The art fair that’s become the exact event that Sydney needs

All galleries covet a position in the first row, capturing viewers as they walk through the door. Utopia Art has made the most of the opportunity with a jaw-dropping display of western and central desert painting; Vermilion Art, next door, has made a feature of two large works by Chinese master Yin Zhaoyang. Alcaston’s stall is dominated by a huge work by Sally Gabori, while Gow Langsford has a wall-sized abstract painting by Grace Wright – balanced by a small Picasso plate, hiding around the corner.

Some of the best booths are devoted to solo exhibitions, the pick of the bunch being Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery’s display of bark paintings and poles by Dhambit Mununggurr. These works, in startling shades of blue, are like Aboriginal art from outer space, although they actually hail from Yirrkala, the Arnhem Land community that keeps producing one extraordinary artist after another. To confirm this observation, Toby Meagher at Michael Reid Galleries showed me three impressive metal engravings by emerging Yolngu artist Gaypalani Wanambi, the daughter of the late Wukun Wanambi.

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There’s also something going on in the north-west, as Emilia Galatis of EG Projects demonstrates with a very strong show of paintings by Corban Clause Williams and engraved pearl shells by Garry Sibosado. It’s not unusual for Indigenous art to dominate this fair but the range and quality of work this time acts as a powerful endorsement of the industry. The established secondary dealers such as D’Lan Davidson and the late Tim Klingender have dependably good selections, but one of the real surprises comes from Brisbane-based dealers A Secondary Eye, who are hosting a survey of sculptured ceremonial objects by Roy Wiggan (1930-2015) of the Kimberley.

It’s a museum show disguised as a commercial proposition. Wiggan’s work also features among the 13 artists who have contributed free-standing installations, although the show-stealer, predictably, is Sam Jinks, with a hyperreal sculpture called Iris – the Messenger, which features a naked woman with huge, golden wings gazing into a reflective pool. Alex Seton’s chandeliers, tucked away in a corridor, are a surprising departure for this artist, known as a stone carver. Jenna Lee shows how to hold a wall with a series of simple, diamond-shaped works on paper and Sarah Smuts-Kennedy has contributed a kind of energy tent, made from large sheets of paper covered in coloured abstract markings.

One welcomes new additions to the fair, such as Nancy Nan’s Redbase, which has been based in Sydney for more than a year, showing new art from China, Indonesia and South Korea. There are also three Japanese galleries, each with work that should intrigue visitors. Wollongong is represented by the enterprising Egg & Dart; New Zealand by a range of leading galleries, including Starkwhite, Paulnache and Robert Heald.

Easily the most internationally significant inclusion this year is Galleria Continua, with branches in San Gimignano, Beijing, Les Moulins, Havana, Rome, Sao Paulo, Paris and Dubai. They are showing a suite of sculptures by British superstar Antony Gormley.

I’d recommend a visit to the fair just to see one new painting by James Morrison at the Darren Knight Gallery. Good Government (2023), with its pink eagles and carefully inscribed ducks, has taken the artist many months to finish, earning him the dealer’s accolade of greatest delight and greatest frustration. It was worth the wait.

I could keep going, but I hope I’ve said enough to whet your appetites. Sydney Contemporary continues today and tomorrow. Just don’t – under any circumstances – imagine you’ll find a parking spot.

Sydney Contemporary 2023 is at Carriageworks until Sunday.

All galleries covet a position in the first row, capturing viewers as they walk through the door. Utopia Art has made the most of the opportunity with a jaw-dropping display of western and central desert painting; Vermilion Art, next door, has made a feature of two large works by Chinese master Yin Zhaoyang. Alcaston’s stall is dominated by a huge work by Sally Gabori, while Gow Langsford has a wall-sized abstract painting by Grace Wright – balanced by a small Picasso plate, hiding around the corner.

Some of the best booths are devoted to solo exhibitions, the pick of the bunch being Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery’s display of bark paintings and poles by Dhambit Mununggurr. These works, in startling shades of blue, are like Aboriginal art from outer space, although they actually hail from Yirrkala, the Arnhem Land community that keeps producing one extraordinary artist after another. To confirm this observation, Toby Meagher at Michael Reid Galleries showed me three impressive metal engravings by emerging Yolngu artist Gaypalani Wanambi, the daughter of the late Wukun Wanambi.

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There’s also something going on in the north-west, as Emilia Galatis of EG Projects demonstrates with a very strong show of paintings by Corban Clause Williams and engraved pearl shells by Garry Sibosado. It’s not unusual for Indigenous art to dominate this fair but the range and quality of work this time acts as a powerful endorsement of the industry. The established secondary dealers such as D’Lan Davidson and the late Tim Klingender have dependably good selections, but one of the real surprises comes from Brisbane-based dealers A Secondary Eye, who are hosting a survey of sculptured ceremonial objects by Roy Wiggan (1930-2015) of the Kimberley.

It’s a museum show disguised as a commercial proposition. Wiggan’s work also features among the 13 artists who have contributed free-standing installations, although the show-stealer, predictably, is Sam Jinks, with a hyperreal sculpture called Iris – the Messenger, which features a naked woman with huge, golden wings gazing into a reflective pool. Alex Seton’s chandeliers, tucked away in a corridor, are a surprising departure for this artist, known as a stone carver. Jenna Lee shows how to hold a wall with a series of simple, diamond-shaped works on paper and Sarah Smuts-Kennedy has contributed a kind of energy tent, made from large sheets of paper covered in coloured abstract markings.

One welcomes new additions to the fair, such as Nancy Nan’s Redbase, which has been based in Sydney for more than a year, showing new art from China, Indonesia and South Korea. There are also three Japanese galleries, each with work that should intrigue visitors. Wollongong is represented by the enterprising Egg & Dart; New Zealand by a range of leading galleries, including Starkwhite, Paulnache and Robert Heald.

Easily the most internationally significant inclusion this year is Galleria Continua, with branches in San Gimignano, Beijing, Les Moulins, Havana, Rome, Sao Paulo, Paris and Dubai. They are showing a suite of sculptures by British superstar Antony Gormley.

I’d recommend a visit to the fair just to see one new painting by James Morrison at the Darren Knight Gallery. Good Government (2023), with its pink eagles and carefully inscribed ducks, has taken the artist many months to finish, earning him the dealer’s accolade of greatest delight and greatest frustration. It was worth the wait.

I could keep going, but I hope I’ve said enough to whet your appetites. Sydney Contemporary continues today and tomorrow. Just don’t – under any circumstances – imagine you’ll find a parking spot.

Sydney Contemporary 2023 is at Carriageworks until Sunday.