A wave of new Australian gallery openings at home and overseas appears to be an optimistic sign for commercial sector activity.
This month, Linton & Kay launched its seventh gallery space in Western Australia with the inaugural exhibition, COTTESLOE UNVEILED. The milestone exhibition seeks to capture the richness of artistic talent and curatorial direction over the gallery’s 26-year history.
Linton & Kay Cottesloe is situated in the new Waterfront Cottesloe precinct and features a 152 square-metre gallery showcasing local, regional and international artists.
Gallery Director Linton Partington says, ‘Our team is committed to providing visitors with a unique experience that features innovative, exciting and meaningful exhibitions and events.’
Featured artists in COTTESLOE UNVEILED include Ken Done AM, Robert Moore, Julie Davidson, Jeffery Mincham AM, Sandie Schroder and Georgia Zoric.
General Manager Miranda Brown adds, ‘Curating such a significant milestone exhibition bore the responsibility of storytelling in 2D and 3D works, as well as telling the story of the gallery’s journey: a fusion of the new geographical identity and our creative identity in 2024. As such seeking to explore the essence of where we are creating in both time and in place.’
COTTESLOE UNVEILED is showing until 11 July.
Also recently opened is Ames Yavuz’s second Australian gallery space at 114 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills, Sydney. The debut exhibition MEMORY/MYTH is dedicated to film by 27 international and Australian artists.
Curated by Director of Ames Yavuz, Ananya Mukhopadhyay, the presentation brings together Brook Andrew (Wiradjuri, Ngunnawal/Australia), Mónica Alcázar-Duarte (Mexico), Choy Ka Fai (Singapore), Tuan Andrew Nguyen (Vietnam), Joy Gregory (UK), Thania Petersen (South Africa), Stanislava Pinchuk (Ukraine) and more, including 20 works not previously shown in Australia.
Mukhopadhyay says of MEMORY/MYTH, ‘The show explores the ongoing legacy of global colonialism, pulling together common threads across diverse regions and histories to celebrate the way in which artists from disparate communities interrogate and rewrite their own experiences of erasure and displacement. We are delighted that so many internationally renowned artists are working with us to show their works in Sydney, with many of them showing for the first time in Australia.’
The new location is in close proximity to Ames Yavuz’s first Surry Hills gallery on Reservoir Street.
Ames Yavuz Founding Director, Can Yavuz says of the gallery’s vision, ‘I believe we have a responsibility as a gallery to provide platforms that invite ambition and facilitate uncensored and uncompromised ways of celebrating art. There is an incredibly dynamic art market and a depth of talent in Australia, which we’ve seen gain increasing international attention over recent years. We view this as a call to action and a demand for strong curatorial programming that inspires the next generation of collectors. Opening a second space to champion what Australia has to offer is not only an opportunity, but a necessity.’
MEMORY/MYTH runs until 13 July, after which the space will house curated exhibitions featuring artists such as Guido Maestri, Vincent Namatjira OAM and Caroline Rothwell.
Australian gallery expands abroad
With galleries already operating in Sydney and Melbourne, Sullivan+Strumpf has now taken its ambition abroad to Singapore.
The Sullivan+Strumpf Studio is led by Director Megan Arlin and Associate Director Mariia Zhuchenko, who have relocated from Sydney to the Singapore location to focus on the latest gallery expansion.
Announcing the news, a Sullivan+Strumpf spokesperson said, ‘Acting as a base for our expanding, diverse international program, and a home to intimate events and presentations, this unique space promotes Sullivan+Strumpf’s established presence in Asia to cultivate important global dialogues and cultural voices.’
The Studio presented an open day showcasing Kanchana Gupta’s recent body of work, Open and Close, ahead of her upcoming solo exhibition at Sullivan+Strumpf’s Sydney gallery.
On 24 September the Singapore Studio will welcome works by Carmen Ceniga Prado, subsequently participating in the contemporary art fair, Art Jakarta, in Indonesia from 4-6 October.