Ms and Mr. : HEAVY SENTIMENTAL

Love Cats! Chatting with the first couple of Australian contemporary art, the very personable Ms and Mr. Between films at the Sydney Film Fest I slipped into the Kaliman Gallery in Paddington to check out the exhibition HEAVY SENTIMENTAL, and to ruminate on the nature of love, childhood, and the eternal goth spirit of the Cure's Robert Smith, inhabiting the souls of both 11 yr old Ms, and 29 yr old Mr.

"Ms & Mr is the team of Richard and Stephanie Nova Milne, an exploration of both art practice and marriage. The departure point for their practice comes from a willing confusion between their romance and collaborative relationship as artists. This much-anticipated exhibition follows their residency in New York as the recipients of the 2005 Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship."

Heavy Sentimental showcases a series of four video works and a suite of pencil drawings that reflect on childhood footage of the artists that has been digitally manipulated to incorporate images of their present partner in the scenario. This contrast of the young and the old, the past and the present, evokes a sense of reflection and nostalgia as Ms & Mr engage the audience in a trip into their childhood." To view the work, click the Kaliman gallery link.

Click here to get your own player.

Newell Harry: VIEWS FROM THE COUCH

On a cold and wet winter's day in Sydney I headed down to the Roslyn OIxley9 Gallery in Paddington to check out the exhibition by Newell Harry, VIEWS FROM THE COUCH. At the top of the stairs a neon statement "The Natives are Restless", and in the main gallery space an installation containing more neon, vessels, large drawings, and woven mats. A sense of technology, language, and raw elements combined. Newell was on hand to talk about his work, and his travel experiences into the townships of South Africa (where his mother is from), as well as remote corners of the pacific. Hence the pidgin text and tribal elements. Cargo Cults make an appearance too. And torrential rainfall. A fascinating discussion. To view the works click the Gallery link.

Click here to get your own player.

Anselm Keifer: APERIATUR TERRA

Tony Bond, Head of International Art at the Art Gallery of NSW, discusses the epic exhibition, Anslem Keifer: APERIATUR TERRA. Tony & I wander through the 5 spaces within the AGNSW housing the Keifer exhibition, talking about the great German artist, the themes he explores, the construction of the works themselves, and the challenging logistical issues surrounding the presentation of Keifer's huge but delicate works. A remarkable insight into this artist. From the AGNSW site: "Anselm Kiefer is regarded as one of the most important and influential artists working today. This exhibition reveals some of the themes that Anselm Kiefer is currently exploring in his studio in France. One of these themes appears as a room dedicated to Palm Sunday, with painting and sculpture, using mixed media such as date palms, thorns, clay and red oxide." To view the works click the Gallery link.

Click here to get your own player.