SYDNEY.- Gallery and Art Consultancy, Curatorial+Co. has today announced that their physical gallery space will move to a new home in Woolloomooloo. Situated at the iconic 80 William Street in the heart of the Sydney city arts district, the new gallery space will open to the public on 4 May 2023, with exhibitions from landscape painter Susie Dureau and ceramicist Aleisa Miksad, continuing its focus on elevating emerging and mid-career artists.
Surrounded by galleries including Chalk Horse, COMA, Jericho Contemporary and King Street Gallery on William and a short walk from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, this move cements Curatorial+Co. as a key player in Sydney’s contemporary art scene. The gallery will feature an expansive 150 square-metre exhibition space, measuring five metres in height, alongside an additional 150 square-metre storage and office space. The gallery will be fronted by 17 metres of glass, inviting passers-by to view Curatorial+Co.’s eclectic and ever-changing range of works, with displays evolving each week to showcase a variety of new artists.
Founder and Director, Sophie Vander said: It’s incredible to see how far we’ve come since I first started Curatorial+Co. from my dining room just seven years ago. Thanks to the team of brilliant women and the talented artists we work with, we have succeeded in establishing an accessible space where artists and art collectors can connect. We were delighted to be approached by the Terrace Tower Group to put down roots in Woolloomooloo among such a vibrant contemporary art scene.
Originally created as an online enterprise in 2015 Curatorial+Co. has since gone from strength to strength, transitioning to a physical gallery space in Redfern in August 2020 during the height of the pandemic, and defying odds to become a successful gallery praised for its adaptability and unique exhibition approach during uncertain times.
Vander added: This move to 80 William Street feels like a natural progression for Curatorial+Co., providing a stable and energetic environment for us to grow as a gallery and offer further visibility for the emerging artists we represent, allowing them to take their practice to the next level. The scale of the space will enable us to broaden our remit even further with experimental installations, challenging what a modern gallery space can be.
The new gallery space will launch with a major exhibition from Susie Dureau running from 4 to 20 May, presenting new work from her collection, Fathoms, inspired by the ocean and building on her existing body of work which focuses on clouds and mountains. Dureau’s practice draws upon 15th Century European oil painting techniques, working primarily on linen and working wherever possible with pure pigments, linseed oil and solvent. In Dureau’s paintings, motifs of waves, clouds and rocks float through space, challenging historical representation of the landscape by presenting familiar motifs in curious ways.
Coinciding with Dureau’s exhibition, Curatorial+Co. will feature new sculptures from emerging ceramicist Aleisa Miksad, taking inspiration from classical ceramics of the Greeks and Etruscans. These ancient forms are reimagined in writhing coils and spiked collars, creating a juxtaposition between ancient and modern ceramics. Evoking early coil pots, a traditional method of building ceramic vessels, made by building up the sides of pots with successive ropes of clay in a circular pattern, Miksad coil-builds her vessels from stoneware and porcelain clay bodies. The meticulous process of coiling these works allows space for exploration and exaggeration of the form as the piece develops.
In the months following the opening, exhibitions will include works from artists including Morgan Stokes, Katrina O’Brien, Ingrid Daniell and Belinda Street.
Conceptual artist Morgan Stokes (exhibiting 24 May-10 June) investigates the painting as an object, opposed to an image, presenting a rumination on the virtual world with each work a response to our escalating entrapment within our screens. Approaching works from a post-internet school of thought with a post-minimalist sensibility, Stokes’ works seek to explore the physicality of painting as well as the way we perceive image itself.
Mixed media artist Katrina O’Brien (exhibiting 14 June-1 July) uses drawing, painting and collage to express her inner monologue and explore the theme of intangible human nature through an expression of thought, emotion, darkness and light, finding the beauty in chaos.
Painter and visual artist Ingrid Daniell (exhibiting 5 July-15 July) finds context in her painting by using the landscape as a metaphor for our fragile earth, climate change and our human need to belong. Through her painting, she identifies the human and instinctive need to connect to the land, to the ocean, to a natural environment and the landscapes that make up our identity from the past, present and future.
Abstract landscape painter and emerging artist, Belinda Street’s work (exhibiting 19-29 July) explores the relationship between representation and abstraction with a constantly evolving technique which continually redefines her place within contemporary art culture. Street presents landscape as a remembered feeling, blending literal elements of a particular place with the abstract to evoke the emotions or sensory experience of being in the landscape.
Born out of a passion to make art from around the world accessible to an Australian audience of art lovers, Curatorial+Co. is a contemporary art gallery and consultancy based in Sydney.
Founded in 2015 by Sophie Vander, Curatorial+Co. showcases accessible, one-of-a-kind and limited edition works by established and emerging artists and designers from across the globe in its online gallery and Sydney space. Curatorial+Co. creates a lasting connection between artists with individual collectors, interior designers and organisations looking to enhance their environment with original works. Presenting painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, and ceramic works as well as multimedia and textile art pieces, the scope of the Curatorial+Co. collection is vast and inspiring, and all works are exclusive to Curatorial+Co.
Created to offer new collectors a starting point for their art obsession and to give established collectors an array of alternative pieces to add to their spaces, Curatorial+Co. features affordable artworks carefully curated and available online and on-site in Curatorial+Co’s new Woolloomooloo gallery at 80 William Street, in the heart of the Sydney city arts district.
Curatorial+Co.’s art consultancy arm works closely with hotels, interior designers, architects, developers and private collectors to source one-of-a-kind pieces to suit their budget and aesthetic, specialising in curating site-specific installations and collections.
Curatorial+Co. Director Sophie Vander champions artists and advocates for individuality. As a UNSW College of Fine Arts graduate with a relentless passion for art and design, Sophie has worked as a magazine editor overseeing the style and direction of some of the world’s leading publications in North America, Asia and Australia. Sophie was inspired by the art she was exposed to throughout her extensive travels and yearned to bring this mix of one-of-a- kind art and design to an Australian audience, and show Australian talent to the world.
After 10 years abroad and leveraging her experience in curating, interior design, and journalism, Sophie now lives in Sydney where she brings her insight and enthusiasm to Curatorial+Co., supporting her artists’ career growth, consulting with clients on art commissions and fostering creative talent.
Using her keen eye for detail, Sophie uses her global design sensibility to support emerging artists and collectors around the world in their art journey. Collaborating with contemporary artists, Curatorial+Co. is dedicated to making beautiful and original art accessible to everyone.
