in the Jan/Feb 2019 edition

In this edition we feature the much-anticipated exhibition Desert River Sea: Portrait of the Kimberley, on show at the Art Gallery of WA as part of the Perth Festival. An astonishing six-years in progress, the project is multi-pronged, aimed at building leadership skills, connecting Aboriginal artists with each other and the world, encouraging new ways of making, and in the process setting the framework for a sustainable and independent future for artists and art centres.

The project is the first of its kind in Australia, and the exhibition a major celebration of Kimberley art. Visitors will no doubt be struck by the diversity of styles and the strength of experimental works included in the exhibition.

We provide a guide to the Perth Festival Visual Arts Program, and zero in on London-based Renee So, exhibiting jointly with Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran at Fremantle Arts Centre in Idols. So’s hand-built earthenware sculpture and machine-knitted 2D works have inspiration in ancient civilsations and gender perceptions.

We feature Hyperkulturemia by Andrew Nicholls, also at the Art Gallery of WA, as part of its WA Now series. Inspired by 17th and 18th century Grand Tours of Europe by young men from wealthy families, Nicholls explores one of its outcomes – Stendhal Syndrome, said to be the result of viewing too much art. Nicholls’ figures swoon and collapse in galleries as an ode to Hyperkulturemia, the German term for Stendhal Syndrome.

With Dalí Land – The Exhibition soon to hit Perth, we review Salvador Dalí at Home by Jackie De Burca, published a few months ago in London. Rich with anecdotes and facts about Dalí, the book is perfect for budding or die-hard Dalí aficionados.        

Lyn Di Ciero, Editor

           ARTIST’S CHRONICLE            30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION MARCH 2021