March is a huge month for art in Sydney.
For one, it's the tenth anniversary of Art Month Sydney—a three-week-long celebration of Sydney's greatest galleries, artists and curators. Then there's The Other Art Fair, a marketplace packed with pieces from emerging artists for you to shop before they become the next big art star.
Lastly, The National, which ties together our three biggest institutions—the Art Gallery of NSW, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Carriageworks—and the most exciting Autralian contemporary artists, is due to return at the end of the month for its second out of three biannual mega exhibitions. And on top of all this, there are plenty of exhibitions you just can't miss.
So strap in. We give you a taste of all the arty sights, shows and exhibitions you should be seeing this month.
Sonic Variations—Brett Weir
After following love to Switzerland, Brett Weir worked up the courage to fund his own exhibition of paintings in Zurich. When it sold out, he quit his day job and has never looked back. He’s been painting non-stop ever since and this March, the artist returns home to Australia for his very first Sydney solo.
The way a musician might jam on the guitar, Weir plays with shimmering surfaces and bright swathes of paint to create paintings that can only be compared to stirred up sunsets or glittering celestial maps. Really powerful work.
What: Sonic Variations—Brett Weir When: Until Saturday 30 March 2019 Where: Michael Reid Gallery
Stop Peeping
Made up of sculpture, video installation, animation and photography, Stop Peeping features five Australian and Asian artists bending and stretching the limits of cultural expectations and personal freedom.
The show includes a rare Australian showing of the late and prodigious Chinese photographer, Ren Hang whose tender portraits of his friends dressed in nothing but nature became his creative fingerprint. Jason Phu presents a specially commissioned video conversation that lets viewers in on a dinner table discussion about how his family members fell in love. Hailing from all over the Asia-Pacific, see the work of artists that imbues the everyday with fantasy and sheds light on their experience of intimacy, love and desire.
What: Stop Peeping When: Until 12 May Where: Cement Fondu
View this post on InstagramWalkie-Talkies
From 7 March, Art Month Sydney has got a full roster of talks on the move, otherwise known as Walkie-Talkies, happening every Saturday of the month. The city-wide festival is offering anyone who wants to know more about art a chance to wander through some of the city’s best spaces with expert guides (and collectors). Next up? A tour of Chippendale's best galleries and creative studios.
Book here to get access to the backrooms, hear gallerists' top tips on acquiring art, and go behind the scenes with artists.
What: Walkie-Talkies When: Every Saturday in March Where: Various locations
The Other Art Fair
If you're keen on starting your own art collection—The Other Art Fair is a very good place to get going. Unlike the elite fairs that cater to big spenders (like Frieze, Art Basel and the vibe you might have gotten from Netflix's arty horror flick Velvet Buzzsaw), The Other Art Fair focuses on independent and emerging talent. A curated selection of 120 artists will be on show, and you can shop anything from painting, prints, photography, ceramics and more for prices that are way more reasonable than what we suspect Bey and Jay dropped when they hit up Frieze Los Angeles last month.
This year, The Other Art Fair is also offering an "up-cycling" service. That is, bring in your old art, and a set of seriously talented artists will give it some love for as little as $100. Head over here for more info.
What: The Other Art Fair When: 14 - 17 March Where: Australian Technology Park
Image credit: Wong Ping, Stop Peeping, 2019.