Yolŋu artist Gaypalani Wanambi returns to Sydney Contemporary in 2023 with a presentation of new works on metal. Wanambi is the leading female practitioner within the ‘found movement’, which sees roadside material found in East Arnhem Land repurposed as contemporary art. Gaypalani Wanambi’s incomparable vision was guided by her late father, Mr Wanambi, and has positioned her as one of Australia’s most coveted new contemporary artists.

Examples of Gaypalani Wanambi’s work have been recently acquired by The Powerhouse Museum collection and later this year she will exhibit in a major exhibition at Bundanon Museum. Gaypalani Wanambi is also a current finalist in the 2023 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA).

For a preview of new works by Gaypalani Wanambi, please email tobymeagher@michaelreid.com.au

At Sydney Contemporary 2022, Tamara Dean awed audiences with her Palace of Dreams presentation, a milestone series of photographs composed with the use of an underwater photographic studio. This body of work was directed with acute precision, affirming Dean’s reputation as one of the world’s most respected photographic innovators. For this year’s Sydney Contemporary art fair, Dean further explores this technique by exhibiting new work of figures suspended in space and time.

Tamara Dean’s participation at Sydney Contemporary 2023 follows 12 months of rigorous studio practice, a major museum exhibition and cross-discipline collaboration. The Suspended Moment, Dean’s exhibition that is on view at Michael Reid Sydney until 31 August, saw the artist develop the magic concept of ‘kinetic’ still life compositions. This exhibition also debuted the artist’s delicately designed fragrance, produced in collaboration with Ainslie Walker. Tamara Dean’s major monograph was published by Thames & Hudson in late 2022, coinciding with Leave Only Footprints, Dean’s mid career survey exhibition at MAPh: Museum of Australian Photography, Melbourne. Tamara Dean is also a current finalist in the 2023 Bowness Photography Prize.

For a preview of Tamara Dean’s new work, please email tobymeagher@michaelreid.com.au

To stare into the surface of a Betty Chimney artwork is to witness an adoration of Country, direct from the artist’s heart. Delicately choreographed and altogether mesmeric, every moment captured in a Betty Chimney painting is an autobiographical ode to a life wedded to Country.

At this year’s Sydney Contemporary art fair Michael Reid Sydney + Berlin will exhibit a collection of new Betty Chimney paintings, supplying collectors with an opportunity to acquire a work by one of Australia’s most coveted contemporary painters.

Earlier this year Betty Chimney presented a solo exhibition at Michael Reid Sydney in which all paintings were acquired prior to commencement. This was followed by her selection as a 2023 Wynne Prize finalist at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. More recently, Chimney was a finalist in the Hadley’s Prize in Hobart. Betty Chimney will participate in Sydney Contemporary for the first time in 2023.

For more information about paintings by Betty Chimney, please email danielsoma@michaelreid.com.au

Anchoring our largest ever art fair presentation will be Dr Christian Thompson AO, an artist whose legacy has permeated local and international art conversations for over two decades. Thompson’s newest flower wall works will debut at the art fair in September and will once again demonstrate the artist’s exquisite artistic treatment of Australian cultural and social debates.

In the last 12 months alone, Christian Thompson has contributed to local and international art programs by presenting significant exhibitions of photography and performance, including a major outdoor survey in London’s Photographic Quarter in Soho. Thompson has represented Australia at the European Month of Photography 2023 in Berlin, and in March he debuted Recital at Phoenix Central Park.

In Recital, Thompson performs in Bidjara language, delivering a sensory experience powerfully connected to the present and past. On August 24, 2023 the Ballarat International Foto Biennale will officially open with a second performance of Recital.

For information about Christian Thompson artworks that will exhibit at Sydney Contemporary 2023, please email danielsoma@michaelreid.com.au 

At Sydney Contemporary 2023 Petrina Hicks will present an arresting installation of photo-media from her precisely articulated Biophilia series, one which takes its narrative inspiration from the indistinct space between human and animal states.

Since making its debut at Michael Reid Sydney in June 2023, Biophilia has exhibited in Italy and will soon commence a cross-country tour from east coast to west. Sydney Contemporary 2023 will see highlights from this series displayed in an utterly compelling way.

Petrina Hicks’ work lives outside comprehensible time, supplying an entrancing state of engagement that is rarely encountered in still photographic art. Hicks’ command of symbolism, motif and metaphor connect wonderfully with her incomparable vision, offering alternative modes of learning about the nature of the human condition.

To discuss works of art by Petrina Hicks please be in touch with danielsoma@michaelreid.com.au