Sculpture by the Sea – Bondi 2014

Tags

AIP, Art Walks, Autoimmune Protocol, Bondi Coastal Walk, Outdoors, Photo Montage, Sculpture by the Sea, Stress, Sydney, Sydney Culture

‘Wind Stone the Threshold of Consciousness’ by Koichi Ishino
(Image by TSL)

If you’re new to Sculpture by the Sea – it’s well worth a look-see if you’re visiting Sydney. It’s held every October/November along the gorgeous Bondi – Tamarama coastal walk. The natural beauty of the coastline is majestic in itself, but then with the addition of large-scale pieces of sculptural art – just wow!

Small admission: LM took me to Sculpture by the Sea on our first ever date together. It was a scorching hot Sydney day. The kind that we’ve been experiencing again lately. Temperatures well into the 30’s (that’s 90’s if you think in fahrenheit!) 

We now go every year together. It has become one of our ‘traditions’. And, of course the fluff-bucket joins us, too. It would feel really weird not to go.

We get up early and go before the crowds arrive. I’m not so great with crowds.

And, just in case you’re wondering how this post fits in with my autoimmune protocol regime, well – it slots right in there under managing stress, protecting my circadian rhythms, getting low-intensity activity AND improving my environment! Checking out the annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibition makes me happy.

The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. (William James)

So, this year, LM took all the photos. He’s so much more patient than I about the increasing numbers of people who have the same idea as us – get up early to beat the crowds.

And so, without further ado, the annual TSL Sculpture by the Sea photo montage:

‘Big Man’ by Will Maggiore
Hot forged steel

‘Currawong’ by Lou Lambert
Hard woods, wire, rope, copper

Two Perspectives on ‘Crossing the Sky by Boat’ by Peter Tilley
Cast iron, corten Steel

A little perspective, like a little humour, goes a long way. (Allen Klein)

‘Sentinels’ by Julie Donnelly
Glass

‘Save Our Souls’ by Cave Urban
Bamboo, steel, rope, concrete, LED lights

Foreground: ‘Ring’ by Peter Lundberg
Cast bronze
Background: ‘Permanent Sunrise’ by Alejandro Propato
Steel pipes, nylon wire, steel wire

‘Ornithopter’ by Sam Deal
Found objects, recycled material

‘Sisyphus’ by George Andric
316 grade stainless steel

‘The Figure in the Landscape’ by John Petrie
Basalt

‘Men Playing with Birds’ by Wang Shugang
Painted bronze

‘Gift of the Rhinoceros’ by Mikaela Castledine
Polypropylene fibre, aluminium

‘Headrest’ by Michael Le Grand
Painted Steel

‘Evidence Based Research – Crossing the Line’ by Julie Collins & Derek John
Timber, Steel, Industrial polyurethane

‘Breaching’ by Michael Greve
Redgum, spotted gum

‘The Wanderer’ by Sean Henry
Bronze, exterior paint

‘House of Mirrors’ by Neon
Mirror, plywood, gabion cages

‘Look who’s here’ by Janaki Lele
Paper mach, sand, exterior varnish

‘M.140901’ by Toshio Iezumi
Float glass

‘Wind Stone the Threshold of Consciousness’ by Koichi Ishino
Marine grade stainless steel, granite

‘Wine Talk’ by Richard Tipping
Reflective tape on aluminium, galvanised steel poles
(All images by TSL)

The eighteenth annual exhibition of Sculpture by the Sea at Bondi runs until the 9 November. It’s free. And, highly recommended!

 

Sculpture by the Sea 2013 – A Photo Montage, TSL Style

Tags

Alison McDonald, Andrew Rogers, Art Photography, Bev Goodwin, Bondi, Coral Collective, David McCracken, Elyssa Sykes-Smith, Francesca Mataraga, Kathy Holowko, Ken Unsworth, Mikaela Castledine, Photography, Qian Sihua, Richard Tipping, Sally Kidall, Sculpture, Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney, Tamarama, The Winged Collective, Toshio Iezumi, Yunghsu Hsu, Zero Higashida

‘Flow’ by Alison McDonald
Up-cycled plastic lids, cable ties
(Images by TSL)

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. (Thomas Merton)

So, as mentioned yesterday, here’s this year’s edition of Sculpture by the Sea – TSL style.  Small admission: LM took all the pics for our Sculptures walk this year. He did a much better job than I would have!

And, of course, the most fabulous ‘Horizon’ by Lucy Humphrey was featured yesterday. So, today you get some of the other works on show…

Do let me know your favourite?

‘Start’ by Richard Tipping
Reflective tape on aluminium, galvanised pole
(Image by TSL)

‘A Shared Weight’ by Elyssa Sykes-Smith
Recycled timber
(Images by TSL)

‘Diminish and Ascend’ by David McCracken
Aluminium
(Image by TSL)

‘East of the Mulberry Tree – the Legend of the Ten Red Crows’ by Mikaela Castledine
Crocheted polypropylene, steel frame
(Image by TSL)

‘m.130901’ by Toshio Iezumi
Float glass
(Image by TSL)

‘Bubble no: 5’ by Qian Sihua
Painted stainless steel
(Images by TSL)

‘Inori Angel Prayer for Peace’ by Zero Higashida
Stainless steel, gold leaf, pine
(Image by TSL)

‘A Tale of Romance’ by Kathy Holowko
Reclaimed timber
(Image by TSL)

‘Fetch’ by The Winged Collective
Morrored Alucobond
(Images by TSL)

‘A to B’ by Francesca Mataraga
Wood, paint, steel
(Image by TSL)

‘Nomadic City: Lest we Forget’ by Sally Kidall
Bamboo, plastic, string, hessian, soil, seed, solar lights
(Images by TSL)

‘Folded 3’ by Andrew Rogers
Bronze
(Image by TSL)

‘Coral’ by Coral Collective
Plywood, recycled polypropylene
(Image by TSL)

‘2012-11’ by Yunghsu Hsu
Clay ceramic
(Image by TSL)

‘Polyrock’ by Bev Goodwin
Polynesian leis, foam rings, wire, cable ties
(Image by TSL)

‘There’s Many a Slip ‘twixt the Cup and the Lip’ by Ken Unsworth
Form ply, steel, skeleton
(Images by TSL)

Great art picks up where nature ends. (Marc Chagall)

The Sculpture by the Sea exhibition runs from 24 October – 10 November 2013. It really is a spectacular exhibition and well worth a visit. Promise!

Sculpture by the Sea 2013 – Horizon by Lucy Humphrey

Tags

Art, Art Photography, Artist, Bondi, Carl Maria von Weber, Lucy Humphrey, Lucy Humphrey Studio, Photography, Sculpture, Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney, Sydney Coastline, Tamarama New South Wales

‘Horizon’ by Lucy Humphrey
Sculpture by the Sea 2013
(Image by TSL)

An artist’s sphere of influence is the world. (Carl Maria von Weber)

LM and I rose with the birds yesterday for our annual trip to the always fabulous Sculpture by the Sea. We look forward to it every year – the location along Sydney’s Bondi to Tamarama coastline is stunning, and the free event makes art accessible to everyone in such a wonderful way. This year, we were not disappointed.

After days of sunshine and hot weather, yesterday dawned overcast and moody. Good day for walking the coast line checking out the art work…

Every year, there are one or two stand out pieces. Sculptures that strike a chord with seemingly everyone. This year, that piece was Lucy Humphrey’s ‘Horizon’.

‘Horizon’ by Lucy Humphrey
Sculpture by the Sea 2013
(Image by TSL)

A large acrylic sphere filled with water, and on a steel, timber and masonry base, ‘Horizon’ reinterprets the surrounding view when seen through the liquid within the perspex.

The artist’s statement reads: “Horizon is a site-specific sculpture that celebrates the surrounding natural environment. Using water as a sculptural material, the work will temporarily transform the viewer’s experience of the site, as a monument to the coastal landscape and the constant line of the horizon.”

And, ‘Horizon’ does celebrate the surrounding environment. Even at the early hour that LM and I were there, people seemed transfixed by Lucy Humphrey’s work. I know I fell in love with it… What do you think?

‘Horizon’ by Lucy Humphrey
Sculpture by the Sea 2013
(Images by TSL)

Lucy Humphrey is a Sydney-based architect and artist. She is the founder of Lucy Humphrey Studio and cofounder (with Claire McCaughan) of Archrival, a non-profit organisation that aims to unite the creative community through different projects.

The Sculpture by the Sea exhibition runs from 24 October – 10 November 2013. Do get along to see it if you are in Sydney.

More on Sculpture by the Sea tomorrow…

Peter Lange Creates Trompe L’oeil Brick Sculpture

Tags

Art, Auckland, Auguste Rodin, Bondi, Mount Eden, New Zealand, Peter Lange, Richard Shaw, Sculpture, Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney, Trompe L'oeil

Peter Lange’s Brick Wiggle Chair
(Image from Masterworks Gallery)

Sculpture is the art of the hole and the lump. (Auguste Rodin)

So, this year’s Sculpture by the Sea at Bondi is almost upon us. It’s one of those fab’ public exhibitions that Sydney does so well. I look forward to it every year. The Jacaranda are flowering here in Sydney and it feels like summer is well on its way. It must be time for Sculptures by the Sea…

One sculptor whose work I quite like, and who is not exhibiting in this years sculpture walk, is Peter Lange. A New Zealand ceramic artist, he taught himself pottery in the 1970s.

I’m a fan of trompe l’oeil. I like the humour and whimsy of it. And Lange brings this to his work. He started his slip-cast trompe l’oeil sculpture in the mid 1980s, after an encounter with Richard Shaw, a recognised master of trompe l’oeil sculpture.

Lange gained notoriety in 2002 for building an Anagama Boat. Apparently he was  investigating the motto “if you throw it in the water and it sinks, then it’s art… if it floats it’s craft”. Intrigued by the resemblance of the interior of an Anagama kiln to an inverted boat, Lange set out to prove that an inverted kiln could float.

Peter Lange on his Brick Boat
(Image from Ceramics Today)

In August of this year, he installed three giant brick kumara (that’s New Zealand sweet potato, for the uninitiated!) on Mt Eden Road in Auckland. The work is called ‘Tahuri’, after a legendary Māori gardener known for her fabulous kumara. The work was sponsored by Eden Arts, a lovely group of people committed to promoting the arts in Mt Eden (a suburb of Auckland).

Peter Lange’s ‘Tahuri’ (kumara)
(Image from Eden Arts)

Peter Lange’s ‘Tahuri’ (kumara)
(Image from GCCG)

In my wee investigation of the talented Mr Lange, I found that Masterworks Gallery in Auckland has some of his work available. I imagine they are quite heavy and expensive to ship, but if one lived in Auckland…

Peter Lange’s Deckchairs
(Image from Masterworks Gallery)

Peter Lange’s Brick Chair
(Image from Masterworks Gallery)

If you’d like to see more examples of Peter Lange’s work, he has some great images on his website here.

Sculpture by the Sea (Bondi) runs from 24 October to 10 November 2013. If you’d like more details, check out the website here.

Gillie and Marc Like to Challenge and Amuse…

Tags

animals, Archibald Prize, Art, Australia Zoo, Dogs, Florence Biennale, Gillie and Marc, Marc, Painting, Sculpture, Sculpture by the Sea, Steve Irwin, Sydney, The Crocodile Hunter

‘It Takes Two’ by Gillie and Marc
Bronze
Acquired by Woollahra Council for permanent display in Paddington, Sydney.
This sculpture is installed on the corner of Glenmore Road and Cascade Street 
(Image from Gillie and Marc)

It feels like the world has sort of been conspiring to get me to investigate Gillie and Marc’s sculptures since I posted about the 2012 Sculpture by the Sea exhibition and their entry for this year held pole position. Just in case you need a nudge to remember it, here it is…

‘The Travellers Have Arrived’ by Gillie and Marc
Bronze Paint, fibreglass
Featuring in this years 2012 Sculptures By the Sea, Bondi
(Image by TSL)

So, I saw the Travellers and posted its image, then received lots of comments about the work AND then, LM and I went to Paddington for lunch over the weekend and drove past ‘It Takes Two’ (top). I went for a wee ferret and this is what I learned about the artists…

As husband and wife, Gillie and Marc Schattner collaborate to create art as one, applying the now iconic imagery of the dog/human hybrid to celebrate the powerful spiritual relationship that exists between man and animal. So far so god, me-thinks!

Gillie and Marc reference their own love story in their works, perpetuating a pursuit of happiness and encouraging us to challenge the status quo and the perceived safety of societal convention. They say their love is the cornerstone of what they are and of what they create.

They apparently met in Hong Kong. According to their bio, “She was a nurse from England and he, a boy from the ‘burbs’ of Melbourne. They wanted only to find a soul-mate with which to share their passions for art, travel and adventure, seven days later they were married at the foothills of Mount Everest.  They not only share an unsurpassed dedication to their art but also love for their two children, whom Gillie describes as their ‘best friends’ – along with their mutt, Moby, of course.” Have to admit, just the weeniest bit schmaltzy for this cynical Kiwi, but I do kinda’ like their kooky animal hybrids… (LM always accuses me of anthropomorphising Bella.)

Initially, Gillie and Marc painted and designed, but they have now become very interested in sculpture. They produce sculptures in a variety of mediums including bronze, brass, steel, wood, fibreglass and polyresin.

In 2006 they were Archibald Prize finalists. Their ‘He’ll never be famous but he doesn’t give a damn, he’s a musician’ painting (below), earned them first prize at the 2009 Chianciano Biennale, set in Tuscany. This work features a Dalmatian dog/man hybrid, playing guitar.

‘He’ll never be famous but he doesn’t give a damn, he’s a musician’
By Gillie and Marc
Acrylic on Canvas
Winner of 2009 Biennale di Chianciano, Tuscany, Italy
(Image from Gillie and Marc)

Their life-like fibreglass sculptural piece, Bondi Coffee Dog, appeared in the Florence Biennale in the same year. Stretching controversy further is their work, If Jesus was alive today he would be a skateboarder, which featured in the inaugural 2009 Blake Prize Director’s Cut, an online exhibition.

And, if that’s not enough, Gillie and Marc have been commissioned by a number of zoos in Australia and New Zealand to create sculptural works. Their latest can be seen below…

Crikey means gee whiz, wow! (Steve Irwin)

‘Run For Your Life’ by Gillie and Marc
Bronze
For permanent installation at Australia Zoo, Queensland. This massive bronze crocodile was created in memory of Steve Irwin to be unveiled on Steve Irwin Day, November 15, 2012 – a day for remembering the Crocodile Hunter
(Image from Gillie and Marc)

If you’d like to see more of Gillie and Marc’s work, check out their website here.

Sculpture By The Sea 2012, TSL Style

Tags

Art, Australia, Bondi, Bondi Coastal Walk, Exhibition, Photographs, Sculpture, Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney, Visual Arts

‘The Travellers Have Arrived’ by Gillie & Marc Schattner (New South Wales)
bronze paint, fibreglass
(Image by TSL)

Sculpture occupies real space like we do… you walk around it and relate to it almost as another person or another object.  (Chuck Close)

LM and I were up bright and early on Friday morning to check out the sixteenth annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibition on the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk. It is a spectacular example of how to successfully make art accessible to everyone and is now one of the most significant sculpture exhibitions in the world.  The fact that it is a free public event makes it even more impressive, I think.

If you ever find yourself in Sydney in late October, it is definitely something for your ‘to do’ list. Until then, here are a few happy snaps…

‘In Search of the Sea’ by Peter Tilley (New South Wales)
cast iron, corten steel
(Image by TSL)

I think this is ‘Wave Pending’ by Carlotta Brunetti (Germany)
tree branches, vines, string, wire
(Image by TSL)

‘Intercut Head Hand and Figure’ by Terry Stringer (New Zealand)
bronze, bolts
(Image by TSL)

‘Where Do The Children Play?’ by Warwick, Ben & Sam Orme (New South Wales)
100 toys, bamboo, cord
(Image by TSL)

‘Knot Standing?’ by Paul Trefry (New South Wales)
steel, aluminium
(Image by TSL)

‘Together’ by Elaine Clocherty (Western Australia)
found local natural materials
(Image by TSL)

View’ by Dave Mercer (New South Wales)
powder coated stainless steel, acrylic
(Image by TSL)

‘Transition’ by Greer Taylor (New South Wales)
plastic, powder coated steel
(Image by TSL)

‘The Optimist’ by Stephen Marr (New South Wales)
styrene, epoxy resin, gesso, oil print, urethane glaze, polymer
with Cave Urban’s wind-driven installation ‘Mengenang’ (Memories) behind
(Image by TSL)

‘Came Back’ by Hiroaki Nakayama (Japan)
black granite
(Image by TSL)

‘Invasive Colonisation’ by Alex Goad (Victoria)
fine white earthenware clay, glaze, wire, stainless steel cord
(Image by TSL)