Sydney Contemporary 2019
Carriageworks
Sydney, Australia
September 12-15, 2019
For the uninitiated: Sydney Contemporary has established itself firmly on the firmament of intercontinental art fairs as the pre-eminent Australasian ones, with more than ninety Australian and international showrooms providing a forum for emissions in a myriad of media from more than four hundred artists from five continents. The art behemoth is embedded in a four-day extravaganza that is spiked with installations, special performances and sustained by artisanal fair.
A highlight of the 2019 incarnation was Tasmanian Patrick Hall holding court with his MONA-esque sculptural installation composed of multiple artworks based on the nursery rhyme ‘…if they should accidentally fall’.
Constructed from recycled materials, LED lights and spirit bottles are serenaded with hypnotic narratives that examine the fact that time flies and trickling hollows out both rock and belief – in essence a testament to human frailty.
Other personal favourites included the analogue photography of Amanda Williams and the faux medieval Tower of Power that offered a birds view of the industrious proceedings underneath.
Japan’s Whitestone Gallery presented not unlike it did in previous years works by renowned artist Yayoi Kusama, COHJU Contemporary Art (Kyoto) and newcomers LOKO (Tokyo) and MA2 (Tokyo).
Sydney’s Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery had an aesthetically powerful offering this year around and APY Gallery showcased intricate artworks from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands of Central Australia, which was complemented by other indigenous art presented by Alcaston, Blackartprojects, Black Square Arts, Cooee Art and Utopia Art Sydney.
Apart from paintings, sculptures, photography and other tried media, Virtual Reality found its incarnation but it was mostly back to small scale decorative art in the cavernous labyrinth that is Carriageworks, which is not a bad thing – au contraire: I have yet to find an art fair that proffers both aficionados as well as the remotely interested with the occasion to mingle with emanating talent and indulge in art of literally all coleur.
