Evan’s Corner: The Sydney Art Scene

Written by: Evan Lowenstein

On my last visit to Sydney over the Queen’s Birthday Weekend, I travelled off my normal well-worn track of Paddington and Woollahra to the newly relocated galleries in the south of Sydney.
After the demise of the Danks Street precinct – which is now a construction site for apartments – it is encouraging to see that this redevelopment has not stopped its former galleries from relocating to their own separate locations.
We visited the area of Waterloo and Alexandria to see many the galleries that had major and well-attended shows.
Stella Downer has her eponymous gallery in Wellington Street that opens for business in mid-June.
Chris Hodges of Utopia Gallery has relocated to a large warehouse/gallery in Henderson Street, Alexandria and Brenda May has joined the legions of high-rise apartments in a ground floor gallery MAY SPACE in George Street, Waterloo.
These galleries, together with longer established galleries, such as Darren Knight, have established themselves in the precinct which has as its epicentre Carriageworks, the home of the Sydney Contemporary art fair that will be held this year from 7-10 September.
I was lucky enough to spend some time looking at ‘The National’ which is on at Carriageworks and is a major review of contemporary art practice in Australia. In addition to being held at Carriageworks it is also being held in the two other venues: the Art Gallery of NSW and the Museum of Contemporary Art. It is certainly well worth a visit.