Sydney Contemporary In-Person Fair Makes Long-Awaited Return

Sydney Contemporary 2019. Courtesy Sydney Contemporary. Photo: Zan Wimberley.

By Michael Irwin – 23 May 2022, Sydney

Making its first physical appearance since 2019, Sydney Contemporary will operate for the first time under the banner of The Art Assembly.

An association of major art fairs with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region, The Art Assembly was publicly announced in April by Sydney Contemporary founder Tim Etchells and fellow art fair organisers Sandy Angus and Magnus Renfrew.

Other major fairs under The Art Assembly umbrella are Taipei Dangdai, India Art Fair, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai, and the upcoming ART SG, a collaboration between the three founders set to launch in Singapore in January 2023.

Tamara Dean, Follow Me (2022). Pigment print on cotton rag. 120 x 160 cm. Edition of 6 + 2 AP. Courtesy the artist and Michael Reid Sydney + Berlin.

After two years of online editions due to the pandemic, over 85 Australian and New Zealand galleries will present artists from around the world at Sydney Contemporary this year.

Australian galleries returning to Carriageworks include Alcaston Gallery, presenting works by aboriginal artists such as Betty Kuntiwa Pumani and Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori, and Michael Reid Sydney, who will present photographer Tamara Dean. Also returning are Martin Browne Contemporary, Yavuz Gallery, and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery from Sydney, and THIS IS NO FANTASY and STATION from Melbourne.

Returning New Zealand galleries include Michael Lett, Starkwhite, and Gow Langsford Gallery, who will show work by internationally recognised New Zealand artist Shane Cotton.

Betty Kuntiwa Pumani, Antara (2021). Synthetic polymer paint on linen. 200 x 250 cm. Courtesy the artist, Mimili Maku and Alcaston Gallery.

Gertrude Contemporary and Saint Cloche will feature again in the fair's FUTURE sector, as well as Jacob Hoerner Galleries, who will show Rebecca Agnew's new video work Infinite West (2022).

Among the newcomers to FUTURE are, A Secondary Eye, Onespace Gallery, the object-oriented C. Gallery, Formist Editions, N. Smith Gallery, and the Aboriginal-owned art center, Mangkaja Arts.

The full list of participants can be viewed here.—[O]

Main image: Sydney Contemporary 2019. Courtesy Sydney Contemporary. Photo: Zan Wimberley.

Michael Irwin Michael Irwin is a writer and worked as a valued editorial assistant for Ocula.