Ocula Report Havana Biennial 2019: Constructing the Possible 17 Apr 2019 : Federica Bueti for Ocula I first visited Havana in November 2016, a few days after Fidel Castro died, and just under a year before Hurricane Irma hit Cuba in September 2017. Since then, much has changed, including the hand-painted signs that punctuate the journey from the airport to the city centre, which today do not celebrate the revolution so much as the 'Unidad y...
Ocula Conversation Andrew Stahl and Guo Xiaohui The exhibition Beyond Boundaries at Somerset House in London (12 March–2 April 2019) marked the historic contributions of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing (CAFA) and the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, on the occasion of their 100th and 150th anniversaries, respectively. Spread across several rooms of Somerset House's...
Ocula Report The National 2019: New Australian Art 13 Apr 2019 : Elyse Goldfinch for Ocula The National 2019: New Australian Art features work by 70 contemporary Australia-based artists split across three venues: the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), Carriageworks, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) (29 March–21 July 2019), as curated by Isobel Parker Philip, curator of photographs at AGNSW; Daniel Mudie Cunningham,...
The Art Gallery of Western Australia was founded in 1895 and is located in the south-east corner of Perth’s Cultural Centre. The gallery is home to the State Art Collection, which is distributed across three important heritage buildings. The Art Gallery of Western Australia was originally located within the Jubilee Building, along with the State Museum and Library, but the collection was relocated to the current building in 1977, which was built following Western Australia’s mining boom.
Due to the geographic location of Perth along the Indian Ocean Rim, the gallery’s collection consists of an exciting and exotic blend of Australian, Indian and Asian influences. The permanent collection includes many works by Australian artists, with a particular emphasis on art produced in Western Australia. The gallery also has a collection of international art to “parallel the history and provide context for Western Australian and Australian art and design in the contemporary period”.
The gallery also hosts a number of international traveling exhibitions, the highlights of which include Egyptian art from the Louvre’s collection, a selection works by August Rodin and works by Western Australian Art & Design students. This variety in artistic styles exhibited, showcase the importance of the Art Gallery of Western Australia as a didactic institution, focused on the future as well as the past.
Ocula Conversation Mariko Mori Artist, Japan She may be remembered as an ’80s fashion model or more known for her Cindy Sherman-esque photographs in which she inserted herself into everyday scenes while dressed in futuristic costumes—think cyborg in a convenience store, metallic astronaut in the subway and blue plastic mermaid in a public swimming pool. But what is less...
Related Press Ring around the world: Mariko Mori creates a cascading installation for the Rio 2016 Olympics Wallpaper* : 11 August 2016 For all the heartwarming – occasionally bone-shattering – excitement that the Rio Olympics has already delivered, the events's legacy is destined to be remembered as much for by the seedy realities of doping, corruption and social tumult as the momentary, borderless merging of culture and race (an especially worthwhile sentiment...
Related Press Australia Council delivers major blow to visual arts, say leading museum directors The Sydney Morning Herald : 24 May 2016 The carnage from the latest round of Australia Council funding continues, with the federal government's arts funding agency accused of delivering a major blow to the contemporary visual arts sector.
Related Press Mariko Mori and Tracey Moffatt in New Art Exhibitions at Perth Festival Sydney Morning Herald : 16 March 2015 Over the past few years the Perth Festival has established a reputation for an adventurous visual arts program. This is in contrast to most of the arts festivals around Australia, which are dominated by the performing arts. Perth has avoided the talk-fest and based its program on a striking range of international and local exhibitions chosen by...
Related Press These Japanese Artists are Changing the Meaning of Art The Culture Trip : 23 February 2015 Japan has always been one of the countries at the forefront of technological advances. It is not a surprise that artists from the country are therefore also drawn to the potentials of using technology and scientific knowledge to create mesmerising works that alter our perception of reality.The Culture Trip brings you 10 artists who are changing...
