Back issues
Issue 38
oct - dec 2006
UPFRONTCollaborations in the immaterialArtist group collaborations are a form of art making often adopted in opposition to the art market. Andrew Frost notes an upsurge in their number internationally coinciding with the recent unprecedented expansion of the art market. He takes a look at the imaginative projects of three home-grown groups.Rare privilegesInvitations to visit artists at their studios are highly valued by collectors but rarely extended by dealers. According to Carmel Dwyer these intimate encounters are loaded with the potential to become uncomfortable.
Crossing the divideTerry Ingram gathers evidence of a growing list of artists once rejected by the art establishment who are now being taken seriously.Record attendances at art fairsWith attendance up more than 20 per cent over the last fair, the 2006 Melbourne Art Fair was the most successful yet. Carmel Dwyer speaks to art consultants about how it stacks up against the world's most important art fairs.
Australian art - it’s an Aboriginal thingSusan McCulloch spoke to Ashley Crawford about the latest edition of McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art and the particular challenges the well-respected directory inevitably throws up.The stuff that surrounds usOver here to promote his latest book The Architecture of Happiness, British pop philosopher Alain de Botton spoke to Jo Higgins about the psychological and emotional results of surrounding ourselves with particular objects. Whether those objects are works of art or architecture, the consequences are always profound.
All that big art out thereHigh expectations were held for Tim Klingenger's 10th annual aboriginal art auction for Sotheby's but the results were underwhelming. According to Carmel Dwyer the figures only tell part of the story.Features
Cover artists: Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy: Home and AwayThey may live out of a suitcase but Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy work on a monumental scale, whether it’s pulling down houses or driving an army tank onto a Sydney headland. Edward Colless gets caught up in the action.
Artist: Bernhard Sachs: A space of lostnessBernhard Sachs carries the history of painting around in his head; a museum of images he draws upon for his own work. He spoke to Ingrid Periz.Artist: Del Kathryn Barton’s heavy pettingDel Kathryn Barton’s sexy portraits of girls with animals can be quite explicit, but Edward Colless says there’s even more to them than meets the eye. Photography by Stephen Oxenbury.
Artist: Richard Bell’s PsychoanalysisIs Richard Bell thinking that he wouldn’t exist as an “Aborigine” outside the white gaze which grants him identity? Rex Butler interprets the artist’s aphorisms.Artist: Nick Mangan: Seriously unnervedStill recovering from his recent trip to Arnhem Land, Nick Mangan spoke to Ashley Crawford about his reverse culture shock and its impact on his latest work.Artist: Hany Armanious: In the heart of the woodThere’s an undeniable beauty in much of Hany Armanious’s work but, writes Andrew Frost, the magic he conjures is not Disney-esque.Artist: Vicki Varvaressos: Spaces of the psycheOver the course of a 30-year painting career Vicki Varvaressos’s concerns have ranged from mass media representations of gender to a more private interiority. The artist spoke to Ingrid Periz.Dealers: Bill and Anne Gregory: Mixing it upDepending on your view the line-up at Annandale Galleries in Sydney is either eclectic and exciting or confusingly mixed. Either way, Carmel Dwyer says that Bill and Anne Gregory are succeeding at placing their artists in a global and memorable context.Collector: Andrew Cameron: Relaxed & confidentAndrew Cameron’s introduction to the art world was 20 years ago when he bought his first work. Today he is one of this country’s most important and valued benefactors and ambassadors for the visual arts. He spoke to Carmel Dwyer about his own collection.
EVERY ISSUEDossier: Fred Cress figured it outWithin 10 years of arriving in Australia Fred Cress went from being an artist with a chip on his shoulder who couldn’t find a gallery to being one of the most successful painters of his generation. He told Sasha Grishin that was the easy part.Deal me in: Dude, where’s my art?Neon Parc’s founders and directors Geoff Newton and Tristian Koenig spoke to Ashley Crawford about the gallery’s sudden impact on the Melbourne scene.
Printmaker: Geraldine BerkemeierIn Sydney-based artist Geraldine Berkemeier's most successful prints she captures a moment of transition, writes Sasha Grishin.