SYDNEY.- Sydney Contemporary, Australasia’s international art fair, announced the 15 Australian and International artists exhibiting in the 2017 Installation Contemporary program. Spanning a range of mediums from painting and sculpture, drawing and ceramics, through to installation and video, the artists in Installation Contemporary will present ambitious and large-scale artworks across the entire Carriageworks multi-arts precinct in Redfern, Sydney, for the Fair being presented from 7 to 10 September 2017.

Responding to the unique architecture of Carriageworks, Installation Contemporary is an exhibition of inspiring, striking and innovative installations ranging from the handcrafted to the digital, throughout the Carriageworks precinct. Curated this year by Rachel Kent (Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia) and Megan Robson (Assistant Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia), Installation Contemporary showcases ambitious and large-scale artworks by established and senior artists including Betty Kuntiwa Pumani, Nike Savvas and Maio Motoko alongside a younger generation of artists including Richard Lewer, Lara Merrett, Sanné Mestrom and teamLab.

Rachel Kent, Curator of Installation Contemporary said: ‘Although Installation Contemporary 2017 embraces diverse materials and approaches, a number of connections and shared concerns can be seen across the exhibition. Colour plays a significant role in artworks that draw inspiration from both the natural and urban environment. Traditional knowledge, designs and processes are explored in works that unite the past with the present Individual works comprise of tactile materials such as vintage kimono fabric, timber, hand-dyed silk or clay. Elsewhere artists make use of everyday materials or found objects, while recent technological advances are reflected in screen-based digital artworks, as well as works that employ new industrial fabrication techniques.’

Installation Contemporary 2017 includes a number of new works created specifically for Sydney Contemporary audiences. Highlights include a five-metre long diptych painting by Betty Kuntiwa Pumani of Country surrounding the Mimili community in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia, Locust Jones’ towering vertical paper scroll drawing, a digital artwork by Japanese collective teamLab that is created continuously in real time in increments of hours, days and years; and an installation of larrakitj (memorial poles) by Yirrkala artists Buwathay Munyarryun and Ŋoŋu Ganambarr.

This year the Fair features a number of artworks that invite audiences to participate in performances, converse with artists or explore installations that constantly change. Japanese artist Maio Motoko’s intricate folding screens exploring light and space will be activated by traditional Butoh performances and intimate tea ceremonies presented daily during the Fair. Sydney-based artist Lara Merrett will create an installation that transforms over the duration of the Fair from her signature large pre-painted canvases draped across the floor and hanging from the walls.

Sydney Contemporary Fair Director, Barry Keldoulis said: ‘Our ambitious Installation Contemporary program is a robust complement to the 2017 edition of Sydney Contemporary, that will feature more than 80 leading Australian and international exhibitors from around the Pacific Rim and further afield including China, The Philippines, Singapore, Chile and New Zealand.’

This year Sydney Contemporary features works spanning a diverse range of mediums from established through to emerging artists showcased in museum-quality booths across seven large-scale exhibition spaces at Carriageworks, complemented by an exciting program of curated talks, performances and events.

Sydney Contemporary 2017 expects to build upon the success of its previous two editions that attracted over 60,000 visitors in total. The previous two Sydney Contemporary art fairs resulted in more than AUD$25 million in art sales, each representing the largest short-term concentration of art sales in Australia. The Sydney Contemporary Advisory Council overseeing the 2017 edition includes Sue Cato, Rachel Griffiths, Mark Hughes, John Kaldor AM, Dr Gene Sherman, Lucy Turnbull AO and Evan Williams. Deutsche Bank is the Principal Partner for Sydney Contemporary 2017.

Sydney Contemporary was founded in 2013 by Tim Etchells of SME London Ltd. Etchells is the founder of Art Central HK and co-founder of ART HK (now Art Basel Hong Kong).