Eastern Suburbs Art Group

For a change I went to this show with Omer and Ming, friends of long standing. I hadn't been to this gallery for a while. Fairbairn has a sort of Francis Bacon vibe but he also reminded me of Kevin Connor (represented by Liverpool St Gallery). I'd seen Connor some time before in the context of perhaps buying a work.  I heard froma  man in a green jacket I met at the show that Fairbairn was originally English and migrated to Australia. I don't know if this is true.  I quite like his work. I didn't in the end buy any of the Connor drawings. The aesthetic is sort of 90s street grunge, and I kinda appreciate what these artists are trying to do but it's not where my heart tlies.

This show has finished but the prints Stein makes are memorable. I bought one and sent to Japan to family, where it has arrived. Stein is a superior craftswoman, as can easily be seen in this portraidt of the last buttonholer in Sydney. Stein's subject matter is intriguing, I didn't really find an easily rcognisable pattern and this diffuse quality is emblematic for me of the show as a whole. The picture I got is below, it's got a window with a view and a fruit bowl. Stein will be at a pop-up space this Friday if anyone would like to see her works first-hand. Stein also provides cheaper access to images in the form of gift cards.

Went with Yianni after the NAS grad Show. I knew a few of the other visitors to see Edmond Thommen's wonderful photomontages. The poses are discreet and rather polite. I didn't see any frowns and a lot of the visitors were women. Had a great chat with Mark Elliot-Ranken, useful information as it always is. But also met Deb Nankervis back from overseas. The night was expectant and there were a few drops of rain.

 With Yianni after NAS I went to Surry Hills.  Srivilasa's little (and not so little, some almost 1m high) mundane deities make quite a sight ranked along a table in the middle of the room. Above: 'Motiva, the Inspirer of Action'. We just found a parking spot as a car pulled out but the ticket machine closest to the car didn't work so Yianni went across the street to another machine. Srivilasa was at the opening, a kind and gregarious man. A little pat when he went off to talk to other people. I mentioned I had bought a painting from his Brisbane gallerist.

An amazing collection of works, mostly by people from the shrinking minority, the Anglo Celtic stream of Australian society. But nevertheless very good, for example Jocelyn Hedley (see below). This work just inside door of main gallery, stunning colours. And Beatrice Weldner (see below). Sort of like the endpapers of old 19th C books. But somehow a bit left-of-centre and creepy. I really liked the colours of these too. Upstairs Chrystie Longworth (see below) whose ceramic art also uses great colours but of course muted because unglazed. I really liked the sort of jigsaw appeal of the wall piece included in the show. Great use of text too. Bibi Soleimani (below) had some wonderful pictures. These are really striking and look a bit like First Nations rock art figures. Nikki Morgan-Smith was a real standout for me (see below). I was literally mesmerised by the skill, intelligence and humour of these wonderful works. In the one below you get a sort of Cy Twombly vibe with the panel on the ...

That heading shouls also say more photos of the pilot performance. But the time is here for all good art patrons to do their best. The Bondi Pavilion ticketing site for Sketch On Stage is now live go here to book . Here the actors (see below) rehearsing for the pilot show. And below two shots of the actors (first shot) in the drama for the pilot show. Then (below) a shot of the audience sketching. Unfortunately the audience had only coloured markers, but for Bondi Pavilion show we'll definitely have pencils and/or charcoal too. We have a new press release coming down the production line to so will be making that public soon. The marker issue was because of time constraints. It seems pretty obvious that you'd want to have pencils for  sketching. But there you go. We got one thing wrong. Outstanding performances by the cast, and the crew supporting them made for a productive evening.

Now that the pilot show went off without a crisis we're focusing our attention on the Christmas Special at Bondi Pavilion on 21 November. We discussed these things in  a marketing meeting today in Sydney via Zoom.  Some more photos from the Redfern show on Sunday. First, two photos of performers. Below two photos of audience members sketching. Here they are. Next show is later this month, as mentioned. The show later this month will be in Bondi. Deciding how to leverage our advantages to make the most of the opportunities presented to us. The Bondi show is possible with the cooperation of the Bondi Pavilion. We will be adopting a tagline to use in future materials, "Draw your Way to Wellness". Sketch On Stage is an immersive art class but we know from studies that art is good for you. What I mean is that making art increases your wellness. I expect tickets to the Bondi show will be on sale tomorrow, probably in the afternoon.