For the 2019 edition of Sydney Contemporary, more than 85 galleries from across the country and around the globe will come together at Carriageworks for four days of Australasia’s largest and most diverse art fair. Five different continents will be represented, showcasing over 300 artists from more than 30 different countries, including France, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.S.
Set for Thursday 12th through Sunday 15th September, the fifth Sydney Contemporary follows a record-breaking 2018 which secured artwork sales of AU$21 million, continuing its short but rich history in boosting artists’ capacity to continue their practice and their galleries’ ability to support them. Approximately AU$10 million of those total sales were returned directly to artists.
The current line-up is most notable for its large representation of Japanese galleries this year, which will include returning favourites like Whitestone Gallery (Tokyo, Taipei, Nagano, Hong Kong), who will present work by renowned artist Yayoi Kusama, COHJU Contemporary Art (Kyoto) and newcomers LOKO Gallery (Tokyo) and MA2 Gallery (Tokyo). Other prominent international and local galleries include Sydney’s Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sarah Cottier Gallery and Sullivan+Strumpf; Melbourne’s Alcaston Gallery, STATION and Tolarno Galleries; Auckland’s Gow Langsford Gallery, STARKWHITE and Two Rooms; as well as Flowers Gallery (London and New York); Sundaram Tagore Gallery (New York, Singapore, Hong Kong) and Singapore’s Yavuz Gallery.
African artists will also have a strong presence, with many South African galleries including Salon Ninety-One (Cape Town) and The Project Space (Johannesburg) promoting the work of female African artists in particular. Others include Nil Gallery (Paris) which will also exhibit the work of artists from Ghana, Mozambique and Swaziland and Australian gallery GAGPROJECTS | Greenaway Art Gallery (Adelaide) exhibiting works by Democratic Republic of the Congo born, Adelaide based artist Pierre Mukeba.
Of the 85 galleries planning to showcase at the event, 17 of them will be first-timers, including Station (Melbourne), Michael Bugelli Gallery (Hobart), and Fine Arts, Sydney (Sydney).
The Installation Contemporary program will be this year curated by New Zealand’s Robert Leonard of City Gallery Wellington. Designed to exhibit large-scale artworks in a diverse range of media, including moving-image, or more ambitious and conceptually driven projects that extend beyond the traditional booth presentation, Installation Contemporary presents an opportunity to view innovative, site-specific and interactive installations in the environment of Carriageworks.
For a full list of participating galleries and event information click HERE.
Feature image: Michael Bugelli Gallery / Henri Papin
