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The Advertiser
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Never-before-seen Margaret Preston artworks go on show
Two recently discovered paintings by one of Australia's most significant artists are going on show to the public for the first time. Margaret Preston is best known for her distinctively Australian still lifes and printmaking, but while based in Ireland during World War I, she painted two post-Impressionist views of the coast. The oil paintings were held in a private collection in Britain, and even art scholars specialising in Preston's work were unaware the paintings existed, according to Art Gallery of South Australia curator Tracey Lock. The paintings will finally go on public display as part of Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890–1940, currently on at the Art Gallery of South Australia, before opening at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in October. The exhibition is a joint project by both galleries, with art from their collections making up about half the works on show - what's more, the galleries have acquired one of the Preston paintings each. With 50 artists and 220 artworks, Dangerously Modern is billed as the first major exhibition to explore the role of Australian women in modernism internationally. At the turn of the 20th century, waves of women artists left Australia to work overseas, in defiance of social expectations at the time. Not only did these artists contribute to the development of modernism in Europe, they returned home with fresh ideas that helped modernise Australia too. The exhibition title comes from an article by artist Thea Proctor, who returned from London to Sydney in 1921 to find her art described as "dangerously modern". The show also includes work from the likes of Nora Heysen and Grace Cossington Smith, but there are names that are less well known, such as Justine Kong Sing and Stella Marks. Many trailblazing women artists were successful during their lifetimes, only to find themselves written out of art history in the postwar period, said Lock. "Almost overnight - bam! They are erased from the record," she said. Dangerously Modern is no less than an effort to bring these artists back into the historical narrative - and a 65,000-word catalogue with essays from 29 art scholars should help. Lock believes part of the reason women have been left out is that Australian art history (and those writing it) did not value the themes these artists were exploring at the time. Rather than the usual tenets of light, landscape and national identity, women artists such as Anne Dangar were exploring notions of spiritualism, for example. "Our women get lost, they get a bit stuck in some blind spot in Australian art, we don't know what to do with them," said Lock. "Frankly, it's time to change, and show the power of this work." While Australia's state galleries regularly loan works, they do not often collaborate on the design and concept of a show. But when AGNSW and AGSA realised they were preparing similar exhibitions, they decided to work together. There are Sydney artists such Proctor, Dangar and Cossington Smith, as well as Grace Crowley, while South Australian names include Dorrit Black along with Heysen and Preston. "Maybe it's in the water or something, but it turns out Adelaide has produced a number of very talented modern women artists," said Lock. Dangerously Modern is on at the Art Gallery of South Australia until September 7 and will show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from October 11 until February 2026. Two recently discovered paintings by one of Australia's most significant artists are going on show to the public for the first time. Margaret Preston is best known for her distinctively Australian still lifes and printmaking, but while based in Ireland during World War I, she painted two post-Impressionist views of the coast. The oil paintings were held in a private collection in Britain, and even art scholars specialising in Preston's work were unaware the paintings existed, according to Art Gallery of South Australia curator Tracey Lock. The paintings will finally go on public display as part of Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890–1940, currently on at the Art Gallery of South Australia, before opening at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in October. The exhibition is a joint project by both galleries, with art from their collections making up about half the works on show - what's more, the galleries have acquired one of the Preston paintings each. With 50 artists and 220 artworks, Dangerously Modern is billed as the first major exhibition to explore the role of Australian women in modernism internationally. At the turn of the 20th century, waves of women artists left Australia to work overseas, in defiance of social expectations at the time. Not only did these artists contribute to the development of modernism in Europe, they returned home with fresh ideas that helped modernise Australia too. The exhibition title comes from an article by artist Thea Proctor, who returned from London to Sydney in 1921 to find her art described as "dangerously modern". The show also includes work from the likes of Nora Heysen and Grace Cossington Smith, but there are names that are less well known, such as Justine Kong Sing and Stella Marks. Many trailblazing women artists were successful during their lifetimes, only to find themselves written out of art history in the postwar period, said Lock. "Almost overnight - bam! They are erased from the record," she said. Dangerously Modern is no less than an effort to bring these artists back into the historical narrative - and a 65,000-word catalogue with essays from 29 art scholars should help. Lock believes part of the reason women have been left out is that Australian art history (and those writing it) did not value the themes these artists were exploring at the time. Rather than the usual tenets of light, landscape and national identity, women artists such as Anne Dangar were exploring notions of spiritualism, for example. "Our women get lost, they get a bit stuck in some blind spot in Australian art, we don't know what to do with them," said Lock. "Frankly, it's time to change, and show the power of this work." While Australia's state galleries regularly loan works, they do not often collaborate on the design and concept of a show. But when AGNSW and AGSA realised they were preparing similar exhibitions, they decided to work together. There are Sydney artists such Proctor, Dangar and Cossington Smith, as well as Grace Crowley, while South Australian names include Dorrit Black along with Heysen and Preston. "Maybe it's in the water or something, but it turns out Adelaide has produced a number of very talented modern women artists," said Lock. Dangerously Modern is on at the Art Gallery of South Australia until September 7 and will show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from October 11 until February 2026. Two recently discovered paintings by one of Australia's most significant artists are going on show to the public for the first time. Margaret Preston is best known for her distinctively Australian still lifes and printmaking, but while based in Ireland during World War I, she painted two post-Impressionist views of the coast. The oil paintings were held in a private collection in Britain, and even art scholars specialising in Preston's work were unaware the paintings existed, according to Art Gallery of South Australia curator Tracey Lock. The paintings will finally go on public display as part of Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890–1940, currently on at the Art Gallery of South Australia, before opening at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in October. The exhibition is a joint project by both galleries, with art from their collections making up about half the works on show - what's more, the galleries have acquired one of the Preston paintings each. With 50 artists and 220 artworks, Dangerously Modern is billed as the first major exhibition to explore the role of Australian women in modernism internationally. At the turn of the 20th century, waves of women artists left Australia to work overseas, in defiance of social expectations at the time. Not only did these artists contribute to the development of modernism in Europe, they returned home with fresh ideas that helped modernise Australia too. The exhibition title comes from an article by artist Thea Proctor, who returned from London to Sydney in 1921 to find her art described as "dangerously modern". The show also includes work from the likes of Nora Heysen and Grace Cossington Smith, but there are names that are less well known, such as Justine Kong Sing and Stella Marks. Many trailblazing women artists were successful during their lifetimes, only to find themselves written out of art history in the postwar period, said Lock. "Almost overnight - bam! They are erased from the record," she said. Dangerously Modern is no less than an effort to bring these artists back into the historical narrative - and a 65,000-word catalogue with essays from 29 art scholars should help. Lock believes part of the reason women have been left out is that Australian art history (and those writing it) did not value the themes these artists were exploring at the time. Rather than the usual tenets of light, landscape and national identity, women artists such as Anne Dangar were exploring notions of spiritualism, for example. "Our women get lost, they get a bit stuck in some blind spot in Australian art, we don't know what to do with them," said Lock. "Frankly, it's time to change, and show the power of this work." While Australia's state galleries regularly loan works, they do not often collaborate on the design and concept of a show. But when AGNSW and AGSA realised they were preparing similar exhibitions, they decided to work together. There are Sydney artists such Proctor, Dangar and Cossington Smith, as well as Grace Crowley, while South Australian names include Dorrit Black along with Heysen and Preston. "Maybe it's in the water or something, but it turns out Adelaide has produced a number of very talented modern women artists," said Lock. Dangerously Modern is on at the Art Gallery of South Australia until September 7 and will show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from October 11 until February 2026. Two recently discovered paintings by one of Australia's most significant artists are going on show to the public for the first time. Margaret Preston is best known for her distinctively Australian still lifes and printmaking, but while based in Ireland during World War I, she painted two post-Impressionist views of the coast. The oil paintings were held in a private collection in Britain, and even art scholars specialising in Preston's work were unaware the paintings existed, according to Art Gallery of South Australia curator Tracey Lock. The paintings will finally go on public display as part of Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890–1940, currently on at the Art Gallery of South Australia, before opening at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in October. The exhibition is a joint project by both galleries, with art from their collections making up about half the works on show - what's more, the galleries have acquired one of the Preston paintings each. With 50 artists and 220 artworks, Dangerously Modern is billed as the first major exhibition to explore the role of Australian women in modernism internationally. At the turn of the 20th century, waves of women artists left Australia to work overseas, in defiance of social expectations at the time. Not only did these artists contribute to the development of modernism in Europe, they returned home with fresh ideas that helped modernise Australia too. The exhibition title comes from an article by artist Thea Proctor, who returned from London to Sydney in 1921 to find her art described as "dangerously modern". The show also includes work from the likes of Nora Heysen and Grace Cossington Smith, but there are names that are less well known, such as Justine Kong Sing and Stella Marks. Many trailblazing women artists were successful during their lifetimes, only to find themselves written out of art history in the postwar period, said Lock. "Almost overnight - bam! They are erased from the record," she said. Dangerously Modern is no less than an effort to bring these artists back into the historical narrative - and a 65,000-word catalogue with essays from 29 art scholars should help. Lock believes part of the reason women have been left out is that Australian art history (and those writing it) did not value the themes these artists were exploring at the time. Rather than the usual tenets of light, landscape and national identity, women artists such as Anne Dangar were exploring notions of spiritualism, for example. "Our women get lost, they get a bit stuck in some blind spot in Australian art, we don't know what to do with them," said Lock. "Frankly, it's time to change, and show the power of this work." While Australia's state galleries regularly loan works, they do not often collaborate on the design and concept of a show. But when AGNSW and AGSA realised they were preparing similar exhibitions, they decided to work together. There are Sydney artists such Proctor, Dangar and Cossington Smith, as well as Grace Crowley, while South Australian names include Dorrit Black along with Heysen and Preston. "Maybe it's in the water or something, but it turns out Adelaide has produced a number of very talented modern women artists," said Lock. Dangerously Modern is on at the Art Gallery of South Australia until September 7 and will show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from October 11 until February 2026.
Perth Now
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Never-before-seen Margaret Preston artworks go on show
Two recently discovered paintings by one of Australia's most significant artists are going on show to the public for the first time. Margaret Preston is best known for her distinctively Australian still lifes and printmaking, but while based in Ireland during World War I, she painted two post-Impressionist views of the coast. The oil paintings were held in a private collection in Britain, and even art scholars specialising in Preston's work were unaware the paintings existed, according to Art Gallery of South Australia curator Tracey Lock. The paintings will finally go on public display as part of Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890–1940, currently on at the Art Gallery of South Australia, before opening at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in October. The exhibition is a joint project by both galleries, with art from their collections making up about half the works on show - what's more, the galleries have acquired one of the Preston paintings each. With 50 artists and 220 artworks, Dangerously Modern is billed as the first major exhibition to explore the role of Australian women in modernism internationally. At the turn of the 20th century, waves of women artists left Australia to work overseas, in defiance of social expectations at the time. Not only did these artists contribute to the development of modernism in Europe, they returned home with fresh ideas that helped modernise Australia too. The exhibition title comes from an article by artist Thea Proctor, who returned from London to Sydney in 1921 to find her art described as "dangerously modern". The show also includes work from the likes of Nora Heysen and Grace Cossington Smith, but there are names that are less well known, such as Justine Kong Sing and Stella Marks. Many trailblazing women artists were successful during their lifetimes, only to find themselves written out of art history in the postwar period, said Lock. "Almost overnight - bam! They are erased from the record," she said. Dangerously Modern is no less than an effort to bring these artists back into the historical narrative - and a 65,000-word catalogue with essays from 29 art scholars should help. Lock believes part of the reason women have been left out is that Australian art history (and those writing it) did not value the themes these artists were exploring at the time. Rather than the usual tenets of light, landscape and national identity, women artists such as Anne Dangar were exploring notions of spiritualism, for example. "Our women get lost, they get a bit stuck in some blind spot in Australian art, we don't know what to do with them," said Lock. "Frankly, it's time to change, and show the power of this work." While Australia's state galleries regularly loan works, they do not often collaborate on the design and concept of a show. But when AGNSW and AGSA realised they were preparing similar exhibitions, they decided to work together. There are Sydney artists such Proctor, Dangar and Cossington Smith, as well as Grace Crowley, while South Australian names include Dorrit Black along with Heysen and Preston. "Maybe it's in the water or something, but it turns out Adelaide has produced a number of very talented modern women artists," said Lock. Dangerously Modern is on at the Art Gallery of South Australia until September 7 and will show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from October 11 until February 2026.
Time Out
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
I live in one of the world's best cities for culture right now – and this is what it's really like
Last week Time Out named Sydney the fifth top city in the world for culture, up there with Paris, Florence, Edinburgh and Mexico City, which took spots one to four in Time Out's 2025 list of the World's Best Cities for Culture Right Now. 'Right now' is the operative phrase. Of course Sydney doesn't have historic landmarks like the Louvre or Michelangelo's David. But the Emerald City is finally breaking free from its all-looks, no-brains reputation, thanks to a load of work that's gone into making Sydney a more vibrant city, and this result reflects that it's actually beginning to pay off. After the announcement, NSW Minister for the Arts, Music and the Night-Time Economy, John Graham, MLC, then weighed in, citing some of the factors that have helped 'bring Sydney back to life'. '[It's] involved cutting lots of red tape that was holding back small venues through to large cultural events," he says. Just some of those red-tape slashes have included the introduction of Special Entertainment Precincts, where venues and patrons can make noise into the night; increased incentives for venues to host live music; the extension of venue trading hours; and the removal of some outdated rules like the no-standing-while-drinking rule, the 5km-radius-sign-up rule at clubs and the concert cap on stadiums. Sydney has definitely lost some of the wowser in the last couple of years. I've lived in Sydney my whole life, so I've witnessed Sydney's ongoing cultural evolution first-hand. And, as Editor in Chief of Time Out in Sydney, Melbourne and across Australia – a job that has me going out for a living – I have a really good grip on this city's arts and cultural landscape. So while there's a whole lot of noise from people who think 'Sydney is dead/has no nightlife/it's too expensive for culture to thrive', if you go out like I do all the time, you'll find these things aren't actually true. It's a narrative that gained legs during lockdown, and those legs have stamina. So what will those who peel themselves off the couch find when they head out in Sydney? Visual arts in Sydney: To start with the expensive part, you can get your hit of art for free all over the city. The Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW) is free to enter (you only have to pay for particular exhibitions), including the new Naala Badu gallery (the modern-art-focused North Building). (The AGNSW also runs nighttime happenings like Art After Hours, while the MCA does Artbar.) Speaking of new stuff, there's also the new Artspace, which is both a studio for young artists to practice their stuff, and a gallery of free exhibitions. The ground-breaking White Rabbit Gallery 's exhibitions are always free; and out west, the huge Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (both a producer and presenter of the arts) is free to enter, with most exhibitions also free. That doesn't take into account hundreds of small art galleries dotted around Sydney, which are free to check out, and free to rock up to for opening-night drinks (just get on the gallery lists to be notified about when they are). To find out about loads more awesome Sydney galleries, head over here. To find Aboriginal art, check out these great spots. Or if you like your art both free and free-ranging, check out some epic street art. Music in Sydney: Cultural events in Sydney: This city's also renowned for its huge cultural festival, Sydney Mardi Gras, which gets bigger and buzzier every year. There's the huge, free Biennale Sydney, which now makes the most of an old power station space. There are annual festivals coming out of our ears and eyes: the Sydney Festival, Sydney Fringe Festival, Film Festival, Writer's Festival, Comedy Festival and Sculpture by the Sea. And when you can't find a festival, these days you're likely to be able to find a street party (or at least a buzzing market) to rock up at. Performing arts in Sydney: The performing arts might not often come for free, but I can attest to the fact that there is world-class drama, comedy and dance on Sydney's stages every night of the week – whether it's at the pub theatre underneath the Old Fitz, at the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct (which is home to nine different performing arts companies, including theatres and Australian Chamber Orchestra), or out west at Parramatta's Riverside Theatre, at the most spectacular space of all – the Opera House (perhaps only upstaged by the on-water venue that hosts the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour). Multi culture in Sydney: Culture's obviously not just about visual art, performing art and music, but the rich tapestry that makes a city what it is – and much of what makes Sydney's tapestry so colourful is the fact that our city's population is made up of more than 180 different national backgrounds. In the City of Sydney, 50 per cent of residents were born overseas, and 34.8 per cent speak a language other than English at home. So it's no wonder that on a single street in Sydney you can discover such a diverse mix of cuisines and stores and people – take Haldon Street in Lakemba, for example, where you'll find everything from Afghani food to Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Lebanese, Chinese, Christmas Island, and even one specialising in Indian-style Chinese food. Go to Harris Park and it's all about Indian food. In Ashfield and Burwood you're spoilt for Chinese-restaurant choice. Strathfield has Korea town. And Marrickville is home to both Little Greece and Little Vietnam. We could go on, but we won't because we're hungry. I'm going to dash to eat and go see Vivid now, but before I go, I must mention Sydney's thriving drag scene, any amount of trivia and other social nights you can check out, daytime raves in cafés are becoming a thing, and we've had some of the world's biggest acts have graced our stages in recent years with no sign of that slowing. Sydney still has room to grow, but we like the direction she's growing in.
Sydney Morning Herald
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
The Archibald Prize is turning a corner. Just not yet
The most obvious trend this year is the swing towards subjects being portrayed in their natural environments or surrounded by personal motifs – note Whitney Duan's portrait Rainbow Chan, of Chun Yin Rainbow Chan, who is perched before a lazy Susan, and Billy Bain's outback portrait of Rona Panangka Rubuntja ringed with ceramic icons. Multiculturalism has also arrived at AGNSW en masse. The companion children's competition, the Young Archie, has been flush with diverse faces for many years, while the Archibald remained stiffly Caucasian, with occasional exceptions. This year's hang finally resembles modern Australia: just over half the sitters are white, there are slightly more women than men, and more female artists than males. Sadly, there are no scientists or politicians — although, in the current climate, it's hard to imagine anyone regrets the absence of politicians. The upshot of an exhibition in flux is a wildly uneven show. There's an abundance of naïve works; too many figures appear crudely cut-and-pasted onto the background. And there's a conga line of lifeless celebrity pictures, the kind that usually appeals to the gallery's packers. Consider Jaq Grantford's double portrait of Nicole and Antonia Kidman, Col Mac's Miranda Otto, Kelly Maree's Jackie O, Jeremy Eden's elaborate portrait of Boy Swallows Universe teen star Felix Cameron, or Sally Ryan's Kathy Lette. Evan Shipard's floral oil-on-linen of Gardening Australia host Costa Georgiadis has popular appeal too. Among the more extraordinary portraits is Natasha Bieniek's modest oil on wood of Cressida Campbell, which captures the introverted artist with a surgeon's precision and an opera singer's heart. Callum Worsfold's tiny self-portrait is sunk into an overbearing black frame that makes the viewer feel as though they're peering into his studio through a slit in a door. Vipoo Srivilasa's self-portrait with cats is a joyous assembly of sketches on a yellow ceramic tile — an antidote to Chris O'Doherty (aka Reg Mombassa)'s haunting, raw self-portrait in hospital, capturing the 73-year-old artist in a moment of fragile health. Clara Adolphs' portrait of Aboriginal artist Adrian Jangala Robertson might win over the judges, and Natasha Walsh has captured a simmering energy in Melbourne's South Sudanese artist and writer Atong Atem. It's difficult to pick the winner from this exhibition in flux – which is also partly the product of immense change at AGNSW. Maud Page recently took over as director of an institution that has had just two leaders for the better part of 50 years: Michael Brand and Edmund Capon. The Archibald has a new curator responsible for the hang: Beatrice Gralton. The Archibald finalists and winner, along with those for the companion Wynne landscape and sculpture prize, are selected by the AGNSW Trust, now led by lawyer Michael Rose, who took over from businessman David Gonski, president for 19 of the last 37 years. Oscar-winning film producer Emile Sherman and former Liberal opposition leader and arts minister Peter Collins are also new additions to the trust.
The Age
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
The Archibald Prize is turning a corner. Just not yet
The most obvious trend this year is the swing towards subjects being portrayed in their natural environments or surrounded by personal motifs – note Whitney Duan's portrait Rainbow Chan, of Chun Yin Rainbow Chan, who is perched before a lazy Susan, and Billy Bain's outback portrait of Rona Panangka Rubuntja ringed with ceramic icons. Multiculturalism has also arrived at AGNSW en masse. The companion children's competition, the Young Archie, has been flush with diverse faces for many years, while the Archibald remained stiffly Caucasian, with occasional exceptions. This year's hang finally resembles modern Australia: just over half the sitters are white, there are slightly more women than men, and more female artists than males. Sadly, there are no scientists or politicians — although, in the current climate, it's hard to imagine anyone regrets the absence of politicians. The upshot of an exhibition in flux is a wildly uneven show. There's an abundance of naïve works; too many figures appear crudely cut-and-pasted onto the background. And there's a conga line of lifeless celebrity pictures, the kind that usually appeals to the gallery's packers. Consider Jaq Grantford's double portrait of Nicole and Antonia Kidman, Col Mac's Miranda Otto, Kelly Maree's Jackie O, Jeremy Eden's elaborate portrait of Boy Swallows Universe teen star Felix Cameron, or Sally Ryan's Kathy Lette. Evan Shipard's floral oil-on-linen of Gardening Australia host Costa Georgiadis has popular appeal too. Among the more extraordinary portraits is Natasha Bieniek's modest oil on wood of Cressida Campbell, which captures the introverted artist with a surgeon's precision and an opera singer's heart. Callum Worsfold's tiny self-portrait is sunk into an overbearing black frame that makes the viewer feel as though they're peering into his studio through a slit in a door. Vipoo Srivilasa's self-portrait with cats is a joyous assembly of sketches on a yellow ceramic tile — an antidote to Chris O'Doherty (aka Reg Mombassa)'s haunting, raw self-portrait in hospital, capturing the 73-year-old artist in a moment of fragile health. Clara Adolphs' portrait of Aboriginal artist Adrian Jangala Robertson might win over the judges, and Natasha Walsh has captured a simmering energy in Melbourne's South Sudanese artist and writer Atong Atem. It's difficult to pick the winner from this exhibition in flux – which is also partly the product of immense change at AGNSW. Maud Page recently took over as director of an institution that has had just two leaders for the better part of 50 years: Michael Brand and Edmund Capon. The Archibald has a new curator responsible for the hang: Beatrice Gralton. The Archibald finalists and winner, along with those for the companion Wynne landscape and sculpture prize, are selected by the AGNSW Trust, now led by lawyer Michael Rose, who took over from businessman David Gonski, president for 19 of the last 37 years. Oscar-winning film producer Emile Sherman and former Liberal opposition leader and arts minister Peter Collins are also new additions to the trust.
