Jane O'Sullivan — Art Guide Australia

A vibrant new monograph foregrounds community and living culture, in Madjem Bambandila: The Art & Country of Kelly Koumalatsos

Madjem Bambandila: The Art & Country of Kelly Koumalatsos is a community approach to storytelling. A testament to living culture, the new monograph published by Museums Victoria centres on a cultural activist and artist known for reviving possum skin cloak making in the South East of Australia.

Review

Studying the artist: Three approaches to capturing a creative practice in print

Artist books are sometimes treated like exhibition postcards and not much more than mementos, but they grapple with intriguing questions about what to document, and how. Jane O’Sullivan reviews three artist monographs from Elizabeth Newman, Kate Tucker and Louise Haselton, and finds some very different strategies.

Review

Shifting focus: ‘Outside the Frame’ turns the lens onto video and time-based art

Video and time-based art is a mutant medium with a disjointed history. Jane O’Sullivan reviews Outside the Frame: Art and the Moving Image, which takes a snapshot of contemporary practice through 21 recent moving image commissions.

Review

Art by numbers: The statistics of art world inequality

Welcome to the first iteration of our monthly book review series, where we share the latest curation of titles straight from the Art Guide Bookstore. With each instalment, we’ll celebrate what’s on offer in the world of Australian art book publishing.“Creativity is never an individual competitive practice.” Jane O’Sullivan reviews CoUNTess: Spoiling Illusions Since 2008, a recent book exposing the data on gender inequity in the arts.

Feature

“Think about the women who made this”: A Century of Quilts examines our material culture

In 1841, the women aboard a British convict ship crafted a large-scale quilt known as ‘The Rajah quilt’. It’s one the most requested items from the National Gallery of Australia’s collection—and it’s now showing alongside a further 21 quilts, many crafted by women.

Opinion

Why are we so hungry to get close to artists?

From revelling in biography to what artists wear to creative workshops, Jane O’Sullivan writes on a new artistic retreat, revealing the joys of learning directly from artists.

Studio

Inside Kirtika Kain’s Sydney apartment, and now studio

Kirtika Kain’s Western Sydney apartment on Dharug Country is crowded with boxes of materials and new canvases. She came back from a residency in Italy in late 2022 and since then she’s been living alongside her work, preparing for her solo exhibition at Roslyn Oxley9 and for the Biennale of Sydney next year. The cohabitation has been intense and sometimes messy, but Kain says studio life is teaching her new confidence.

Feature

It’s true, pink is the new pink

Why are we so hard on pink? Thinking Through Pink at Wollongong Art Gallery revels in a lush, complicated colour.

Preview

Lydia Wegner transforms our daily perceptions

Lydia Wegner’s photographs urge audiences to question what they see. Wegner’s latest work at Arc One Gallery presents audiences with visual abstractions that cause reason to pause and pay attention.

Opinion

Why do we value art prizes so much?

Prizes are a chance to celebrate artists but the reasons why they choose to enter, and why prize organisers put up the cash, point towards growing cracks in the art world. Are we supporting a diverse range of artists, or are we gamifying the system?

Feature

Todd McMillan’s art cuts to the core of melancholia and absurdity

“Because what is the substance of our lives, except for the things we thought were significant?” From standing on clifftops to attempting to swim the English Channel, for over two decades Todd McMillan has created art on endurance, melancholia and absurdity—and he’s taking this further with new shows at Nicholas Thompson and Penrith Regional Gallery.

Feature

Drawing out new threads: Text Tile expands conversation on textiles

“You constantly read about the revival of craft and textiles, but they’ve never gone away.” In a vast new exhibition at CAVES, over 50 artists from Australia and New Zealand shed light on the evolving conversations around textiles.

Jane O’Sullivan

Writer

Jane O’Sullivan's Articles

A vibrant new monograph foregrounds community and living culture, in Madjem Bambandila: The Art & Country of Kelly Koumalatsos

Studying the artist: Three approaches to capturing a creative practice in print

Shifting focus: ‘Outside the Frame’ turns the lens onto video and time-based art

Art by numbers: The statistics of art world inequality

“Think about the women who made this”: A Century of Quilts examines our material culture

Why are we so hungry to get close to artists?

Inside Kirtika Kain’s Sydney apartment, and now studio

It’s true, pink is the new pink

Lydia Wegner transforms our daily perceptions

Why do we value art prizes so much?

Todd McMillan’s art cuts to the core of melancholia and absurdity

Drawing out new threads: Text Tile expands conversation on textiles

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Jane O’Sullivan

Writer

Jane O’Sullivan's Articles

A vibrant new monograph foregrounds community and living culture, in Madjem Bambandila: The Art & Country of Kelly Koumalatsos

Studying the artist: Three approaches to capturing a creative practice in print

Shifting focus: ‘Outside the Frame’ turns the lens onto video and time-based art

Art by numbers: The statistics of art world inequality

“Think about the women who made this”: A Century of Quilts examines our material culture

Why are we so hungry to get close to artists?

Inside Kirtika Kain’s Sydney apartment, and now studio

It’s true, pink is the new pink

Lydia Wegner transforms our daily perceptions

Why do we value art prizes so much?

Todd McMillan’s art cuts to the core of melancholia and absurdity

Drawing out new threads: Text Tile expands conversation on textiles

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