Tag: International artists
Jompet Kuswidananto & Katthy Cavaliere
Thursday, August 25th, 2016 Sydney Morning Herald Column,“Within the crowd there is equality,” wrote Elias Canetti, in his compelling, eccentric book, Crowds and Power (1960). “All demands for justice and all theories of equality ultimately derive their energy from the actual experience of equality familiar to anyone who has been part of a crowd.” Yet within that feeling of equality generated by […]
Art Stage Jakarta
Friday, August 12th, 2016 Sydney Morning Herald Column,For over a decade Indonesia has been the worst-kept secret in contemporary art. The wave has been building and breaking since 1998 when the repressive reign of President Suharto came to an end. Yet the origins of the movement go much further back, before the fragile roots of democracy could take hold. In the past […]
Art Basel Hong Kong 2016
Thursday, March 31st, 2016 Sydney Morning Herald Column,“I hope you enjoy it,” said Marc Spiegler, Global Director of Art Basel, making his usual attempt to convince a cynical group of journalists that Art Basel Hong Kong 2016 was all about art, not money. “Well it seems to get a little better every year,” I replied with cautious optimism. “Oh, I think you’ll […]
Biennale of Sydney 2016
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016 Sydney Morning Herald Column,There’s a lot to like about the 20th Biennale of Sydney, but it isn’t necessarily the art. Curator Stephanie Rosenthal, born in Germany but employed by the Hayward Gallery in London, has proven herself to be one of the most committed of all Biennale directors. Previous incumbents have tended to fly into Australia for quick […]
Perth Festival Art Exhibitions
Friday, March 4th, 2016 Sydney Morning Herald Column,It’s often said that the Perth art scene suffers by its isolation, but nowadays the pain doesn’t seem too intense. In the arts the high point of every year is the Perth International Arts Festival. Of all the festivals that take place in cities around the country, Perth has the best and most dynamic visual […]
Light Show
Saturday, June 13th, 2015 Sydney Morning Herald Column,Mention the Festival of Light in Sydney nowadays and most people will think of Vivid rather than the Reverend Fred Nile’s wowsers. This is only natural, as Sydney has always embraced hedonism more readily than morality. In seven years, Vivid – a festival devoted to “music, light and ideas” – has established a monumental presence. […]
Art Basel Hong Kong 2015
Saturday, March 21st, 2015 Sydney Morning Herald Column,At the Cocktail Reception that followed the Private View of this year’s Art Basel Hong Kong the Swiss luxury brand, Davidoff, was handing out free cigars. It proved a wildly popular giveaway. The entire party, held around the swimming pool of the Grand Hyatt, was wreathed in a fog of cigar smoke. A food queue […]
Gwangju, Busan & SeMA Biennale
Saturday, October 4th, 2014 Sydney Morning Herald Column,In South Korea the word “exhibition” seems to be translated as “biennale”. At the moment the Koreans are hosting at least four biennales, if one includes the Daegu Photography Biennale (until 19 October). Last week I managed to catch the other three, two of which have begun in an atmosphere of high controversy. The most […]
19th Biennale of Sydney (Part 2)
Saturday, April 19th, 2014 Sydney Morning Herald Column,In a dream I’m walking through a vast international exhibition with Juliana Engberg, director of the 19th Biennale of Sydney – You Imagine What You Desire. We both have notepads on which we list those works we find especially interesting. Strangely enough we never stop in front of the same work. The things I like, […]
19th Biennale of Sydney
Saturday, March 29th, 2014 Sydney Morning Herald Column,Biennales thrive on controversy but there is a feeling of unease about this year’s headlines. No-one envisaged artists boycotting the Biennale because the founding sponsor has government contracts to manage detention centres. It was no cause for celebration when Transfield’s Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, one the few dedicated patrons of the arts in corporate Australia, felt obliged […]