Art Column
Isaac Julien: Once Again… (Statues Never Die)
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024 Art Column,Dr. Albert C. Barnes was one of the greatest art collectors of the 20th century, and one of its most odious personalities. He made his fortune with eyewash – an antiseptic compound called Argyrol. Although he claimed to have invented this wondrous product, in reality he only marketed it. His career could serve as a […]
White Rabbit: Laozi’s Furnace
Monday, October 14th, 2024 Art Column,Transformation is a fundamental goal of art – base materials are transformed into things of beauty, dull objects become receptacles for daring ideas. This process extends from the work to the audience itself. As the poet, Rilke said, the work of art commands us: “You must change your life.” I’m not sure anyone will be […]
Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses
Friday, September 20th, 2024 Art Column,When you’re born in the same town as Hieronymus Bosch, it’s a hard act to follow. In the Prado in Madrid, visitors stand transfixed in front of Bosch’s triptych, The Garden of Earthly Delights (1490-1510), with its outlandish visions of heaven and hell, the former packed with exotic animals, the latter a nightmare scene of […]
Sydney Contemporary 2024
Thursday, September 5th, 2024 Art Column,Sydney Contemporary has quickly found its niche in a city in which the most probing critical analysis of a work of art is usually: “How much did you pay for that?” Variations on a theme include: “Why would anybody pay that much?” and “They must’ve seen him coming.” In Melbourne, art aficianados are more likely […]
Lesley Dumbrell: Thrum
Saturday, August 31st, 2024 Art Column,Patrick Heron, one of Britain’s most prominent abstract artists, told me he lost his job as art critic at The New Statesman for writing too much about “space”. It may have bored the readers rigid, but for Heron, space was a colossally exciting topic. It probably takes an artist to understand the thrill of seeing […]
Hiroshi Sugimoto: Time Machine
Friday, August 23rd, 2024 Art Column,In a career of 50 years, Hiroshi Sugimoto (b. 1948) has worked to quietly and purposefully refute the idea that photography is a “second-class citizen” in the world of art. Although known as a photographic artist, Sugimoto is a polymath, with interests in science, history, philosophy, theatre, architecture and landscape design. He has been a […]
Darwin 2024
Friday, August 16th, 2024 Art Column,Darwin at the beginning of August is one of the essential experiences on the Australian art calendar. The main attraction is the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), often called “the Telstras”, after the major sponsor, but there are enough exhibitions and activities to keep visitors busy for a week. Along with […]
Hadley’s Art Prize 2024
Saturday, August 10th, 2024 Art Column,This year Hadley’s Orient Hotel in Hobart is celebrating its 190th anniversary. An icon of Tasmania’s colonial era, this veteran will never be competing with the more glamorous, expensive establishments that are springing up around town, but it has history on its side. Stay at Hadley’s and you’ll find a plate with a picture of […]
Discovering Ancient Egypt
Saturday, August 3rd, 2024 Art Column,Australia has never seen a better year for “discovering ancient Egypt” – the title of the show at the National Museum of Australia. We’ve had the wildly successful Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs at the Australian Museum; Pharaoh, currently on display at the National Gallery of Victoria; and this large survey from the […]
Six Ways of Looking at Newhaven
Friday, July 26th, 2024 Art Column,Seven years ago, I spent a few days in Newhaven, a property on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, owned and administered by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC). Last week I returned, in company with a group of artists who had seven days to make sketches and observations in preparation for an exhibition in […]