In the loop July 24: quick picks

Lee Bontecou in studio 1963

photo Ugo Mulas, courtesy The Commercial Gallery and MCLEMOI Gallery, Sydney

Lee Bontecou in studio 1963

Janis II, The Commercial & MCLEMOI Galleries

Janis encompasses a range of activities initiated by Kelly Doley (a member of Brown Council) focusing on female artists, writers and thinkers allowing them “to be heard a little louder, to take up more space and more time in the world” (website). She has teamed up with Amanda Rowell to curate the second Janis exhibition spanning two Sydney inner city galleries, The Commercial and MCLEMOI. Janis II features abstract, conceptual and minimalist work by Bonita Bub, Jenny Christmann, Sarah Goffman, Gail Hastings and Sarah Rodigari (who will be performing at the opening, 26 July). A publication featuring short pieces by an impressive list of female artists and thinkers will also accompany the exhibition. (For the amusing significance of the Lee Bontecou image read Gail Hastings’ insightful essay Thank goodness Donald Judd wasn’t a misogynist.)
Janis II, The Commercial Gallery & MCLEMOI Gallery, 26 July-17 August; www.thecommercialgallery.com http://mclemoi.com

Sydney Chamber Opera, Owen Wingrave

photo Samuel Hodge

Sydney Chamber Opera, Owen Wingrave

Owen Wingrave, Sydney Chamber Opera

An interesting development in Sydney’s contemporary classical musical landscape has been the rapid rise of Sydney Chamber Opera under the leadership of Louis Garrick and Jack Symonds. The company has continued to impress with what Keith Galllasch described as “strong programming, quality musicianship, brave directors and very strong design” (RT113). Their next production is Benjamin Britten’s Owen Wingrave (1967), exploring familial bonds, war and pacifism. Directed by Imara Savage it presents an interesting challenge as the opera, based on a story by Henry James, was originally commissioned by the BBC as a work for television.
Owen Wingrave, Sydney Chamber Opera, Carriageworks, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10 August; http://sydneychamberopera.com

Shilpa Gupta, Untitled, video still, 2012

Shilpa Gupta, MAAP Space

Indian artist Shilpa Gupta has garnered attention on the international media art scene since the late 90s with her intelligent blending of politics, social commentary and playfulness. Gupta will be exhibiting four works at MAAP Space in Brisbane—two single channel video pieces, an interactive sound installation and an embroidered wall hanging—continuing her conceptual interrogation of borders and nationality.
Shilpa Gupta, MAAP Space, 27 July-30 Aug; www.maap.org.au/

Ian Strange, Corinne Terrace 2011 archival digital print

collection of the artist, New York © Ian Strange

Ian Strange, Corinne Terrace 2011 archival digital print

Suburban, Ian Strange, NGV

Perth street artist Ian Strange now lives mostly in New York and is becoming world renowned for his ambitious projects. In Suburban, Strange travelled around America—Ohio, Detroit, Alabama, New Jersey, New York and New Hampshire—painting directly onto houses that were slated for demolition. The actions, which even included burning down a property, have been documented and will form the basis of a multichannel video installation, accompanied by large format prints and relics from the houses themselves.
Suburban, Ian Strange, NGV Studio, 27 July-15 September 2013; www.ngv.vic.gov.au

Me too, Alexei Balabanov

Russian Resurrection Film Festival

It’s the 10th anniversary of the Russian Resurrection Film Festival and while it has already played Melbourne and Canberra, the Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Byron Bay iterations are still to come. Possible highlights: Me too (2012) by controversial director Alexei Balabanov (recently deceased), a contemporary Tarkovsky-inspired search for happiness in a no-go zone; the road movie Artefact (2010), a debut feature by actor Andrey Sokolov; the brutally honest documentary Anton’s right here (2012), following the life of a young man with mental illness, directed by Lyubov Arkus; and the 1966 comedy Beware of the Automobile, Eldar Ryazanov’s take on a Soviet Robin Hood.
Russian Resurrection Film Festival, Sydney, Chauvel Paddington & Event Cinemas Burwood, 24 July-7 August; Brisbane, Palace Centro, 26 July-4 August, Perth, Cinema Paradiso, 1-11 August; Byron Bay, Palace, 2-4 August; http://russianresurrection.com/

Jemimah Davis, Silicone Nozzles (2013, installation detail), nozzles, Tupperware, LED lights

South Australian Living Artists (SALA)

Every August, South Australia celebrates its living artists. This year there are 4,917 artists involved ranging from amateur to emerging to established with over 500 exhibitions on offer. Highlights include Crystal Palace at Flinders University City Gallery which places the work of nine contemporary artists ‘in conversation’ with objects from South Australian museums and archives” (website). Emerging artist Jemimah Davis takes ordinary objects and transforms them into magical glowing ones in Fluorescence at Urban Cow Gallery. Outside of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula you can catch Where are you? What time is it? How do you know? by Margaret Worth at Signal Point Gallery working with projection group Illuminart and sound artist Tom Harrer to play with the viewer’s image, seemingly shifting it through time and space.
SALA, various venues across South Australia, 2-25 August; http://www.salafestival.com/

Tangents And Cycle ~440, Sound Lounge

The New Music Network presents an evening of exploratory electro-acoustic music with two relatively new ensembles, Tangents and Cyle ~440. Tangents is a kind of super group including Ollie Bown (Icarus), Shoeb Ahmad and Evan Dorrian (Spartak), Andrian Klumpes (Triosk) and Peter Hollo (Four Play), playing a kind of “post-everything mesh of styles” (website). Cycle ~440 is a duo from Perth featuring RealTime writer Sam Gillies on laptop and Kevin Pen on piano performing semi-improvised settings from their soon to be released album The Topography of Ascending Structures.
New Music Network presents Tangents And Cycle ~440, Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, 1 August; http://www.seymourcentre.com