We spoke with Gallery Director, Rachael Fry from C. Gallery to talk about their presentation for Sydney Contemporary 2022.
Ben Mazey, Making Nice Things, Installation Image. Photo by Simon Strong.
The gallery is located in Melbourne, can you elaborate on its location and why you chose to open here?
The gallery is located in the heart of the post-industrial Cremorne precinct, one of the creative hubs of Melbourne where the north and the south converge. The shell of the space has the character and charm of its former glory as a knitting mill with diffused natural light and exposed six meter Oregon beams flanking the length of the building. The white gallery space is housed within the industrial exterior to provide a blank canvas for artists to explore narratives within a historic setting.
Doug Johnston, Linde Freya Tangelder and Benoit Viaene, Traditional Techniques Contemporary Modes, Installation Image. Photo by Simon Strong.
What are some career highlights, or exhibition highlights in the gallery to date?
We are the new kids on the block so we are approaching our first year anniversary, and within that time we are very proud of what we have achieved including two exhibitions (during lockdown) featuring the work of functional and visual artists from Sweden, Spain, New York and Belgium as well as the first solo exhibition of New Zealand born Ben Mazey. We look forward to upcoming exhibitions by Claudia Lau, Ruth Allen and Jeremy Anderson.
What was your first exhibition, and why?
Our first exhibition was a group show by the functional artist Jenny Nordberg (Sweden) and sculptor José Manuel Castro López (Spain). I was interested by both the dichotomy and symbiosis of the works of these two artists. The atemporal glow of Nordberg’s silvered mirrors stand in such contrast to the gravity of López’s lush stone carvings and yet both elicit the impression of the human touch and the wonder of our own beguiling existence.
Jeremy Anderson, Piccolo 2022 Stoneware, glaze, 22 karat, gold lustre, 38 x 17 x 20 cm. Courtesy the artist and C. Gallery.
Who are you bringing to Sydney Contemporary and why?
We will be bringing a mixture of functional and visual artists we have shown to date including, Jenny Nordberg, Doug Johnston, Ben Mazey, Linde Freya Tangelder and José Manuel Castro López, as well as work for upcoming exhibitions by artists Jeremy Anderson, Claudia Lau and John Wardle.
