Category Archives: Australian Art

May 11

Quilty: Sit down bitch. Be humble.

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Ben Quilty is a Top Bloke. On this matter we’re encouraged to agree. From Grandmas to Returned Soldiers and Aid workers, from Prison Wardens to Diplomats, from Refugees to Prime Ministers and Media Moguls, from ambitious artists seeking advice on how to ‘make it’ to Gallery Directors and Trustees, Quilty attracts followers like a God. […]

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June 21

SODA_JERK: Challenging the Status Quo Illusion and Delusion in Australian Film

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‘Change the culture, the stories, change people’s understanding of the world and you will change politics’   Ian Milliss  The air crackles when artists first exhibit work that is joining the zeitgeist. It’s not about who was there or how many of us, it’s about a collective recognition that what has been produced and exhibited has […]

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April 11

Finding the Field

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The NGV need me. Well not me per se, more us. They need our help bless. ‘Do you have a pioneering abstract artwork hanging in your rumpus room or stacked in the garage?’ the NGV pleads via an expensive video callout, infomercial promo-thingo. Riffing off the incredibly popular formula of Antiques Road Show, the NGV […]

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July 06

A Weekend in Sydney: Class and Culture Wars

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    ‘Economics are the method but the object is to change the heart and soul.’ Margaret Thatcher  Everyone loves a weekend in Sydney. It’s always good. Not as good as it used to be, but hey, it’s not Sydney’s fault it’s been transitioned into a nanny state. Getting a drink after 1.30am is now […]

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April 13

Bursting Bill’s Bubble: The Plebs vs. The Poseurs

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Curating art is a profession of exclusion rather than one of inclusion. Not that curating is a competition. No. No wait, it is. Show us ya curatorial umbrella. Not that there’s too many artists (there can never be enough artists, peaches of hope and optimism that we are) sprinkling the fairy dust of hipster gentrification […]

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December 05

Winners are Grinners: The 10th EMSLA Award; Coffs Harbour Regional Art Gallery

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It’s a tough gig being a distinguished judge, but hey! Someone’s gotta do it. Michael Fitzgerald, editor of Art Monthly Australasia, Julie Fragar, celebrated, award winning painter and I judged the $20,000 EMSLA Award in Coffs Harbour the other week. We came together on the land of the Gumbaynggir and pay our respects to the […]

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September 26

Painting. More Painting: Creators versus Producers. Silence kills culture

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If you don’t believe in God, it’s difficult to believe in painting. Most painters self identify as Creators, just like God. Yawn. But what did God ever do for women? Except hold us back. Me, I identify as an artistic Producer, like Mel Brooks. Creators and Producers don’t see eye to eye, their philosophies are […]

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September 01

#art4sale

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Nobody liked the Melbourne International Art Fair. Not till it got canned. Now, we love it. Now we’re remembering the poor old dear rather more fondly, then when it actually existed. Frocking up, fake fur stole slung nonchalantly over one’s shoulders, a touch more war paint applied than is usual. By night’s end, wearing a […]

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June 15

New Kids On The Block: Next Wave Festival

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Watching Orlando (1992), directed by Sally Potter, on Netflix. Quentin Crisp playing Queen Elizabeth I, all done up in her Sunday best, says to Tilda Swinton, playing the young man Orlando: ‘Come. Your handsome leg. For you and for your heirs Orlando, a house. But on one condition. Do not fade. Do not wither. Do […]

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May 20

Art Words: Melbourne Art Book Fair

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Maxine told me on New Year’s Day that I need a new hobby. Other than art: “Look”, she said: “I like art too Mum, it’s just that I don’t feel like I need to talk about it allllll day.” Heeding the advice of the child and knowing she knows me better than I know myself, […]

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