September is always an exciting month for us here in the studio.

The weather warms up, the selection of flowers to fill our interiors with are abundant and of course it heralds the opening of Sydney Contemporary Art Fair.

We have been very busy working with some of our clients assisting them with building and refining their contemporary art collections. Sydney Contemporary is the perfect fair to visit with these lovely people. We often find that clients may be drawn to a particular work however require our assistance and opinion around if the piece will work in their home, workplace or venue.

Our practice is deeply entrenched in the world of art and we believe that our workplace, retail, hospitality and residential projects are enriched even more once the art we have selected for each space has been installed. So, last week for us was a magical week which we would love to share with you.

Sydney Contemporary is Australasia’s largest fair and was again this year held within the industrial walls of the Carriageworks venue.

This year, more than 80 galleries from around the world exhibited, showcasing the work of 300 leading and emerging artists from more than 30 different countries.

The Fair is a celebration of diversity in the art world and this year we saw carefully curated exhibitions that were challenging, educational and incredibly inspiring.

There were so many amazing booths showing so much talent. It did make it a little difficult to select my three favourites for 2018.

The three galleries mentioned below were absolute show stoppers. We have also been lucky enough to recently acquire pieces for some of our special clients from each of these galleries, so we have built and established relationships and enjoy working with these galleries immensely.

Nanda\Hobbs

Nanda\Hobbs was a truly dynamic stand that engaged the audience with contemporary takes on still life, detailed evocative landscapes and rotating oil paintings of planets.

The gallery had a focus on five exemplary Hyper-realist artists - Giles Alexander, Jonathan Dalton, Stuart McLachlan, Dianne Gall and Jim Thalassoudis. Each have expanding practices that continue to re-define, engage and comment on our contemporary society.

The artists, whilst working in differing visual languages, all draw upon similar themes of time and place, history and the sense of belonging that the human condition requires. All explore their personal narrative within the context of these universal ideas - each representing their subject matter in a realist manner.

As an art loving interior designer, I was drawn to this stand through the artists use reflective surfaces, intricately detailed paper sculptures and incredible studies in colour.

Arthouse Gallery

A beautifully curated stand reminiscent of spring and the warmer Sydney months ahead.

Arthouse Gallery featured a solo show by Emma Walker titled Surface Immersion, and a dynamic group show of the gallery’s most exciting and collectable artists.

We were lucky enough to guide one of our residential client’s towards several of Emma’s pieces and we look forward to seeing them complete the interiors of their home.

We look forward to sharing these installations with you here on the blog so if you have not already subscribed, be sure to avoid missing out on these evocative interiors coming soon.

Olsen Gallery

The Olsen Gallery presented an exquisite solo exhibition of one of their most dynamic artists John Young.

Through amalgamating digital imagery and traditional painting techniques, Young’s work explores visuality and the concerns of the contemporary body in a digital age.

John Young is one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists, noted for his discursive and deeply scholarly approach that combines innovative painterly practice with traditional technical rigour.

The composition of shape and playful use of colour in his works exhibited at the show are a dream for interior designers wanting to creative soulful, memorable and unique interior spaces.

We really hope that you have enjoyed our little review on Sydney Contemporary 2018.

Maybe we have inspired you to build on your own collection, or if you have not already, start a personal collection. Our friends at Nanda\Hobbs have kindly shared Edition 1 of their Art Guide Series: Starting an Art Collection. Please click on the link below to download your copy. This is a little gift from Nanda\Hobbs and us here at Caroline Beresford Design to get you on your way to starting you own collection.

We feel really passionate about bringing more art into everyone’s homes and business spaces. We love seeing the joy a particular work can bring and the connection some of our client’s make with the individual pieces we introduce them to.

If you find that you need that little bit of extra confidence or assistance when sourcing art for your home, workplace or venue, then please call us, we are here to help.

Walking the Line between Art and Design: Sydney Contemporary 2018