I appreciate the year has well and truly started, but the haze cast by a hot and politically overheated summer continued  far beyond its due by date. So it took me a while to drum up the energy to wander through a handful of Sydney’s galleries. Exhausted from heat and the proposition of ‘alternative facts’, […]

If the 1st exhibition of the twice yearly / 5 year partnership of Anna Schwartz and Carriageworks (Director, Lisa Havilah) is anything to go by, then we’re in for some serious treats. El Anatsui Five Decades is the first exhibition in this partnership and is a must see. This is a significant survey exhibition of […]

Bold. I think that pretty much sums up the attitude to collecting contemporary art. And with being bold comes decisiveness, confidence, an element of risk-taking and a bit of luck. A collection with resonance and cohesion is brought together over time, by looking, thinking, talking through, then taking the plunge and buying. Time builds confidence. […]

There have been significant moments and monuments in recent years which have had tremendous impact on the public perception of the power of contemporary culture. MONA has shifted perceptions of Tasmania in a dramatic way and paved the way for a vibrant and economically sustainable cultural tourism industry. White Rabbit, the privately owned museum of […]

Allow me to make a bold prediction for 2015. As well as the Year of the Sheep(or Goat), 2015 will also be the Year of the Pot, of the ceramic variety. This prediction is not based on a flight of fancy, but on what is happening out there, what is currently on offer and what […]

Unlike the trendy tatt from the local shopping mall, the gift of a memorable work of art will last well beyond the 12 days of Christmas. There have been some worthy exhibitions throughout the year you may have missed this year, some artbooks which you’ve been meaning to read or an arts organisation you’re intending […]

Artist Sarah Robson‘s practice is informed by her wider study into creativity, the core of her research at UNSW Art and Design. She currently has an exhibition on at Manly Art Gallery & Museum which surveys the trajectories of her career. The exhibition was reviewed in the last post on this blog. As an extension of […]

The swimming season for me has just begun and swimming the other day, in my favourite harbour ocean pool, I found myself in a watery green world. I couldn’t see anything (even with the prescription goggles) but green coloured light. I was surrounded by it and suspended in it. I couldn’t feel it, but I […]

It’s not often I agree with art critic John McDonald (sorry John) but this time, I lean towards much of what he said in his recent article on philanthropy published by Raven last week. His comments, though, can be taken further. John’s is more a lamentation on the lack of philanthropy in the visual arts. […]

Last week’s Art Fair in Melbourne brought 70 galleries from around Australia to show some 300 artists to a wider audience. It was an intense concentration of art, artists, collectors and curious onlookers with an extensive program of associated talks, dinners and gatherings, all of which injected a healthy dose of optimism, energy and dollars […]