SYDNEY CONTEMPORARY 2019 ROUND-UP ~
A LETTER FROM GALLERY DIRECTOR KITTY CLARK
After a seamless bump-in to Carriageworks, artist Evi O and my team at Saint Cloche were off to a great start for our debut at Australia’s biggest and best annual art fair, Sydney Contemporary 2019.
Taking part in Australia’s largest art fair with over 450 artists from around the world on show at Carriageworks was something I felt strongly Saint Cloche was ready for, it was the appropriate milestone since our doors opened in 2015. However, having never done this before, stepping outside the familiar embrace of the gallery’s walls, I hoped I hadn’t bitten off more than I could chew! We worked hard right up to the finish line to make sure we were well prepared.
Sydney based emerging artist Evi O is our first representative artist, and she has been showing with us since day one. We are lucky to have flourished together art-wise, and even more lucky that we have our team, audience and peers to experience our story collectively.
We decided to showcase Evi’s latest and most ambitious body of work, FANTASIA and designed our booth to pack quite a punch with custom-made, minimal furniture painted, along with the walls, in a palette we chose from our amazing sponsor Porter’s Paints. Looking back, bringing the fair to life was the perfect reflection of Saint Cloche’s philosophy. The result was three sonorous walls of seductive colour, inventive form beaming with lively energy and whimsy suggestion elevated by design.
We were also very excited to reveal a second artist at Sydney Contemporary within the NEXT platform – Alex Xerri and a third artist at Art Money’s Booth – Carissa Karamarko.
OH WHAT A NIGHT!
Sydney Contemporary invited us to present an event on their official Opening night celebration, which is one of the most anticipated events on Sydney’s cultural calendar. We proudly presented a special panel discussion on the relevant topic: COLOUR IS MY SUPERPOWER. We chose a brilliant panel who exemplify the topic, and they discussed how they each use colour, how it manifests in their life and work and how colour has the power to affect our emotions and our psyche.
We gratefully acknowledge and thank our superstar moderator/host, Mr. Tim Ross and also our inspiring panel members: Ken Done, Linda Jackson, Rachel Burke, Taline Gabriel, Yasmine Ghoneim and Evi O.
Each panellist spoke about their earliest connections to colour from childhood and how they developed and used their superpower over the years. It was an interesting and lively discussion with plenty of ‘gems’ being shared and a few laughs along the way. They all definitely apply their superpower as a force for good and they’ve made the world a better place as a result. The main thing that came across, and it’s something I’ve always thought – that colour is a language and much can be communicated through it.
We presented to a full house and the event was very well received. Celebrations continued at our Booth C06 with Campari and Champagne.
THANK YOU
It takes a team to bring together a great show. We worked with multiple talented teams to bring this show together. BIG SHOUT OUT to the Sydney Contemporary team for the opportunity and all your help and guidance, everyone who helped bring Booth C06 to life, Will, Evi O, my team Seli, Nadine, Caitlin, Sean, Amy, all our press and social media supporters – we loved seeing all your stories on our Instagram feed! Thanks for sharing!
The evolution and growth of Saint Cloche and the community that surrounds it continues and I can’t thank you all enough for being a part of it. We did it!!
xx Kitty
