Art
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday January 27, 2011
Kahlil Gibran: the Prophet, the Artist, the ManIf you're unfamiliar with the world of Kahlil Gibran, the 20th-century artist and author of popular spiritual guidebook The Prophet, this show is a good introduction. The overview includes works of art such as The Gift (below) and writings from his collection at the Gibran Museum in Bsharri, North Lebanon. Until February 20, Mitchell Library - State Library of NSW, Macquarie Street, city. Free. Phone: 9273 1414.Karen Choy - Year of the Rabbit Australian-born Chinese artist Karen Choy brings animal fables and characters to life with her playful ceramics. Her exhibition is part of the City of Sydney's Chinese New Year Festival for the Year of the Rabbit. Using Chinese earthenware, lead glazes and animal forms, Choy creates quirky, humorous and sometimes vulnerable works. Influenced by Tang Dynasty funeral animals of the seventh to 10th centuries, Choy's ceramics, many with a rabbit theme, reinterpret traditional forms with whimsy and vibrancy.February 5-March 2, Robin Gibson Gallery, 278 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst. Free. Phone: 9331 6692.Artexpress 2011 This thoroughly refreshing show features a selection of outstanding student artworks developed for the art-making component of the HSC examination in visual arts 2010. The range of media includes ceramics, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and video. February 9-April 10, Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery Road, The Domain. Free. Phone: 9225 1744.Emma Rowan-Kelly - Innocent ArcticAdelaide-born photographer Emma Rowan-Kelly has been to more than 80 countries in the past 12 years, recording thousands of images and refining her style. The hard work shows in this beautiful debut collection of large-scale photographs from the High Arctic. Her vision seems distilled in images of crystalline icescapes and moving portraits of animals, including stunning shots of polar bears (below). A percentage of the proceeds from sales will go to the World Wildlife Fund "Adopt a polar bear" program.February 22-March 6, Depot Gallery II, 10/2 Danks Street, Waterloo. Free. thedepotgallery @2danksstreet.com.au. Beat Zoderer Renowned Swiss artist Beat Zoderer, in Australia for an artist's residency at Dominik Mersch Gallery, presents a solo show of his signature geometric-constructivist artworks (including Kreisel No. 2 - 07, above). Zoderer often uses office or household items as raw material and while his design approach is systematised and minimalist, the results are, paradoxically, charmingly ornamental.February 20-March 26, Dominik Mersch Gallery, 11/2 Danks Street, Waterloo. Free: Phone: 9698 4499.William Yang - Old New Borrowed BluePhotographer and theatre performer William Yang is one of Australia's great visual storytellers. His very personal tales describe the experience of being gay and Chinese in Australia. This exhibition presents many of Yang's rich images of the city's gay community, from the '70s to present, but the centrepiece is a new series of self-portraits spanning Yang's life and marking his milestones. February 2-26, Stills Gallery, 6 Gosbell Street, Paddington. Free. Phone: 9331 7775.Details correct as we go to print but subject to late changes.
© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald