Sydney & International Fashion and Style Blog with photography by Kent Johnson. Travel, Art and Events, Fashion from the Streets and into the Clubs. The lifestyle blog you love to share, Thank you Sydney XX to the world.
Yes it's the last weekend of the 2018 edition of the Head On Photography Festival and the Festival Hub up at Sydney's Paddington Town Hall. Which also means its the last chance to see the exhibitions there and the Semi Finalists on the big screen - including me - or my portrait of Vivienne to be more precise. So you will want to check those shows out ASAP. www.headon.com.au/
Vivienne in Lyon, Semi Finalist Head On Portrait Prize 2018
Also closing this weekend is Set Fire To the Sea Sinead Kennedy's The Pool Grant 2018 Exhibition at special group gallery 270 Devonshire street, Surry Hills. Very interesting show I was hoping to review but have not been back since the opening - fingers crossed to make it back tomorrow!
Street Fashion Sydney had a great time at William Yangs's exhibition launch at Maunsell Wickes but that show is now down; perhaps there is some work in the stock room; great show, there is always something to learn from viewing William Yang's work. Congratulations William.
There is still time to check out the fine art nudes show Tela Umana work by Lori Cicchini and Edmond Thommen at M2 Gallery near Central.
[STOP PRESS] You can also check out Nudes On Tap this Saturday as they hand out the prizes - from 5PM apparently!
Fresh figurative paintings by fresh young painters The Radical Familiar until the 26th so you need to hustle along to Piermarq Gallery
Sarah Cottier Gallery opened CHROMA last night with Maria Cruz, Matthys Gerber, Brendan Van Hek, Jonny Niesche, John Nixon, Andreas Reiter Raabe and Franz West, Oliver Wagner (Photographed) and Jonathan Zawada. Lovely show, check it out! http://www.sarahcottiergallery.com/
Tuesday night I thought I was simply attending the Bob Marchant show at Australian Galleries but it seems we were all crashing his 80th birthday too - congratulations and Happy Birthday Bob! A very joyful and colourful exhibition, part survey show downstairs with new works in the upper gallery. On Now!
Last but not least, blink and you will have missed it - 'Passaggio' Catherine Cloran which was on at Barometer Gallery in Paddington, semi abstract colour works from nature created in the Italian countryside. you can still view the show here on Catherine's website www.catherinecloran.com/Exhibitions/Passaggio/
I mean really what are the chances of seeing two shows, two consecutive nights; both painting and both dealing with the elements of nature, both within a square boundary and both with visually compelling diagonal lines as integral to the compositions?
Adrian McDonald, AHAB:Reading Moby Dick.
I would have said zero chance at all so it looks like I will need to update my art actuarial table for a start. The first show was Adrian McDonald's show AHAB:Reading Moby Dick, and while I was ready for the lines in Adrian's work I was not really expecting the series of grey scale abstractions that are the ground.. or ocean (or whale skin) that the two crossing lines rest upon. Though complex pattern is a kind of leitmotif in much of McDonald's works and one of the great joys when viewing them, I wasn't really expecting a combination quite like this. The following night I found myself at China Heights gallery for Pushing Past by Brooklyn Whelan, his first Sydney solo since Heavy Weather in late 2015. This show quite shocked me though in a positive way. This time it was the addition of a very bold and straight diagonal line punching right through the familiar Whelan cloudscape.
While I am aware that the similarities between the shows are somewhat superficial, it is curious to come across two artists working from very different art backgrounds finding similar resolution, and my finding them one night after the next. So "do yourself a favour;" go check them out; meditative and beautiful to look at. Water, cloud, lines and very tight palettes. Pushing Past is on this weekend only at China Heights Gallery 12 - 5.
AHAB:Reading Moby Dick 30 March 25 April 2017 at Crawford Gallery.
AHAB:Reading Moby Dick - (apologies for the poor image quality).
Is it fashion week still? I do believe so and it is also still Head On Photo Festival time as well; busy busy or what! Anyway here is a super quick blog post literally bristling with Artist at their Art Opening portraits along with some pretty sweet Street Fashion styling to compliment the flow. And a sunset shot of Sydney Tower the tall needle formerly know as Centrepoint. Because I can.. Then over to Stills Gallery for more photography fun! Now both these shows are ON NOW but the Depot Gallery show Coterie closes this weekend, so you better be quick!
Meg Hewitt at Coterie.
Frankie Tsang.
Lynn Smith.
Suellen Symons (on right) and friend at Coterie Exhibition.
Coterie group portrait organised & photographed by by William Yang (left).
Yes that's three galleries on the trot and a lot more than three artists. And as as is often the case, at Roslyn Oxley9 gallery there where two shows, Julie Rrap, Remaking The World and Jacqueline Fraser (pictured immediately below) , The Making of L’Eclisse 2016. Both thought provoking shows but I did love Jacquline's playful approach to Art and FASHION! Did I just scream in all caps, yes I did, the fashion in the art, inspired by the idea of Michelangelo Anonioni's L'Eclisse 1962. Now Antonioni knows a thing or two about the importance of fashion as part of identity himself - Blow-Up, Identification of a Woman.. But I digress, Jacqueline, looked fabulous in her Teddy Girl inspired outfit, thank you so much for the portrait. Everyone reading; go see the show I was too excited to snap the exhibition!
Jacqueline Fraser 'The Making of L’Eclisse
That said I did do some shots of the crowd looking around the Julie Rrap show "Remaking The World", the video above is called 'Double Eclipse, 2015'. Coincidence? Who knows.. What is not a coincidence is the sound, the noise you hear at each and every art opening you attend. If you have never been to an art show you may be quite surprised at just how loud and noisy an art opening can be. Of course if its not noisy no-one is there which is of course a disaster! If you can't make an opening to hear what its like, do not worry I have made two short 40 second videos of the 'Sound of the Art Opening' below. Turn the volume up loud while reading the blog for the full art-show effect - the visuals are simply a bi-product of the device I used to capture the sound.
Judith Wright 'Significant Others' at Jensen Gallery.
If you are so worried you can't even begin to afford a forged Mark Rothko, (well your art priorities are pretty skewed anyway) it might be time to look a little closer to home and into your heart. If there is something I have been concerned about of late it's art being more design, or even worse, clever!!! Whatever happened to the spiritual in art? Jensen Gallery is right in the middle of all the art happening in Hampden Street Paddington, go check it out on the way to Oxley9, Sarah Cottier, Australian Galleries, Martin Browne Contemporary... Judith Wright's large works on paper in 'Significant Others' are probably going to be just your cup of tea.
Alaska Projects on William Street.
Bradley - Looking at art - Alaska Projects on William Street.
Close to the heart of the CBD Alaska Projects, the people who put the art into Kings Cross car park and made it work! Have launched a space on the corner of William and Riley St East Sydney. Bradley who seems to be always there let me grab a shot of him in front of one of the artworks (I will find out who's and credit later). How much better is William Street looking with the Art and Craft initiatives going on, fantastic! Check out my second soundscape video - turn it up loud - Sound of the Art Opening - Alaska on William, enjoy the shots, enjoy the noise, grab a beer or a glass of wine and it's just like being there!
Sometimes your ability to be everywhere you want is destined to be denied you. However on other occasions the art-god smiles and guides you on your way. Thursday night was certainly one such night, and in an evening of compelling art possibilities I was able to make it to five shows which may be a personal best, at least for shows not mostly on the same block, more-or-less.. and I created three artists portraits too! So here's a round up about art last Thursday night.
I know it's unfashionable but the B&D, and S&M scenes have never appealed to me, however I found Sarah Contos's, Total Control show at Roslyn Oxley9 immensely enjoyable. The soft and sometimes hard sculptures and quilts playfully punning on the scene at every turn, or are they? Well worth a look for the use of vintage imagery alone. Thanks Sarah for the portrait and thank you for a great show.
Square Series by Sam Holiday, an immersive art experience also requiring a QR reader, Spotify and of course your 'smart' phone; making the immersive part a bit too clever for me on the night; I will have to return, phone and apps in hand. I wonder what happened to all those portable cassette players the AGNSW used to have for virtual tours?
Speaking of returning to an art show, there was just too much work to see at Frank Ockenfels 3 at Black Eye Gallery and that was not a bad thing at all. I will be back for a slow perusal of all 266 5"x4" Speed Graflex camera portraits. I have always fantasised that a show like this would one day be mine; is it too late! A wonderful show curated by Tom Evangelidis, a selection of nudes by Frank as well as the superb celebrity portraits. A must-see for all people photographers and anyone with an interest in photography, hello picture desks, hello Aussie photo editors.
While chatting with friends at Black Eye we learnt that The (Ray) Hughes Gallery was showing until nine that night, which is of course how I managed to make five. This was my first time going up in the lift at The Hughes Gallery; stepping out on the top floor of that famous Sydney warehouse and art institution, was a beautiful painting show in very attractive gallery rooms. Nick Collerson; Everything Must Go. Sometimes you step into a gallery not knowing what you will be seeing and, although no-one says it, you just go 'oh thank god it's painting' and enjoyable painting at that. Nick's paintings were a perfect end to a highly varied night of art, fresh figurative work with a touch of Hockney in the mix.
And where is the fifth show? it was a group show ‘OUTSIDERS, IMPOSTERS AND ALIENS’curated by Bev Shroot and Louise Thoeming, sorry time did not allow for pictures! On now at http://www.dominikmerschgallery.com/
