Blog – Artists
November: busy time in Naarm / Melbourne's arts scene
13 November 2012
November is a busy time of the year in the Melbourne arts scene:
- graduate exhibitions
- annual exhibitions
- open days
- the commercial galleries leaving the best to last.
Here are a few places to go, places to be seen and exhibitions worth viewing:
Wednesday 14 November 2012
Metro Gallery – E.L.K
Time: 6.30pm to 8.30pm
Where: 1214 High Street, Armadale (view location on Google Maps)
The exhibition will be on until 1 December 2012 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 5.30pm; Saturdays and Sundays, 11am to 5pm)
Friday 16 November 2012
Gertrude Contemporary – Gertrude Studios, 2012
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Where: 200 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy (view location on Google Maps)
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) – Art Bar (special evening of art and live music)
Time: 7pm to 11pm
Where: 111 Sturt Street, Southbank (view location on Google Maps)
Saturday 17 November 2012
Utopian Slumps – Nathan Gray
Time: 4pm to 6pm
Where: 33 Guilford Lane, Melbourne (view location on Google Maps)
The exhibition will be on until 8 December
Australian Tapestry Workshop – Open Day
Time: 10am to 5pm
Where: 262–266 Park Street, South Melbourne (view location on Google Maps)
Monday 19 November 2012
Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) 2012 Graduate Exhibition
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Where: 40 Dodds Street, Southbank (view location on Google Maps)
Thursday 22 November 2012
Centre for Contemporary Photography (CCP) – Kodak Salon
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Where: 404 George Street, Fitzroy (view location on Google Maps)
Saturday 24 November 2012
Craft Victoria – Open Day
Time: 10am to 5pm
Where: 31 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (view location on Google Maps)
Gertrude Contemporary – Open Studios
Time: 1pm to 4pm
Where: 200 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy (view location on Google Maps)
Wednesday 28 November 2012
RMIT 2012 Master of Fine Art Exhibition (view flyer, PDF file, 1 page, 341KB)
Time: 5.30pm to 7.30pm
Where: Building 49, Gossard Project Space, Level C, 67 Franklin Street, Melbourne (view location on Google Maps)
The exhibition will be on until 5 December (Monday to Friday, 11am to 6pm; Saturday, 12pm to 5pm)
Friday 30 November 2012
Australian Print Workshop – Impressions 2012 Fundraiser
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Where: 210 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy (view location on Google Maps)
Melbourne's festival season celebrates the best of art
17 September 2012
Finally the spring sun is shining and it's festival season in Naarm / Melbourne.
Melbourne Fringe Festival 2012 – 26 September to 14 October
It all started in 1982, when the Melbourne Fringe Arts Network was formed, mainly consisting of performance artists supporting independent and experimental events.
Thirty years and some 50,000 artists later, the event focuses its 2012 edition on framing the city's "independent arts culture in all its creative and vital glory." This year the festival celebrates the past and anticipates the future of arts in Naarm / Melbourne.
Free booklets can be obtained at various art shops, cafes and cultural outlets. Tickets can be purchased online at the Melbourne Fringe Festival website.
Melbourne Festival 2012 – between 11 and 27 October
The Melbourne Festival is 17-day marathon of dance, opera, theatre, film, visual art, music, forums and outdoor events.
The artists and performers are hand chosen by Artistic Director, Brett Sheehy, from Australia and around the world.Tickets are available at the Melbourne Festival website and participating venues.
Artery – Did you know about Artery?
Artery is the Australian Council's online source of news and information about artists, events, projects and trends that shape the Australian arts landscape.
Commercial galleries, warehouse space and hotel installation: that's art in Naarm / Melbourne
15 August 2012
Melbourne Art Fair for 2012 has come and gone, and it was a little quieter than its 2010 edition. However, still very successful with $8 million in sales and 27,000 visitors. For the invited commercial galleries, it is a significant investment, not only in time but also dollars.
An event like this can be overwhelming and cause some visual overload. Personally, I prefer exhibitions that are on at the same time as the fair, are free and available to everyone. Not Fair Art Fair Primal Mutation, launching undiscovered and emerging artists curated by Melissa Amore, Ashley Crawford and Sam Leach, was entertaining and a fabulous use of 1000 Pound Bend's warehouse back space. I loved the laneway entry and it was exciting to see such a quirky artistic space in the CBD.
One of my favourite exhibitions was at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins (25 Collins Street, Melbourne; view location on Google Maps). Gosia Wlodarczak was the sixth artist welcomed by the hotel's annual Artist in Residence program.
She has previously exhibited at the Singapore Biennale, the Drawing Centre in New York and at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Brisbane (view image). Over July, Gosia produced a drawing installation on the hotel's lobby windows. Guests were able to watch the artist draw and people were invited to observe her performance.
I first came across Gosia at a performance at Fehily Contemporary in Collingwood. Gosia's drawings are spontaneous and flow freely. The work tells a story, it is an observation of the immediate surroundings.
Unfortunately the window installation is not up anymore, but her exhibition is on at Sofi's Lounge until 8 October 2012.
Should we be upset that a Banksy artwork was destroyed?
18 May 2012
Should we be upset that Banksy's Parachuting Rat was destroyed earlier this week in Prahran?
Many street artists have their worked sprayed over all the time, and there is no public outcry or editorial in the newspapers. Street art has no timeline: it could be up for 5 mins, 5 days or 5 years. To remain untouched, untagged is up to the universe.
It's fabulous that Bansky shared his work and love in Naarm / Melbourne. We are fortunate to have enjoyed the work of this British artist for some years now.
The trade person who drilled into that wall in Prahran probably had no idea or understanding that Bansky is famous and expensive. It is a story in itself. It adds to the history of the wall and the history of what was.
Are we sad that the Bansky was destroyed because it's worth x amount of dollars or are we sad because we lost another Bansky of our walls? Parachuting Rat was the third Banksy destroyed in 2 years – vandals damaged one in Fitzroy in 2011 and council workers painted over another one in Naarm / Melbourne CBD the year before.
This is an interesting debate and, regardless of your opinion, watch Exit Through The Gift Shop: A Banksy Film. It is a must-see documentary.
The (complex) business side of being an artist
26 April 2012
I have met many artists in need of an "agent" – someone to liase between a gallery and the artist, or an opportunity and the artist. As we know, artists are not that interested in the business side of being an artist.
I can understand this. Business is a full-time job. It is difficult to make the work and then negotiate the sale of the work.
However, how do you be an agent and earn an income? This is a tricky question, as artists generally do not have extra cash to pay for a right hand person. It's not only about selling works and receiving a commission. It is about listening, offering advice and giving solutions to the artist, understanding situations and being their voice when the artist is too afraid to speak up.
I have talked to many artists who are with great galleries; however, they do not sell any work. They sold previously to being represented and now are in a situation that seems to be similar to a bad relationship, one that is tired and boring.
I do not normally air my thoughts. However, this month has been about support, care, advice to artists and numerous coffees with them.
Let's stay creative
8 February 2012
Last week I opened Tom Goldner's first solo exhibition, Photo for Freedom.
It was a pleasure to support a talented, ambitious emerging artist with so much energy and determination.
The show is on until 17 February.
YGAP
12–14 Grey Street, St Kilda (view location on Google Maps)
Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm to 7pm
And a friend sent me this today. I love it.
33 ways to stay creative
- make lists
- carry a notebook everywhere
- try free writing
- get away from the computer
- be otherworldly
- quit beating yourself up
- take breaks
- sign in the shower
- drink coffee/tea
- know your roots
- listen to new music
- be open
- surround yourself with creative people
- get feedback
- collaborate
- don't give up
- practice, practice, practice
- allow yourself to make mistakes
- go somewhere new
- watch foreign films
- count your blessings
- get lots of rest
- take risks
- break the rules
- do more of what makes you happy
- don't force it
- read a page of the dictionary
- create a framework
- stop trying to be someone else's perfect
- got an idea? write it down
- clean your workspace
- have fun
- finish something
A complete, resolved and conceptually clear show in Fitzroy
7 December 2011
Mum's the Word is the latest exhibition by Melbourne-based artist Catherine Bell at Sutton Project Space in Fitzroy.
As soon as I walked into Sutton Project Space, I felt that I was back in New York City.
You could feel the streets of NYC, the air, the energy, and the hustle and bustle.
At first, the large pinned black and white photographs by Catherine Bell look to be mums with their children crossing the busy streets. On closer inspection you realise that these women do not belong to these babies and children. They are the hired help; they are the African American nannies that often go unmentioned and unrecognised.
"Bell builds on her longstanding interest in motherhood, surrogacy and deviant maternity, and also presents new ideas relating to the per formative nature of public space."
It's the first time in a long time that I've walked into a show at Sutton Project Space and felt the exhibition was complete, resolved and conceptually clear. The photographs are not technically outstanding; they don't need to be as Bell has produced a very tight and balanced show.
Sutton Project Space
230 Young Street, Fitzroy (view location on Google Maps)
Friday and Saturdays only, 1pm to 5pm
Until 17 December
Wow factor art in Naarm / Melbourne
10 November 2011
The problem, if it is a problem, with travelling overseas – especially to see a Biennale – is that you are spoilt with an abundance of art.
I have come back to Melbourne in search of the wow factor and so far this is my list:
Murray White Room
Sargood Lane (off Exhibition Street, between Flinders Lane and Flinders Street), Melbourne
Transfer Stations by Mira Gojak
Exhibition runs until 19 November
Tuesday to Friday, 11am to 6pm, and Saturday, 12pm to 4pm
- Great to walk into Murray White Room and see 2 fabulous installations.
- The 2 works occupy the space perfectly and I love the use of various materials, lines, dimensions and colours.
- The works are technical, beautiful and should be in a fabulous foyer somewhere!
Lamington Drive
15–25 Keele Street, Collingwood (view location on Google Maps)
Page Girls by Kat Macleod
Exhibition runs until 19 November
Wednesday to Friday, 11am to 6pm, and Saturday, 12pm to 5pm
- The cardboard gallery continues with great works by artists/illustrators.
- The unique states by Kat Macleod are worth buying if there are any left.
- Otherwise you can buy a digital print or the book!
Mailbox 141
Entrance, 141–143 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (view location on Google Maps)
The Wonderful House by Owen Hammond
Exhibition runs until 2 December
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and Saturday, 10am to 5pm
- Incredible houses occupy 14 mailboxes at Mailbox 141.
- Owen Hammond's works are crafted to perfection and are fascinating.
- The exhibition asks us about where do we live, what type of house do we occupy, what goes into our house.
walk-to-art Venice: 6 days of opulent space and art, 2 outstanding artists
25 October 2011
walk-to-art has just taken a group to La Biennale di Venezia – 54th International Art Exhibition – the first walk-to-art Venice.
Before I left for Italy I had a few people informing me that this year's Biennale was not very good, others saying that it was fabulous.
Well, I must say it was amazing. It was great on so many levels and not just for the art.
For 5 months every second year, Venice is transformed. For the art lover it is an abundance of opulent space and art in museums, disused buildings and of course the main arena's the Giardini and Arsenale.
During our time there every afternoon was dedicated to art and prosecco at 5pm... perfect. The mornings were for the early walks before the crowds and cruise ships started rolling in.
I've been back under a week and, after seeing a lot of art, I am still thinking about a few of the outstanding pieces:
- The most outstanding artist was Anish Kapoor, who is based in London.
- The most outstanding pavilion was the French one hosting Christian Boltanski.
Ascension by Anish Kapoor is located in the magnificent Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore.
"Ascension is a site-specific installation that materializes the paradox of the column of smoke: a vortex of white smoke rises from a circular base."
The feeling was one of enlighten, spirituality and peace. At first it appears to be lifeless, but with further attention a "tornado" swirl of smoke slowly rises to the top and disappears into the suction of the exhaust fan.
The space, the religious aspect, the technical difficulties, the concept is all outstanding. This is an installation that captured the audience emotionally, conceptually and technically.
Unfortunately for me the Australian pavilion was disappointing. However, next-door was a perfectly sharpened exhibition by Christian Boltanski representing France.
Christian Boltanski, a leading figure in the international art scene, featured a spectacular installation entitled "Chance."
"Chance" marks an important stage in the evolution of Christian Boltanski's work. Unlike the rest of his art, which is dominated by disappearance and death, here he opens himself up to a broader examination of fate. The unfolding of life and the rhythm of births and deaths raise the question of the universal and the individual in a new form, of what distinguishes one being from another.
Far from being grim, the ambience here is welcoming. Even though the brutality of an industrial and mechanical system serves thwarts the building's neoclassical harmony, here filtered light illumines the faces of newborns.
The sheer mechanical sound, install and the interaction aspect was outstanding and engaging. It was great to watch children get involved and excited.
Art is to speak to all and especially at the Biennale, where there are so many people from all walks of life. Both Kapoor's and Boltanski's works were successful because they achieved and produced work that was of an outstanding level.
Getting ready for Venice
9 September 2011
I have many friends on the way or on their return from La Biennale di Venezia – 54th International Art Exhibition, the oldest biennale in the world.
As for me, I have spent the last few days writing the info pack that will be sent to all the participants heading to walk-to-art Venice, between 10 and 16 October.
There's so much to see, not only in the main areas, such as the Giardini and Arsenale, but also in the buildings scattered throughout Venice and the islands.
It is important to travel and view art on an international level. It's exciting to view new spaces, art in different spaces and art that is contributing to our environment politically, socially and culturally.
Established in 1895, the Venice Biennale (La Biennale di Venezia) remains as the most important and prestigious event on the international contemporary visual arts calendar.
The Australian Pavilion is positioned within the Biennale Gardens (Giardini di Castello). The pavilion was designed by renowned Australian architect Philip Cox and opened in 1988. It was gifted to the Commonwealth Government and is currently managed by the Australia Council for the Arts.
Australia's official representation for the Venice Biennale 2011 will feature artist Hany Armanious. This exhibition will be curated by Anne Ellegood, who is based in Los Angeles at the Hammer Museum.
walk-to-art's artist in residence 2011: Daniel Anderson">walk-to-art's artist in residence 2011: Daniel Anderson
12 August 2011
Once a year walk-to-art invites an artist from New York City to participate in the walk-to-art residency program. The program consists of 2 months in Naarm / Melbourne, with accommodation, studio and exhibition space provided.
In 2011 walk-to-art's artist in residence is Daniel Anderson.
Anderson's art is influenced by surrealism, cubism and futurism. Motion, energy, push and pull are constant repeated elements in his work.
After creating a new body of work whilst residing in Naarm / Melbourne, he will be exhibiting at Work Space Gallery between 20 and 26 August (the opening will be on Saturday 20 August from 2pm to 4pm).
Murray Arts and South West Arts Inc. have also supported Anderson in a recent regional tour.
The idea of the residency program is to offer a life changing experience. It is not necessarily about the work or the exhibition; it is about growing, learning and being in a new environment.
The experience will offer new ideas and possibly allow the artists to move through any blockages that may be occurring. The breakthrough may not happen until after they return home. walk-to-art provides, facilitates and "joins the dots".
Work Space Gallery
13 Glasshouse Road
Collingwood VIC
Wednesday to Friday, 11am to 4pm (or by appointment)
20 to 26 August 2011
365 days weeping, crying and shedding tears
15 June 2011
Travelling takes you to places and gives you experiences that you may never have at home. Maybe it is because you go searching for that something to excite you.
As I spend my last few days in New York, I write about the artist who has ignited yet again my love for beautiful photography: 35-year-old New York City based photographer and video artist Laurel Nakadate.
I was introduced to Nakadate at MoMA PS1 whilst researching for walk-to-art New York. Excitement filled the air as I very happily sat and watched video work and engaged in the stills that covered the walls.
Nakadate's work is soft, with 1970′s coloring and beautifully shot. The exhibition at MoMA PS1, Laurel Nakadate: Only the Lonely, brings together bodies of work over a 10-year period.
These works touch:
- voyeurism
- loneliness
- the manipulative power of the camera
- the urge to connect with others.
I feel very lucky as not only is Nakadate showing at MoMA PS1 (until 8 August 2011), but also at Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects. 365 Days: A catalogue of Tears and Lost Party Guest is on until 25 June 2011.
This body of work is a visual diary of Nakadate photographing herself over 365 days weeping, crying and shedding tears.
"Nakadate's year of suffering, her calendar, her breviary, is a recognition of a shared language of regret that yokes us together, therefore, and a recognition that this regret and loss are somehow beautiful, no matter how they look."
It has been wonderful to discover Nakadate's work. The beauty, discipline and passion are evident.
I am very happy that Nakadate cried for 365 days of 2010.
MoMA PS1
22–25 Jackson Avenue at the intersection of 46th Avenue (view location on Google Maps)
Long Island City, NY
Thursday through Monday, 12pm to 6pm
Until 8 August 2011
Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects
535 West 22nd Street (view location on Google Maps)
New York, NY
Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm
Until 25 June 2011
Into the Dark: memory, moments, relationships
17 May 2011
It has been such a pleasure to follow Bonnie Lane's journey as an artist in the last 4 years. I discovered Lane's work in 2007 at Platform artist run initiative.
I suppose what I was attracted to was not only the concept of her video installation, but her drive, focus and ability to engage in conversation.
To me, Lane is an old soul and her work is about:
- memory
- moments
- childhood
- adulthood
- personal relationships.
Her work has grown from strength to strength. Lane is a clear example of an achiever, someone who has an idea or goal and makes it happens. Whether it's travelling to Berlin, completing her masters or fine-tuning her video installation work.
Lane has also been very successful in receiving grants, and this current body of work, Into the Dark, is supported by the City of Melbourne through the Arts Grants Program. Into the Dark is showing at BUS Projects Gallery, basement level, Donkey Wheel House, 673 Bourke Street, Melbourne (view location on Google Maps).
BUS Projects Gallery is located in an incredible basement, and I have seen shows there that have completely used the space to their advantage and others that have not been so successful.
Into the Dark works so well at BUS Projects Gallery. Lane has made the work for the space, and the darkness, coldness and narrow pathways add to the viewer's experience.
Lane's work clearly is about the light, repetition and reframed memories. The most haunting piece would have to be the "girl skipping" – tucked away in a small alcove, the continuous loop of a girl facing away from the viewer and continual skipping allows us to reflect and remember our own childhood memories, lost or forgotten.
BUS Projects Gallery
Donkey Wheel House
673 Bourke Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Wednesday to Saturday, 12pm to 6pm
Until 28 May 2011