You Look Good by Jaya Suartika
In his debut solo exhibition Jaya Suartika (XO L’Avant) explores love, lust, sex, envy, social anxiety and life in the digital era. The Adelaide artist and tattooist will reveal his ink-brush paintings accompanied, for the first time, by his poetry.
You Look Good opens at Fisher Jeffries on March 8 and runs until the end of the month.
The Sea and She by Che Chorley
Award-winning photographer Che Chorley presents The Sea and She, a photographic exploration of the ocean and the human body that is on for one night only. Shot over three years, the collection considers anthropogenic climate change and humanity’s connection to the sea. The exhibition is a fundraiser for the International Women’s Development Agency and the show is on International Women’s Day. It will also involve live music by Sitara and Cookie Baker and an essay by artist and writer Haneen Martin.
The Sea and She is showing at The Mill on March 8.
The Art of Mongo, Francois Knoetze
South African artist Francois Knoetze uses garbage and found objects to create surreal, creaturely trash-suits. His work reflects a world in crisis and revolves around environmentalism, capitalism and politics. “I like to think of objects as creaturely, as people, in an abstract sense. One can tell a lot about a person [by] what objects they use,” he told Broadsheet. As the current artist-in-residence at SMOCK Gallery Knoetze will showcase his work in roving performances at Womadelaide this weekend.
Knoetze will be at Womadelaide from March 10 to March 12. Check the Womadelaide website for details.
ANIMAL by Antoine+Manuel
The University of Adelaide’s historic Barr Smith Library will transform into a vibrant display of light, sound and video for ANIMAL. Light projections by French visual maestros Antoine+Manuel will use the library’s Reading Room as a backdrop. The projections feature the human body and Australia’s natural landscapes, such as underwater reefs. The artistic team is internationally renowned for creating the artscapes Le Cartieroscope for Cartier and Eat me for White Night Melbourne at La Trobe University.
ANIMAL is a free event at the Reading Room, Barr Smith Library, Friday March 16 and Saturday March 17 from 7pm to midnight.
Selected Works by Youssef Nabil
Youssef Nabil launches his first solo exhibition in Australia as part of Adelaide Festival this month. The Egyptian artist has been recognised internationally for his exquisite handpainted photographs that recall Egypt’s golden age of cinema. Nabil shoots his subjects (such as Salma Hayek, Alicia Keys and artist Louise Bourgeois) in black and white before employing a painstakingly intricate, by-hand colouring technique used in old Egyptian portraiture.
Youssef Nabil’s Selected Works show at GAGPROJECTS until March 18.
Waqt al-tagheer: Time of Change by Eleven collective
Muslim-Australian artist collective Eleven explores narratives of resistance, representation and identity in its first major show, Time of Change, currently showing at ACE Open. The 10 contemporary visual artists, curators and writers from across the country that are involved present a range of art practices, including photography, sculpture, video and virtual reality. “It’s a response to the way Islamic communities are represented in the West and the misrepresentation of Islamic identities,” Melbourne-based photographer and artist Hoda Afshar told Broadsheet.
Waqt al-tagheer: Time of Change runs until April 21 at ACE Open.
Divided Worlds by various artists
The Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art is back with an ambitious program of 30 contemporary artists spanning five venues. With diverse media including sculpture, painting and photography, Divided Worlds features a range of immersive installations. There are scented environments, a nightmarish Dungeons & Dragons construction, a rainbow candy-cave and 3D photography. For curator Erica Green the Biennial is “an opportunity for artists to realise ambitious works” with the intention to identify and reconcile and “celebrate” differences in humanity.
The Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Divided Worlds runs from March 3 to June 3 at venues across Adelaide.
Colours of Impressionism by 19th Century French Masters
More than 65 Impressionist masterpieces from Paris’s renowned Musée d’Orsay are coming to Adelaide in “the most important exhibition ever to be shown at the Art Gallery of South Australia” according to gallery director Nick Mitzevich. The exhibition presents an unprecedented collection of 19th-century French masters including Monet, Manet, Renoir, Pissarro, Gauguin and Degas. “We anticipate that an exhibition of this calibre and content will … provide a unique perspective on one of the most groundbreaking movements in Western art,” says Mitzevich.
Colours of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay will run from March 29 to July 29.
