The annual, end-of-year group exhibition at Stills Gallery, Sydney, features an interesting and wide-ranging collection of work from five of the gallery’s artists: Gilbert Garcin, Petrina Hicks, Mark Kimber, Marketa Luskacova, and Danielle Thomson. Stills Gallery is one of Australia’s pre-eminent photographic and multimedia art galleries, representing artists living and working both in Australia and [...]
THE WORK OF internationally renowned, Dusseldorfbased photographic artist Elger Esser depict vast landscapes and seascapes that, on first glance, seem void of human existence. On closer inspection, the human mark on the landscape become evident – a rickety pier, a loan ferry crossing the channel, or a single telegraph pole protruding from an otherwise natural [...]
Sam Leach paints to explore his world. He paints to explore his existence, and that of others, within the broader context of life and the universe. Simply put, his paintings explore the notion of what it is to be human. Painting within the framework of history paintings and a still life genre, his landscape and [...]
Del Kathryn Barton paints for herself. Her works are a journey of self exploration without being autobiographical. Dominated by the fantastical, her figures and creatures explore the notion of human honesty, vulnerability and bodily experience. In a time where the digital predominates many facets of our daily lives, Barton is committed to the handmade; the [...]
Ruth Waller’s career as a painter has spanned many decades. Her work has transformed in style and manner as she has borrowed from styles moments in European and western art history but the crux of her paintings remains consistent. For Waller, they’re an exploration of the act of painting and what it is to create [...]
The third edition of the Singapore Biennale (SB2011) opens this March. SB2011’s artistic theme for the Asia-pacific art extravaganza is ‘Open House’, which fits nicely into this magazine—a publication that takes its readers into the often very private studios and spaces of artists from Australia and beyond. The title is conceived not as a theme [...]
Theo Strasser paints on paper. His technique is an organic process of controlled chance. Working in a variety of forms—from large scale abstract works on paper to intimate, handcrafted artist books—his desire to explore the mediums with which he engages is ever evolving. ARTIST PROFILE spoke with Theo as he prepared for his forthcoming exhibition [...]
IN CREATING IMAGINED worlds through 3D modelling software, Italian artist Giacomo Costa uses his artistic practice as a personal reflection on the issues and ethical dilemmas facing humankind. His most recent body of work, Arena, presents a series of abandoned stadiums. Much like the remains of the Roman Coliseum, Costa says his structures “are the [...]
It brings prime ministers to their knees, former Vice-Presidents resurrect careers raising its profile, scientists stake their reputations on predicting its changing state. The environment, global warming, climate change—however it may be defined—is a prominent thought bubble in the global consciousness. It is no surprise, therefore, that a contingent of contemporary artists are also examining [...]
You studied Art History and Theory at College of Fine Arts (COFA), Sydney. Can you tell me about your background, how you started there and how you’ve come to be where you are today working with stone? I was that kid who played in the sandpit. I really did like making objects. It was always [...]
An exhibition of new works by young, unrepresented artists is under construction at Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne. The gallery, usually host to some of the nation’s most respected and lauded artists, has invited a group of 6 young artists to participate in an exciting new group show. All in the throes of building their careers, curator [...]
A great-grandmother is recording the traditions of the Kaiadilt people in northern Australia in paint. An artist, through their work, tells of their connection to something. It can be a political viewpoint, their reaction to other art forms, an expression of their state of mind, or a response to their environment—natural or otherwise. Through their [...]
The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial (APT6) occupies all of the Gallery of Modern Art and key spaces within the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, and features the work of contemporary artists from around the Asia-Pacific and beyond. This triennial is the most ambitious to date. The exhibition presents more than 160 artists from over 25 countries. [...]
Printmaking, as an art form, is often done collaboratively. Artists will tell you the importance of finding a printmaker they can trust. The same need exists for the printmaker—to respect, understand and trust the skills of the artist. Mutual appreciation and aesthetic harmony are at the basis of any collaborative creative relationship. Printmaking gives artists [...]
Steven Vella’s latest body of work is the culmination of gathering and collecting; hoarding and observing; responding and revitalising. The works forming his exhibition The Garden of Natural Wonders at NG Art Gallery, Sydney, give a “second life to discarded objects”. Vella has spent years collecting organic objects from various natural spaces in which he [...]
Inspired by the folk lore tales of Ned Kelly, Johnny Romeo’s exhibition You’ll Never Take Me Alive is an investigation into Kelly’s presence in Australia’s historical fabric and his influence on our national pop culture. Romeo is fascinated by the presence of Kelly as, In Romeo’s words, “a revered Australian icon” but the seeming truth [...]
Annie Aitken came to being an art student later than many. Born in England, where she raised her family, Aitken moved to Australia in the mid-1990s. Beginning her visual arts studies, in her words, opened a pandora’s box, and neither her career progression nor fascination for sculpture have tapered off. Artist Profile met with Annie [...]
Calling herself a “materialist” working in the mixed mediums of drawing, with second hand furs, and high-vis glow materials, Joan Ross plays with the re-telling of history. Her frustration with inexact truths motivates her to connect with her material, using them as a means to question the prejudices she sees in contemporary Australia. Artist Profile [...]
Tasmanian based sculptor Matt Calvert works in the medium of toughened glass, creating large scale figurative silhouettes that piece together memories and objects from his personal history. His unique choice of materials, like his career, came about through chance encounters. Artist Profile discusses with Matt the evolution and expanding nature of his work. I’m interested [...]
Dani Marti works with both video and woven construction to create contemporary portraits. The portraits capture not only an individual, but their inner psyche as well as their relationship and interaction with Marti in a moment of time. Your work is predominately portraiture, albeit a less conventional form of portraiture. You create video portraits as [...]
