Quilty, winner of the established category was among 19 others, including Rodney Pople and Maria Fernanda, chosen to enter work into the prize. The artist’s work, Dad, explores notions of masculinity, the relationship between father and son and, more broadly, stringent ties to family. Dad, is colour-intense, painterly in nature and evocative in style – in other words, so characteristic of Quilty’s artistic agenda.

Said Kent, “This work presents a surprisingly frank portrait of the artist’s father, seated, with naked torso. In it, Quilty’s interest in masculinity is evident, as is the exploration of family and the father-son relationship. Is the father a willing sitter? I would guess not: his gaze is apprehensive, his eyes slightly averted, his posture pulling back into the chair. At the same time he is vulnerable in his nakedness and advanced age, seated before the scrutiny of the artist, his son.”

Let us not forget however, that this prize is as much about the emerging artists as it is about the established. Kelly Doley, a graduate from the College of Fine Arts, was named winner of the emerging artist category with her work, The Learning Centre: 46 Things Learnt About Humans. Doley’s winning work negotiates painting, performance and installation. Doley is a founding member of Sydney performance collaboration Brown Council.

“Over the past two years, I have undertaken an ongoing investigation into the sorts of principles, objectives and knowledge people uphold in order to find or maintain meaning in their lives. The blackboards are leftover from a lesson on Alchemy and a lesson on Indigenous Nyungar Culture. The book is a collation of everything I have learnt and includes quotes from Anarchists, to Christians, scientists and artists to Life Coaches and Shamans. Some profound, some banal,” said Doley.

Also worth noting is the fact that the prize, for the first time, is being hosted by the National Art School. Perhaps symbolic of the emerging talent the school fosters and of the many artistic greats the school has given birth to, the prize’s venue validates a sense of historical richness – a right of passage to artistic respect and cross-generational interpretation.

The Redlands Art Prize is currently showing at the National Art School Gallery, Darlinghurst, and is running until 2 August.

The board extended its sincere thanks and appreciation to Bill for the 3 years he had been in the chair.

Speaking on behalf of the Board, Ken Fehily said “In his capacity as Chairman, Bill was instrumental in the success of Melbourne Art Fair 2010. His understanding and knowledge of the art world is virtually unrivalled and he has been a great source of support and guidance, and as such we are pleased he will continue to assist the Foundation as a board member and as a member on MAF’s curatorial committee.

Bill said “I resumed the Chairmanship in 2009. In 2010, MAF saw the best Fair yet and in 2011, another highly successful Awards Night, both events under the directorship of Bronwyn Johnson. With MAF poised to embark on an exciting new era with a strong and committed Board, I feel the time is right for me to confidently and proudly step down from the Chair.

“Ken Fehily will be a wonderful new Chair. He is energetic and passionate, is well known and connected to the art world, is a respected businessman and tax expert and was recently appointed by the Victorian Government as Deputy Chair of Places Victoria.”

Newly appointed Chairman Ken Fehily, regarded as one of Australia’s foremost experts and advisers on taxation issues, combines his career with a love for art. Ken and his wife Lisa have been long-term collectors of contemporary art.  And they have established their own contemporary art gallery in Melbourne, promoting the work of established, emerging and international artists.

Ken joined the Board of MAF in 2009.

Ken is also the Deputy Chair of the Places Victoria board, charged with delivering on development and urban renewal targets in Victoria.  He also serves on the board of the National Independent Schools Councils of Australia.

Ken said “I feel very privileged to have been entrusted with the task of building on the significant achievements already made by the MAF in its primary mission, being the support of living Australian artists. MAF makes its contribution by collaborating with and supporting where possible the true believers and participants in the Australian contemporary art scene.

“I have to admit that I am very excited and looking forward to working with the arts community to contribute to our shared cause.

“MAF and I are committed to doing everything we can to assist and support Australian artists and galleries and together drive the success of Australian contemporary art here and internationally.

Exterior of the new MCA on Circular Quay West. Image courtesy Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Photograph: Brett Boardman.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) has been at the centre of one of the art world’s most heated debates: the verdict on the new Mordant Wing of course. It is to be expected that when such an historically rich art museum undergoes a controversial stylistic redevelopment that it be met with flamboyant responses.

In celebration of the MCA’s new wing, we thought it only fitting to join the discussion by imparting our thoughts – both praises and criticisms – on the space itself and the exciting new work housed within it. Let us first however, place the debate within its rightful historical and cultural context.

The MCA opened its doors to the public in 1991 through a bequest by Australian expatriate artist John Power. Nestled on the edge of Sydney Harbour, the sandstone art deco building (formerly the Maritime Services Board headquarters) became the newest host of Australia’s most forward thinking collection of contemporary art.

Emerging at a time when Sydney Harbour was transitioning from a place of commerce and transportation to culture and leisure, the museum encouraged a new way for art to engage with the new multiplicity of meanings in Australian ethnicity.

Perched on a site that constituted the first contact between Indigenous and European peoples as well as the country’s colonial history, the MCA was drenched in historical currency, which with the introduction of the new wing, some believe has come under threat.

Sydney based architect Sam Marshall (in partnership with NSW Government Architect’s Office) has offered up the sparkly new addition that has seen the museum venture into new territory. The new Mordant Wing is clad in glass reinforced concrete panels and recalls the modular design aesthetic so prominent in the 60s.

Known for his award-winning design involving a warehouse conversion in Darlinghurst, it comes as no surprise that Marshall’s architectural language is informed by a dialogue between old and new.

If we agree with former Chief Curator, Bernice Murphy’s proclamation that the old building represents a, “stodgy public mentality of provincial civil architecture,” we should then also be inclined to believe the Mordant Wing to have enhanced the museum’s advocacy of avant-garde architecture.

The facts tell us that the new wing cost $53 million, that it increases the MCA’s total size by almost 50 percent with three new galleries, that there is a Sculpture Terrace and two function rooms on the upper levels of the building, and that it demonstrates the museum’s fondness of furthering artistic education through a National Centre for Creative Learning and networked video conferencing facilities and digital infrastructure.

Housekeeping aside, the new wing has polarised people. Much alike a shoulder-pad for the MCA’s rather banal counterpart, the new wing epitomises the ‘contemporary’, but many beg the question of for just how long? A matter of visual identity, the Mordant Wing’s exterior aesthetic is just one of the architectural markers we should consider when evaluating the museum’s new addition.

When looking at spatial implications of the design, we need to ask whether the new wing enhances the art without overshadowing it. Yes, there is more space, but unfortunately the new galleries don’t feel much bigger, which in turn makes us aware of our circulation throughout the museum. Depending on personal preference, one’s awareness of their own act of ‘gazing’ could detract from the overall experience of what’s on offer by setting back the level of immersion.

Contrary to this, the MCA’s new entrance on George Street is a clear spatial triumph. Entering through the space, which seamlessly connects George Street and the museum’s boisterous Quay side stairs, visitors feel welcomed. The space buzzes with commotion and the MCA’s audience acknowledge their presence in the newly opened wing. Or should the entrance remain central to the overall museum rather than relegated to one side of the old building?

Despite the new wing having divided people, the Mordant Wing in our opinion, successfully fuses the old with the new by forging innovative ways through which audiences can interact with and understand the work on offer. In a turbulent artistic climate, Marshall’s design cleverly distills the MCA’s paradox wherein contemporary art is homed by a building steeped in colonial heritage.

The Mordant Wing signals the MCA’s transformation into a world class institution – an institution with a renewed soul that will no longer be overlooked by large shows who have previously dismissed the space due to its inability to house touring blockbusters adequately.

Share with us your verdict on the new Mordant Wing by leaving a comment.

Michael Zavros has been announced as the first recipient of the Bvlgari Art Award, a joint initiative of the Art Gallery of NSW and Bulgari. The winner, chosen by the Art Gallery of NSW Trustees and the head curator of Australian art, receives a $50 000 painting acquisition and a $30 000 residency in Italy. Michael Zavros is a significant mid-career painter who is exhibited frequently throughout Australia. His work concentrates on themes of beauty, luxury and decadence through depictions of thoroughbred horses, luxurious interiors and gardens. Recently, Zavros has been featured in group exhibitions at the AGNSW, Institute of Modern Art and GOMA, as well as being a four-time Archibald Prize finalist.  Wayne Tunnicliffe, head curator of Australian art says “It has been a priority to acquire a painting by Michael Zavros, a leading contemporary artist for the Art Gallery of NSW. With The Bulgari Art Award the Gallery can now work with Michael Zavros to add an exceptional work to our collection. The inclusion of a residency in Italy as a component of the award will be of great benefit and inspiration to the artist.” Michael Zavros will be presented with the award tonight, Thursday 12 April, at a gala dinner at Guillaume at Bennelong, Sydney Opera House.

The Biennale of Sydney has announced that Judith Wright will feature in this year’s exhibition ‘All Our Relations’ on Cockatoo Island. Wright will present a newly commissioned installation, The Journey, as well as three video works entitled The Stager (2008), The Gift (2008) and Desire (2010). Previously a dancer with the Australian ballet, Wright’s art reflects a strong influence of dance and movement. Her paintings, videos and installations explore the relationship between the body and its external influences, in both psychological and physical dimensions.

Wright’s work is also being displayed in the Museum of Contemporary Art’s exhibition, ‘Volume One: MCA Collection’ opening 29 March. Following an extensive redevelopment, the MCA will reopen bigger and better than ever, with a new floor that will permanently display the MCA collection.

The Biennale of Sydney: ’All Our Relations’ run from 27 June 27 to 16 September.

See Sophie Gannon Gallery’s website, as well as the Biennale of Sydney and MCA site for more details.

The vast desert zones surrounding Broken Hill are isolated from much technology, infrastructure, and creature comforts of an urban lifestyle. The landscape is a foreign beast for those of us from an urban, metropolitan centre. The sky stretches on for a seemingly infinite distance, uninterrupted by manmade structures. The usual hum of a city centre is nonexistent and you’re engulfed in silence. The darkness of the night is a blinding blackness that a city rarely experiences.

On top of these factors, the area is steeped in history for Australia. It has held a significant role in Australian art, painted by the likes of Sam Byrne and Pro Hart, like them or loath them. Indigenous dreamings, passed down over 1000s of years, are marked into the rocks of sacred sites around the area. All this is mind, the area is the perfect location for contemporary Australian artists to reflect on their histories and the context of their role as artists in this country.

We gave them art materials, housed and fed them, and took them on prepared tours with talks from local experts. We extricated them from their usual routines, from the distractions of the everyday, and also their comfort zones. Each confronted the challenge of interpreting Fowlers Gap in artworks in a different way.

In addition to the artists, writer and journalist James Compton and ABC Open producer Sean O’Brien join us on tour. While on site, these two maintained a live blog with video and sound interviews and pictures of the artists working en plein air. Compton spent time with each artist, discussing their experiences in the outback and then followed them home to their studios.

In the issue, Compton chronicles the journey from Sydney’s CBD to Fowlers Gap, the fortnight spent in the outback with the artists, as well as what happened when the artists returned to their respective studios after the tour. The issue strives to give you, the readers, an insight into the artists’ experience of the landscape, how they approached their respective art-making processes and, finally, what they created as a result of this tour. The final stage of this journey will be a public exhibition at Sydney’s S.H. Ervin Gallery, premiering on 24 May this year.

Owl2, Summer Matthews, painted slumped glass

Aboriginal and Greek culture merge in the Koukouvagia: Boobook exhibition, a unique celebration of national diversity as part of the 30th Greek Festival of Sydney. Tali Gallery will play host to works from throughout New South Wales and the Northern Territory, and will include interactive displays at the Darling Harbour launch of the Greek Festival.

Featuring works by established and emerging indigenous artists from a range of backgrounds, the exhibition focuses on the Owl, a significant symbol within both Greek and Indigenous cultures. With numerous communities and cultures constituting the whole in both Greece and Australia, the owl is a resonant icon of commonality, tolerance and unity through which people can relate to each other, a concept that is poignant as ever in contemporary Australia.

Each incarnation of the owl reflects a different interaction with and experience of Indigenous culture and history, in which the individual hand of the artist is evident. The works are presented in a vast array of media including drawings, acrylic and ochre paintings, carved and painted wood and painted tin, that bring an earthiness and tangibility to the rich history from which the stories come. The initiative is a positive step in the journey towards constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, in which support of the arts is vital.

The Koukouvagia: Boobook Exhibition will run from the 2nd to 30th March at the Tali Gallery, Rozelle, with Interactive Displays at the Darling Harbour Launch; 25th and 26th February. See Tali Gallery website for details of associated talks, workshops and events listed under ‘News’.

www.taligallery.com.au

Story by Jillian Grant

Peter Sharp, Moonrise, 2011, oil and acrylic on linen, 150 x 132cm

Peter Sharp travelled to Fowlers Gap, far west New South Wales, as one of the participating artists on our Not the Way Home expedition, which is being documented as a major feature in our next issue. The work produced by each artist will culminate in a major touring exhibition, which launches in May 2012 at Sydney’s S.H. Ervin Gallery and will travel the nation for two years.

In returning to their studios, the artists have been left to their devices to produce a body of work that responds to their personal experience of the landscape, its history and its impressions. In addition to producing the work for the touring show, some artists’ responses to the arid landscape have opened a floodgate of creative output.

Peter Sharp’s newest body of work, on exhibition at Liverpool Street Gallery (Sydney), is the product of 20+ years experience travelling to the outback. A lecturer at Sydney’s College of Fine Arts, Sharp has led numerous student fieldtrips to Fowlers Gap. Not the Way Home presented Sharp the opportunity to participate, rather than lead and instruct, for the first time in his illustrious career, and produce a body of work as he discusses in his artist statement:

“This new body of work is about the relationship I have with the landscape of far western New South Wales near Broken Hill. I have been travelling out there for over 20 Years and these paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints are the first mature works I have made about the arid landscape.

They are not a direct rendering of the place but a reaction and evocation of how I feel and relate to the area. Rather than paint the view I made little sculptures of sampled bits of the landscape, then drew and painted from these constructions.

The pictures may appear abstract but all of them come from drawings made on site and then filtered through various media to explain or question how we see the landscape.”

Peter Sharp, studio, 2011

EXHIBTION

Peter Sharp :: Shadowbox

Julia deVille, Bird or Beast Ostrich skeleton, ostrich feathers, mystic spinel, sterling silver, wood, 192cm (h). Courtesy the artist and Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne

A new gallery recently opened its doors in Sydney last month and tonight is their official launch party. MiCK Gallery launches its inaugural exhibition with a group show of represented artists including Nicholas Blowers, Amelia Disspain, Geoff Dyer, Marise Maas, Jessica Tremp, Michael McWilliams, and guest artist Julia DeVille.

The new gallery, which occupies the historic space of 44 Gurner Street, Paddington, is now in its fifth iteration as an exhibition space. It’s been home to galleries since 1976 and is continuing to house contemporary art under director and dealer Megan Dick.

The new gallery will represent both emerging and mid-career artists across a variety of media and practices with a full schedule of solo exhibitions, commencing with Jessica Tremp in November this year.

EXHIBITION:

Gallery Launch Exhibition, until 20 Nov 2011

MiCK Gallery

44 Gurner Street, Paddington

www.mickthegallery.com

Sam Jinks, Calcium divide, 2011, calcium carbonate resin, 20 x 15 x 17.2cm

A new gallery is making its way to Sydney and opens this week! New Albion Gallery will open its doors to the public with an inaugural solo exhibition by Melbournebased hyper-realist sculpture, Sam Jinks.

The new gallery, which is backed by the owners of auction house Deutscher+Hackett, will open in their exhibition rooms on Oxford Street. Since our latest print edition was published, New Albion Gallery has announced it will be moving into the iconic Paddington Gallery that is currently home to Sherman Contemporary Art Gallery (SCAF) in early 2012 (when SCAF moves to their new gallery on the grounds of UNSW).

Jink’s exhibition is set to impress – the work is intricately beautiful and arrestingly fine in precise detail. His works, created from silicone, firberglass and human hair, blur the lines between the real and the manmade. The illusions, though, do not diminish the visceral power they embody as they are at once gentle, moving objects as they are haunting.

Not having held a solo show in Sydney since 2007, this new body of work adds to the excitement of the New Albion Gallery opening and – in time – revealing the rest of its stable.

EXHIBTION

Sam Jinks