The Sydney Summer Art Scene

By Ben Stephens.

Sometimes, your soul needs a gentle dash of the imaginative art scene. At other times, you crave a influx of creative inspiration and you NEED IT NOW! Sydney is not Melbourne when it comes to the art scene, which is good, because this defining factor draws a curious line-up of artists, mind bending pieces and inspiring exhibitions to our galleries. To round out the summer art season nicely, we have noted down what’s happening at our favourite galleries around the Sydney area. So grab a cuppa or a Bloody Mary and float down the rabbit hole… as you are already late, for a very important date.

Museum of Contemporary Art

The MCA are in the midst of the Grayson Perry exhibition and if you haven’t been up to level four, you are missing contemporary goodness. From 15 metre tapestries to a collection of ceramics and old notebooks, this is a highlight of the scene at the moment. On top of the exhibition, you can make your way down to the Gin Garden hosted by Archie Rose and Young Henrys, inspired by Mr Perry himself. The exhibition is on until May 1. Grab tickets and more info on the website.

White Rabbit

Hidden away in the back streets is the White Rabbit Gallery, an art museum with a focus on 21^st century Chinese contemporary art. Currently Paradise Bitch, a collection of surprise pieces with the theme of East meeting West is showing. Let me borrow your mind for second, imagine Greek deities having their heads replaced with Buddha – Super contemporary. Sadly, the gallery will close on February 1 to make way for their next installation, Heavy Artillery.

aMBUSH

Curated by the talented Ben Frost and featuring over 500 artists from around the world, Paste Modernism is in its last week before wrapping things up on January 26. The exhibition has the most exciting poster work on display and with one masterclass left, you need to see this before it ends. Hosted at aMBUSH Gallery in the Central Park building in Chippendale, head to level four and get taught the ways of PasteUp art.

Art Gallery of NSW

The team at AGNSW love to have a lot on and this summer is exactly that. From Body Parts, a look into Australian and International photographers work in the field of the human body, to The Greats, showing an amazing selection of masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland, you’ll be sure to see some favourites here. There are seven other exhibitions on at AGNSW, so to get a full wrap check their website.

Powerhouse

The Powerhouse Museum, or MAAS (Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences) has a stellar line up of exhibitions. From ego cultures of Superman and Batman in The Art of the Brick: DC Comics, to the Wartime Innovation that takes a look into the innovations that helped Australia progress after the war. The line up becomes even more diverse with the showing of Collette Dinnigan: Unlaced, a look into the work of the award winning Australian fashion designer. Something for absolutely everyone, even the coffee lovers, see Max in the café – he’ll treat you like a long lost buddy.

There you have it. A guide to what’s good in the Sydney art scene, well a select guide anyway. Start with this and once you have expanded your mind while looking at a Buddhist Zeus, lay down and take a well deserved nap and then come back here for part two, where we will kick it up a notch… you know, conceptual virtuosity and whatnot.