets and it is starting to

pockets help to attract an artist of course but a

garner interest with Australian collectors.

strong collector base is just as attractive.

Lumbered with the somewhat impenetrable

These mega-galleries have guarded, close

term fractionalism, we are talking about a

relationships with wealthy collectors, large

regulated art stock exchange as a new model

gallery spaces and access to international

for investing. In short, you can buy a fraction

collectors through art fairs, as well as collab-

of a painting as one might, more traditionally,

orative gallery partnerships. With large and

buy shares.

growing numbers of artists exceeding the

Arguably as a concept, it is not entirely

number of exhibitions that can be held in

new. Collecting consortiums have long come

a year even across all of their spaces, they

together to secure major artworks as specula-

regularly pare down their rosters, for this and

tive investments, or in a more altruistic way, to

a variety of other reasons, of which choosing

acquire major works for museums. What we

dead artists over living ones is but one.

are seeing today, however, is a trend emerging

According to Servais, the focus of mega-galleries is ultimately on exhibiting or selling
VBAs.

out of the financial world, not the art world.
UK-based Australian arts entrepreneur, and

In a long, fascinating article How

Founder of Art Money, Paul Becker, told Art

Larry Gagosian Reshaped the Art World recently

Collector: “Fractional investment is a legit-

published in the New Yorker, Patrick Radden

imate business model, however it has very

without advertising, or little only by way of

Keefe writes: “It’s fair to say, though, that one

little to do with art, artists or collecting. It is

external signs of their location. Their exhibi-

way Gagosian has transformed the art busi-

generally targeted at investors, often finance

tions are known rather by word-of-mouth or

ness is by normalising poaching. Many artists

market professionals, as a way to diversify

through their own or other social media chan-

have clearly absorbed the idea that loyalty is

their investment portfolio through art.”

nels and small independent art publications.

sentimental and that, in a free market, they

UK-based Mintus, a company offering

The issue of poaching among these galleries

should always keep an eye out for a better

factional art investment, turns to Deloitte &

seems rare, an ethics of fair practice prevail-

deal.”

ArtTactic’s Art & Finance Report of 2021 to

ing. Most likely, it occurs in circumstances

Do you have a burning question about the way

spruik interest, quoting that 85% of wealth

where a gallery owner aspires to exhibit the

the artworld operates? Send your thoughts to feed-

managers recommended art for its “resilience

work of a particular artist less for reasons of

back@artcollector.net.au

in inflationary periods”.

UPFRONT |

cautious about pitching art as an investment
class.”
So, how does it work? All these schemes

Fractional investment
is a legitimate business
model, however it has
very little to do with art,
artists or collecting. It
is generally targeted at
investors... as a way to
diversify their investment
portfolio through art.

The consortium bought the Bacon at
Christies in May 2017 for US$52M. Now, with

market momentum. Once an artist is targeted,

an estimated value at US$55M (May 2023),

a search begins for artworks to acquire.

they are slicing it up with share offers stating

Upon acquisition, an offering circular with

as little as $100. (Masterworks starting invest-

the Securities and Exchange Commission

ment is US$15,000, while Mintus is US$3,000).

is lodged, which then allows anyone to
invest. Shares are sold in the artwork, and
at a moment determined by the firm, it will
then be put back into circulation (usually via
auction) and sold. Shareholders are paid pro
rata, after fees of course.
Again, not entirely a new idea. Back in 1904,

with the objective of buying artworks by young
artists to encourage a new Modern style. The
difference here, is that their venture was
pitted at enhancing the credibility of Modern
art, not lining pockets.

aging 8.9% annual growth since 2000, over

Who is leading this space? Masterworks,

3x better than the S&P 500 according to the

a US-based firm claims to be, “the first and

ArtPrice 100 Index. It is among the best-per-

leading” in the art stock exchange market,

forming asset classes, with a market size of

with more than 200 employees. It focuses on

$67.8 billion in 2022 and an estimated $1.7 tril-

acquiring works by contemporary artists, with

lion in art globally, compared to $9.8 trillion

a swag of Basquiat’s and Kusama’s among

in private equity funds.” US-based fractional

their investments, which today sit over US$700

investment firm Masterworks agrees, but pits

million.

the results higher again, stating contemporary
art offers a 12.4% compound annual growth.

Bacon, Three Studies for a Portrait of George
Dyer, 1963.

ists is employed to identify artists who have

lecting syndicate, The Bear-Skin Company,

art offers strong historical performance, aver-

year a triptych by the British artist Francis

vary slightly, but essentially a team of special-

a group of Parisian bankers set up the art-col-

Mintus continues on its website: “Blue-chip

Art world Analysis

“It’s not about the art.
It actually doesn’t
support artists or the
art ecosystem, it just
happens that an artwork
(usually blue chip) is
the asset to which the
investment is tied.”
Paul Becker

“Masterworks, for example, are quite
transparent that their audience are not art

Australians typically get wary with such

collectors – they are the broader investment

It is the first offering by the company three

sells, especially when art simply reads

community. And that is fine,” says Becker of

years after forming in 2020. The Bacon is

as investment candy for speculators on a

the US platform. “It’s not about the art. It actu-

interesting in that it is the first in a unique

prospectus. Becker adds of fractionalism’s

ally doesn’t support artists or the art ecosys-

series of five portrait triptychs that he created

role for investors: “Art is pitched as a count-

tem, it just happens that an artwork (usually

of George Dyer between 1963 and 1969 at the

er-cyclical investment (that is it goes up when

blue chip) is the asset to which the investment

height of his career.

the stock market goes down), which should

is tied. And then it’s about how the market

comprise a proportion (around 5-10%) of a

performs for that asset over time.”

ARTEX Co-Founder and Chairman, H.S.H.
Prince Wenceslas of Liechtenstein, tells

blended investment portfolio. Of course, that

While Masterworks may have lead out of

BusinessWire: “To offer a masterpiece by

small percentage can be significant dollars for

the arena, Liechtenstein-based ARTEX Stock

Francis Bacon as the first listing on ARTEX

professional investors.”

Exchange stole the headlines recently, when

is a great privilege but also a responsibil-

it invited IOAs (Individual Public Offers) this

ity… ARTEX operates under one of the most

Becker adds that personally, he is, “always

UPFRONT |

Art world Analysis

rigorous regulatory frameworks to foster a

radically reshape the way people collect and

high level of trust.”

experience art as a whole.”

Trust comes with regulation, or so we are

Particle launched in December 2021 with

nurtured to believe in the financial sector.

the tokenisation of Banksy’s Love is in the Air.

Several of these platforms lean on the fact

It is set up as a Foundation, a non-profit public

that they are regulated, unlike the traditional

trust and physical museum. It leans heavily on

gallery-based art market.

the word co-ownership, rather than shares.

One of the selling points for investment

With all of this in mind, should we be wary?

with ARTEX, is that they claim the artworks

Does such activity garner confidence with

will be offered to museums for display. This

collectors, especially as the global market has

is an easy tick-box to deal with practicalities

witnessed the spectacular crash of Bitcoin,

WITH ALL DUE RESPECT

Money Mad
The idea of art as investment is not
new, but is it time for the artworld to
reckon with its continuing illusions
of virtue?

and the even more spectacular demise of
NFTs (non fungible tokens)? Are we just being

WORDS | INGRID PERIZ

sold another lemon, wrapped up as a collecting entry point?

Deep questions
still remain around
provenance research,
insurance, storage
standards, loans,
and when and who
decides to resell. And
don’t forget, all these
companies take a cut,
yet no resale royalties
flow to the artist.

of storage, insurance and conservation, while
gaining a provenance win.
Then there are platforms that have a less

Late in 2022 Gagosian Gallery announced the

Becker says he sees no real advantage

formation of a new 20-member board of direc-

for collectors through this new pathway. “It

tors, eight from within the Gagosian enter-

should be seen as a way of adding diversity to

prise and 12 external members, among them

an investment portfolio, rather than contrib-

filmmaker Sofia Coppola and J. Tomilson Hill,

uting to the art ecosystem.” He continues that

hedge fund manager and gallery customer

fractionalism is, “no more or less open to risk

since the 1990s. The board’s job was, “to

than buying a blue-chip work traditionally in

provide strategic insight and guidance” for

the art market.”

an empire stretched across 19 locations

Becker warns that each company, and each

worldwide and headed by a vigorous septua-

country’s legal terms and laws are different,

genarian who has no heirs. Larry Gagosian is

so while some of these platforms are claiming

not about to retire, and Gagosian’s 2022 press

regulation, one has to be careful of detail and

release gave no inkling of succession plans,

generalisations.

but perhaps it’s not too early to begin thinking

In terms of the why now, he says that the

of the mega dealer’s legacy.

art market generally has become more finan-

In Boom: Mad Money, Mega Dealers, and

cialised, while on the other hand, the finance

the Rise of Contemporary Art, 2019, Michael

market is being pitched art as an asset. “The

Shnayerson writes there are two kinds of

confluence of those two things is why we are

dealers, those focused on artists and those

seeing this bubbling up now.”

who serve collectors. Matthew Marks and

Deep questions still remain around prove-

Leo Castelli, who paid their artists stipends

nance research, insurance, storage standards,

regardless of what they did or didn’t sell,

loans, and when and who decides to resell.

belong in the first group; Gagosian, who

And don’t forget, all these companies take a

began with collectors because he had a dearth

cut, yet no resale royalties flow to the artist.

of artists, is firmly in the second. Gagosian

It would seem that this is just another play

Galleries now represents some 100-plus artists

thing for excess cash, rather than advancing

but its founder has said an artist needs to show

financial world feel, and sit more within block-

the sector.

a particular sales metric before he’s interested

chain technologies and a democratising ideal,

When money compromises art, we want to under-

in representing them. Shnayerson calls him

such as Particle. CEO Harold Eytan, explains

stand how and why. Send your questions to feed-

“buyer centric” and notes Gagosian’s busi-

that they, “are leveraging the blockchain to

back@artcollector.net.au

ness model has freed many big time dealers

UPFRONT |

from nurturing new talent. It’s also helped

Art world Analysis

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

transform what the shape of an artistic career

Duveen understood that the big men who

might look like. Defection to Gagosian, some-

were his plutocrat clients, “wanted to encoun-

times after decades with a smaller dealer,

ter other big men” – the phrase is from one of

makes artists appear craven, and cuts against

his biographers – when entering his gallery.

the popular romantic conception of artistic

Gagosian, with multiple homes, a 60 million

motivation.

dollar jet, a billion dollar private collection,

Gagosian made his name in the early 1980s

and a business that deserves the epithet

by energetically working the secondary

“mega” needs no pretence. Shnayerson

market, knowing where important work was

cites gallerist Irving Blum’s description of

held, and aggressively pursuing buyers and

Gagosian’s clientele, “a swaggering group of

sellers, sometimes before the latter knew their

high net-worth, high-testosterone captains of

work had a ready buyer. He’s a master of the

finance,” a group to which the equally swag-

cold call and his knowledge of who-owned-

gering dealer sells more than simply art. Or

what was helped by his friendship with

rather, he sells what art has become: a specu-

Castelli, the dealer who had frequently first

lative instrument bearing the possibility if not

sold the works in question. Gagosian is also

the promise of future value where, in another

known to have surreptitiously photographed

echo of Duveen, the more you pay the more

clients’ collections when visiting their homes.

you are likely to make.

Gagosian can’t be held
solely responsible
for turning art into an
asset, even if he’s been
more successful at it
than any other dealer.
He benefited from
his business coming
of age at a time
when very wealthy
Americans began
compiling collections
of credentialed
contemporary art.

He makes repeat commissions, repeatedly.

The idea of art as investment is not new.

Having helped media baron S.I. Newhouse

Philip Hook, with pedigrees from Christie’s

and his wife assemble their collection of

and Sotheby’s, notes that it was already well

contemporary art, he then sold parts of it

established by the second half of the 19th

to entertainment mogul David Geffen and

century and that the investment producing

represented both parties in this transac-

the best return at the time was contemporary

tion. As museums rarely deaccession work,

art. As he writes in Rogues’ Gallery, his 2017

Gagosian reportedly does not like selling to

history of art dealing, bidding up to maintain

them: they offer no opportunity for a re-sale.

or inflate prices is not new either and cites the

A recent New Yorker profile on Gagosian

example of famed Impressionist dealer Paul

now EU-sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman

revealed him to be a student of the great

Durand-Ruel using auctions to boost the price

Abramovich – gallery policy changed after

British dealer and tastemaker Joseph Duveen.

of work by Millet in 1872. (To bid up, a dealer

Russia invaded Ukraine – and when pressed

More than a hundred years ago, Duveen lived

or their representative secretly secures a work

about sales to possibly unsavory clients in

large and commanded grand commercial

at auction by making the highest bid. The work

the recent New Yorker profile, he is reported

galleries while scouring England and Europe

remains available, often returning directly to

to have said, “If the money is correct, if the

for works for newly and staggeringly wealthy

the dealer, and as a result of the price achieved

transaction is correct, I’m not going to be a

Americans such as Andrew Mellon, J. P.

at auction its value has increased. Gagosian is

moral judge.” In a business awash with money

Morgan, Henry Clay Frick, and Benjamin

scarcely the only artworld player to be linked

and secrecy, yet beholden to notions of art’s

Altman. He used bribes and spies to obtain

to this practice.)

higher values, this kind of bluntness can seem

information on the whereabouts of work, the

Gagosian can’t be held solely responsible

shocking. It might begin a necessary reckon-

financial situation of owners, and the predi-

for turning art into an asset, even if he’s been

ing with the artworld’s continuing illusions of

lections of collectors. And rather than obey

more successful at it than any other dealer. He

virtue.

the older dealer maxim of buy low, sell high,

benefited from his business coming of age at

For fear of provoking the ire of the artworld

Duveen held that high prices engendered

a time when very wealthy Americans began

overlords, some questions don’t get asked. Do you

higher prices. (He once bought and re-sold a

compiling collections of credentialed contem-

have one of those questions? Send your thoughts

Rembrandt three times; the work is now in

porary art. More recently, he’s sold work to the

to feedback@artcollector.net.au

UPFRONT |

An ARI for your diary

LEFT: Installation
view of a rose is a
rose is a rose, 2023.
COURTESY: SYDENH AM
INTERNATIONAL, SYDNEY.

A Pause in the Grind

involves, Van Hek notes, “putting existing
works alongside one another to create a
new conversation, and valuing all practices

Alongside staging shows by emerging artists, Sydney-based

equally to sustain the ebbs and flows of prac-

Artist Run Initiative sydenham international re-stages existing works

tice across time.”

by known artists, to support the continued importance of the work.

experimental presentation by mid-career

Visitors can look forward to a forthcoming
artist Tina Havelock Stevens that, “takes her
video-based practice in a new direction,”

WORDS | CAMILLA WAGSTAFF

says Cavaniglia. This will be followed by a
collaborative project by early-career artists
Olga Svyatova and Casey Ayres. The year
will wind up with a group show experimentThe Artist Run Initiative (ARI), sydenham

otherwise,” says Cavaniglia. “They’ll also

international, is not your standard white cube.

experience daringly experimental presenta-

The smallish, light-filled space in Sydney’s

tions by artists that they know well.”

ing with sound, installation, and kinetics.
So how else can collectors lend a hand?
“sydenham international is self-funded and

Inner West comes with a large shopfront

Interestingly, the gallery also focusses on

provides the space for free. But we could

window (where the faces of passersby are

re-staging existing works to highlight sustain-

certainly do with support in the day-to-

often pressed, taking in a show), a roller door,

ability of practice. “Many galleries, including

day running costs,” says Van Hek. “Ideally,

a spray-on ceiling and traces of past lives.

ARIs, insist on showing only new work. This

we would like to create a paid position for

The ARI was opened about 18 months ago

means artists must keep producing new

someone to assist in administration. It

by artists Consuelo Cavaniglia and Brendan

work and end up with many works in storage

would also be great to provide artist fees,

Van Hek. It places an emphasis on experi-

that are never seen again,” says Cavaniglia.

and there are many programs we would like

mentation. “Collectors will encounter a wide

This approach takes the focus off the new

to set up that support artist’s development

range of artists that they may not encounter

and asks us to return to existing ideas. This

that could be funded as distinct projects.”

Accommodation Partner

UPFRONT |

The Test of Time

The Test of Time
Gallerist Paul Greenaway and artist Deborah Paauwe
tell us the single most important thing about their
relationship that has given it longevity.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Paul Greenaway and Deborah Paauwe, 2023;
Paul Greenaway and Deborah Paauwe, 1999; Deborah Paauwe,
Cross Your Heart, 1998. Type C photograph, 75 x 75cm.
COURTESY: GAGPROJECTS, ADEL AIDE.

PA U L G R E E N AWAY:
Her ability to engage…
I first met Deborah Paauwe in her last year at Art School
in 1993, and soon after that she had her first exhibition
with me. From that first exhibition I purchased a work
featured on Deborah’s invitation card that still hangs in
my office. Our friendship was cemented when I attended
her wedding to fellow photographer Mark Kimber and
since then she has had regular exhibitions with the
gallery and we have presented her work in several Art
Fairs including a great trip to ARCO, Madrid. Deborah
is a joy to work with, always organised and her work
continues to engage our audience and me. We always
seem to be on the same page.

D E B O R A H PA A U W E:
His passion…
I first met Paul when I was a teenager and a final year
student at art school. I walked into his gallery one day for
a visit and a few months later he offered me my first solo
show. I have now been represented by GAGPROJECTS
for 30 years. Not only have I had several exhibitions
in Paul’s gallery, but Paul has also supported me in
taking my work to various art fairs including Art Stage
Singapore; Sydney Contemporary and the Melbourne
Art Fair. I admire Paul’s passion for not only the artists
he shows but also many other artists locally, nationally,
and internationally. Artist’s relationships with their
galleries work best when both parties communicate
regularly, and they can still have a laugh. A relationship
that has lasted this long should be highly valued.

Miwatj Yolŋu

Sunrise People

28 Oct 2023 - 11 Feb 2024

Exploring storytelling, ecology and materiality in the works of Yolŋu
artists from the Yirrkala Community in East Arnhem Land.

bundanon.com.au

Nyapanyapa Yunupiŋu, Ganyu Djulpan, 2020,
natural earth pigments on board. Private collection.

UPFRONT |

Art Fairs

Go In Good Stead
The art fairs you should pay attention to in the upcoming quarter.
WORDS | DURO JOVICIC

Renowned curator Jennifer Higgie posits that,

for these events, to have people engage with

“to be an artist is to be vulnerable. It means

content and come through innovative devel-

reflecting upon yourself, your community,

opments such as including emerging galleries

your culture, to see creative possibilities

and providing educational services via, for

in unbearable circumstances, to embrace

instance, art discussions, provides a well-

humour amid darkness. To be constantly on

rounded and sensory experience for all.

Art is meant to challenge
and these artists are
contesting notions of
what should be seen in
the public sphere.

guard and self-critical. To resist complacency,

These upcoming global art fairs are proving

in thought or deed. To be on your toes. To

to be a stimulating enterprise, working

celebrate. To mourn. To dig in.” Few venues

hard to cultivate relevance not merely by

allow for the possibility of such a myriad of

selling big ticket items, but also in including

feelings and concepts to flourish so much as

emerging artists and initiating discussions

an art fair, where worldwide contemporary

around the purpose and implications of art

practice is showcased for the viewing public to

through curated dialogue. This multi-pronged

respond to and participate in. Though money

approach leaves art fairs in good stead to stim-

OPPOSITE: Richard Misrach, Outdoor
Dining, Bonneville Salt Flats, 1992.
Chromogenic print, 46.3 x 58.7cm.

is a great (some argue primary) motivator

ulate the interest of the art-going public.

COURTESY: THE ARTIST, PACE GALLERY,
LONDON AND PARIS PHOTO.

PA R I S P H OTO
G R A N D PA L A I S É P H É M È R E, PA R I S | 9 TO 12 N O V E M B E R 2023

Writer Henry Carroll makes the salient point

Staley-Wise Gallery, New York, sums up the

contend with. This is very much at the fore-

that, “the acceleration of image culture has

fair by positing “Paris Photo always attracts

front of the thinking of Paris Photo, with its

brainwashed us into accepting very specific

a sophisticated and knowledgeable base of

catchcry being “we cultivate a culture of inclu-

and very narrow definitions of beauty that

collectors and artists interested in seeing the

sion at all our events, where the very things

exclude almost everyone.”

most discerning international perspective

that make each of us unique are celebrated.”

Thankfully, exceptions to this are becoming
more prevalent with the rise of a number of

of historical and contemporary photography
based art”.

The section entitled MAIN hosts more
than 130 international galleries ranging from

artists such as Haley Morris-Cafiero and Iiu

Straddling the line between big ticket items

historical to contemporary works. There’s also

Susiraja. Art is meant to challenge and these

that are sure to sell, and works that promote

a BOOK section, and a CURIOSA section which

artists, among others, are contesting notions

inclusivity to bring in people from all walks of

looks at the trends and practices in the field

of what should be seen in the public sphere.

life, is always something that art fairs need to

of images and digital – a new development

UPFRONT |

Art Fairs

dedicated to photography in the digital age.

by Howard Schatz and Rodney Smith pay

Given the recent repressive measures intro-

Australian artist Hoda Afshar is featured in

homage to iconic paintings by Georges Seurat

duced by the government there, it’s promising

this year’s CURIOSA. It’s impressive seeing

and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, respec-

to see that their message is being explored and

her thought-provoking documentary style of

tively. Modern attitudes concerning sexual

shown to the public. Kicken, Berlin is exhibit-

imagery shown internationally and not just

freedom are exhibited in Ellen von Unwerth’s

ing for the first time, with a focus on modern-

closer to home.

playful images.”

ism in the inter-war years, featuring contem-

A spokesperson from Staley-Wise Gallery

An enthusing development is the inclu-

porary women artists. Bruce Silverstein, New

remarks that the upcoming Paris Photo

sion of Silk Road Gallery, Tehran. It invites

York, presents a trip down memory lane

presentation, “expresses each photographer’s

us to look at Iran through the lens of Iranian

through a range of past pioneering artists,

appreciation of a broader artistic culture

women – their struggles, and the rights they

including Man Ray, Bill Cunningham and

expanded beyond fashion and style. Works

claim with determination and courage.

Sarah Sense.

UPFRONT |

Art Fairs

ART COLOGNE
COLOGNE, GERMANY | 16 TO 19 NOVEMBER

This fair has something for everyone, spanning antiques, modern and contemporary art,
and is considered one of the oldest art fairs of
its kind with more than 200 stallholders now
having their wares on display.
Solidarity with Ukraine is revealed with
the up-and-coming talent from its capital city
Kyiv. Founders of Voloshyn Gallery, Max and
Julia Voloshyn, say, “we are excited about our
participation in Art Cologne. We hope that
it will be successful for us. Furthermore, we
are open to cooperation with art institutions
and galleries.” The situation is precarious for
them in their homeland, with bombings a
frequent occurrence. In the meantime, they
are partaking in no less than seven art fairs to
demonstrate what their homeland has to offer
with the star in their stable being the relatable
and simplified depictions of images by artist
Maria Sulimenko.
It’s not only artists new to the scene who
will stir interest, but tried and true titans too.
It will be intriguing to see what BASTIAN,
Berlin and London, brings to the fair, given
the gallery has brought curated works by
Damien Hirst, Emil Nolde and Joseph Beuys.
As Aeneas Bastian notes, “Joseph Beuys, Emil
Nolde, and Damien Hirst are artists who challenged and revolutionised the art of their time.
With our fair presentation I want to emphasise the radical nature of these three artistic
positions.” Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, London,
will also be keenly watched, having previously presented the universally lauded works
of Alex Katz and pieces by Georg Baselitz,
Gilbert & George and Robert Rauschenberg.
It has been a volatile few years for art fairs
in general, with economic jitters and the
pervasive nature of Covid-19. Art Cologne
even provided a 34% discount on booth rental
for their 2021 art fair, extended to domestic
and international participants. With Covid-19
firmly in the background, it will be interest-

Art Cologne 2022, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Bruxelles.
COURTESY: ART COLOGNE, GERMANY.

ing to see how Art Cologne performs in an
ever-changing world order.

UPFRONT |

Art Fairs

PA R I S+ PA R B A S E L
G R A N D PA L A I S É P H É M È R E, PA R I S | 19 TO 22 O CTO B E R

This fair will be split into two main

from all walks of life to interact with art

sectors, being Galeries, featuring modern

regardless of whether they attend the fair.

and contemporary art, and Galeries

Naturally, the global big ticket art galleries

Émergentes,

exhibitors

will be here in force, such as global galler-

presenting young and emerging artists

ies Gagosian and White Cube, and London

through solo exhibitions. More than 150

galleries Hauser & Wirth, Pace Gallery,

galleries are participating, making this a

and David Zwirner. Last year Larry

substantial meeting place to view a diver-

Gagosian didn’t shirk from including the

sity of artistic practice.

who’s who of big-ticket artists showing

which

gathers

An interesting development is the

Christo, Lucio Fontana and Ed Ruscha.

launching of Sites, with art projects scat-

Gagosian knows that art fairs, and the

tered among four locations in the heart of

subsequent profile and clientele they can

Paris. This clever strategy allows people

bring in, has potential for big business.

Zanele Muholi, Muholi V, 2023. PHOTO: H AYDEN PHIPPS.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST, PARIS+ PAR BASEL, GALERIE CAROLE KVASNEVSKI AND MUHOLI INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTIONS.

UPFRONT |

Art Fairs

ART BASEL MIAMI
MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION CENTER, MIAMI BEACH USA |
8 TO 10 DECEMBER

ABOVE: Art Basel, Miami, 2022.
COURTESY: ART BASEL.

A highlight of Miami’s itinerary is not just

the commitments that collectors, galleries

No art fair would be complete without tent-

the often eye-watering cost of its exhibitor’s

and collecting institutions have taken in

pole names that are guaranteed to get people

works but the Conversations program it has

supporting grassroots African artists to devel-

energised, conversing, and especially attend-

in store for the public with explorations of

oping projects internationally. Climate change

ing. Galerie 1900-2000, Paris, has brought in

concepts like hybridity, cross-pollination,

will also be addressed in the discussion The

the formerly scandalous and now covetable

and community, with nine panels gathering

Underside of Connectivity: From Data Mining to

Francis Picabia. Schoelkopf Gallery, New

leading voices from Latin America, the US and

Carbon footprint. Outside of these thought-pro-

York, firmed up its stable by showing American

Europe. Of particular interest will be the two

voking discussions, it will be intriguing to see

modernists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Alice

panels that consider the complexities of the

how gallerists promote and support artists

Trumbull Mason and Alfred Maurer.

role that collecting and philanthropy plays in

directly responding to some of the environ-

Such artists, in their time, breathed new life

the art world. A discussion entitled Journeys

mental and sustainability questions posed by

into conventional genres like landscape and

across Diasporas: Collecting African Art traces

how humanity lives.

still life; their appeal is clearly continuing.

JULIE GOUGH
Disclosure
20 Oct - 3 Dec 2023

HUGO MOLINE &
HEIDI AXELSEN
The Dance of the Remediators
8 Dec 2023 - 29 Jan 2024

thelockup.org.au
90 Hunter St Newcastle
NSW 2300

Wed - Sat: 10am - 4pm
Sundays 11am - 3pm
(02) 4925 2265

UPFRONT |

On the Couch

Watch This Space
John Gow and Gary Langsford opened Gow Langsford Gallery in Auckland
more than three decades ago. Today, their legacy continues in new spaces.
WORDS | EMIL McAVOY
PHOTOGRAPHY | TOBIAS KRAUS

Gow Langsford Gallery will soon be launch-

commissioned in 1958 by Polish business-

artists, including Shane Cotton, Jacqueline

ing a new gallery space and visual arts hub

woman, philanthropist, and arts patron,

Fahey, Dick Frizzell, John Pule, and Reuben

in the Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland suburb

Helena Rubinstein. While it was constructed

Paterson. These local luminaries are shown

of Onehunga. The premises will contain an

in the late 1950s, the influence of 1930s

alongside internationally renowned figures

exquisite new gallery space, two dedicated

Bauhaus architecture is evident in its design.

such as Katharina Grosse, Tony Cragg, Dale

viewing rooms, artist studios, and a publicly

Gow Langsford has undertaken extensive

Frank, and Bernar Venet.

accessible library. This will run alongside their

refurbishing of the site, ensuring that its best

Gow states, “Being in business since the

longstanding gallery location on Kitchener

features have been preserved while the build-

80s, we’ve been through all of it. Cycles of

Street in Central Auckland. As part of this

ing has been tastefully modernised.

boom and bust, the 1987 stock market crash,

transition, additional spaces Gow Langsford

While this building is ideal, finding it was

90s recession, the GFC, and more recently,

has run over the years on Lorne Street and

a years-long enterprise. Langsford states, “I

Covid. There have been some tough times,

Queen Street are no longer operational.

had been searching for the perfect building

along with some good ones. Through all of it,

After 35 highly successful years in business,

to establish a large gallery out of the city for

art has continued to keep me engaged. I love

gallerists John Gow and Gary Langsford are

several years since closing our Lorne Street

working with artists and collectors. I started

committed to creating a legacy project that

space. Finding a Bauhaus-inspired 2000

out in the art business in 1982, a few years

gives back to the artistic community. Their

square metre building in Onehunga originally

before I set up Gow Langsford with Gary.

intention is to create a premier exhibition

commissioned by cosmetics entrepreneur

Even after nearly 42 years, it is still what gets

space that can offer museum-grade exhibi-

and major art collector Helena Rubinstein was

me out of bed each day.”

tions in a private context, a hub for community

a dream come true. Situated halfway between

Due to open its doors in summer, Gow

engagement, and development opportunities

the city and airport, this building will be a

Langsford’s new premises in Onehunga

for promising artists – and not necessarily

great asset to artists looking to exhibit larger

looks set to generate significant interest and

limited to those on the gallery’s exhibition

works or installations and is easily accessible

engagement within the visual arts commu-

roster. Further to this, the development will

from greater Auckland.”

nity. Watch this space.

assist in spurring growth in Onehunga, which
is going through a period of urban renewal.

During decades in business, Gow Langsford
has consistently raised the bar for art audi-

The site for this development is an indus-

ences in New Zealand. The gallery has shown

trial building in Princes Street, which was

some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s best-known

RIGHT: John Gow (left) and Gary Langsford (right)
in front of Shane Cotton’s Uenuku Kuare, 2021.

UPFRONT |

On the Couch

Lisa Sammut
Radial Sign
6 oct. — 18 nov.
Goulburn Regional
Art Gallery is
supported by the
NSW Government
though Create NSW

source image (the group), photograph by the artist.

Goulburn Regional Art Gallery presents

NICHOLAS SMITH
Haydens, Brunswick East
10th November - 9th December, 2023

1/10-12 Moreland Road
Brunswick East, 3057
info@haydens.gallery

Engagement Partner:
Friday & Saturday, 12-5pm

MONASH
FINE ART

KATE BALLIS
INFLUORESCENCE WITH TOM BLACHFORD
November 3 - December 2, 2023

Gallerysmith, 170-174 Abbotsford St, North Melbourne, + 61 3 9329 1860, gallerysmith.com.au
Kate Ballis, Alpha Leonis, 2022, pigment print, 153x123cm, edition of 8, from the series Influorescence with Tom Blachford

gallerysmith_

JAKE CLARK

23 Foster St, Surry Hills, NSW
t: +61 2 9188 8933
www.piermarq.com.au
@piermarqart

23 NOVEMBER - 21 JANUARY

PERFORMANCE SPACE PRESENTS

LIVEWORKS
2023
19 – 29 OCT
CARRIAGEWORKS

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Rainbow Chan, Image Capsule48.
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Drew Spangenberg, Graceland Teapot I, 2022, blown glass.
Photo by Pippy Mount for the artist.

Warnayaka Art

Interpreting and depicting their Jukurrpa through a kaleidoscope of
distinctive signature styles, Warnayaka artists have become luminaries
in the vibrant realm of contemporary Australian Indigenous art.
The Warnayaka Art and Cultural
Aboriginal Corporation centre is
located in Lajamanu, Northern
Territory, 580kms south-west of
Katherine. It is open 8am-4pm
weekdays or by appointment.
Top: Warnayaka Art Booth displaying the
many unique individualistic Artist styles
@DAAF 2023. Courtesy Charleen Morris
Right: Three of our vibrant artists/cultural
performers – Miranda Cook (Artworker),
Agnes Donnelly ( Elder), Myra Herbert
(Elder). Courtesy Charleen Morris
Below: The Warnayaka Art Centre,
Lajamanu. Courtesy Charleen Morris

A: Lot 245 Rarri Street,
Lajamanu NT 0852
Post: CMB Lajamanu via
Katherine, Lajamanu NT 0852
T: (08) 8975 0808
M: +61 477 480 955
E: art@warnayaka.com
W: warnayaka.com
FB: Warnayaka Art
IG: artwarnayaka

Nyinta Donald, Our Aboriginal Women’s Choir, 2023. Synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen, 91 x 91cm.

Tangentyere Artists
Tangentyere Artists is a not-for-profit enterprise and a hub for art activities across 18
Town Camps around Alice Springs. To support the artists, the online store, Town Camp
Designs, was created. Designs are also stocked in most Australian capital cities.

towncampdesigns.org.au

ARTISTS |

NATSIAA

NATSIAA 2023

ARTISTS |

NATSIAA

A selection of standouts from this year’s Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.

ARTISTS |

NATSIAA

GEORGE COOLEY

This diptych of semi-large paintings (91 x
250cm) by George Cooley are arresting,
to say the least. The colours employed by
the artist are as bold as the emblazoned
bush and desert sands at sunset. Yet, as
arousing as they are, they hold a warmth
and a sentimentality – the likes invested
in a long-kept postcard of a faraway
place you’re longing to venture to. If only
one day, someday. These paintings (and
places depicted) are indeed special to
Cooley and they do call to the viewer.

ANNE NGINYANGKA THOMPSON

As landscapes of relatively sweeping
Country, with minimal vegetation shown,
the works are anything but sparse. The

Pitjantjatjara

Nginyangka

everyone is getting diabetes”. Thompson’s

scenes almost go on and on, and staring

Thompson is the 2023 winner of the $15,000

artist

striking application of orange glaze on the

at these works, you never get bored. You

NATSIAA Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D

new elements was praised by the judges for

might imagine being on a journey across

Award. Her work Aṉangu History comprises a

its impact. “It reminded us how it’s hard to

such splendid land; you’re not merely

pair of elongated stoneware vessels, a side by

come back to the old ways of living on Country

looking at a view. There’s movement here

side comparison that visually maps changes

because of what is deemed progress”.

in Moving Back to Country, there’s some-

brought by colonisation. Inscribed into the

Thompson is a member of Ernabella Arts,

thing human about this landscape.

surface of the first vessel is a monochromatic

where she creates alongside family including

Anne

The viewer’s sensibilities are further

scene of the old days, with a winding river,

her mother, senior artist Carlene Thompson,

delighted in Cooley’s application of

humpys, rocks and trees depicting a “beauti-

a three year finalist in the National Aboriginal

shading and his genius use of a brush

ful landscape without the problems we have

and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. This

and implements. Broad strokes – evoking

today”, in the artist’s words. The second vessel

achievement follows Thompson’s recent win

wind – are met with gentler detail,

represents this change with bitumen roads,

of the major acquisitive prize in Shepparton

demonstrating the intricacies of his

cars, houses and a clinic, and the impacts –

Art Museum’s Indigenous Ceramics Award for

homelands.

“we were given flour, sugar and tea and now

the second time in 2022.

JACK WILKIE-JANS

ELOISE LINDEBACK

NATSIAA

ARTISTS |

JAHKARLI FELICITAS ROMANIS

Emerging artist, researcher, curator and Pitta

Islander communities to gain back knowl-

Pitta woman Jahkarli Felicitas Romanis is a

edge and family history. Romanis investigates

finalist of the Telstra Multimedia Award and

First Peoples’ representation and knowledge

Telstra Emerging Artist Award for her video

of place through mapping technologies and

work Dear Dolly, With Love, 2023. The video

examining how technology shares images of

work is a portrait of her great-grandmother

place. Her research-based work and overlap-

Dolly Creed, taken by anthropologist Norman

ping images bring forth critical dialogue on

Tindale, reclaimed with poetry written by the

peoples, place, connections, identity and how

artist overlaid throughout the piece as flickers

First Peoples reclaim the archive to tell the

of Country swiftly merge across the image of

stories we wish to share.

her great-grandmother.

PREVIOUS PAGE: George Cooley,
Moving Back to Country, 2022.
Synthetic polymer paint on board,
91 x 250cm (overall).
OPPOSITE: Anne Nginyangka
Thompson, Aṉangu History, 2023.
Stoneware, 38 x 18 x 18 cm (each).
ABOVE: Jahkarli Felicitas Romanis, Dear
Dolly, With Love, 2023. Single channel
video (still image shown), 1:27 min.
COURTESY: THE ARTISTS AND
TELSTRA NATSIAA.

Dear Dolly, With Love is a poignant reflec-

Romanis’ practice subverts the colonial

tion on shifting the narratives of ethnographic

together a conversation speaking to and with

gaze through photography, challenging the

photography into a powerful statement about

her great-grandmother as red-dirt Country

complex history of colonial archives and how

returning Dolly back to Country with love

and soft-blue skies of home flash across the

they are used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait

and care. Romanis’ poetic response weaves

young woman’s profile.

MAYA HODGE

ARTISTS |

NATSIAA

NAMINAPU
MAYMURU-WHITE

JIMMY JOHN TH AIDAY

This lyrical bark painting in black and white

The scenes of stunning aquamarine water,

and the balance of life. As the film contin-

softly moving seaweed and spear-fishing

ues, Thaiday becomes trapped in ghost

by the accomplished Naminapu Maymuru-

of artist Jimmy John Thaiday’s five-minute

nets, stirring a sense of heaviness of the

White describes the constellation known as

film Just Beneath the Surface, 2023 is a capti-

impact on Sea Country, endangered species,

Milŋiyawuy in Yolŋu Matha, and the river that

vating sight to behold, winning him this

culture, and First Peoples.

opens to Blue Mud Bay near Yirrkala. Its finely

year’s Telstra NATSIA Multimedia Award.

His work acknowledges how people from

dotted forms create songlines that weave

A Kuz and Peiudu artist from Erub in the

the Torres Straits deeply respect the ocean’s

sinuously together, among stars and crosses,

Torres Strait Islands, Thaiday’s latest film

power and ability to give life and take it

drawing the spiritual haven and earthly beings

centres on his connection to the ocean, its

away again. Thaiday has intimate knowl-

of her clan together. Like so much of her work,

importance to his family and how it shapes

edge of this place, observing the changes of

its transcendent detail draws you in among its

culture and community.

non-human kin on the reef and surrounds.

forms, a compelling concentration of shape,

Through slow-moving scenes, his film

form and pattern. She is an artist known for

Thaiday’s body floating upon the waves
merges with the movements of the water,
offering his pliancy to the ways of the tides

captures the vulnerability of the Islands.
MAYA HODGE

the fluid and unrestrained qualities inherent in her compositions. Maymuru-White

ARTISTS |

NATSIAA

LEFT: Jimmy John Thaiday,
Just Beneath the Surface,
2023. Still from single
channel video, 5:08 min.
RIGHT: Naminapu MaymuruWhite, Milŋiyawuy –
Heavenly River, 2023. Earth
pigments on stringybark,
227 x 120cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTISTS
AND TELSTRA NATSIAA.

is a member of the Mangalili clan, an artist,
curator and teacher known for her innovative
aesthetic. One of the first Yolŋu women to
paint miny’tji (sacred creation clan designs)
she has also adapted previously restricted
designs toward justice and Land Rights.
She has had many solo and group exhibitions in Australia and overseas, and is represented in most major institutional collections
in the country. Her awards include Best Work
on Paper at the NATSIAA in 1996, and the
Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award at the
NATSIAA in 2005. In 2019 and again in 2020,
Naminapu had sellout solo exhibitions in
Darwin and Sydney.

LOUISE MARTIN-CHEW

ARTISTS |

NATSIAA

LEFT: Nyinta Donald, Our
Aboriginal Women’s Choir, 2023.
Synthetic polymer paint on
Belgian linen, 91 x 91cm.
OPPOSITE: Anindilyakwa Artist
Collective, Dadikwakwa-kwa
(Doll Shells), 2023. Shells,
earth pigments, native seeds,
mangkurrkwa (pandanus),
malbalba (bush string,
stringybark), stringybark, silk,
natural dyes, human hair, gum
leaf, sand, synthetic polymer
paint, glue, cotton string and
wire, 110 x 120 x 6cm (overall).
COURTESY: THE ARTISTS AND
TELSTRA NATSIAA.

A N I N D I LY A K W A
ARTIST COLLECTIVE

NYINTA DONALD

Rising star Nyinta Donald was selected as a

gorge, captures the awe of the site, with its

This work comprising 196 dolls was

finalist in the 2023 National Aboriginal and

immense rocky landform and vast sky.

created by ten artists from communities

Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. It is her

The Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s

across Groote Eylandt, NT, who were

third inclusion in a major prize this year,

Choir sings sacred hymns in English along-

moved to work together for the first time

alongside the Sir John Sulman Prize and King

side both Pitjantjatjara and Arrernte, and

after Manchester Museum, UK restituted

& Wood Mallesons First Nations Art Award.

members are drawn from across the region.

cultural material in 2022, which included

In Our Aboriginal Women’s Choir Donald

Expression of her spiritual beliefs, a recurring

doll shells. This is an art form that had not

paints the renowned Central Australian

theme in her paintings, and the continuation

been seen or made in this community for 50

Aboriginal Women’s Choir, of which she is a

of language are both deeply important to

years, existing only in the living memory of

long standing member. The artwork depicts

Donald. Prior to her art career, Donald was a

four female elders. The power in this work

a performance at Ormiston Gorge in Tjoritja/

bilingual educator at Utju/Areyonga School.

is in its restitution of cultural knowledge

West MacDonnell Ranges, NT, and the audi-

This artwork brings together two of

and a tradition almost lost. The artists note

ence’s attempt at beating the desert heat – “it’s

Donald’s creative pursuits, both successful.

that, “we are giving doll shells life back. It’s

too hot for some of those white people. So

Painting about the choir has allowed Donald

coming back to life now and it’s going to be

they swimming in that creek, swimming and

to continue sharing and expressing her love of

like that forever – our future”. Like the most

watching us sing, listening to us sing.” Her

the choir, timely as travelling and performing

powerful Aboriginal art, this installation

clever use of composition, with the choir

has become more challenging with old age.

draws past, present and future together

nestled under the towering red walls of the

ELOISE LINDEBACK

in a unique way.

LOUISE MARTIN-CHEW

ARTISTS |

100

NATSIAA

ARTISTS |

NATSIAA

BRENDA L CROFT

Brenda L Croft is an artist and academic
whose achievements continue to build.
Following the award of the prestigious
Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard
University which she commenced in July
2023, the 2023 Telstra NATSIA Work on
Paper Award was awarded to her photographic self-portrait with son Christopher,
an exploration of the complex ancestry
and circumstances that have shaped her
life and his.
“[It’s] a portrait of our relationship,”
says Croft. “I’m now a solo parent to my
little boy. It’s this umbilical cord that is
attached even though I didn’t bear him.
We talk about the strings that tie us
together. His mum is very much part of
our lives as well. We always talk about
how families adapt and change, but we
are still one family.”
The image is moodily lit, with Croft’s
drawn face engaging the viewer while
Christopher, in shadow, reaches around
to encircle her body with his arms and

JEANETTE JAMES

head. The darkness behind describes
the ancestral complexities within heritage both Indigenous and non-Indige-

Jeanette James is one of the most innovative

nous, expressing the displacement from

shell stringers currently working in Tasmania.

While preparing for the 2022 exhibition

communities and Country, with the title,

A palawa woman, James grew up on the north-

taypani milaythina-tu: Return to Country at the

blood/memory describing the “intangible

west coast of the state and was taught by her

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, James

essence pushing through our hearts and

mother, Auntie Corrie Fullard, how to make

came into possession of the remains of raptors

minds, across the generations.”

shell necklaces. Together with her family,

who had flown into powerlines. The claws

James spent many years searching Tasmania’s

seen in kurina are from wedge-tail eagles and

coastlines for shells like the black crow, white

are threaded together with tiny black crow

penguin and the iridescent maireener.

shells. There is power, strength and vitality in

LOUISE MARTIN-CHEW

OPPOSITE: Brenda L Croft, blood/memory: Brenda &

a recent opportunity to work with eagle claws.

In addition to shell stringing, James is also

how James has used the claws yet also a deep

licensed to collect echidna quills for use in her

sense of sadness at what has been lost. Less

striking contemporary necklaces. It was her

than 1000 wedge-tail eagles remain in the wild

ongoing dedication to repurposing natural

and through her work, James hopes to raise

claws, kangaroo sinew and black crow shells, 29 x 24cm.

materials and the great respect she shows for

awareness of the man-made threats they face

COURTESY: THE ARTISTS AND TELSTRA NATSIAA.

the animal remains she works with that led to

in the wild.

Christopher II (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra; Mara/Nandi/
Njarrindjerri/Ritharrngu; Anglo-Australian/Chinese/
German/Irish/Scottish) 2021, 2022. From original wet
plate collodion process tin-type, digital scan printed in
UltraChrome pigment on 100% cotton rag, 121 x 91cm.
RIGHT: Jeanette James, kurina (eaglehawk), 2022. Eagle

BRIONY DOWNES

101

ARTISTS |

NATSIAA

DULCIE SHARPE

There’s such joy in Dulcie Sharpe’s self

about culture from her grandmother. She

portrait with her sister Trudy. Their persons

said, “When you see all the birds gathering,

are expressed as birds, beak to beak,

it’s like when all my family are with each

with the movement and vibrancy in their

other feeling happy.”

exchange suggested by the hand drawn

Sharpe lives and works at the Yarrenyty

lines defined as colour sections. Sharpe’s

Arltere Town Camp in Alice Springs, where

connection to the natural world and ability

she is an elder and founding member of

to convey the bird-like aspect of socialising

the Yarrenyty Arltere Learning Centre. She

with friends and family enliven both the

works in media which include painting,

composition and the surface of this work

pottery, printing and sewn textiles. Her

with its painted pink backdrop. She depicts

work has been highly awarded, winning

herself and her sister at her birthplace

the 3D Award in the NATSIAA twice (2013

Kwale Kwale, a place she visits with her

and 2015), the Vincent Lingiari Art Award

sister on the weekend and of which she

(2016), and being highly commended in the

has happy memories. It is where she learnt

3D NATSIAA (2012). LOUISE MARTIN-CHEW

102

ARTISTS |

NATSIAA

MANDY QUADRIO

Trawlwoolway

and

Laremairremener

artist Mandy Quadrio’s Uterine bags series
2, 2023 is a gently suspended steel wool
work and a Wandjuk Marika Memorial
3D Award finalist. The works’ open-mesh
delicate membranes are intended to
create a space of growth to nurture and
hold personal stories within its interior,
simultaneously allowing those stories to
trickle from the material. Light and floating in the air, the three bags’ soft steel
silver evokes an ethereal calm weighing
the intricacy of Tasmanian Aboriginal
womanhood, birth and fertility. Quadrio’s
practice seeks to interrogate racist cate-

YA R I TJ I T I N G I L A Y O U N G

gorisations, denial of Aboriginal histories
and imposed invisibility. The steel fibre
she uses, symbolic of the steel wire used

Yaritji Tingila Young is a Pitjantjatjara woman

to scrub and the bull kelp and ochre, is

from Pukatja, a community connected to the

In Tjala Tjukurpa, 2023, Young’s patterning

employed to express her Palawa ways of

Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands.

tells the story of Tjala, the honey ant. With

making with a contemporary lens. Using

She currently lives near Amata and creates

their abdomens stuffed with sweet honey,

steel, in relation to the human body is

much of her work at Tjala Arts. Her career has

the ants are a delicious source of food and

a critical engagement with concepts of

spanned many years and she came to paint-

play an important role in creation stories

women and historic views of women’s

ing after learning to weave baskets with her

for Pitjantjatjara people. Young’s swirling

work. Quadrio’s latest series is an exten-

grandmother.

brushstrokes represent landmarks, and the

life it sustains.

sion of this investigation into the repre-

Possessing a sumptuous painterly style,

winding underground tunnels honey ants dig

sentation of the significance of mate-

Young works from above, moving the paint in

to get to their nests deep below the surface.

riality to share these concepts through

wide, sweeping brushstrokes to create over-

Above ground, the location of their nests can

sculptural form. This expression allows

lapping circular patterns imbued with varying

be pinpointed by the small drill holes the ants

for her stories to move beyond erasure

shades of multiple colours. Within these

leave behind at the base of Mulga trees.

and silence.

circular patterns are networks of smaller

Young has been a NATSIAA finalist many

circles, lines and dots that add a multitude of

times over and her work has been included

intricate details, creating an effect like ripples

in exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York and

Telling Story, 2023. Ink on paper, 107 x 78cm.

reverberating across a body of water. Each

Hong Kong. She has worked with the Tjanpi

OPPOSITE RIGHT: Mandy Quadrio, Uterine bags series 2,

viewing of Young’s paintings reveals a new

Desert Weavers and is also a key member of

detail about the rich and vibrant country she

the Ken Family Collaborative, whose painting

depicts, a potent visual representation of her

Seven Sisters, 2016 won the 2016 Wynne Prize.

MAYA HODGE

OPPOSITE LEFT: Dulcie Sharpe, Me and my Sister Trudy

2023. Steel wool, 250 x 140 x 80cm (overall).
RIGHT: Yaritji Tingila Young, Tjala Tjukurpa – Honey ant
story, 2023. Synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen,
200 x 300cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTISTS AND TELSTRA NATSIAA.

intimate knowledge of the landscape and the

BRIONY DOWNES

103

ARTISTS |

NATSIAA

DHALMULA
BURARRWAŊA

Dhalmula

Burarrwaŋa’s

pentaptych

contemporary bark paintings were right to
be recognised by the judges of this year’s
NATSIAA as the winner of the Telstra
Emerging Artist Award. It’s a seminal piece,
heralded for its evocations of a uniquely Blak
sense of humour, shared between mob from
across the expanse of Australia. It carries
a universal theme we can all relate to; who
hasn’t lost a thingamajig and frustratingly
searched in vain?
The work is a masterstroke of both raw
talent – the illustrations, understated tones
and purposeful contrast, and technical skill to
work on bark with such finesse – and Cultural
undertaking – utilising a form and medium
well-known to the Yolŋu peoples of Yirrkala
in the telling and transference of their Lore,
customs and Culture. The artist has cut
through the cheese of this busy and conflated
world and rested on the smaller moments,
ABOVE: Dhalmula
Burarrwaŋa, wanha,
dhika, nhawi?, 2022.
Earth pigments on
stringybark, 122 x
122cm (overall).

demonstrating an apt and keen observation of
the moments in life we all share. Ones which,
yes, lead to moments of frustration, but mostly
with hilarity or a private sense of absurdity.
In her perception of the world around her

RIGHT Carbiene

McDonald Tjangala,
Four Dreamings,
2023. Synthetic
polymer paint on
linen, 183 x 183cm.
OPPOSITE RIGHT:

Wendy Hubert,
Baru Country, 2023.
Synthetic polymer
paint, paint pens,
metallic paint pens on
canvas, 103 x 77cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTISTS
AND TELSTRA NATSIAA.

and her application of this understanding
unto art and physical object – especially in a
form so revered – Burarrwaŋa stands tall as
both an incredibly talented artist and somebody who sees the world and shows it back to
us as reflections.
Wanha, dhika, nhawi? marries both the
mastery of bark painting as an ancient arts
practice and cultural practice (which would
appeal

traditionalist

collectors),

with

contemporary lifestyle, forming the emerging
cultural and societal foundations for the future
of customary survival.

104

JACK WILKIE-JANS

CARBIENE
MCDONALD
TJ A N G A L A

Carbiene

McDonald

Tjangala

consumed by painting, often first to
arrive and last to leave the new men’s
space at Papunya Tjupi Arts. Selection
in the 2023 National Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Art Awards recognises the success of his dedication.
Coupled with McDonald’s dedication is his talent for colour. In Four
Dreamings each square, with its subtle
shift or swirl of new colours, contributes to a painting with both balance
and depth. It’s no small task, and on
no small canvas – measuring almost
two by two metres. This piece also
demonstrates McDonald’s recent style
progression, the two large circular
sections a departure from his linear
grid structure. It’s a new way to tell the
stories that inform his practice.
McDonald paints the Tjukurrpa/
Dreaming stories of his Country,
associated with a series of waterholes
running through four important sites;
Petermann

Ranges,

Kaltukatjara/

Docker River, Kalaya Murrpu/Blood’s

WENDY HUBERT

Range and Mulyayti near Kata Tjuta.
McDonald travelled back to his Country
as a young man and retraced the steps

Baru Country places Wendy Hubert among

grasses, varying vegetation, and water. Hubert

of his father, memories still vivid today.

some of the most innovative landscape paint-

has established an aesthetic language for

Having only taken up painting in

ers in Australia. Demonstrating a masterful

herself and her peoples. She marries influence

2018, McDonald quickly gained crit-

combination

semi-abstract

from more international schools of art, with

ical attention, winning the Hadley’s

and contemporary approaches to scenery,

the styles of landscapes known across the

Art Prize in 2019. He is proud to work

Hubert’s strokes and mark-making reflects the

Indigenous art sector. Here exists a departure

alongside and inspire the next gener-

spirit and activity of Country in high season.

from (but with a nod of familiarity to) the ariel

ation of male painters in Papunya, the

With areas executed with intention, and other

or front-on layering of land from contemporary

birthplace of the Western Desert paint-

areas where Hubert allows the paint to speak

takes on landscapes, with the presence of tradi-

ing movement.

for itself, there’s depth and dimension; along-

tional Western panorama perspectives.

ELOISE LINDEBACK

traditional,

side sparks of fire and embers, earth, pollen,

JACK WILKIE-JANS

105

ARTISTS |

Look Out For

LOOK
OUT
FOR

S A L LY S C A L E S

Why pay attention?

What’s going on?

Only a few years into her career as a painter,

Her paintings depict the Tjukurpa/creation

Pitjantjatjara artist Sally Scales is already

story of Wati Tjakura, an edible skink lizard

a two time finalist in both the Wynne Prize

killed by an army of snake men throwing

(2022, 2023) and National Aboriginal and

spears. This Tjukurpa is from her family’s

Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (2021,

ancestral home of Aralya.

2022). She recently gained representation at

With early career
solo shows at leading
contemporary galleries,

N.Smith Gallery, Sydney, is a member of the

The artist says…

APY Art Centre Collective, sits on the National

“For me art has tremendous purpose. For my

Gallery of Australia Council and is a leader for

communities and families art is a source of our

the Uluru Dialogue for the First Nations Voice

living hood, we get to practice our Tjukurpa,

to Parliament.

and continue our cultural practices. Painting
is a fantastic way for me to centre myself, I

prize finalist positions
What do they do?

reflect on my families’ songlines, and I also

and prestigious

Scales layers mammoth canvases with sweep-

get to have some fun throwing paint around.”

residencies, these three

ing strokes of bold, vibrant colour and expressive line work. Through this layering, Scales

See it at…

artists possess promising

builds upon the practices and styles of her

Scale’s next body of work will be shown at

two grandmothers and mother, continuing

N.Smith Gallery, Sydney, January 2024.

her family’s artistic legacy in her own way.

ELOISE LINDEBACK

prospects.

106

ARTISTS |

Look Out For

Sally Scales, SS2023-02, 2023. Acrylic on linen, 120 x 300cm.
Sally Scales, SS2023-03, 2023. Acrylic on linen, 200 x 200cm.

OPPOSITE:
ABOVE:

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND N.SMITH GALLERY, SYDNEY.

107

ARTISTS |

108

Look Out For

ARTISTS |

Look Out For

SARAH DRINAN
OPPOSITE: Sarah Drinan, Venus Falling on a Prick,
2023. Acrylic on canvas, 62 x 55cm.

Why pay attention?

Playfully flushed with bright hues, Drinan’s

In 2022, Naarm/Melbourne based artist Sarah

paintings melt the human figure into a series

Drinan was the recipient of a Brett Whiteley

of undulating curves that recall the tactile

Travelling Art Scholarship. Selected by guest

gooiness of gummy candy. Often faceless

artist judge Mitch Cairns, Drinan was one

and disjointed, Drinan paints the body this

of five artists who went on to take part in a

way to accentuate ambiguity and highlight

two-week residency at Shark Island Kangaroo

vulnerability.

ABOVE LEFT: Sarah Drinan, Group Moment, 2023.
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 101 x 107cm.
ABOVE RIGHT: Sarah Drinan, Spring, 2023. Acrylic
and oil on canvas, 69.5 x 84cm.
COURTESY THE ARTIST AND FUTURES, MELBOURNE.

The artist says…
“My practice is concerned with the body and

Valley. In 2023, their painting Milking Mother
and Daughter, was a finalist in the Ramsay Art

What’s going on?

what it means to be and feel human – our

Prize at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Maintaining their art practice alongside a

pleasures, perversions, pain, isolation, innate

Most recently, a series of Drinan’s paintings

day job as an occupational therapist, Drinan

wisdom, and desire for connection. In my

were featured in Alice’s Room, the hotel room

finds their therapy work informs the subject

recent work I’ve been thinking of the body as

occupied by FUTURES Gallery, Melbourne at

matter of their art. Possessing a deep under-

a metaphorical container, functioning as both

the 2023 Spring1883 Art Fair.

standing of the capabilities and limitations

a conduit and barrier between the inside and

of the human body on both a physical and

outside world.”

What do they do?

emotive level, Drinan uses this knowledge

Drinan works predominantly with airbrush

to creatively explore what it means to be

See it at…

and oil stick on canvas. Much of their work

human. Themes of connectedness, sexuality

Drinan’s solo exhibition Flesh Boundaries shows

is figurative and executed in a painterly,

and pleasure have remained a consistent

at FUTURES, Melbourne from 5 October to 4

abstract style at a medium to large scale.

presence throughout their ongoing practice.

November, 2023. BRIONY DOWNES

109

ARTISTS |

Look Out For

JORDAN GOGOS

Why pay attention?

What do they do?

Gogos’ works are embedded with memory, and

practice

Using a sewing machine designed for yacht

generate new meaning and value from materi-

encompasses textile art, sculptural furniture,

sails, dead stock and hand-me-down fabric is

als which would otherwise be discarded.

and his fashion label, Iordanes Spyridon

densely compressed into textile relief works

Gogos. Gogos has presented his work at

and garments. Chance and surprise drive the

The artist says…

Australian Fashion Week annually since 2021;

process. Gogos begins with a small section

“I’m fascinated with the idea of being able to

and was commissioned by Melbourne Art

that may spark dozens more, before a final

see pieces of fabric that are familiar to me in

Foundation to create a functional sculpture

composition is configured. Gogos’ geomet-

many years time. I want to filter through [and]

installation during the Melbourne Art Fair,

ric, sculptural furniture is made from folded

not have to hold on to things, but in order to do

2022. He held his first solo exhibition, Un/

and welded sheets of aluminium, in modular

that, the work is like a sacred space of holding

constrained, at Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert in

designs for stacking or placing individually.

this ground.”

the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

What’s going on?

See it at…

and the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Gogos

Growing up around hoarding led to an interest

Gogos will show work with Gallery Sally

is a recipient of The Powerhouse NSW Creative

in object categorisation and filtering, as well

Dan-Cuthbert, Sydney, in early 2024.

Industries Residency Program.

as the architectures created from hoarding.

CHLOÉ WOLIFSON

Jordan Gogos’

multidisciplinary

2022. His works are held in the collections of

110

ARTISTS |

OPPOSITE:

Look Out For

Left: Jordan Gogos

Ray of Light, 2022. Off-cut leather,
cotton tulle, synthetic and natural
fibres, chiffon, cotton, crepe, lace,
linen, satin, silk, wool, nylon bonded
thread, natural and synthetic
threads, 179 x 149cm. Right: Jordan
Gogos, Scattered thoughts, deep
feelings, light attitude, 2022. Off-cut
leather, cotton tulle, synthetic and
natural fibres, chiffon, cotton, crepe,
lace, linen, satin, nylon bonded
thread, natural and synthetic
threads, 184 x 145cm.
THIS PAGE: Jordan Gogos, Fury
Friend, 2022. Nylon bonded cord,
dead-stock polyester thread,
repurposed canvas and scrap
leather, 155 x 144cm.
PHOTOS: SIMON HEWSON. COURTESY:
THE ARTIST AND GALLERY SALLY
DAN-CUTHBERT, SYDNEY.

111

ARTISTS |

Pull Focus

PULL FOCUS
What makes these major works work as works of art.

ROBYN KAHUKIWA
Sovereign, 2023

He wāhine, he whenua, ka ngaro te tangata.

(treasures). A kahu kiwi (kiwi feather cloak)

that need to be written. We know the motifs.

Without women and land, the people will perish.

cocoons her shoulders. A bone white hei-tiki

Put them in place so they can be read. It’s the

Sovereign, 2023 stares at the above whakataukī

(pendant in the form of a man) rests on her

message that matters. Whaea Robyn has been

(Māori proverb), both warmly and staunchly,

chest. Both nod to Hineteiwaiwa, goddess of

telling us for years. Are we not listening?

like wāhine (women) do. Robyn Kahukiwa

childbirth, weaving, haka, and the many faces

Behind this wāhine are the rings of the

(Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti) and mana

of the moon, and the first wearer of a heitiki.

heavens, a halo of divine connection. To the

wāhine (the power of women) are symbi-

Her huia feather signifies her status, and is a

right of her, planted in the whenua, flies Te

otic. Whaea Robyn (whaea meaning mother

mihi perhaps to her tupuna (ancestor) flying

Kara o Te Whakaminenga o Ngā Hapū o Niu

and used to address senior Māori women)

overhead. The huia bird is a recurrent motif

Tīreni, the flag of the United Tribes of New

painted her idols in colour, making stories

in Whaea Robyn’s more recent works and is

Zealand, under which sovereignty was never

of atua (gods), tāngata whenua (people of the

recognisable as part of te whānau Kahukiwa

ceded but held collectively by Māori. To the

land/Māori people) and taniwha (powerful

(the Kahukiwa family).

left, the intense pūkana (stare) of her tupuna
incarnate is holding her/us accountable to our

creatures) accessible to her many whāngai

Whaea Robyn enters her sixth decade as a

mokopuna (adopted grandchildren/descen-

rangatira (leader) of the Māori renaissance.

dants) – creating critical representation and

Her style and her depiction of Māori faces

Sovereign is a catalyst for activism and a

inspiration at a time when positive depictions

are renowned. They carry political messages

love letter to dispossessed wāhine Māori. Our

of Māori were seldom in the media.

– embodying the belief that existing as Māori

whakapapa is from the highest realms. We

whenua, to our iwi, to our whakapapa.

Like ancestors reflected in their descen-

is inherently political. During the early 1980s,

carry within us the currents of our rivers and

dants, Sovereign is a mokopuna of Whaea

when men dominated the national art scene,

seas, the many red shades of the soil in our

Robyn’s Wāhine Toa series, 1984, the next

Whaea Robyn was an outsider, yet her works

veins. We each possess ira wāhine and ira tāne

generation maintaining the legacy and lineage

held their own against the test of technique

(female and male elements). It’s not a binary;

of mana wāhine. A sovereign wāhine (woman)

and skill – the pencil drawn lush curls of her

it’s balance. As wāhine Māori, we hold te

is centered and knows her narrative. Her uku

Hinetītama come to mind. For the Wāhine Toa

whare tangata, the sacred house of humanity.

(clay) eyes are steady and unwavering as she

series to soar, it had to be an exceptional body

We are the vessel that transports whakapapa

cradles her baby in utero. Pēpi (baby) floats in

of work. That it was, and continues to be.

through time – a gateway through realms, a

te whare tangata (the womb/house of human-

Now, a legacy of paintings and influence

ity), their whenua (placenta/land) vibrant

later, Sovereign and her siblings need no intro-

red. They’re held like a crystal ball telling the

duction. Their Kahukiwa features, tone, senti-

future. The essence of life, a portal through

ment and whakapapa (genealogy) are clear.

multiple realms and time.

In places, the paintwork is loose. The brush

Sovereign is a rangatira (person of high

and the hand that held it flowed like second

rank), and her prestige is imbued in taonga

nature. The painting feels fast, like words

112

river of immortality.

EMIKO SHEEHAN

Robyn Kahukiwa, Sovereign, 2023 from Sovereign
series. Acrylic on cotton canvas in custom sapele
frame, 92.5 x 72.5cm. NZ $40,000.
PHOTO: SAMUEL H ARTNE T T.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND SEASON, AUCKL AND.

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B A R B A R A M B I TJ A N A M O O R E
Ngayuku Ngura - My Country, 2023

What others might
see as a beige,
barren and lifeless
landscape, Moore
sees as vibrant,
resplendent, and
full of life.

In Aboriginal culture, Country is a term often

details an aerial view of Country that Moore

used to capture the complex and intricate

sees when travelling across Amata, the APY

connections between land, water, people,

Lands, and home to the Northern Territory.

tradition, and knowledge. It is, in essence,

Bold and striking, the artwork invites us to

the lifeblood of Aboriginal people. Embedded

challenge our often-subdued view of the

within Country lies ancestral and cultural

Australian Central Desert. What others might

knowledge; ways of knowing and being that

see as a beige, barren and lifeless landscape,

Aboriginal people passed down through

Moore sees as vibrant, resplendent, and full

generations. While these stories and knowl-

of life. In this piece, the hues of pink, purple,

edge shaped how Aboriginal people tradi-

and yellow represent desert flowers of every

tionally interacted with Country, it has also

size found across the land. Red, white, and

provided the foundation on which Anmatyerre

grey sand and rocks surround the flora, and

artist, Barbara Mbitjana Moore, has built her

the blazing sunset showers down on the piece

practice.

in a cascade of different colours. And although

Moore grew up on Nturiya Country (Ti

this uniquely Australian landscape through

Tree) in the Northern Territory, and now

Moore’s eyes is a generous insight into her

lives in the Amata community on the Aṉangu

culture, it is also profoundly didactic.

Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in

One of Moore’s primary motivations for

north-west South Australia. Moore, a brush

painting is to tell the stories of her ancestors.

artist known for her distinct use of colour and

Through her paintings, Moore is passing

paint, began her practice at Tjala Arts in 2003.

down her own cultural knowledge to her chil-

She has since experienced significant success

dren and grandchildren, as her ancestors did

for her contemporary artworks in both the

to her. Moore does not seemingly separate her

Indigenous and non-Indigenous art sectors.

love of Country from her love of family – they

Moore entitles each of her works Ngayuku

are treated with the same reverence through-

Ngura – My Country a reference to her endur-

out her practice. Moore’s artworks also invite

ing source of inspiration. In Aṉangu culture,

others to educate themselves on her stories of

Country, or Ngura, transcends fixed under-

culture and ancestry. Can we see what Moore

standings of landscape and geography to

sees? Can we appreciate the unfiltered beauty

encompass a place of belonging intimately

of Country? Can we respect and appreciate

linked with language, family, and ancestral

Country in a way that it deserves? These are

significance.

undoubtedly what Moore wants us to rumi-

Like Country itself, Moore’s art is exuber-

nate on.

antly bold in colour and commanding in pres-

This piece belongs to a series of significant

ence. Moore paints the Country she knows and

new paintings from Moore that will be on

Barbara Mbitjana Moore, Ngayuku Ngura My Country, 2023. Synthetic polymer paint
on linen, 240 x 198cm. POA.

does so with joyous and meticulous attention

exhibition at Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne

to the landscapes with which she is intimately

from 18 October to 3 November 2023.

COURTESY: THE ARTIST, TJAL A ARTS AND
ALCASTON GALLERY, MELBOURNE.

familiar. Recalled from memory, this piece

114

NICK HARVEY-DOYLE

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115

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ROBERT MALHERBE
Reclining Figure, 2023

He, the artist, is the
medium between
paint and subject.
As a result, the work
is fresh and entirely
non-contrived.

Robert Malherbe, Reclining Figure, 2023.
Oil on linen, 130 x 162cm. $25,000.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND FOX JENSEN,
SYDNEY AND AUCKL AND.

116

In the right hands, paint has a paradoxical

Malherbe wills the paint to express the

ability to capture a fleeting energy. Robert

scene before him, rather than produce

Malherbe, painting alla prima, is in possession

some kind of predetermined outcome. He,

of such hands. An Italian term translating as

the artist, is the medium between paint and

“at first attempt”, the technique involves layer-

subject. As a result, the work is fresh and

ing oil paint wet-on-wet. A painting executed

entirely non-contrived. The choice to crop the

in this manner can demand a few intensive

figure at her upper thigh brings further inti-

hours, but no more. The outcome, at the hands

macy to the scene, drawing the viewer closer

of Malherbe, is a densely sensuous impression.

yet inviting further questions. Her downcast

There is time to push and pull the paint, but no

eyes might be closed or looking at something

time to worry it into place. Such an approach

held in her left hand which dangles out of

finds the artist eschewing working from a

frame. As we look, we imagine the sensation

photograph, opting instead to return again

of our own body, lying in this pose.

and again to the same subjects under different

As a young child, Malherbe moved from

conditions, in order to tune into its rhythms

Mauritius to Australia, where he developed a

anew. As in the case of Reclining Figure, 2023

tendency, borne of having a language other

this is often the life model, but Malherbe just

than English as his mother tongue, toward

as frequently extends his practice to the still

close observation and visual communication.

life in-studio, and landscapes painted en plein

A desire to attend art school unrealised, his

air. There is plenty to elicit from these tradi-

art education instead took place standing in

tional bastions of painting.

front of paintings he loved in the museums

Here we encounter the body as landscape,

of Europe. These experiences permeate his

her porcelain-coloured skin as horizon line,

painterly approach, where a gestural imme-

with blue above, charcoal grey below, and a

diacy captures the shifting atmospheric

waterfall of hair cascading down the left of

conditions.

the composition. The viewer’s eye travels a

Malherbe, who lives in the Blue Mountains,

gentle upward trajectory across the painting.

NSW and also works out of a studio in East

A shadow traces the curves of her torso up to

Sydney, has been exhibiting regularly for

a small pinkish corner which plays a small

over two decades. He is a frequent finalist in

but crucial role in expanding the composition

art prizes including the Archibald and Wynne

outside of the stretcher in the mind’s eye. Our

Prizes at the Art Gallery of NSW; the NSW

gaze flits between this corner and the model’s

Parliament Plein Air Art Prize which he was

red lips, before sliding down the languid arm

awarded in 2016; and the Manning Art Prize

again. Shoulder, lower back and thigh are

which he was awarded in 2015. His work

anchored in place with strident swipes of the

is held in private and public collections in

palette knife, while fingers and facial features

Australia and internationally.

have been attended to with relative delicacy.

CHLOÉ WOLIFSON

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117

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Critic’s Choice

CRITIC’S CHOICE
Aarna Fitzgerald Hanley, Senior Curator of Visual Arts, Carriageworks selects five
contemporary artists whose practices explore ways of making.
WORDS | AARNA FITZGERALD HANLEY

The work I do sits close to process. As a

public. Shifting between research and intu-

them, we see the role of intuition; the impact

commissioning curator at Carriageworks, I

ition, it is often non-linear. The following five

of time on meaning; and, in some instances,

support artists in the making of new projects.

artists represent different ways of making in a

how process can be as important as – or even

Process is not always made visible to the

critical, material and physical sense. Between

detached from – the outcome.

118

ARTISTS |

Critic’s Choice

Angela Goh, Sky Blue Mythic, performed
at Carriageworks, Sydney, 2020.
PHOTO: Z AN WIMBERLEY. COURTESY: THE
ARTIST AND FINE ARTS, SYDNEY.

ANGELA GOH
Sydney-based

Angela Goh, a dancer and choreographer

from human expression. In Sky Blue Mythic,

scaling the architraves of the gallery walls.

based on Gadigal Country in Sydney, offers

2020–ongoing, Goh performs within a white

Transfixed by the body, the audience must try

alternate worlds inhabited by surreal beings.

box theatre, with just a sundial and Fanta-

to orientate themselves in the uncanny. Goh

Emailing between rehearsals for an upcom-

esque can as prop. Her glitching body disrupts

explains that she develops her works through

ing commission at the Art Gallery of New

our perception of time through physical

a process of both seeing and sensing, an inter-

South Wales’ Tank, Goh describes her prac-

inversions. Outside the theatre, and within the

change between watching recorded footage

tice as being “not about something, because

gallery space, Body Loss, 2017–ongoing, trans-

of her movement and a recognition of how

it is something”. It is a distinct form, detached

forms a siren’s call into a weightless being,

internal sensation can impact that movement.

119

ARTISTS |

Critic’s Choice

ELISA JANE (LEECEE) CARMICHAEL
Quandamooka Country, Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), Queensland-based

Elisa Jane (Leecee) Carmichael described her 2023

of cultural knowledge and experience. For a search for

NATSIAA finalist work, Shell Memories, 2023, as inspired

meaning is to absorb the abundance of beauty in nature,

by watching her child at play. This brought up memo-

2021, Carmichael wove thousands of fish scales into

ries of her own childhood, walking alongside the shell

talwalpin (cotton tree) threads to form a large fish net

middens on Minjerribah/North Stradbroke Island. The

while she was grieving the loss of her grandmother.

deep blue double-sided cyanotype represents layers

Commissioned as part of Primavera 2021 at the Museum

of middens to honour seasonal cycles and sustainable

of Contemporary Art Australia, the net was suspended

feasting practices on Quandamooka Country. A Ngugi

above a cyanotype, capturing a shadow of its presence.

woman of the Quandamooka people, Carmichael

For Carmichael, the process of gathering and caring

works across weaving and photo-based media. Drawing

for materials from Country is as important as the final

from her matrilineal line, her work is an expression

work. Her practice is a celebration of resilience.

120

ABOVE: Installation view of
Elisa Jane Carmichael’s a
search for meaning is to
absorb the abundance of
beauty in nature, 2021 in
Primavera 2021: Young
Australian Artists, Museum
of Contemporary Art
Australia, Sydney.
PHOTO: ANNA KUČERA.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY
ART AUSTRALIA.

ARTISTS |

Critic’s Choice

HELEN GRACE
Sydney-based

At the start of 2023, Helen Grace, an artist and former

a feminist critique of how women’s stories are told –

academic living on Gadigal Country in Sydney, moved

and by whom. On hanging proof sheets, I have seen

her archive from her attic to Carriageworks’ Clothing

sequenced frames from her photographic series At

Store artist studios. For the year-long residency, she

The House, 1981, showing women and children rallying

has set about dismantling her 40-year career to, in

for safe housing at the provisional Parliament House

her words, “stop the mould from spreading”. Across

in Canberra in the eighties; the images were exhibited

moving image and photography, Grace has focused

for the first time as part of The Housing Question at

on the everyday, recording her social and political

Penrith Regional Gallery. Grace describes the process

surrounds. Visiting her studio over the last few months,

of looking back as one of re-animation, as if “time

I have seen stills from her seminal and recently

itself [is] acting as a developing agent”. She shows us

restored film Serious Undertakings, 1983, which offers

how the past can help frame the present.

ABOVE: Helen Grace, At The
House (detail), 1981/2020.
Composition of 55 individual
images, printed on Canson
Platine Fibre Rag paper,
drymounted to 2 Dibond
panels, each 110 x 320cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST.

121

ARTISTS |

Critic’s Choice

ERIKA SCOTT
Ngudooroo/Lamb Island, Queensland-based

Soon after The National 4: Australian Art Now closed

she plays with their surfaces and textures to test how

at Carriageworks in June, Erika Scott wrote to ask me

personal understandings relate to broader systems

how quickly The Circadian Cul-de-sac, 2023, could be

and currencies.

shipped back to Ngudooroo/Lamb Island where she

In The Revolving Doormat, 2021, shown at IMA,

lives and works. She needed the disassembled parts

Brisbane, as part of the exhibit On Fire: Climate and

of the 4-metre-high hourglass, the inflatable pool it sat

Crisis, fairy lights flashed across a trampoline encased

in, and the inverted tanks and floating sand farms for

in construction adhesive, while a crashed model

a new work.

helicopter floated among keyboard keys and a water-

Scott’s distinct aesthetic draws on an everyday

cooler. Made from the debris of our excess, Scott’s

vernacular made up of domestic debris. Her process

otherworldly scenes of overconsumption and envi-

is intuitive; guided by her responses to the objects,

ronmental degradation are uncomfortably familiar.

122

ABOVE: Installation view of
Erika Scott’s The Circadian
Cul-de-sac, 2023 at The
National 4: Australian Art
Now, Carriageworks.
PHOTO: Z AN WIMBERLEY
COURTESY: THE ARTIST.

ARTISTS |

Critic’s Choice

KATE NEWBY
Floresville, Texas-based

Kate Newby held her hands up to the screen. Each finger

hanging rods made from bronze, brass, porcelain and

– down to the knuckle – was stained blue from indigo dye.

woodfired stoneware, and awaits a gust of wind to finish

Born in Aotearoa New Zealand and based in Floresville,

it. Newby’s site-specific practice offers restrained substi-

Texas, Newby was working in Japan, undertaking a series

tutions or additions to spaces: a plane of glass replaced,

of workshops for an upcoming project. As her sculptural

an attendant’s pockets filled with hand-formed objects,

practice is informed by her geographical location, she is

doorknobs swapped out, or drains burrowed into slopes.

continually learning new material processes. We spoke

Her process is intuitive and open, and through her “blunt

just after miles off road had closed at Fine Arts, Sydney.

use of materials”, her works hold “evidence of making”,

The exhibition’s central titular work – a wind chime –

as she describes. Newby’s works, like her processes, are

slings handmade rope from wall to wall, secured with

open-ended. Requiring our attentiveness, they encour-

bronze knobs. Made over six years, the chime holds 219

age connection with a situation or environment.

ABOVE: Kate Newby, miles
off road, 2017–2023.
Bronze, pink bronze,
brass, white brass, wood
fired stoneware, Limoges
porcelain, porcelain, glaze,
ash, sand, stoneware,
handmade rope, thread
and sign writing paint.
219 hanging parts ranging
in length from 8-41cm,
installed width of hanging
elements approx. 360cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND
FINE ARTS, SYDNEY.

123

ARTISTS |

Collector’s Dossier

SOME
ANCIENT
WISDOM
For Wendy Stavrianos, exploring a psychological
connection between nature, body and mind has
sometimes been political, but mostly philosophical.
WORDS | ANNE MARSH
PHOTOGRAPHY | BRIAN DOHERTY

When I emailed Wendy Stavrianos about this

the natural environment. She describes herself

article asking for explanations from her that

as a humble gatherer who collects materials

would assist an understanding of her practice

during her daily bush walks to include in her

over several decades, she began by saying,

work. Images of gatherers recur in her sculp-

“throughout my practice I engage with the

tures, installations and paintings from the

metaphysical”. The works present an abstract

1990s to the present.

and poetic exploration of psychological states

In her recent exhibitions, the windows of

of mind in relation to the experiences and

her studio, an old sheering shed, provide a

representations of the body and nature. She

visual framing of her gatherings which she

writes: “Tracks through the landscape, threads

draws and paints. The translucent windows

that connect / Tracks through the body, inside

stream light but they do not allow a focussed

and outside / Veins and arteries, roads and

view of the outside, which she says she would

byways / City lines of communication and

find distracting. Speaking of her upcoming

movement / Ruptures in the web of life.”

exhibition Connecting Threads at Nicholas

A contemporary artist who focuses on

Thompson Gallery, Melbourne, she says,

the landscape she experiences and inhabits,

“My current work takes from my studio the

Stavrianos has a deep empathy for nature and

gathering matter and the remains that I have

understands the ontology – the living being of

collected from harsh summers on Mt Gaspard.”

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Collector’s Dossier

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Collector’s Dossier

“They are placed against the light from my

The conceptual depth is in the layering and

my work as a stage set,” she says. “I saw

studio window. The works emphasise a linear,

framing of imagery. Her dexterity as an artist

Giotto’s work in Italy... in the 1960s, these

reinvestigation of drawing through the figure

is based on fine drawing skills and a strong

had a profound effect on my art then and

in the landscape on canvas... They are not

painterly approach which is seen in muse-

now. The stage from Giotto re-surfaces in a

narrative pictures. This means I can become

um-sized paintings, sometimes incorporating

spared down form in the works named Place

the forms and make a metaphysical reality of

fabrics and found materials, etchings, draw-

or Room. Here I am seeking to connect with

my own. This also gives freedom to the viewer

ings and installations.

a metaphysical space in the work. In these

to reach deeply into their own imagination.”
Stavrianos’

other realities I have been attempting to delve

contemporary

frames symbols, metaphors and imagina-

into the mystery and wonder of the universe.

and experimental but don’t be surprised to

tions, the artist brings her love for the meta-

Through these spaces that I inhabit as an art

find classical and mythological references.

physical to the fore. “Sometimes I approach

maker, I try to interact with environmental

126

practice

In her late works where the studio window

ARTISTS |

concerns that are so urgent today.”

Collector’s Dossier

USA. But I suspect some are still available

Stavrianos’ provenance in the artworld is

through Nicholas Thompson Gallery or

well established. Writer Laura Murray Cree

via the auction houses. The book also has

wrote the large format monograph titled

a range of full page black and white repro-

Wendy Stavrianos in 1997. The book has

ductions, including works on paper.

great colour reproductions of the paintings

One of her major works Mungo Lovers

of the 1980s and 90s and the big installation

(Rape of the Land), 1986-7 was not purchased

works.

until 2021. It is a shame that the painting

Some of these are in major state and

was not purchased earlier by an Australian

regional collections, others in private

museum but so often these opportunities

collections in Australia, Europe and the

are missed by our institutions.

OPPOSITE: Wendy Stavrianos, Arched,
2023. Ink, acrylic on canvas, 87 x 100cm.
ABOVE: Wendy Stavrianos, Evolving, 2023.
Acrylic and ink on canvas, 57 x 76cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND NICHOL AS
THOMPSON GALLERY, MELBOURNE.

127

ARTISTS |

Collector’s Dossier

“In the early days I could hardly
contain the emotion while I
was painting. I was almost in
agony because it was so felt
and I still feel those feelings
now.” Wendy Stavrianos

The sale of Mungo Lovers (Rape of the Land)
is a good indicator that Stavrianos’ big paintings from the 1990s that explore the anamorphic and mythological relations between
body, psyche and nature are talking loudly to
an environmentally conscious international
market.
Demonstrating her empathy with the
natural environment, Stavrianos told Tiarney
Miekus in a 2020 podcast for Art Guide
Australia that, “in the early days I could hardly
contain the emotion while I was painting. I
was almost in agony because it was so felt and
I still feel those feelings now”.

RIGHT: Wendy Stavrianos, Rape of a
Northern Land, 1976–78. Pen, ink and
acrylic on canvas, 213 x 322.5 x 15cm.
PHOTO: NEIL LORIMER .
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND NICHOL AS
THOMPSON GALLERY, MELBOURNE.

128

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Collector’s Dossier

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ARTISTS |

Collector’s Dossier

Darwin in the 1970s represented a major

for Aboriginal women.

turning point in the artist’s practice. It was

Celebration of Woman, 1977-78 was destroyed

here that she fully explored how the earth

by the young artist because of the criticism

had been wounded. Rape of a Northern Land,

she received. She says, “it was the suggested

1976-8 is a large fabric sculptural drawing with

sexual content that offended them, because

lines sewn across its uneven surface. The work

the lily shapes were three dimensional in

depicts the desolate, ransacked environment

the way they were sewn.” Shortly after this

after uranium mining in Rum Jungle. Talking

she got a call from the South Australian Film

about this place to Miekus she said, “I could

Commission requesting permission to repro-

feel the energies there, it was so negative in

duce the work in a film. Luckily, a detail from

that country, and that was my first realisation

the work is illustrated in Murray Cree’s book.

that land can be used in a political way. To be

ABOVE: Wendy Stavrianos, The Gatherer of
the Sheaf in the Night City, 1993–4. Oil on
canvas, 165.5 x 229cm.
RIGHT: Wendy Stavrianos, The Gatherer’s
Pouch #3, 2004. Oil on linen, 71 x 60.8cm.
PHOTOS: LEON SCHOOTS. COURTESY: THE
ARTIST AND NICHOL AS THOMPSON GALLERY,
MELBOURNE.

Wendy Stavrianos’ solo exhibition

Rape of a Northern Land is in the artist’s

Connecting Threads shows at Nicholas

absolutely destroyed... It was a very strong

collection. It would be a significant work to

Thompson Gallery, Melbourne from 15

moment in my lifetime.” Stavrianos said she

collect, given the controversy over its cousin

later found out that the area was a sacred site

Celebration of Woman.

130

November to 2 December, 2023.

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Collector’s Dossier

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Collector’s Dossier

NICHOLAS THOMPSON
Director, Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne

“I have been familiar with the work of Wendy

has been an exciting time to work with Wendy

from each exhibition, and a large signifi-

Stavrianos since I was a student, largely from

as her career is being reassessed. She has been

cant work of Wendy’s from the 1980s was

reading Australian art books and magazines.

included in Anne Marsh’s 2021 publication

purchased by an international collector in

I was always struck by the powerful and

Doing Feminism as well as several Australian

2019. The work in the forthcoming exhibition

romantic imagery in her work and the broad

and international articles and her work has

will be smaller accessible works on paper and

references to the surrealist, metaphysical and

been acquired by the Queensland Art Gallery/

will thematically continue her concerns with

environmental art movements of the 20th

Gallery of Modern Art and the Art Gallery of

climate change.

century. I was thrilled to meet her in person in

New South Wales in recent years.

2016 and quickly invited to her join my gallery.

“Having exhibited since the late 1960s,

“Her work resonates strongly with followers of art history as well as contemporary art,

“The forthcoming exhibition Connecting

Wendy has a loyal following in Melbourne

along with anyone concerned with the envi-

Threads will be our fourth, following previous

and among artists, art historians and writers.

ronmental destruction continually inflicted

shows of retrospective and current work. It

Several of her works are typically acquired

by humans on the planet.”

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ARTISTS |

Collector’s Dossier

SASHA GRISHIN
Art historian, critic and writer

“[I first came across Wendy Stavrianos’

yet she manages to translate it into a universal

work] in the 1980s, when I was head of the

language that resonates with the viewer. She

Department of Art History at the ANU and the

also possesses a very impressive skill set as a

senior art critic for the local paper. I encoun-

painter.

tered her work in a number of exhibitions and

“In a number of ways, Stavrianos has been

was deeply moved by its power, mastery and

ahead of the pack and frequently after reading

intensity.

the latest French critical theory have critics

“Stavrianos is rare in her visual literacy,
what she says in her work you feel intuitively –

OPPOSITE: Wendy Stavrianos, Moon
place, 2021. Acrylic, pencil, ink on paper,
20 x 29cm.
ABOVE: Wendy Stavrianos, Starry place,
2021. Spray acrylic on paper, 19 x 28cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND NICHOL AS
THOMPSON GALLERY, MELBOURNE.

realised that she has been doing this decades
earlier.

spiritually – not verbally. She seems to tap into

“Stavrianos has been in it for the long haul,

She is one of our major artists and the power

some ancient wisdom, dark and unresolved,

consistent, unfashionable and frequently

of her work will inevitably thrust her into the

like snippets of dreams from her childhood,

working under the radar of popular acclaim.

pantheon of significant Australian artists.”

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Collector’s Dossier

1940s

1970s

1980s

1941

1970

1980

1983

born, Melbourne

art teacher, RMIT (print-

stages solo show Wendy

recipient of Full Visual Arts

making)

Stavrianos, Gallery A, Sydney

Board Grant | stages solo

1972

1982

show Earthskins, Tolarno

overseas study, Bali

stages solo show Moments

1960s

Gallery, Melbourne

in Landscape, Gallery A,

1985

Sydney | included in Women

included in Perspecta, Art

Artists, Gallery A, Sydney;

Gallery of New South Wales,

Canberra School of Art, Staff

Sydney; and Impulse and

1976

Show, Canberra School of Art

Form, Art Gallery of Western

1961-62

stages solo show Wendy

Gallery, Canberra

Australia, Perth

art teacher, Hermitage,

Stavrianos, Tolarno Gallery,

Geelong

Melbourne

1963

1977

Advanced Education, La Trobe

overseas study: Greece, Italy,

recipient of MPAC Drawing

University

England

Acquisitions Award

1967

1978

stages solo shows The Lake

stages solo show at Princes

recipient of Full Visual Arts

Mungo Night Drawings, Tolarno

Hill Gallery, Melbourne |

Board Grant (Project) |

Gallery, Melbourne; Summer

included in New Generation

stages solo show Fragments

Roses, Winter Dreams, Greenhill

Victorians, Mornington

of Days That Have Become

Galleries, Perth

Peninsula Art Centre,

Memories, Ray Hughes

Victoria

Gallery, Brisbane

1968

1978-85

stages solo show at Princes

lecturer, Canberra School

Hill Gallery, Melbourne

of Art

1961

1974

awarded Diploma of Fine

stages solo show at Flinders

Art, Royal Melbourne

Gallery, Geelong

Institute of Technology

COURTESY: THE ARTIST
AND NICHOL AS THOMPSON
GALLERY, MELBOURNE.

134

1985-87
lecturer, Bendigo College of

1987

1989
included in Levels of
Consciousness, David Jones Art
Gallery, Sydney, curated by
3

Laura Murray Cree

1 | 1964

2 | 1976

3 | 1987

4 | 1993

Wendy Stavrianos, Pink nude
in a wine red room, 1964. Oil
on board, 152 x 152cm.

Wendy Stavrianos, Cage
fragment, 1976. Ink on
canvas, 152.9 x 119.7cm.

Wendy Stavrianos, 1987.

Wendy Stavrianos, Intercessor
at the city edge, 1993. Oil on
linen, 104 x 140cm.

ARTISTS |

Collector’s Dossier

1990s
1992
recipient of Outside Studies
Program Grant, Monash
University | recipient of
Dominique Segan Drawing
Prize, Castlemaine, Victoria
1994
stages solo shows A Tremulous

November, Luba Bilu Gallery,
Melbourne; and Mantles of
Darkness, touring exhibition

2000s

1995

2000

included in The Wandering

recipient of Swan Hill

Jew: Myth and Metaphor,

Drawing Prize | included in

Jewish Museum of Australia,

We Are Australian, travelling

Melbourne, and tours until

exhibition

September 1997

2010s

2020s

2001

2010

2021

1996

included in Sulman Art

finalist in Rick Amor Drawing

stages solo show Gathered

Wendy Stavrianos book

Prize Exhibition, NSW

Prize, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery

Memories: Mt Gaspard

written by Laura Murray

Art Gallery | stages solo

2011

Cree, Craftsman Press

show W. Stavrianos Survey

1997

Exhibition, Metro 5 Gallery,
Melbourne

Studios 2011 – 2013, Nicholas
Thompson Gallery, Melbourne

finalist in Burnie Print Prize,
Burnie Regional Art Gallery

2023

Tasmania | recipient of

stages solo show Connecting

University completed |

2002

Artists Residency Mildura The

Threads at Nicholas Thompson

stages solo show Retrospective

included in The Painted Fold,

Art Vault

Gallery, Melbourne

Exhibition, The Drill Hall

Charles Nodrum Gallery

M.A. Fine Art, Monash

Gallery, Australian National
University, curated by Sasha
Grishin
1998

2012

2003

included in Drawing Out

recipient of Artists

University of Arts London;

Residency, Bundanon, NSW

and From Paper Beijing Art
Space, Beijing, China

included in The Mask Show,

2004

Distelfink Gallery Auction,

included in John Leslie Art

2013

Sotheby’s Melbourne

Prize; Fletcher Jones Art

included in Reading the Space:

Prize, Geelong; and Fleurieu

Contemporary Aust. Drawing 4

Art Prize, Adelaide

New York Studio School, NY

1999/00
included in The Artful Cello
Exhibition, touring; and

2006

2017

2nd. Exhibition International

included in The Sound of

stages solo show Rage, Memory

Creative Women’s Assoc.,

the Sky, Museum and Art

& Desire: Revisiting the 1980s

Tangduk Gallery, Seoul,

Gallery of the Northern

Nicholas Thompson Gallery,

Korea

Territory

Melbourne

5 | 2005

6 | 2023

7 | 2020

Wendy Stavrianos, Mt
Gaspard Gatherer, 2005.
Oil on linen, 71 x 61cm.

Wendy Stavrianos photographed
by Brian Doherty, 2023.

Wendy Stavrianos, Gathering
net, 2020. Acrylic on
paperspray, 57 x 76cm.

135

ARTISTS |

Profile

IN THE WAY
OF A WOMAN
The multi-disciplinary works of Yuki Kihara combine universal
narratives with the authority and authenticity of the local, as she
engages with the politics of identity, decolonisation and ecological
threats pertaining to her Samoan Pacific Island home.
WORDS | REUBEN FRIEND
PHOTOGRAPHY | GUI TACCETTI

The beauty of the
works belie a tale
of devastation that
has just started to
unravel...

The art of Japanese Sāmoan fa’afafine multi-

represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the 59th

media and performance artist Yuki Kihara

Venice Biennale of Art in 2022. Kihara was the

presents a rich tapestry of media and complex

first Asian, the first Samoan and the first trans-

contemplations

gender fa’afafine artist to represent Aotearoa

Asia-Pacific

trans-na-

tionalism, gender identity and the emerging
environmental crises of the Anthropocene.

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND MILFORD
GALLERIES, DUNEDIN AND QUEENSTOWN.

136

Kihara’s 2022 Venice presentation, Paradise

Fa’afafine are unique to Samoa. The term

Camp, presented an immersive installa-

fa’afafine refers to men who are raised and

tion of photography of Sāmoan landscapes

identify as females, and means, “in the way

and portraits. The photographs reimag-

of a woman”, and has been around since the

ined the paintings of 19th century French

early 20th Century.

NEXT PAGE: Yuki Kihara, サ-モアのうた
(Sāmoa no uta) A Song About Sāmoa Taiheiyō (Pacific), 2023. 5 piece installation,
Sāmoan siapo, textiles, beads, plastic.

New Zealand.

Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin, recon-

Kihara grew up with her family in Japan

structing Gauguin’s paintings as staged photo-

before moving to Sāmoa as a child and eventu-

graphs of fa’afafine, positing the theory that

ally Aotearoa New Zealand where she under-

Gauguin’s subjects were not necessarily young

took formal studies in art and fashion. Initially

women, but more likely fa’afafine posed in the

focusing on the colonial gaze in the Pacific,

manner of women. The artist’s research and

drawing on 19th and early 20th century colo-

thoughts on transcultural and transgender

nial photographs, her photographic series Fa’a

Moana identity politics are seen here, paired

fafine: In a Manner of a Woman was exhibited

with decolonial strategies for the resurgence

at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New

of Indigenous knowledge systems and ways of

York in 2008, and she has since gone on to

being.

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Returning to live in Sāmoa in recent years

no uta) A Song About Sāmoa, with an extraor-

bark cloth), these works are an evocation of

has broadened the artist’s research interests,

dinary combination of textiles and customary

the artist’s trans-national heritage and fa’afaf-

conducting first hand research into marine

printmaking and painterly practices from

ine gender identity. Kihara’s adornment of the

ecology and the ongoing impacts of climate

Japan and Sāmoa. The installation takes the

furisode kimono, a gown usually reserved for

change on ocean habitats around the islands

form of five Japanese furisode kimono, a style

young unmarried women, is a political act for

of Sāmoa. The result of this research is seen in

of kimono that is customarily worn by young

LGBTQI+ and Tāngata Moana (Pacific People’s)

Kihara’s 2019 installation サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa

unmarried woman. Made of siapo (Sāmoan

MVPFAFF

140

queer

communities

(mahu,

ARTISTS |

vakasalewa, palopa, fa’afafine, akava’ine, faka-

people. The beauty of the works belie a tale of

leiti (leiti) and fakafifine).

devastation that has just started to unravel, as

Adorned across this suite of kimono are

unprecedented levels of pollution and carbon

printed images of tropical beach scenes, paint-

emissions from the industrial superpowers of

ing an idyllic picture of Sāmoa as a thriving

the world increasingly impinge on the viable

paradise, subverted by the inclusion of litter

existence of ocean life, and by extension the

and other forms of detritus introduced by

livelihood of Oceanic peoples.

Profile

OPPOSITE: Yuki Kihara, Aotea’ula
Naen (Marginariella Boryana),
2021/22. Pigment print on
Hahnemühle fine art paper.
ABOVE: Yuki Kihara, Aotea’ula
Faef (Ponga / Puriri / Puahou /
Harakeke), 2021/22. Pigment print
on Hahnemühle fine art paper.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND
MILFORD GALLERIES, DUNEDIN
AND QUEENSTOWN.

141

ARTISTS |

Profile

P R O F. N A T A L I E K I N G
Curator and writer

“In 2010, Yuki Kihara came to Melbourne

compelling.

and visitation swelled to almost half a million

to give a lunchtime lecture at the Victorian

“Yuki’s work addresses some of the most

visitors. A new iteration of Paradise Camp is

College of the Arts where I am based, and we

urgent issues of our times including small

currently on display at Powerhouse Museum

had dinner that night. Little did I know that

island ecologies, intersectionality, climate

in Sydney whereby Yuki continues her local

we would form an artist-curator duo and apply

crisis and the injuries of colonisation told

engagement by working with drag, diva activ-

to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the 59th

through dazzling images of hope and defiance.

ist Harold Samu on BERTHA – a new commis-

Venice Biennale 2022.

She has certainly taken her place on the global

sion comprising recycled Pacific dolls wearing

stage from a staunchly Pasifika perspective.

miniature costumes worn by BERTHA during

“Yuki’s practice is immeasurably creative,

her many performances.

socially engaged, funny and fierce. She has a

“Her work is for and about the fa’afafine

material dexterity and a deep commitment to

community in Samoa, and tells stories of resil-

“The Powerhouse Museum will present

representing her own fa’afafine community in

ience from a uniquely Pasifika perspective.

Talanoa Forum: Moana Rising at on 10, 11,

enabling ways. Her philosophy is go big or go

At the Venice Biennale – the most prestigious

12 October for an interdisciplinary program

home and she brings ambition, scale and rele-

and oldest visual arts event – we garnered

highlighting Pacific alliances, climate justice

vance to her practice that I have found deeply

immense press from CNN and The Guardian

and decolonial museology.”

142

ARTISTS |

Profile

OPPOSITE: Yuki Kihara, National
Biocontainment Laboratory, 2021. Lenticular
photograph.
LEFT: Yuki Kihara, Aotea’ula Fo
(Pōhutukawa / Harakeke), 2021/22. Pigment
print on Hahnemühle fine art paper.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND MILFORD
GALLERIES, DUNEDIN AND QUEENSTOWN.

Yuki Kihara’s upcoming exhibition
at Milford Galleries in Dunedin on 1
December, 2023 presents the final
iternation of サ-モアのうた (Sāmoa no
uta) A song about Sāmoa. Paradise Camp
is on show at Powerhouse Museum,
Sydney until 31 December, 2023.

STEPHEN HIGGINSON
Director, Milford Galleries, Dunedin and Queenstown

“Kihara is an interdisciplinary artist whose

collections of significance such as The British

The (siapo cloth) kimono series (made from

work achieves that rare duality of universal

Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of

the lau’ua bark of the paper mulberry tree

narratives and concerns delivered with the

Art, Scotland National Museum, Glyptotek

under extreme threat from sea level rise)

authority and authenticity of the local and

Copenhagen, Queensland Art Gallery of

depicts the climate change consequences for

particular. Her works explore the politics of

Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum and

all the Pacific of Neoliberal capitalism’s hollow

identity, decolonisation and ecological threats

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

promises. It builds dialogues with ancestors

to the Pacific.

Paradise

Camp is currently showing at

and spirits, contrasts traditional knowledge

Powerhouse Museum, Sydney and will tour

structures, presents ecological degradation

the United Kingdom from February 2025.

and mytho-histories in a cross-cultural act of

“She represented New Zealand at the Venice
Biennale in 2022 with Paradise Camp which

bravura story-stelling.

received huge attention and critical acclaim.

“Kihara’s next projects include new lentic-

She has exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum

ular photographs and in December 2023 the

“Milford Galleries has represented Kihara

of Art in 2008, received many prestigious

fourth in the extended kimono series Samoa no

since 2012. Her work is collected by institu-

awards in New Zealand and residencies inter-

uta (A Song about Samoa): Taiheiyo (Pacific) will

tions and collectors worldwide. Prices range

nationally, and is represented in numerous

be exhibited at Milford Galleries, Dunedin.

from $5,000 for edition works up to $225,000.”

143

ARTISTS |

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THE LIGHT WITHIN
The paintings of Gavin Chai can be viewed as poems, each one reciting a sensitivity to space, light and memory.
WORDS | CAMILLA WAGSTAFF

Gavin Chai likes to think of himself as a poet
who dabbles with paint. The Malaysia-born,
New Zealand-based artist’s poems – mostly
oils on canvas and wood panel – are elegantly
composed; a delicate balance of line and
colour, light and shadow.
His interiors and domestic scenes – an abandoned tea towel on a kitchen counter, a forlorn
group of chairs, an unmade bed, a beam of
light creeping through a panelled window
– are rendered with a delicate softness that
makes them feel intimate and emotionally
charged. He also paints people, mostly alone
or in small groups, observing or contemplating, rarely interacting. “I paint people,
even when I’m not,” says Chai. “Much of my
ongoing themes of loneliness and isolation,
though inexplicitly portrayed, come from my
own struggles with people. It’s easier for me to
talk with a vase than with a person. Yet, I have
always found people the most fascinating.”
Chai is also fascinated with light. He
believes this particular preoccupation was
born from his ongoing mental health struggles. “I’m constantly yearning for clarity while
dealing with my struggles, which I think has
led to my obsession with light,” he says.

LEFT: Gavin Chai, Interior 43, 2022. Oil
on Poplar panel, 15.2 x 10.1cm.
OPPOSITE: Gavin Chai, Interior 37, 2021.
Oil on Poplar panel, 25.4 x 20.3cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND PAGE
GALLERIES, PŌNEKE WELLINGTON.

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Growing up in a Christian family, he’s also
familiar with light-adjacent spiritual ideas of
hope and spiritual renewal. “Light, for me, is
not just a visual motif. It is a power that can
transcend, unite and harmonise.”
Chai now expertly works and reworks light
into his oils. Slowly, gracefully, he builds it in
layer by layer, until the painting appears to
radiate from within. “Without a doubt, light is
my favourite thing to paint.”
For his forthcoming show at Page Galleries
in Pōneke Wellington, Chai is striving to paint
light with a renewed sensitivity. His new works
are driven more so by intuition and feeling
than by trope or symbolism. Many of these
works also push the boundaries of colour by
way of sharp cangiante, a technique that sees
one hue unexpectedly replace another to
create an area of shadow or light, instead of
simply mixing the original colour with white
or black. His experiments here have reaped
interesting and diverse results.
Like previous bodies of work, the coming
Page presentation will shed a little more light
(excuse the pun) on Chai’s idiosyncratic vision
of the world, filtered through his own hopes
and dreams, desires and failures. There will
be stars in the sky, the kiss of light, some miracles and some melancholy. And yes, there will
be people.

Gavin Chai’s All the stars in the sky runs from 14
December 2023 to 27 January 2024 at Page Galleries,
Pōneke Wellington. Chai is represented by Page Galleries,
Pōneke Wellington and Foenander Galleries, Tāmaki
Makaurau Auckland.

OPPOSITE: Gavin Chai, Interior
51, 2022. Oil on Poplar panel,
40.8 x 30.5cm.
ABOVE: Gavin Chai, Interior 46, 2021.
Oil on Poplar panel, 25.4 x 30.5cm.
LEFT: Gavin Chai, Interior 50, 2022.
Oil on Poplar panel, 30.5 x 25.4cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND PAGE
GALLERIES, PŌNEKE WELLINGTON.

147

ARTISTS |

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OWEN’S
COUNTRY
Owen Yalandja’s award-winning sculptures give movement and
power to the Ancestral female freshwater spirit yawkyawk.
WORDS | TINA BAUM

148

The representation of Ancestors, family,

“Yawkyawk is my dreaming,” says Yalandja,

culture and Country is central to Kuninjku

“and she lives in the water at Barrihdjowkkeng

artist Owen Yalandja’s practice. Known for

near where I have set up my outstation. She has

his captivating sculptures, Yalandja has more

always been there. I often visit this place. I love

recently ventured into bark paintings.

making these sculptures and I have invented a

Starting his career in the early 1980s under

way to represent the fish scales on her body.

the tutelage of his father Crusoe Kuningbal

The colours I use have particular meanings

(1922-1984), both Yalandja and his brother

(not public) and I make them either red or

Crusoe Kurddal (1960-2020) began carving

black. I am now teaching my kids to carve, just

similar mimih figures their father was

like my father did for us.”

renowned for. The Kuninjku mimih’s are

Using a limited palette of two or three ochre

representations of mischievous spirit beings

colours on each work, Yalandja often combines

with long slender bodies that live in local rocky

contrasting white, black, yellow and red either

escarpment areas in Arnhem Land.

for the overlying fine designs or as the base

It wasn’t until the 1990s that Yalandja’s sculp-

colour. His steady and methodical hand can be

tural practice evolved to solely focus on an

seen in his work with the fine dots stippled in

Ancestral female freshwater spirit, the yawk-

neat rows across the chest and breasts down

yawk. Utilising the cultural dotting style taught

to the waist and his v design flowing down the

to him by his father, Yalandja also developed

tail that stops at the fins. The combination of

a distinctive upside down v chevron design

these designs alludes to the shimmer of scales

to represent scales. Yawkyawk are believed

or a watery rippling effect creating an optical

to be young women who transformed into

illusion of power and energy or movement

mermaid-like beings with a human torso and a

across their body.

fish tail, much like the more commonly known

His sculptures are life sized, with a minimal

saltwater mermaids. As a senior member

delicate face, hairless, sometimes with thin

of the Dangkorlo clan he is also a custodian

and twisted bodies, sometime plumper carved

of the sacred billabong where the yawk-

laying straight. All yawkyawk’s feature short

yawk spirits still reside near his outstation

arms laying against the side of the body,

Barrihdjowkkeng.

some without and some with breasts, the only

ARTISTS |

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OPPOSITE: Owen Yalandja, Yawkyawk, 2022. Ochre on
Bridal Tree (Xanthostemon paradoxus), dimensions variable.
RIGHT: Owen Yalandja, Yawkyawk, 2022.
Ochre on stringybark, 52 x 24.5cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND MICH AEL REID, SYDNEY AND BERLIN.

indicator of their gender. Only using Kurrajong
– Brachychiton diversifolius wood – Yalandja
exploits the natural form and fork in the tree
to further suggest flowing aquatic movements.
Usually creating individual, stand-alone
yawkyawks, in 2022 Yalandja created an
installation of 12 figures shown collectively
at Michael Reid, Sydney. This year he won
the prestigious NATSIAA Telstra Bark Award
category with his bark painting Ngalkodjek
Yawkyawk, 2023. Although still relating to the
yawkyawk story, this work was an exciting
diversion from his usual sculptures with the
natural undulations in the bark creating movement with his designs instead. Ngalkodjek
Yawkyawk is an old story from his father about
the yawkyawk women called Ngalkodjek who
live in the same waterhole out in Yalandja’s
Country. “When they walk down from the
bush, they follow a set path that belongs to
them and they walk along calling out. That is
their path which they take. It is an old traditional route,” says Yalandja.
With a dedicated long association exhibiting artists from Maningrida Arts and Culture,
Michael Reid, Sydney will present work
by Yalandja in November 2023. The highly
sinuous organic sculptures and the duality of
sculpture on bark paintings in the exhibition
continue to show Yalandja’s adaptability and
innovation.
As a highly respected and accomplished
senior Kuninjku artist, Yalandja’s practice and
ongoing yawkyawk representation ensure his
works remain an important cultural and artistic legacy of his skill, vision, cultural knowledge and identity.

149

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TRISTEN HARWOOD
Writer and critic

“[I first came across Owen’s work] at the
end of the dry season, 2020 and I was
seconded for short-term research job at
Maningrida Arts & Culture. I came into
the art centre one afternoon and one of
Owen’s

mesmerizing

lorrkon

(hollow

log) was laying prostrate on the floor.
The lorrkon was probably about 2 metres
tall and painted in its entirety: a series of
white marks laced across the deep black
background in a way that recalls cascading beads of water. To me, the work looked
complete – it just needed to be stood
upright for display – but Owen was on his
way into the art centre. He’s a meticulous
painter, every fine mark and detail is
considered.
“Owen’s work is quite literally compelling, in that he marks barks and lorrkon
with white pigment so as to compel they
eye – make it dart and dance around the
composition. This kind of bodily reaction
is what brings the work to life. The viewer
has a lived relation with the work, even if
only temporarily. It’s also the process, that
the barks and lorrkon are local materials,
the white ochre is of the earth and the
black is born of fire. There is something
deeply ecological and spiritual about
Owen’s painting.
“Owen’s painting asks us to rethink
art histories in this country and look
more deeply at the relationship between
language, history, and painting.”

Owen Yalandja solo exhibition at Michael Reid
Gallery, Sydney, shows in November, 2023.

150

ARTISTS |

OPPOSITE:

TOBY MEAGHER

Profile

Owen Yalandja at work.

Owen Yalandja, Yawkyawk, 2022.
Ochre on Bridal Tree (Xanthostemon
paradoxus), dimensions variable.
ABOVE:

Director, Michael Reid, Sydney and Berlin

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND MICHAEL REID,
SYDNEY AND BERLIN.

“We have been showing Owen Yalandja

“Owen’s pricing is still very enticing for

the surge in demand for 2023, driven by his

for the last 5 years at Michael Reid, Sydney

collectors. We have controlled the pricing

continuing elevation as a major senior artist,

and Berlin. We have an exhibiting relation-

despite some of the incredible Auction

his success in the NATSIAAs, and his major

ship with Maningrida Arts and Culture that

records, preferring to price the work for steady

sold out presence at Sydney Contemporary.

stretches back almost 20 years now.

growth over a long period of time. Owen has

“Collectors with an eye for quality, and

“Owen’s creative drive has always set his

never had an unsold work. The volume is

uniqueness are drawn to Owen’s work. The

work apart. A combination of innovation and

never high, but the execution is unparalleled.

works are made with such intense care that

execution are the hallmarks of his work. The

The majority of Owen’s work sells for between

they follow the form of religious icons; intense

winning bark painting at this years NATSIAAs

$4,000 and $20,000 depending on scale. Large

and powerful objects. Owen’s forms, distinct

is beyond comprehension. Needlepoint accu-

scale works are rare and extremely sought

palettes and intricate designs elevate him

racy, shimmering and powerful in it’s confi-

after. His prices will likely move up by about

above the majority of artists working in spirit

dent abstraction of the yawkyawk form.

10-20% for the next show, to accommodate

figure carvings and bark painting.”

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152

Profile

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Installation view of Owen
Yalandja’s Yawkyawk, 2022.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND
MICH AEL REID, SYDNEY AND
BERLIN.

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SOMETHING
OF STATUS
Minimalism isn’t really Sarah Goffman’s thing. In her
large-scale installations made from common trash, the
artist turns our attention to our maximalist existence.
WORDS | CAMILLA WAGSTAFF

“It’s mostly just spray paint and trickery,”
says Sarah Goffman of her work. Armed with
a rotary tool, a hot glue gun and a soldering
iron, Goffman creates exquisite historical
replicas and contemporary art pieces out of
common trash.
Goffman has always been turned on by
materials, and particularly by plastic. “There’s
no right or wrong material as far as I’m
concerned, any material is worthy of making
art out of,” she says. “But we live in a very
plastic society, and I’ve always had an attraction to plastics.”
It’s not necessarily even an eco-conscious
act, she tells, though that plays in. “It’s more
about interrogating the material to really see it
for what it is. Take a Mount Franklin bottle. It’s
so other to us, even though it’s so ubiquitous
in our culture. And when I see one, I just gotta

shed, through the house, it’s problematic”),

have it.”

Goffman

Drawing from a whole rainbow of coloursorted detritus (“boxes and boxes of it in the

154

recombines

and

reconfigures,

turning items bound for the dump into something precious – something of status.

Sarah Goffman, Black and
Whites, 2021. PET plastics,
enamel paint, hot glue.
PHOTO: DAVID JAMES.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND
VOID_MELBOURNE, MELBOURNE.

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OPPOSITE: Sarah Goffman, Hand
Made NGV collection, 2022. PET
Plastics, enamel paint, permanent
marker, wood, acrylic paint.
PHOTO: SADIE CH ANDLER .
FAR LEFT: Sarah Goffman, Egyptian
Blue, 2021. Plastic, tape, wood,
thermal blanket.
PHOTO: DAVID JAMES .
LEFT: Sarah Goffman, I am a 3D
Printer, 2017. PET plastics, enamel
paint, permanent marker.
PHOTO: BERNIE FISHER .
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND
VOID_MELBOURNE, MELBOURNE.

A 2017 show I Am A 3D Printer saw Goffman
simulate the Asian ceramic pieces and objects
in the Wollongong Art Gallery collection. She
applied her eye to Sydney’s Chau Chak Wing

Sarah Goffman’s solo exhibition

Museum’s collections last year in her solo

shows at Void_Melbourne,

show Applied Arts. In Precious, her current

Melbourne from 30 November
to 23 December, 2023.

exhibition at Wagga Wagga Art Galley (on until
January 2024), Goffman copied historical and
contemporary works from the National Art
Glass Collection.
This trash conversion is just the corner-

Void_Melbourne – the first in almost a decade.

with a laugh. “I’ve been thinking about work

stone of a dynamic, decades-long practice that

The plan is to isolate different works from her

in more of a domestic context. My work is

spans sculpture, video, installation, perfor-

recent institutional shows, adapting objects

literally domestic objects assembled to make

mance and painting. When we chat, Goffman

and presenting them in new configurations.

larger installations, but they can be broken

is preparing for a show at Drill Hall Gallery

Expect stained glass (“they’ll also be plastic,

back down very easily.”

in Canberra titled Backwash, which brings

I’m too clumsy to use real glass”), LED-lit

Whatever the medium, Goffman believes

together a group of artists making art from

paintings and mini copies from the National

her role as an artist is to respond to what’s

the “backwash” of modern life. “There’s about

Gallery of Victoria’s ceramics collection.

going on in the world around her. Her practice

10 boxes of stuff heading up [from Goffman’s

Suffice to say there will be plenty going on –

asks us to revaluate and revalue our relation-

home in Melbourne] to Canberra, and I get to

minimalism isn’t really Goffman’s thing. But

ship with materials by considering them in

formulate the design on site,” says Goffman.

for an artist who has primarily shown major

curious and thought-provoking contexts.

“It’s an exciting way to work. I love juxtaposing

installations in institutional spaces, she is

“We are all seeing what’s happening and

different objects and works in response to a

cautiously optimistic about working on a more

responding in our own way, with what mate-

site, and seeing the conversations that ensue.”

commercial scale.

rials we have at hand,” she concludes. “Some

There’ll be slightly more forward plan-

“I understand that most collectors don’t

ning for her coming commercial show at

exactly live in an aircraft hangar,” she says

artists have oil on canvas. And then there’s me,
burning holes in plastic bottles.”

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THE POWER
OF ART
Avoiding an aesthetics driven by victimhood, Kirtika Kain’s
painterly approach to the identity of her caste, which continues to
be dehumanised as untouchables, is an exciting explosion of joy,
warmth and opulence, from which anger can still be felt.
WORDS | JUDITH BLACKALL
PHOTOGRAPHY | JESSICA HROMAS

Kirtika Kain’s quietly powerful paintings

reading of Dalit literature and conversations

derive from her journey to understand and

with her family and connections within the

celebrate the ancient, complex lineage she

international Dalit community of writers,

inherited as one born into a Dalit family

philosophers and political commentators,

within the Indian caste system. To engage

Kain channels the immensity of her inherited

with the cultural knowledge and spiritual

Dalit experience through the immediacy of

identity that fuel her art is an immersion

process and the nuance of materials.

into a profound, richly archaic world. How

The paintings in her recent body of work

she examines caste, and chooses to explore

Blue Bloods explore the unexpected radiance

identity through her art and research are both

to be found in the Dalit experience. Each

exciting and illuminating.

painting is unique with richly saturated colour

Kain was born in New Delhi in 1990 and

and a complex surface that can take weeks to

immigrated as an infant to Australia with her

build. The process is intense and intuitive,

parents and siblings. Growing up in Sydney’s

involving layering raw materials that are then

northern beaches, an environment beyond the

compressed, erased, built upon and left to dry.

entrenched discrimination and oppression of

Depth is created by blending the raw materi-

the caste system, enabled reflection and explo-

als to form layers which are then consolidated

ration of her Dalit identity. Through extensive

with paints, pigments and other materials.

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Kain’s raw materials include items asso-

it adds contrast. Dark elements, a metaphor

and depth of her community through a lens

ciated with ritual and prayer, such as cotton

for the darker times and traumatic practices

of warmth and opulence. Symbolically they

wicks, ceremonial beads and bangles, grains,

in societies, bring out the light.

convey the cycles of life, spirit and nature.

seeds and turmeric. These are mixed with oils

For the artist, the intense saturation in each

Kain has achieved a great deal in the five

and wax, or coagulated with pigments, paints,

painting embodies personal and collective

years since completing a Master of Fine Art at

bitumen, and applications of gold and copper

memories inspired particularly by her mater-

Sydney’s National Art School. She’s held two

leaf. Tar – black and dense – is like a substrate;

nal ancestors. The paintings reflect the colour

solo exhibitions with Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery,

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Sydney, and another three solo projects in

the 23rd Biennale of Sydney to participate

cultural spaces in Sydney and London. She

in the prestigious Amant Studio & Research

was a finalist in the Create NSW Emerging

Residency Program near Siena. This unique

Artist Fellowship, and has undertaken studio

professional opportunity enabled research

residencies in Rome and New Delhi.
In 2022 she was nominated by José Roca,
Colombian curator and Artistic Director of

and travel with other participants including leading international curators, artists,
writers and musicians.

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OPPOSITE: Kirtika Kain, Untitled (TBC),
2023. Cotton wicks, rangoli pigment,
gold leaf and tar, artist pigment and
acrylic paint, 120 x 120cm.
ABOVE: Kirtika Kain, Untitled (TBC),
2023, wax, gold leaf, tar, acrylic paint,
coconut leaf grass, lotus seeds and
artist pigment, 120 x 120cm.
PHOTOS: DAVID SUYASA.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND
ROSLYN OXLEY9 GALLERY, SYDNEY.

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ABOVE: Kirtika Kain, Untitled (TBC),
2023, Acrylic paint, Holi pigment, gold
pigment and plastic, 120 x 120cm.
OPPOSITE: Kirtika Kain, Untitled (TBC),
2023. Cotton thread, rangoli pigment,
artist pigment, tar, acrylic paint, gold
leaf and gold paint, 120 x 120cm.
PHOTOS: DAVID SUYASA.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND
ROSLYN OXLEY9 GALLERY, SYDNEY.

162

Artistic Directors of the 24th Biennale of

into Kirtika’s studio, I was entrapped by the

Sydney, Cosmin Costinaș and Inti Guerrero

force of colour coming from her paintings,

have selected Kain’s work for inclusion in their

which were all spread across every corner

Sydney Biennale exhibition Ten Thousand Suns

of the floor. Hung centred on a wall, almost

from 9 March to 10 June 2024. Guerrero visited

like a shrine, was a framed portrait of B. R.

Kain in her Parramatta studio and describes

Ambedkar; the political leader who piloted

the experience: “The moment I walked

the Indian constitution and who, like Kirtika,

ARTISTS |

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was born into a Dalit caste. Rather than

Kain’s Blue Bloods conveys a resolute, new

departing from an aesthetics driven by victim-

intelligence that brings fresh perspectives

Kirtika Kain’s Blue Bloods shows at Roslyn

hood, Kirtika’s painterly approach towards the

to the history and culture she embodies.

Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney from 30 November to

identity of a caste that had and continues to

Profoundly illuminating, the works’ immedi-

16 December 2023. Kain’s work will also show

be dehumanised as untouchables, is on the

acy and strength speak with determination

in the 24th Biennale of Sydney Ten Thousand

contrary a lively explosion of joy and beauty

and quiet resolve of the transformative power

from which anger can still be felt.”

of art.

Suns from 9 March to 10 June 2024.

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R O S LY N O X L E Y
Director, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery,
Sydney

Kirtika Kain has been represented by
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery since 2019. After
graduating from the National Art School
in 2018 with a Master of Fine Arts, Kirtika
presented her first solo exhibition with
the gallery in July 2019.
“I first saw Kirtika’s work at the
National Art School as part of the 2018
Graduate Show,” says Roslyn Oxley.
“Her work was a real stand-out – it was
ambitious and compelling. I am particularly drawn to the tactile quality of her
practice: the texture and materiality.
She has a fantastic ability to combine a
diverse palette of materials– wax, clay,
tar, precious metals like gold, iron,

VISHAL KUMARASWAMY

copper, zinc, silver, as well human hair

Bangalore-based artist and curator

and straw– whilst maintaining a level of
control and balance in each work.
“Kirtika has presented solo exhibitions

“I was looking for peers who were thinking

practices. Kirtika’s practice demonstrates a

in Australia and internationally. She has

through lived realities of caste in their prac-

dedicated effort to bring forth socio-cultural

been the recipient of various prestigious

tice when I came across Kirtika’s work in an

contexts, language, casteised and racialised posi-

awards and residencies. In 2022, she was

article in The Sydney Morning Herald back in

tions to the discourse in Australia and beyond.

the recipient of the Parramatta Creative

2019. I was struck by the interplay of various

“As someone who shares the same caste

materials in the works as they tackled complex

position as Kirtika, I am acutely aware of the

Summer

socio-cultural positions.

systemic hindrances we face in being able to

residency, Kirtika was included in the

“Kirtika’s relationship to ritualistic, ances-

tell our stories. Kirtika’s sustained engagement

African Biennale of Photography, as well

tral materials and their grasp on the power of

with the complexities of our positions and the

as in group exhibitions in Germany and

material memory is the first thing that caught

reach of their works have significantly added to

India. In 2024, Kirtika will present new

my attention. Across the multiple disciplines

contemporary anti-caste discourse. Her practice

works at the MCA Australia as part of the

that she works in, her ability to wrestle with

has also demonstrated the need to proclaim

24th Biennale of Sydney Ten Thousand

the layered stories of her heritage and trans-

joy and agency amidst the enduring effects of

Suns.

late them into expansive bodies of works have

caste discrimination across multiple geographic

“Kirtika’s work resonates with those

been compelling in a way that is resonant

contexts. For members of the community, to

interested in following the trajectory

across contexts.

see our stories being reflected in this manner is

of a young artist. She has a willingness

Fellowship Grant and the Amant Siena
Residency.

Following

this

“The rigour of Kain’s practice and the narra-

incredibly rare and expands the understanding

to experiment, to push boundaries and

tives that she explores in her works are expansive

of art histories and practices in South Asia and

to take risks which is really exciting to

and include history, literature and embodied

the diaspora.”

watch.”

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OPPOSITE :
ABOVE :

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Kirtika Kain photographed by Jessica Hromas.

Kirtika Kain, Untitled (TBC), 2023. Tar, copper leaf, acrylic paint, cotton, sindoor pigment, wax, artist pigment and copper pigment, 120 x 120cm.
PHOTO: DAVID SUYASA. COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND ROSLYN OXLEY9 GALLERY, SYDNEY.

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METICULOUS
PLEASURES
With equal parts contemplation and humour, Jan Murray
gives status to the common puffer jacket.
WORDS | SEAN LOWRY

Jan Murray’s self-declared approach to paint-

meticulous and exacting verisimilitudes both

the exuberance of the ‘80s was replaced by a

ing is deceptively simple. “Basically, the plea-

impersonate their subject and reperform the

more introspective examination of painting as

sure principle rules in my practice,” she says.

pleasures of virtuosic labour located in a daily

object.”

On closer inspection, however, her philosophy

ritual of production. And it is in this daily

Her upcoming show, Figura, exemplifies

is clearly grounded in a deeply considered

ritual of pleasure in paint that she identifies

her meticulous artistry, offering viewers an

relationship with the languages of painting.

and follows hunches that slowly form a coher-

experience that seamlessly negotiates immer-

ent body of work.

sive engagement and broader worldly under-

The Melbourne-based artist and retired
academic’s work stands as an exemplar of

“I don’t necessarily work toward an exhi-

painting’s unyielding capacity to maintain

bition but rather accrue enough work over

its own categories of medium and discourse.

a period of time to confidently identify a

Her muse for this series? A seemingly

Across

conceptual focus, then arrange for an exhibi-

mundane article of clothing. In the isolation

tion,” she explains.

of seemingly endless Covid lockdowns in

time

often

characterised

outsourced artistic labour and conceptually

standings. “This series has been in gestation
for some time,” she says.

driven projects, Murray reminds us of the

Murray’s life and career reflect a curious

Melbourne in 2020, Murray found inspiration

value of skilled realism and careful attention

amalgamation of influences and experiences,

in the commonplace. In her daily walking

to the minutia of everyday experience.

with each period marked by shifts in the artis-

window, she was, “struck by the ubiquity of

Realism in painting is historically connected

tic atmosphere. “The ‘80s was a time of discov-

the puffer jacket”. This fascination led to an

to the truthful representation of subjects via

ery or libidinous, unbridled expressiveness,”

exploration of “the peculiarities of the puff

mimesis. It is here that Murray knows that

she recalls. By contrast, “the ‘90s and the

as an embodied expressive entity in form and

we can be seduced, albeit with a twist. Her

early 2000s was a more reflective time, when

materiality.”

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OPPOSITE: Jan Murray,
Glimmering (Berlin), 2022.
Oil on linen, 153 x 107cm.
RIGHT: Jan Murray, Figurine
(pink), 2023. Oil on linen,
173 x 107cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST
AND CH ARLES NODRUM
GALLERY, MELBOURNE.

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Her long-time gallerist Charles Nodrum,

their silks and satins,” he says. “Murray seems

incredibly fine and precise—but in a subtle

who has represented Murray in eight solo

to turn this around: by barring the face,

sense of humour.”

shows since 1999, adds an insightful art-his-

she seems, paradoxically, to emphasise the

torical layer to her work.

human presence.”

Murray’s work offers us a pause, a moment
of reflection in the continuum of life, asking

“These life-size garments, some full-length,

Kate Nodrum, Charles’ daughter and

us to ponder what is real and what is illu-

others three-quarter length, remind me

Gallery Manager, identifies a significant

sory. While Murray plays into our “persistent

of those grandiose depictions of kings and

mutually informing tension in her work: “Her

craving for immediacy,” as she puts it, she also

emperors dressed to the point where the

skill for trompe l’oeil painting lies not only

reminds us that the allure of her paintings is

person seems to have disappeared behind

in her technical handling – the brushwork is

just the starting point.

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OPPOSITE LEFT: Jan Murray,
Figurine (blue), 2023. Oil on
linen, 173 x 107cm.
OPPOSITE RIGHT: Jan Murray,
Figurine (lemon), 2023. Oil on
linen, 173 x 107cm.
LEFT: Jan Murray, Shimmering
(Kassel), 2022. Oil on linen,
153 x 107cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND
CH ARLES NODRUM GALLERY,
MELBOURNE.

Jan Murray’s solo exhibition Figura
shows at Charles Nodrum Gallery,
Melbourne from 14 October to 4
November, 2023.

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CLOSE
YOUR EYES
Through her work, Monica Rani Rudhar feels
she is able to touch what is not there, see what is lost
and feel what has passed.
WORDS | MARIAM ELLA ARCILLA
PHOTOGRAPHY | SAM ARMSTRONG

While attending a party in 2021, Monica Rani

and a laptop showing documentation photos

Rudhar panicked after realising one of her

of family heirlooms. Burnt-orange medicinal

hoop earrings went missing. Gifted by her

vessels with metallic decorations grace the

aunty, they had adorned her earlobes since

shelves. A curtain-style work hand-sewn with

birth. The Indian-Romanian artist, whose

star anise, cardamon and chillies – represent-

ancestors were goldsmiths and Ayurvedic

ing the South Asian spices used by Rudhar’s

healers, believes in the invocational magic of

parents in their cooking – lies in the corner.

ornaments. “My Indian family treat jewellery

Glistening blobs of gold-lustre-painted terra-

as talismans for protection and embodiments

cotta dominate the floor. Assembled together,

of great love,” Rudhar says during my visit

they become gargantuan sculptural replicas of

to her Dulwich Hill home studio in Sydney.

drop-earrings. “In their monumental scale,”

Reuniting with her lost earring after a friend

Rudhar muses, “they represent the sentimen-

retrieved it became the catalyst for Rudhar to

tal weight and labour required to hold onto my

pursue an archive-driven practice informed by

history whilst reforging and piecing together

migrative family stories and cultural markers.

the fabric of my identity.” Her work titles and

Born in South West Sydney to an Indian

artist statements are inspired by family lore

father and Romanian mother, Rudhar works

and conversations; they act as restorative auto-

across sculpture, video and performance.

biographical indexes – from cooking samosas

Littered throughout her studio are cultural

with her mother to recovering lost artefacts –

emblems, earthenware paints, carving tools,

representing diasporic interrogations.

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“In their monumental
scale they represent
the sentimental
weight and labour
required to hold onto
my history whilst
reforging and piecing
together the fabric of
my identity.”
Monica Rani Rudhar

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Since graduating in 2021 from a Bachelor

Art Incubator founder Teresa Biet recalls the

as she nestled the objects into Rudhar’s palm.

of Fine Arts at the University of NSW, Sydney,

moment she visited Looking at Gold, curated

On her smartphone, Rudhar shows me a grainy

the artist has exhibited in group shows at Pari

by Luke Létourneau at Casula Powerhouse

image of the diamond-encrusted gold stud:

gallery and Verge Gallery, both in Sydney,

in 2022, and witnessed Rudhar’s mega-sized

“I’m worried about losing the actual earrings,”

and Tamworth Regional Gallery. In early

twinned earrings. “This literally stopped me

she squirms, “so they’re at my parents house

2023, Rudhar received the Gosford Emerging

in my tracks,” Biet tells me, “they were ambi-

for safe-keeping.” Splayed across her studio

Art Prize and became a recipient of the Art

tious, complex and executed with great skill.”

table is the ceramic skeleton of Dadi Ji’s

Incubator program, which offers artists

For the October show, Close Your Eyes And

Earrings (bearing the Punjabi words paternal

exhibitions in partnership with commer-

Hold Out Your Hand, Rudhar will include a

grandmother), which currently resembles a

cial galleries. Rudhar will present at Martin

recreation of the floral earrings that once

lofty brown octopus with six swirling arms –

Browne Contemporary this October, her

belonged to her father’s mother, now passed

serendipitously, her grandmother raised six

first commercial stint after staging solos at

down to Rudhar. The exhibition title derives

children. Eventually, this will be fashioned

Sydney’s Firstdraft, Tiles and Our Neon Foe.

from a line uttered by her aunty at a wedding

into a pair of 24-carat-gold-coated sculptures

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to besparkle her grandmother’s bigger-than-

a progressive herbalist and doula whose gold-

life personality. Dominic Kavanagh, Martin

smith lineage inspired Rudhar to pursue her

Browne Contemporary’s Associate Director,

own artistic endeavour.

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OPPOSITE: Monica Rani Rudhar, Drawing the curtains,
2020. Terracotta, star anise, cardamom, dried chillies,
glass beads, wire, and brass, 100 x 120cm.
PHOTO: FELIPE OLIVARES.

ABOVE: Monica Rani Rudhar, Drop Earrings That Once
Belonged To My Mother, 2022. Terracotta, glaze, lustre,
chain and wire, 125 x 163cm. PHOTO: DOCQMENT.

references her process as being “grounded

“Although I never got to meet my grand-

in multi-generational relationships, stories

mother, she’s always been a presence in my life,”

and practices.” Even though Rudhar is in her

reveals Rudhar, adding that her grandmother

early-career stage, Kavanagh notes she has,

planned to leave India in 1993 to join their

“managed to take on this inter-generational

family in Australia – until she suffered a heart

weight with confidence and maturity to

attack before boarding the plane. “I made my

Monica Rani Rudhar’s solo exhibition Close

produce works of impressive emotional and

first artwork as a way to grieve and honour her,”

Your Eyes And Hold Out Your Hand shows at

visual impact.”

Rudhar confides. “And I chose ceramic because

Martin Browne Contemporary from 12 October

Indeed, Rudhar’s voice crackles with senti-

it’s a fragile and everlasting material – much like

to 14 November, 2023.

ment as she tells me about her grandmother,

oral stories passed down through generations.”

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND MARTIN BROWNE
CONTEMPORARY, SYDNEY.

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LEFT: Performance view of Monica
Rani Rudhar’s Mother Of Millions
On Whitford Road, Live dreams:
Distance, Carriageworks, 2022.
PHOTO: ALEX DAVIES .
OPPOSITE: Monica Rani Rudhar,
Monica She Called Out To Me, 2023,
commissioned by the Powerhouse
Museum, Sydney.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND MARTIN
BROWNE CONTEMPORARY, SYDNEY.

DOMINIC
KAVANAGH
LUKE LÉTOURNEAU
Curatorial and Collections Lead, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre

Associate Director, Martin
Browne Contemporary, Sydney

“I first met Monica Rani Rudhar in 2021 when

– Monica is channelling unspeakable family

“This is Monica Rani Rudhar’s first ever

she was a finalist in the 66th Blake Prize at

tensions through alluring imagery.

solo exhibition at a commercial gallery.

Casula Powerhouse. The work featured a long

“Monica is building a profile through

take of the artist, dressed in a green and red

artworks that capture the sensations of the

sari, dancing through a field of mother-of-mil-

heart. Intimacy and heartbreak, guilt and

stories and practices. Martin Browne

lions flowers off Whitford Road in Green

desire, loss and longing – these are all feel-

Contemporary has a rich history of

Valley. The score was provided by an aunt, who

ings which get lost and confused in words,

working with ceramic artists and we are

sang a prayer that was recited by the artist’s

but through her artworks, she creates a visual

excited to share the work of an emerg-

grandmother every morning to grieve her

language of recognition and acknowledgment.

ing artist who is producing singular

“Her works often negotiate the feelings of

and memorable artworks with such

husband. It is a poetic work which presents a
complicated picture of family and mourning.

connection and disconnection to her heritage.

Her powerful sculptures are grounded
multi-generational

relationships,

confidence.

“I later commissioned Monica to make

She has worked with many media including

“As Monica’s first foray into the

Hoops That Once Belonged To My Mother and

video and performance, however her recent

commercial market , it will be priced

Drop Earrings That Once Belonged To My Mother,

works in ceramic have been the strongest to

as such, with works between $2,000 and

two works made from terracotta and coated

date. What is especially powerful is her desire

$11,000.

in gold lustre. The works were recreations of

to recreate lost heirlooms in clay – as the clay

earrings meant to be heirlooms passed down

requires the continued moulding and caress

discerning

to her but instead found their way into the

of the hand, she is able to finally touch and

are beautiful objects that have been

hands of other family members. Again, the

hold all the possessions and emotions that are

wrought with skill and contain a rich

work is both heartbreaking and breathtaking

otherwise out of reach.”

multivalent history.”

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“Monica’s work will appeal to all
collectors.

The

pieces

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A DARK
TURN
During lockdown, when those
close to her began watching SKY
news, Brie Trenerry turned to art.
WORDS | BRIONY DOWNES

Brie Trenerry’s current project first took
shape in Covid lockdown, when the Victoriabased artist found herself doom-scrolling
through social media and mainstream news.
“Everything was amplified,” she recalls. “A
collective babble of confusing messages.”
Then things took a dark turn – a Sky News
After Dark turn, to be precise. People close to
the artist were watching the show, Australia’s
equivalent of Fox News, and began spouting
wild claims. Trenerry’s concern about the
effects of misinformation, and its weaponisation for political purposes, grew.
“With some trepidation, I decided to
venture down the rabbit hole and read every
conservative and far/alt right online news
syndication in addition to reading centrist and
progressive media,” Trenerry says.

RIGHT: Brie Trenerry, Prompt #53 [15.06.2023]. 2023.
Video still, colour, sound.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND MARS GALLERY, MELBOURNE.

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She particularly focussed on comments
sections, seeking connection and understanding. With a tendency to look for patterns
that might reveal a broader picture, she
soon found herself collecting avatar images
from thousands of commenters. These form
part of a digital collage which will feature in
Trenerry’s forthcoming exhibition at MARS
Gallery, Melbourne titled Babble On.
“I am drawn to the dark and the questioning
in Brie’s works,” says Andy Dinan of MARS
Gallery, who has represented Trenerry for a
decade. “She makes the viewer do the hard
work: Why are we there? What are we really
watching? Why are we disturbed?” An extension of the PhD project Trenerry commenced
at RMIT, Melbourne in 2014, Babble On takes
the mythical Tower of Babel as a metaphor

OPPOSITE: Brie Trenerry,
Babble on Ziggy, 2023.
Paper, wood panels,
adhesive and paint.

for humanity’s hubris in the online age. It
considers the ever-increasing volume of

ABOVE: Brie Trenerry,
Prompt #467 [11.08.2023],
2023. Video still, colour,
sound.

babble feeding Artificial Intelligence systems,
and interrogates the shifting power dynamics
between humans and AI.

LEFT: Brie Trenerry,
Angerotomy, 2023, Still
from hologram, colour,
sound.

An interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker,
Trenerry’s practice explores the potential of
contemporary moving image technologies

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND
MARS GALLERY, MELBOURNE.

alongside that of superseded media. Over the
past decade, Trenerry has explored altered
states of consciousness as generative stratBrie Trenerry’s solo exhibition Babble On

egies for an expanded cinema. In the major

shows at MARS Gallery, Melbourne from

2015 solo exhibition Total Field at the Adelaide

1 November to 9 December 2023.

Experimental Art Foundation, the artist used a
sensory deprivation technique to induce hallucinations in people, using their responses to
form a 30-metre-long multi-channel video
work. For Babble On, Trenerry has induced

appears to extend into the gallery space.”

artist conceived them.”

distortions, known also as hallucinations,

Trenerry has curated the MARS Gallery

from an AI video generator, manipulating

Black Box projection space, an exhibition

programming

Trenerry’s

extensive

curatorial

the resulting video fragments into moving

space dedicated to showing contemporary

co-founding the Melbourne artist-run gallery

image works, and holograms (a medium she

video art, since its opening in 2014. “Video is

KINGS ARI, unique at the time for its dedi-

first worked with in 2022 for an exhibition at

a rigorous discipline and can be challenging

cated video space, and co-founding and

Sydney’s Cement Fondu). “Working with holo-

in execution, exhibition and reception,” the

programming Moonlight Cinema Adelaide.

grams and 3D imagery is like sculpting with

artist observes. “At MARS I have been able to

This year, she was a producer on feature film

video,” the artist observes, “the presence of

help facilitate ambitious projects that would

RESIDENCE, directed by Matt Mirams of

the screen boundary is ruptured and the video

otherwise not have been realised the way the

Breeding Ground Productions.

experience

also

and

includes

179

STRENGTHENING
OUR FIRST NATIONS
ARTS & CULTURAL
PRACTICES

UMI Arts
G al le r y & G ift Shop
4 / 1 J e n s e n Str e e t
M an o o r a QL D
(07) 4041 6152

umiarts.com.au
Artwork: Wawu (spirit poles), David Hudson.
‘Freshwater Saltwater’ exhibition @ UMI Arts Gallery.
Courtesy Lovegreen Photography.

COLLECTING |

Art Centre

A DAY IN
THE LIFE…
From sun up to sun down, the Bindi Mwerre Anthurre
Artists Studio is constantly creating.
INTERVIEW | CAMILLA WAGSTAFF

The Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists Studio

from communities across the Central Desert.

in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) works directly

Their creative processes are an expression of

with Aboriginal artists living with a disability,

self and connection to Country – an act that

fostering important opportunities for these

sustains personal and cultural identity.

talents to develop and receive recognition for
their practices.
The Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists hail

Here is a typical day at the Art Centre, as
told by Bindi Art Development Specialist
Liz Pedersen.

“I come here Friday to
Bindi, do art and painting.
We make people, house,
family, dog and artists
like dreaming, onion,
witchety grub. I like Bindi,
it’s good fun for me, it
makes me happy.”
Margaret Campbell

LEF T, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEF T: Support worker
Jules Jayne and Lizzie Trew playing Queen on a
Friday afternoon; Adrian Robertson painting in
the studio; studio shelves.
OPPOSITE: Billy Tjampitjinpa Kenda, My Sister
Barbara painting, two kids and papa playing
‘round, two camels standing there at an
outstation near Mutitjulu, 2023. Acrylic paint on
canvas, 122 x 122cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTISTS AND BINDI MWERRE
ANTHURRE ARTISTS STUDIO, MPARNT WE.

182

COLLECTING |

Art Centre

183

COLLECTING |

Art Centre

The morning arrival

plays over the speakers as the art support
workers round up and distribute tea orders.

First to arrive each day is artist Adrian

Each artist has their own favourite mug and

Robertson. He’s a very punctual man and will

we have a cheat sheet above the kettle with

arrive at 8:45am latest, basking in the garden’s

how everyone takes their tea.

sunshine until the studio doors open at 9am.
Robertson is a talented painter who paints

Break time

from memory, engaging a restricted palette
and unique mark-making to portray his

Break time is at 10:15am. We’re usually

Country and family. He won the prestigious

reminded by artist Billy Kenda singing “break

Alice Prize last year.

tiiiiime” with a smiling nod to the clock (Kenda

The studio opens at 9am and the artists are
heads down brushes up at 9:01am, no later.
It’s mostly fellas who paint in the morning.
They have been painting the morning session

is a finalist in this year’s NATSIAA). The artists
head out to the Bindi Garden, share a smoke
and sip their teas. Occasionally the art support
workers will join them.

since the beginning and are great friends. The

Break time is special as the hardworking

fellas are very focused and work quietly, it is a

artists who are usually concentrating their

calm space where their creativity can thrive.

energy onto canvas take time to relax and start

Sometimes some of the women artists will

talking story and sharing their language, life

join the sessions with the fellas, it’s a welcom-

and culture. This is true for most of the artists.

ing space.

Except Robertson, who laps up every minute

Charlie Pride, a crowd favourite, often

184

“I come every morning,
Monday to Friday. I come
inside and work…Workers
sing out to come, its
working day.” Billy Kenda

of studio painting time with no break.

ABOVE: Adrian Robertson, Family in Yalpirakinu, 2021.
Acrylic paint on canvas, 122 x 61cm.
OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEF T: Margaret
Campbell painting during ladies afternoon; Charles
Jangala Inkamala and Billy Tjampitjinpa Kenda
enjoying break time in the garden; Billy Tjampitjinpa
Kenda adding details to a work; Charles Jangala
Inkamala working on a large-scale exhibition piece;
Adrian Robertson laying down markings.
COURTESY: THE ARTISTS AND BINDI MWERRE ANTHURRE
ARTISTS STUDIO, MPARNT WE.

COLLECTING |

Art Centre

185

COLLECTING |

Art Centre

for people living with a disability to play the

The lunch hour

The afternoon

Some of the artists have other commitments

In the afternoon, if the art support workers

wash works on paper – their immediacy and

or programs in the afternoon and head home

aren’t required to support anyone in the

honesty speaking to many.

at lunch time.

studio, they move through the constant check-

game. Conway is well regarded for his ink and

Others have been working on differ-

list of never-ending tasks.

Sales orders are checked and packed.
We pack the artworks very carefully using

ent projects (like our current Digital Art

New artworks, which are usually photo-

recycled cardboard from businesses around

Program) and will break in the Bindi Garden

graphed in the morning sun, are catalogued

Mparntwe. The delivery man will collect the

for lunch.

into the SAM database, ready to be submitted

packed artworks from the front gallery.

On special occasions, we all gather for a

for any adventure, art award, exhibition, or

big barbecue in the garden. There’s always

art fair. Most recently Conway Ginger’s work

sessions for the women artists in the studio.

Some

afternoons

have

dedicated

bread, salad, sausages, and an array of condi-

was selected to be on the footy jerseys for

This session is a great opportunity to hold

ments. Country music (of course) continues

the Footy 4 Life program. This program is

space for the women and is quite social and

to drift out of the studio.

based in Mparntwe and offers an opportunity

lively. We all sit together around the big table,

186

COLLECTING |

Art Centre

chattering and singing as the artists work. The
music bounces between Willie Nelson, Jimmy

FORTHCOMING EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS:

Barnes and Tina Turner.

The end of the day
As the end of the day approaches, we usually
keep the music playing and give the studio a
good tidy. The art support workers will do
some social media and marketing, looking
at any images and artworks from the day.
Robertson is usually the last to pack up. If he
had it his way, he would always be the last to
leave… or just paint right through the night!

OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM
TOP LEF T: Paint mixing corner;
Billy Tjampitjinpa Kenda
and Adrian Robertson busy
painting; Art development
specialist Liz Pedersen
catching up on admin.
ABOVE: Conway Ginger, Me,
Lionel, Raj and Willie Playing
Footy in Winter, 2016. Acrylic
paint and ink on paper,
23 x 16cm.

Group exhibition: Bindi Magic
Bindi Enterprises, Mparntwe (Alice Springs) and online until 16 October
2023. Bindi Magic is an annual exhibition showcasing the latest work
from the Bindi artists. Presenting artists include Adrian Robertson, Billy
Kenda, Charles Inkamala and Conway Ginger, among others.
Group exhibition: Desert Mob
Araluen Arts Centre, Mparntwe (Alice Springs) until 22 October 2023.
One of the nation’s most anticipated annual arts events, Desert Mob
brings desert communities and families together to celebrate their
enduring culture.
Adrian Robertson: Ngaju Nyangu Warlalja, Ngaju Nyangu Ngurra (My
Family, My Country)
ReDot, Singapore, 1 to 30 November 2023
Adrian Robertson’s brushwork is loaded with drama and energy,
transcending the canvas and inviting viewers to share in his intimate
connection to Country and family.

COURTESY: THE ARTISTS AND
BINDI MWERRE ANTHURRE
ARTISTS STUDIO, MPARNT WE.

187

COLLECTING |

Dealer Profile

S O FA R ,
SO GOOD
Art Collective WA was a unique proposition in 2013: a self-funded,
not-for-profit gallery owned and operated by senior WA artists for
themselves. It’s now coming up to its tenth year in business.
WORDS | VICTORIA LAURIE
PHOTOGRAPHY | BIANCA WOOLHOUSE

Felicity Johnston often ponders the conun-

up their walls,” she says. “The dialogue

drum posed by her wealthy home state.

between artists disappeared because they had

Western Australia produces the bulk of the

no places to meet and talk. So Art Collective

nation’s resources, yet the state suffers from

WA was set up to fill that gap. We got together

a lack of investment in its visual artists, both

and decided on a not-for-profit model that

locally and nationally. “I do see a lack of

was artist-owned; our board would exclu-

interest in Western Australian artists”, says

sively consist of artists. It was important that

Johnston. “That’s why our Collective was set

established artists with long careers could

up solely to represent established and senior

be supported financially after they’d lost the

Western Australian artists.”

ability to regularly show their work.”

She’s referring to Art Collective WA, a

It’s been a unique success story. Art

not-for-profit gallery business with a unique

Collective currently has 36 artist members;

mission. In 2013, when she was asked to set

it has presented more than 200 artists in 134

it up as inaugural director-curator, she had

exhibitions and sold more than 75 works to

just stepped away from curating the Cruthers

institutional collections. The long rollcall

Collection of Women’s Art at the University of

of artists includes Trevor Vickers, Eveline

Western Australia. Johnston comes equipped

Kotai, George Haynes, Angela Stewart, Alex

with

managerial

and

communications

skills that were honed in former roles at the
National Association for the Visual Arts,

Spremberg, Giles Hohnen, Merrick Belyea,
Brad Rimmer and Vanessa Russ.
On

any

day,

Art

Collective’s

light-

Australian Galleries and Savill Galleries in

filled gallery will be visited by one of its

Sydney. Johnston also has prior experience

owner-members. The atmosphere is casual

running her own gallery in Perth more than

but keenly professional, the interior spaces

a decade ago.

small but imaginatively used. The exterior

“At that time, a lot of the commercial

view is attractive – a grassy square bordered

galleries had closed due to lack of support

by St George’s Cathedral and the historic

and a generational change, as gallery owners

State Buildings, Perth’s bespoke hotel and

became tired and traditional collectors filled

award-winning restaurant complex.

188

COLLECTING |

Dealer Profile

189

COLLECTING |

Dealer Profile

ABOVE: Installation view of Jon Tarry’s
One an-Other, Art Collective WA, 2023.
OPPOSITE: Installation view of Kevin

Robertson’s Recent Paintings, Art
Collective WA, 2023.
PHOTOS: ACORN PHOTO. COURTESY: THE
ARTISTS AND ART COLLECTIVE WA, PERTH.

Johnston is proud that Art Collective WA
has survived and thrived. She says 2020 was

expensive art fair.”

their best year, despite the Covid lockdown.

Art Collective WA has done both, produc-

“We had a captive audience that had dispos-

ing high quality monographs of four West

able income. People weren’t spending three

Australian artists, with a fifth due to be

months overseas or going to Melbourne to buy

published about Haynes, one of WA’s most

work. And there was a resurgence in support-

prolific living painters.

ing local enterprises, which extended to ‘Let’s
support our artists.’”

190

us we shouldn’t do a $50,000 book or go to an

As for art fairs, the Collective was represented by 30 works in Sydney Contemporary

Art Collective WA is entirely self-funding,

in September. “We’ve been at the Sydney art

“although we occasionally apply for project

fair every year since it started, and we will be

funding,” she admits. “Because we’re solely

displaying the work of Joanna Lamb at the

owned by artists, we’ve always had the luxury

Melbourne Art Fair next year,” says Johnston.

of making decisions that weren’t financial.

She says art patron Janet Holmes à Court is

There are no accountants or lawyers telling

a great supporter, and Art Collective WA will

COLLECTING |

hold its ten-year anniversary show in October

university and corporate art collections, and

at Holmes à Court’s private art gallery at Vasse

even the Art Gallery of Western Australia.

Felix winery in Margaret River.

“They have shrinking acquisition budgets,

Art Collective WA has recorded 50 inter-

and we don’t have many regional art galler-

views with its artists. “It’s to fill the lack of

ies to sell to, unlike other states,” Johnston

an archive of West Australian art history.

explains. “Individual buyers are now our main

There’s nobody doing that work.” It also holds

purchasers. They tend to be professional types

regional exhibi-tions in Geraldton, Albany

who like to buy from around Australia, but

and Bunbury. “And each year, we invited a

some have a deliberate policy of supporting

guest curator or artist to create a show, so that

the state’s visual artists.”

it’s not just my vision that dominates.”

Dealer Profile

Yet Art Collective’s
prolific activities
occur in a tough
environment.

“At this stage we will continue, as long as

Yet Art Collective WA’s prolific activi-

we are doing good things,” she says. “We don’t

ties occur in a tough environment. While

want to forget our core business to represent

Indigenous art is faring better, Perth is suffer-

established WA artists and raise their profile.

ing a general decline in art purchases by

We just have to stick to that.”

191

COLLECTING |

Dealer Profile

FORTHCOMING PROGRAM
HIGHLIGHTS
B R A D R I M M E R Nowhere
Near | 1 6 S E P T E M B E R T O 1 4
OCTOBER |

Art Collective WA, Perth

Brad Rimmer’s photographic trilogy exploring rural Australia and the emotional impact
of the natural landscape continues in Nowhere
Near. Rimmer was born in the Wheatbelt
region of Western Australia, and focuses here
on the region’s languishing town halls. “Brad
feels nostalgic about how they used to be
the centre of town, but many now lie destitute, maybe repurposed, decaying or even
demolished,” says Johnston. The exhibition
and accompanying book serve as a poignant
reflection on the past, what we leave behind
and what remains.

JOANNA LAMB
Melbourne Art Fair |
22 TO 25 FEBRUARY 2024

Joanna Lamb creates hard-edged and highly
refined compositions of urban spaces, but this
time she focuses on gardens as an extension
of suburban life. Lamb describes them as
“abstract poems in colour and shape”. Since
her first solo show in 1997, she has maintained
a regular exhibiting schedule traversing the
practices of painting, printmaking, collage
and sculpture. Johnston says the latest works
emerge from Lamb’s memories and nostalgic
feelings about her environment, wavering in
style between realism and abstraction. Art
Collective is proud to dedicate its presence at
Melbourne Art Fair to this dynamic artist.

192

COLLECTING |

ART COLLECTIVE WA

GEORGE H AYNES

TEN | 2 4 S E P T E M B E R T O 2 1

In Search of Painting |

JANUARY 2024 |

Holmes à Court

21 OCTOBER TO 18 NOVEMBER |

Gallery, Vasse Felix Winery, Margaret River

Art Collective WA, Perth

work

One of the most important exhibitions on the

commemorating Art Collective WA’s ten-year

WA gallery calendar, this is a tribute to George

anniversary. “If you’re looking for a survey

Haynes, a respected painter, teacher and

of WA’s most senior artists, this is it,” says

mentor who has produced memora-ble work

Johnston. “In a beautiful big space in

over 60 years. Born in Kenya and a student of

Margaret River, there will be amazing new

the Chelsea School of Art in London, Haynes is

works by all our artists, including painting,

known as a master of light, creating canvasses

sculpture and photography.” Among the

drenched in colour and capturing aspects

36-member cohort of artists, TEN offers a

of everyday Australian life and landscape.

snapshot of the richness and diversity of

Johnston says it offers a rare opportunity to

their art practice. On display will be works

view 150 of the artists’ new, recent and retro-

such as Giles Hohnen’s colour-saturated

spective paintings, many of which justly reside

abstract paintings, Brad Rimmer’s evocative

in the nation’s prestigious public and private

landscape photographs and Olga Cironis’

collections. The fifth Art Collective WA mono-

socially-charged sculptures made from found

graph will be launched in conjunction with this

materials, among many others.

special celebration of 85-year-old Haynes.

showcase

artist

members’

Dealer Profile

OPPOSITE ABOVE: Brad
Rimmer, Corrigin Town Hall,
Spring 2020, 2022. Archival
pigment print, 100 x 134cm.
OPPOSITE BELOW: Joanna
Lamb, Streetside Garden 02,
2023. Acrylic on Superfine
polyester, 180 x 240cm.
ABOVE LEFT: Chris Hopewell,
Seventh Circle, 2023. Acrylic
and resin on marine ply,
122 x 81cm.
ABOVE RIGHT: George
Haynes, Light, 2023. Oil on
canvas, 101 x 122cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTISTS AND
ART COLLECTIVE WA, PERTH.

193

COLLECTING |

Collector Profile

A DILIGENT EYE
At the heart of Andrew Martin’s collecting and patronage practices
is a view that a vibrant arts community is a vital pillar of our culture.
WORDS | DURO JOVICIC
PHOTOGRAPHY | NICK DE LORENZO

Andrew Martin has assiduously amassed an
exemplary collection of Australian contemporary art. A collection which acts in many ways
as a chronicle of Australia’s artistic talent over
recent decades.
Martin says that he, “didn’t grow up in a household of art or artists” and he finds it difficult to
pinpoint an exact trigger for the development of
his passion for art and architecture. He readily
acknowledges his own limited artistic ability,
but beams as he describes seeing his three
children become invested in the arts, with one
at Melbourne University doing their Master’s
in Creative Writing, Publishing and Editing,
another having recently graduated from National
Art School with a flair for abstraction, and the
third currently studying media and design at
university.
After leaving UBS asset management more
than 11 years ago, Martin has successfully
built-up MA Financial Group as Managing
Director and Head of Asset Management, during
which time he continued to indulge in his love
A sculptural
work by Ramesh Mario
Nithiyendran.
RIGHT:

OPPOSITE: Andrew
Martin at home.
COURTESY:
ANDREW MARTIN.

194

for art. Martin most enjoys that moment when
a work quickens his heartbeat, and then the
moment when he uncovers a meaning behind
it, sometimes by connecting with the artists
directly.

COLLECTING |

196

Collector Profile

COLLECTING |

His children often rib him about his latest

an oil and mixed media piece. At a monumen-

purchase and where it could possibly fit within

tal two metres long, it’s of a single flower in

the home, so his attitude now is: “I try to have

part relief, giving the impression of transi-

my latest purchase be my favourite work – and

tioning into real life. There are sightings of

that’s often a very high bar to set – rather than

Ryan Hoffmann’s circular textural works, one

another work to fill a wall”. Martin says that a

placed in ambient lighting behind a grouping

piece must sing to you and have a charge of

of lush green plants, appearing moonlike

energy. “I love an auction,” he says, “I like the

in its projection. A Whiteley portrait of an

Collector Profile

OPPOSITE: On the far left hangs a painting
by Steven Harvey, with a Dale Frank on the
top floor and an Ildiko Kovacs below.
ABOVE: A Dale Frank painting hangs to
the left with a Reko Rennie on the far wall.
Sculpture in the foreground by Jason
Farrow.
NEXT PAGE LEF T: A Steven Harvey painting
hangs on the far wall with works by Marnie
Ross in the foreground.
NEXT PAGE RIGHT:

A work by Ildiko Kovacs.

COURTESY: ANDREW MARTIN.

thrill of the chase, I love the adrenalin.” He

elongated nude woman aptly demonstrates

readily admits that he’s an auctioneer’s dream,

his mastery of line. There’s an imposing Dale

finding it tricky to stick to a budget when he

Frank with vast swathes of purple, green and

sets his sights on the ideal artwork. He doesn’t

black, and a John Olsen featuring his famed

always apply an investment lens to what he

frog motif (the popularity of this motif having

acquires; first and foremost comes his love

been cemented when he was commissioned

and enjoyment of the works, with any invest-

for a series of Leeuwin Estate wines) and

ment potential something of a secondary

another, a topographical look at a landscape

consideration.

and lake. One gets a sense with Martin that,

A walk-through of Martin’s airy abode

instead of having to go to a gallery to get his

feels like an homage to great Australian art.

cultural fix of the visual arts, it’s been conve-

Waratah, 1970, a piece by Brett Whiteley, is

niently brought into the comforts of his home.

197

COLLECTING |

Collector Profile

When pressed to name his favourite

works of Robert Owen, David Larwill, Tim

artwork, he pauses, then begins listing names

Maguire, and Tim Johnson, among other

in quick succession; after at least a dozen are

premier artists, now grace its walls. He had

“As a long-time
supporter of
contemporary artists,
we believe a vibrant
arts community is
an important pillar of
our dynamic culture.”

discussed, it’s fair to say it is a tall order to

some trepidation regarding receptiveness,

narrow down his preferences. Martin has a

fearing that people in finance, being a gener-

particular affinity for abstract pieces though,

ally conservative industry, may not be amena-

with Frank, Steven Harvey, Ildiko Kovacs,

ble to contemporary art. He was pleasantly

Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, and Reko

surprised to find that colleagues have widely

Rennie spotlighted as favourites.

embraced the collection. So, with most wall

Andrew Martin

198

The enduring appeal of the arts for Martin
has seen MA Financial Group become the

space in Martin’s own home already occupied,
this offers a new avenue for collecting.

principal partner in sponsorship for Sydney

It’s heartening to see that collectors such

Contemporary. Martin notes that, “as a long-

as Martin are not only open to making key

time supporter of contemporary artists, we

art purchases for themselves and the viewing

believe a vibrant arts community is an import-

public’s pleasure, but also extending that

ant pillar of our dynamic culture.” Recently

passion to positively influence the contempo-

MA Financial Group has opened new offices

rary arts through patronage. It’s an example

in Sydney and Melbourne, offering him the

for others to follow, and will hopefully foster

opportunity to spearhead art purchasing

a wider appreciation of contemporary art

in-house for all staff and clients to enjoy. The

nationally.

COLLECTING |

Collector Profile

199

COLLECTING |

Exhibition

F R O M T H E FA R
CORNERS
In his first European solo, Jonathan Jones reveals
the surprisingly sympathetic interactions between
Indigenous people and French explorers in one of
Australia’s lesser-known colonial episodes.
WORDS | LIAM KEENAN

Jonathan Jones, untitled (emu eggs) after Étienne-Pierre Ventenat, 2021–23,
and untitled (vases, armes, pêche), 2023. Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)
eggshell, powder-coated steel, golden everlasting paperdaisy (Xerochrysum
bracteatum) flowers, antique tables; earthenware, 206 pieces, dimensions
variable. Ceramic work by Somchai Charoen.
PHOTO: JENNI CARTER. COURTESY: THE ARTISTS AND ARTSPACE, SYDNEY.

216

COLLECTING |

Exhibition

217

COLLECTING |

Exhibition

There is a meticulous
attention given to the
importance of culturally
significant materials in
the exhibition.

Jonathan Jones: untitled (transcriptions of

animal species. In this way, it reflected the

country) examines the French expedition led

pursuits of the competing empires of the time.

by Nicolas Baudin that took place from 1800

Namely, to expand the canon of scientific

to 1804. Australia at that time was largely still

knowledge and in turn, to potentially discover

known as New Holland in Europe, a name

organic materials that could be traded and

coined by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman

marketed for profit. Much has been made

in 1644. The primary motivation for Baudin’s

of the bizarre kinds of dislocation that can

expedition was to circumnavigate what was

happen to the objects and specimens that

then thought to be either two islands or one

were collected from these kinds of imperial

large landmass. Baudin’s expedition was not

hoardings, as many of the native plant and

primarily seeking to establish a permanent

animal species collected ended up on the

French colony in Australia to contest the exist-

grounds of Joséphine Bonaparte’s manor

ing British colony, rather, it was motivated by

house near Paris.

the pursuit of knowledge and information, at a

It is this kind of colonial dislocation that

time when the empire with the best maps still

Jones seeks to examine and address with the

had the best advantage.

exhibition, and untitled (embroidered Eora

Joathan Jones’ art practice has consistently

It is fascinating to consider the values and

country), is one of the key works in the show.

been concerned with untangling the complex

politics that underpinned the French expedi-

For this, Jones invited a culturally diverse

and contested histories that inform the ways

tion, and to contrast them with those of the

group of embroiderers to transcribe the

we relate to and unrelate to Australia. His

British empire at the time, which was strug-

308 known plant species that were taken by

works are unique not only for their often large

gling to maintain its many territories after a

Baudin’s naturalists while in Sydney. Using

scale, but for the layers of nuance and subtlety

series of major setbacks and defeats, namely

French thread on Australian wool, Jones and

with which he imbues his projects.

the American Revolution.

the women who slowly embroidered these

Jonathan Jones: untitled (transcriptions of

The upheavals of the French Revolution

country), was commissioned by Artspace in

had only just begun to subside shortly before

2020 and became the Wiradyuri/Kamilaroi

Baudin set sail, and those who joined the

There is a meticulous attention given to the

artist’s first solo exhibition in Europe, having

expedition party were surely influenced

importance of culturally significant materials

been held at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris,

by the ideological changes it had brought

in the exhibition. Emu eggs are an important

from the end of 2022 into the following year.

about in French society. Progressive ideals

symbol for the unique carving practices of

As a result of pandemic delays, as well as

such as liberty, equality and fraternity may

Southeast Aboriginal people. Swan feath-

renovations, the exhibition is set to open in

have motivated the surprisingly sympathetic

ers, possum fur, gumnuts and other organic

December in the newly refurbished Artspace

interactions that Baudin and his crew had

elements are used in subtle ways to great effect.

building in Sydney.

with Indigenous people while in Australia.

These many materials, once dislocated

This exhibition – though smaller in scale to

Eora corroborees are captured in drawings.

and fragmented in far corners of the world,

previous large public art projects such as unti-

Voices exchange songs, in French, and in local

are reorganised and brought back into rela-

tled (maraong manaóuwi), 2020, and barrangal

languages, and are then notated. Detailed

tionship with Country through Jones’s vision

dyara (skin and bones), 2016 – asks us to consider

portraits are made of numerous Indigenous

to empower and champion the knowledge

some monumental questions. Namely, why is

people from across the country. There are

systems of Aboriginal people from the

Australia’s British historical narrative still held

incredible examples of this kind of cross-cul-

Southeast of Australia.

in such singular regard at the expense of all

tural interaction and exchange in the many

others? Even now, with information as acces-

journals of those who were on the expedition.

sible as ever, many Australians are unaware of

Despite its seemingly progressive princi-

the Dutch, French and Indonesian histories of

ples, Baudin’s expedition was not unique in

encounter and exchange with Australia and its

its colonial pursuit of uprooting, collecting

Indigenous people.

and cataloguing vast quantities of plant and

202

objects were reclaiming and decolonizing this
faraway archive of Indigenous Country.

OPPOSITE AND NEXT PAGE: Installation views
of Jonathan Jones, untitled (transcription of
country) at Palais de Tokyo Paris, 2021.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND ARTSPACE, SYDNEY.

COLLECTING |

Exhibition

219

COLLECTING |

220

Exhibition

COLLECTING |

Exhibition

221

16 SEPTEMBER - 12 NOVEMBER |

Free admission

PRINCIPAL AWARD SPONSOR

hazelhurst.com.au
Images clockwise from top left (details) : Freya Jobbins VEER 95% Crossword Clue. Change direction suddenly 2023; Kate Vassallo Gain and Loss 2022; Benedict Sibley Intersection (at Stoney Creek)
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ARTISTS |

And the winner was…

And the Winner was...
Art prizes play a significant role in the artworld ecosystem.
We kick off our new regular round-up of prizes and winners
RIGHT: Installation view
of Ida Sophia’s Ramsay
Art Prize winning work
Witness, 2022, singlechannel HD 4k video.

with a rundown of three of the biggest purses in 2023.
WORDS | LOUISE MARTIN-CHEW

PHOTO: SAM ROBERTS.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND
ART GALLERY OF SOUTH
AUSTRALIA, ADEL AIDE.

For Ida Sophia, winning the 2023 Ramsay

The Ramsay Art Prize is biennial, beginning

“The colours on this tree are specific to my

Art Prize at the Art Gallery of South Australia

in 2017, funded by the estate of James Ramsay

clan, the Thu’ Apalech people,” he says. “In

has been life-changing. The level of media

AO and Diana Ramsay AO. Their Ramsay

Wik-Mungkan, my first spoken language, we

interest following her win was both intense

Foundation supports innovation in the arts,

call this tree yuk thanchal… and is the same

and surprising. Despite the $100,000 purse, in

health and programs for young people. Hosted

tree that my ancestors have been using since

her experience this is not the most significant

by the Art Gallery of South Australia, the prize

the beginning of time.” Like Sophia, Wikmunea

aspect of the prize. She says, “Prizes take your

brings the work of younger artists of national

expressed pride in the visibility and attention

work into the critical dialogue of contempo-

calibre to Adelaide and, being acquisitive, sees

the award attracts to his culture.

rary Australian art and having that platform

innovative contemporary art brought into the

Hadley’s Art Prize is awarded for the best

to speak to a wider general public about your

AGSA collection. Sophia said, “In terms of the

portrayal of the Australian landscape. While

themes, topics and questions is so important.”

Ramsays philanthropic motivations, their focus

it is a prize open to all age groups and artists,

Prizes reflect the interests of the organisa-

is on youth and the new, no matter what form

judges Fiona Foley, Wendy Sharpe and Milan

tions that originate them in addition to lifting

that takes. Previous winners of the Ramsay,

Milojevic

the profile of the artists and their ideas, as

including my work, are not easy. They’re

Ngayuku Ngura (My Country) an outstanding

they engage with the interests of the originat-

looking to start conversations which really

winner. This prize at Hadley’s Orient Hotel

ing organisation. Art Prizes Australia direc-

define what the Ramsay’s themselves were

supports Australian artists as integral to its

tor Martin Shub observes in the Art Prizes

about.”

brief. Winning works are acquired and remain

found

Vicki Yatjiki Cullinan’s

Planner 2023 that art prizes “form an important

Also driven by innovation, and established

publicly accessible at the hotel, with a notable

element of annual cultural celebrations within

for 40 years, the annual Telstra National

four of six winners, since 2017, First Nations

a community”, with their outcomes meaning-

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art

artists. Cullinan said, “My painting is connected

ful for artists and organisers, “who inject so

Awards is Australia’s richest First Nations

to the Tjukurpa (ancestral stories) that I know,

much energy and time to ensure their success”.

award, with a non-acquisitive prize pool of

but my paintings are also an extension of who I

Among the most significant prizes in

$190,000. Its importance in tracing the progres-

am, and how I interpret my place in the world.”

Australia, in dollar terms, are the Ramsay Art

sion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Each of these winning works has a poetic

Prize, Adelaide, the Telstra NATSIA Awards,

art styles, artists and development cannot be

ability to convey the artists’ ideas, which other-

Darwin, and Hadley’s Art Prize, Hobart. All

overstated. This year its major winner is Keith

wise may exist in isolation. This is the power of

three of these offer $100,000 to the winner. Yet,

Wikmunea from Queensland’s Aurukun for

prizes, which attract more diverse audiences

as Sophia asserts, the important aspect of the

his sculpture carved in milkwood, titled Ku’,

– imaginatively and aesthetically – to different

winning experience, and the prize itself, is the

Theewith & Kalampang: The White Cockatoo,

ways of seeing the world.

attention it directs to art, the artists’ focus, with

Galah and the wandering Dog which represents

Each issue we’ll cover significant prize winners

the interests of the organisers also notable in

his culture as a Thu’ Apalech man from the

and finalists announced during the previous

the direction the prize sets at the outset.

Cape York Peninsula.

quarter.

208

ARTISTS |

And the winner was…

209

COLLECTING |

If I Could Have

IF I COULD HAVE
Janina Harding, Senior Manager at Creative Victoria’s First Peoples Art and Design Fair
and a 2023 NATSIAA judge, selects 10 works for her wish list.

TOP: Simone Arnol, Voice (from the Silence series), 2023. Photo on
cotton rag paper, 72 x 110cm. $1,500.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND YAKAL ART GALLERY, CAIRNS.

LEFT: Paul Bong, My Flag, 2016. Hand coloured intaglio etching, ed.
26/30, 120x 80cm. $4,400.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND FIREWORKS GALLERY, BRISBANE .
ABOVE:

Bernard Lee Singleton, Kenopsia, 2022. Beach stone. $6,000.

COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND YAKAL ART GALLERY, CAIRNS.

RIGHT: Philomena Yeatman, Learn the Weave, 2022. Ceramic basket
form with Pandanus woven top, 51 x 23cm. $2,000.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND YARRABAH ART CENTRE, YARRABAH.

210

COLLECTING |

If I Could Have

LEFT: Janet Fieldhouse,
Little Sister, 2023. Buff
raku trachyte, raffia and
wire, 48 x 51 x 30cm.

$12,000.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST
AND VIVIEN ANDERSON
GALLERY, MELBOURNE

BELOW: Syd Bruce
Shortjoe, Fighting Over
women, 2023. Acrylic
on linen, 85 x 96cm.
$2,500.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST
AND PORMPURAAW ARTS
& CULTURAL CENTRE,
PORMPURAAW.

ABOVE: Destiny Deacon,
Grandstanding, 2017.
Lightjet print, Ed. of 5
+ 2AP, framed, 102 x
127cm. $12,000.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST
AND ROSLYN OXLEY9
GALLERY, SYDNEY.

LEFT: Julie Nangala
Robertson, Mina Mina
Jukurrpa (Mina Mina
Dreaming). Acrylic on
Belgian linen, 183 x
152cm. $15,000.
COURTESY: THE
ARTIST AND SUZ ANNE
O’CONNELL GALLERY,
BRISBANE.

BELOW: Teho Ropeyarn,
We see country
different, 2022. Vinylcut print on paper, Ed.
of 20, 70 x 124cm.
$1,300. COURTESY: THE
ARTIST AND ONESPACE,
BRISBANE.

LEFT: Maree Clarke,
Thung-ung Coorang
(Kangaroo Teeth
Necklace), 2019. Cast
crystal, leather, sinew
and Kangaroo teeth,
100 x 7cm. $25,000.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST
AND VIVIEN ANDERSON
GALLERY, MELBOURNE.

Want more? Sign up to Art Collector’s What’s in the Stockroom newsletter for available works from premier commercial galleries. Visit artcollector.net.au/newsletter.

211

COLLECTING |

Seen, Heard, Read

Seen, Heard, Read
WORDS | VICTORIA PHAM

BOOK |

Ceramics: An Atlas of Forms

Glenn Barkley’s Ceramics: An Atlas of Forms

matte black pottery of the Chimú tradition.

stands as an exceptional contribution to the

However, the book doesn’t merely focus on

realm of ceramic arts and history. A truly

historical vessel forms but explores the poetry

remarkable feat, the book offers a refreshing

beyond them. Barkley adeptly highlights

departure from the typically Euro-centric and

instances where ceramics served purposes

academic-heavy lens often applied to art and

beyond their functional aspects. The early

art history. Instead, Barkley presents a global

inclusion of the Ball Court scene (300-100CE)

panorama, celebrating the rich and diverse

in the contemporary installation Archive of

traditions and trends of ceramics worldwide.

Mind, 2017 by Kimsooja is a testament to this

One of the book’s most commendable features

broader perspective.

is its recognition of the universal nature of

A notable highlight of the book is the

ceramic culture. It showcases the vast array

inclusion of several Australian First Nations

of ceramic traditions and contemporary prac-

ceramicists, such as Nyukana Baker from

titioners, demonstrating how ceramics tran-

the Ernabella Arts Centre, showcasing the

scend geographical boundaries to become a

sheer diversity of modern ceramic practices

cultural language.

and the cultural lineages they emerge from.

Barkley skillfully traverses through time

In its exploration of contemporary ceramics,

by opening the historical narrative at 4000

the book demonstrates the enduring nature

BCE in pre-dynastic Egypt. It is worth noting

of certain ceramic forms while celebrating

that the oldest ceramics have been uncovered

the innovation that continues to shape the

by archaeologists in the Xianrendong cave

field. As a compendium of ceramics and a

in China approximately 20,000 years ago;

reference text, this book is a treasure trove of

however, in Barkley’s own words, this book

visual delight and meticulous research. The

offers a biography for a selection of objects

extensive breadth of research elevates the

that he “feel[s] have some relevance to makers

book into a must-have resource for art histo-

now”.

rians, ceramicists, artists, and enthusiasts

As the narrative unfolds through the ages,

alike. Barkley’s meticulous curation, insight-

by Thames & Hudson on March 12, 2024.

the reader is treated to a symphony of forms,

ful observations, and commitment to a global

Available for preorder now.

glazes, and colours. Each era is meticulously

perspective make Ceramics: An Atlas of Forms

documented, from intricate frieze tiles to the

invaluable to ceramics and art history.

Ceramics: An Atlas of Forms will be published

212

COLLECTING |

SCREEN |

Seen, Heard, Read

Tjanpi Desert Weavers Animation Series

When we think of animation, too often

their stories in each of their languages.

we have come to expect overwhelming

Each short film reflects on memories

and over-saturated imagery of CGI.

and stories, particularly the community

Rarely do gems of stop-motion anima-

connections between domestic animals,

tion emerge, but with the award-winning

such as dogs and donkeys. The animated

Season 3 of the Australian PRO PRAC

animated series released by the Tjanpi

figures, creatures, and landscapes that are

podcast has recently beamed to our ears

Desert Weavers, audiences can delight

woven move across the screen in quirky

with eight episodes featuring prominent

in the nostalgic, playful, and visually

sequences. These films are a visual and

Australian artists from around the country.

stunning four films. The films have been

sonic delight and will ensure audiences

The beauty of the podcast lies in the gentle

produced since 2017, in collaboration

of all ages leave with smiles. They are

flow of the intimate conversation between

with artists from Warakurna with story-

enchanting, joyful, and unmissable, and

artists and interviewers. Hosts and artists

tellers from Irrunytju, Pitjantjatjara, and

I, for one, am certainly hoping for more.

Kiera Brew Kurec and Nick Breedon effort-

Ngaanyatjarra communities, narrating

tjanpi.com.au

lessly weave through various topics such as

PODCAST |

PRO PRAC

financing, health, and collaborative relationships. The rhythm between the hosts
allows each guest artist space to deeply
reflect on the roots of their practice, ways
of being, and sustainability. What shines in
this series is the care artists are given to be
vulnerable about the realities of art-making. A highlight lies within the premiere
episode of the season, where artist Katy B
Plummer reflects on the power of community upon life and work. With its brilliance
and insight, PRO PRAC is a must-listen for
artists and art enthusiasts.
propracpodcast.com

213

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ARTISTS |

One-sentence Review

One-sentence reviews
Our writers review those shows and works that have recently caught their eye… in a single sentence.
HEATHER
WUNJARRA
KOOWOOTHA

Botanicals, Cairns Art
Gallery (Gimuy) |

NICOLAS

9 SEPTEMBER TO

COLEMAN

22 OCTOBER, 2023

PM/AM, London | 14 JULY

Singing and dancing

TO 19 SEPTEMBER, 2023

Heather Wunjarra

rising star Nicolas Coleman

Koowootha’s works

depicts a lone figure not

capture the subtleties

dissimilar to himself in an

and secrets of botan-

array of utopic settings, yet

icals in a beauty only

within each canvas we see that

sketching can: I love her

beauty can be easily tainted.

love of Lore and nature.

Rose of Sharon Leake

Jack Wilkie Jans

Nicolas Coleman, Arrival in London, 2023. Oil on canvas, 140 x 90cm.
COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND PM/AM, LONDON.

KHALED SABSABI

An evocative trio of exhibitions

Unseen; M A D D I S O N

curated by Kelly McDonald at

G I B B S Something in the Water;

Mosman Art Gallery delivers

Y A S M I N S M I T H Sediment

powerful connections to Country,

Mosman Art Gallery | 17 JUNE
TO 10 SEPTEMBER, 2023

like only a garden does,

With a sense of calm idealism,

Heather Wunjarra Koowootha, Nature’s Goose Berrys, Fruit trees Pickings, 2019-2020.
Watercolour and pen and paper. COURTESY: THE ARTIST AND CAIRNS ART GALLERY, CAIRNS..

the environment and self: Maddison
Gibbs’ single-space environment
with sound evokes the recent fish

John Forrester
Clack, Deluge,
2022. Oil on
linen, 79 x
101cm.

kills on the Darling/Barka; Yasmin
Smith’s Sediment explores local
Mosman environmental and human

COURTESY:
THE ARTIST
AND GRAINGER
GALLERY,
CANBERRA.

histories in galleries painted in
ochres of Sydney sandstone,
and Khaled Sabsabi awakens
senses with Unseen, an immersive

JOHN FORRESTER CLACK

installation made with Arabic coffee.
Judith Blackall

Landscapes, Grainger Gallery, Canberra |
20 APRIL TO 7 MAY, 2023

Installation view of Yasmin Smith’s
Sediment at Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney.
PHOTO: JACQUIE MANNING. COURTESY: THE
ARTIST AND MOSMAN ART GALLERY, SYDNEY.

216

John Forrester Clack is a Welsh-born painter and mystic who moved to Australia
in the late 1980s and is creating powerful immersive paintings that glow through
an inner luminosity. Sasha Grishin

Kirtika Kain
27 November 2023 – 2024

Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery

8 Soudan Lane
Paddington NSW 2021
Sydney, Australia
+612 9331 1919
roslynoxley9.com.au