the side step....

So... as I was saying the other week, it's the summer season for all the major galleries at the moment, and as they roll out their crowd pleasing exhibitions for locals and tourists alike we are encouraged to use some of our holiday time to get out there and visit these institutions! We may never get the time throughout the year so galleries such as the Art gallery of NSW and the MCA pull out all the stops to create calendars that are jam packed with kids events and holiday workshops to tempt us....


So I thought id do my duty as an art loving sydney sider and pay a visit to the AGNSW this week .... and it did not disappoint! Now I should say first up I didn't get to the big Rupert Bunny bonanza downstairs or even the Indian exhibit 'Garden + Cosmos' located in the beautiful Asian wing... So what pray tell did I get up to while I was there???


Well... I caught up with some older shows that close their doors in the next few weeks...
First up was The Kaldor Projects exhibition that documents the groundbeaking art events that 'The Kaldor Projects' organisation helped to sponsor in Sydney, such as the wrapping of the rocky Little Bay coast line by the amazing Christo & Jeanne -Claude in 1969...


Im sure you would have seen the imagery of this event as it became part of Sydney's folklore -two artists' from America waltzing into sydney to wrap up a section of Sydney's coastline line in blankets and twine...??

Well the Art Gallery has finally created an exhibition to document the crazy projects that this not for profit organisation have helped to produce for well over 40 years now... And as you see from the exhibition on the 3rd floor of the gallery, there were many many great events that occurred with their help. So I had a great stroll through Sydney's art history, pouring over photos, sculptures and video documentation and it was facinating...

But what blew me away was the latest project that is presented to you as you enter the gallery...

Tatzu Nishi's project 'War and Peace and in between' opened at the gallery in October and I had thought I had missed it! So many people commented on how fantastic it was so I was very very happy when I rocked up to the entrance way and found the two imposing installations by Nishi staring me right in the face as walked up the gallery staircase.

What Nishi has done is that he has built two 'faux' rooms - around the two big bronze sculptures by Englishman Gilbert Baynes - that you enter via two big ramps that elevate you up to eye level with these massive sculptures...You sort of get an idea of what the piece is like from the image above but let me tell you its a head spinning experience going into these installations, as you try to work out what is 'real' and what is 'fake'!!....

Worth a quick visit if like me you haven't been to check it out yet...
It's on until Feb 14

Next on the list was the Dobell Prize for drawing 2009 - which I rabbited on to you about when the winner was announced in November! Well I finally checked the show out and it was really great... Every type of drawing genre and media was displayed and many favourites of the drawing scene were there for me to admire and study!!

A favourite and past winner was in the first room - Mr David Fairbairn {above} who is so technically proficient that his work makes me want to sit on a tiny stool and examine like a text book! I am fascinated by his technique and the mood that he creates...and the size!!! Man, I would fit 3 times into one of his drawings!!!

Anyway it was great to catch it before the doors close on Jan 31...

Now for the MCA for its summer specials!!