Art Column
Archibald Prize 2013: A Preview
Friday, March 15th, 2013 Art Column,In the past it has been relatively easy to pick the painting that should win the Archibald Prize, and then to pick the one that will win it. This time around, I confess I’m all at sea. There is a general feeling among the Art Gallery of NSW staff that this year’s finalists are better […]
Ben Quilty: After Afghanistan
Saturday, March 9th, 2013 Art Column,As Art Month begins, there’s no doubt the most talked-about show in town is Ben Quilty: After Afghanistan, at the National Art School Gallery. If last Saturday’s attendances at this exhibition were of any significance, one might imagine Sydney was infected by a passion for art. Despite the rainy weather a surprising number of people […]
Perth Festival
Saturday, March 2nd, 2013 Art Column,With the mercury touching 40 degrees for days on end, a major attraction of the art component this year’s Perth Festival was its display in air-conditioned rooms. ‘Light’ was the overarching theme of the festival shows, although it was a relief to get out of the glare of the sun into an environment where illumination […]
Turner From the Tate
Saturday, February 23rd, 2013 Art Column,According to J.M.W. Turner, the secret of being a great artist was “damn’d hard work.” This is difficult to argue against, especially when said by a painter whose pictures came to define the Romantic era – that time when artists stopped being seen as tradesmen and aspired to the role of individual genius. Yet Turner […]
Linde Ivimey
Saturday, February 16th, 2013 Art Column,Linde Ivimey is the most conspicuous beneficiary of the Gothic turn that Australian contemporary art has taken over the past few years. A decade ago she was virtually unknown, making a living by sculpting cakes while pursuing sculpture in her spare time. Nowadays her pieces are eagerly sought after by private collectors and public galleries. […]
Song Dong
Saturday, February 9th, 2013 Art Column,There are many ways to make a portrait of one’s mother. Probably the most famous example is James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s painting of his old mum sitting in a chair, looking a stiff as an Egyptian statue. He titled the picture: Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (1875). In Waste Not, one of the […]
J.M.W. Turner: A Preview
Saturday, February 2nd, 2013 Art Column, Art Essays, International Art,“Soapsuds and whitewash,” they said. “Portraits of nothing and very like.” In the manner of the Biblical prophet, not without honour, but in his own country, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) spent his entire career being insulted and derided by British commentators. Although we think of him today as the greatest of all British artists, […]
Candice Breitz: The Character
Saturday, February 2nd, 2013 Art Column,It’s hard to stand out from the crowd in an exhibition such as the Venice Biennale, in which hundreds, possibly thousands of works are competing for the attentions of the cognoscenti. If you manage this feat, your career prospects as contemporary artist take a sharp turn to the north. Candice Breitz was born in Johannesburg […]
Anish Kapoor
Saturday, January 26th, 2013 Art Column,Some artists have greatness thrust upon them, others keep waiting but it never seems to turn up. Even if you are among that select group of the rich and famous, with every museum and collector clamouring for your latest creation, there is no guarantee it will make life easier. Material success has a strange tendency […]
Radiance: The Neo-Impressionists
Saturday, January 19th, 2013 Art Column, International Art,Georges Seurat is a member of that small, unfortunate group of artists who were destined for greatness but died prematurely. When Seurat was carried off by malignant diphtheria in 1891, at the age of 31, modern art lost one of its most remarkable innovators. It is a loss that bears comparison to that of Masaccio, […]