Backroom | Mel Clyne - Same, but different: Variable Gesture Unit

Opening Event Saturday May 21, 2-5pm
Exhibition from May 20 until Jun 5th
Open 11am - 5pm | Thu-Sun

View page on our new website

Installation views, 2022

Can a physical performative trace of the artist’s body arise from the two-dimensional mark-making of brush and pencil and occupy space? View an installation of ‘variable gesture units’ created with both scrap and new acrylic panel.

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COVID-Safe Measures:

Following the NSW Government’s relaxing of COVID-safe rules, there will be no check-in requirements. Wearing face masks is a personal choice, but we highly encourage you to when social distancing might be difficult. Please do not visit if you’re unwell or, if you have been instructed by health authorities to isolate or are a close contact of an identified COVID case.The health and wellbeing of our visitors, artists and volunteers is our priority. We look forward to seeing you at Articulate project space.

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Backroom | Annabel Nowlan - Flux

Opening Event Saturday Apr 9th, 2-5pm
Exhibition from Apr 8th until 24th
Open 11am - 5pm | Fri-Sun

‘Eulogy 001’  Mixed media on copper on wood. 2022 60x55cms  

It’s unstable, reactive and maybe a bit toxic but that hasn’t tempered our obsession with the fragile beauty of Verdigris

Flux is a deep engagement with the natural (and unnatural) environment, focusing on the endless bounty of everyday aesthetic nuances. It is a selection of mixed media and curios that predominately feature verdigris surfaces, finishes and effects. Conceptually the works obliquely explore themes of: nostalgia, decay and environmental chaos.

The beauty in the seemingly mundane and the everyday is celebrated and bought to life. I am particularly drawn to surfaces that change and deteriorate with time and exposure to the elements. The appeal of these unique surfaces, found objects and unrefined materials are for me, suggestive of the tactile and kinaesthetic properties of the earth and our relationship with it.

The verdigris green patina surfaces are un-treated (unfixed) so they remain in flux and the colour will vary according to the surrounding humidity. Recipes for verdigris are found throughout ancient literature and include ingredients like salt, honey, vinegar and even urine to be applied to copper plates in order to cause the necessary chemical reaction.

While the mixed materials mimic and celebrate the rich vocabulary of the tamed and untamed environment, they also speak to human endeavour and misguided attempts to dominate and subdue the land.

Nowlan’s work often references her connection to Bimbi in south-western NSW, where her Irish convict ancestors have been farmers for six generations. In calling her exhibition ‘flux’, Nowlan acknowledges that the land is a continuously changing domain, and, any non-Indigenous attempt to narrate unceded lands will always be partial and incomplete.

'Time is of the essence' Mixed media on pegboard on wood  2022 60x55cms 

‘Going local’ Mixed media on ply on wood 2021 60x55cms 

‘Cloud i’ Pigment & paint on wood 2021 15x60cms

‘Cloud ii’ Pigment & paint on wood 2022 11x18cms

annabelnowlan.com.au

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COVID-Safe Measures:

Following the NSW Government’s relaxing of COVID-safe rules, there will be no check-in requirements. Wearing face masks is a personal choice, but we highly encourage you to when social distancing might be difficult. Please do not visit if you’re unwell or, if you have been instructed by health authorities to isolate or are a close contact of an identified COVID case.

The health and wellbeing of our visitors, artists and volunteers is our priority. We look forward to seeing you at Articulate project space.

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Backroom | Emilio Cresciani - State of Change

Opening Event Friday Mar 18th, 6-8pm
Exhibition from Mar 18th until Apr 3rd
Open 11am - 5pm | Fri-Sun

 

Emilio Cresciani, Breaking of Ice #7, 2020, duratran, 42 x 30cm, Edition of 3 + AP

The ice caps are melting. New topographies are created through rising sea levels. And as the ice sheets shrink, more light is absorbed onto the earth’s surface, further accelerating global warming. A vicious circle. 

In these works light travels through blocks of ice, large and small, industrial and domestic. As it slowly melts, its shape and form is changed. The resulting images document the frozen fragments refracting and reflecting light, producing patterns suggestive of shifting landscapes. The ice floats in a sea of negative space. 

Like a window into other worlds, drips and spots from the melting ice reference how humans have marked the earth. They reference the profound impacts of human-induced climate change on our landscapes.

The works were made during a Dark Matter Residency at PhotoAccess Canberra in 2020.

Emilio Cresciani Changing of Ice #13, 2020, duraclear, 76 x 56cm Edition of 3 + AP

Emilio Cresciani, Breaking of Ice #4, 2020, duratran, 42 x 30cm, Edition of 3 + AP

Ice is transparent and transient, whilst light penetrates and exposes. The artworks explore the relationship between these two elements and draw links between states of change, examining literally, figuratively, and abstractly, human impacts on the globe.

The works continue Cresciani’s interest in altered landscapes, in an abstract way, exploring negative space and particularly transition and transformation. Non-places like road works, waste centres, and deforested sites. 

Cresciani graduated from Sydney College of the Arts in 2012 and was a finalist in 2021 Earth Photo Award London and the KL Photo Award; 2019 and 2017 Bowness Photography Prize; 2018 and 2020 Mandorla Prize; semi finalist 2019 Head On; finalist 2015 Chippendale New World Art Prize, Agendo Art Prize and 2010 National Youth Self Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery. 

Emilio Cresciani Changing of Ice #12, 2020, duraclear, 76 x 56cm Edition of 3 + AP

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Conditions of entry:

NSW Public Health Order requires all visitors over 16 years of age,

To sign in with the QR code provided at the entrance,

Wear a mask, social distancing rules will also apply.

Please don't come if you are feeling unwell.

Articulate is a registered Covid Safe business.

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Special show | Barbara Halnan 1941-2021

A survey exhibition facilitated by Dr William Seeto

Opening Reception Sat Mar 5th, 2-5pm

Facilitator Talk Sun Mar 13th, 2-4pm

Exhibition from Mar 2nd until Mar 13th
Open 11am - 5pm | Wed-Sun

Download PDF | Barbara Halnan Survey Exhibition Catalogue

"Variations on a Picket Fence" 2011. Photo by JC

Barbara Halnan described herself as an artist, painter and installation artist - her interests were art, music and reading. She was a dedicated artist and for many she was a friend and colleague. As an artist Barbara was knowledgeable, unpretentious, friendly, self-sufficient and hard working. She went about making art with determination and she needed no prompting to achieve it. Barbara made an impression on everyone who met her in Australia and other countries.

The survey exhibition celebrates her memory and place in Australian and international art. A tribute exhibition is also being held in Paris. ‘Barbara Halnan had strong ties with Paris and friendships with both French and European artists. She participated in the Salon Réalités Nouvelles from 2012 to 2019 and was part of the group of the "non-objective" art movement in Paris where she participated in exhibitions at the ParisCONCRET and ABSTRACT PROJECT galleries. She was an active member and driving force behind Franco-Australian exchange, particularly for The Drawing Collective; she also organised exhibitions of French and international artists in Australia’.

"View of exhibition preparation" 2022. Photos by William Seeto

 

The exhibition in Sydney is facilitated by William Seeto, a friend and colleague, who provides structure to 250+ artworks consisting of finished, lead-up and early works in the main gallery; with selected videos of past exhibitions, her last interview for Inner-West Council Library, and a link to the Paris exhibition in the Backroom. This is supplemented with sections defined by her Paris connection, a collection of Rose McGreevy and other artists' work, her curated artists projects with Rose, a display of her small artworks, booklets and studio set-up with easel, paints, and brushes in the Upstairs space. 

The survey of Barbara Halnan's life work offers a rare insight into her creative process in making artworks - it is the first time they are exhibited together and their significance cannot be overstated. Like most artists Barbara was a modest person who made art and did not promote her rightful place in Australian and international art. This exhibition makes a claim for her as an innovative artist. 

"View of exhibition preparation" 2022. Photo by William Seeto

Barbara Halnan. Photo credit A.P.

***

William Seeto BA, GDip (VA/GM), PhD is a practicing visual artist and exhibition facilitator with a practice of 40 years. His perceptual installations investigate the built environment by reconstructing architectural space.

Contact: bmseeto@gmail.com

"View of exhibition preparation" 2022. Photo by William Seeto

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Conditions of entry:

NSW Public Health Order requires all visitors over 16 years of age,

To sign in with the QR code provided at the entrance,

Wear a mask, social distancing rules will also apply.

Please don't come if you are feeling unwell.

Articulate is a registered Covid Safe business.

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Opening Event | Saturday Dec 11th, 1-4pm

Articulate annual group show Opening Event Saturday Dec 11th, 1-4pm Exhibition from Dec 11th until Dec 19th

Articulate turns eleven celebrates 11 years of spatial and experimental art practice with an exhibition of new or recent work by 47 artists. It acknowledges all the artists who have exhibited in that time, and the community who support it. Read more

Conditions of entry: NSW Public Health Order requires all visitors over 16 years of age, To sign in with the QR code provided at the entrance, To have double vaccination, and wear a mask. Social distancing rules will also apply. Please don't come if you are feeling unwell. Articulate is a registered Covid Safe business.

Group Show | Articulate turns eleven

Opening Event Saturday Dec 11th, 1-4pm
Exhibition from Dec 11th until Dec 19th
Open 11am - 5pm | Fri-Sun
Other times by private arrangement with the artist

Digital Roomsheet

Articulate turns eleven celebrates 11 years of spatial and experimental art practice with an exhibition of new or recent work by artists who have shown at Articulate. It acknowledges all the artists who have exhibited in that time, and the community who support it.

 

Artists showing :

Anke Stäcker, Anya Pesce, Aude Parichot, Barbara Halnan, Chantal Grech, Che Ritz, Corinne Brittain, Diane McCarthy, Do not wish to disclose, Elizabeth Day, Elizabeth Hogan, Elizabeth-Rankin, Elke Wohlfahrt, Eunjoo Jang, Fiona Kemp, Frankie Chow, Isobel johnston, Jan Handel, Jane Burton Taylor, Jennifer O'Brien, Judy-Ann Moule, Karen Benton, Kendal Heyes, LAN: Laurens Tan, Alex Wright, Noelene Lucas, Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger, Leisa Sage, linden Braye, Lisa Pang, Margaret Seymour, Melinda Clyne, Michelle Le Dain, Molly Wagner, Nathalie Hartog-Gautier in collaboration with Broken Yellow, Pamela Leung, Paul Sutton & Steve Simpson, Peter De Lorenzo, Philippa Hagon, Richard Kean, Ro Murray, Rox De Luca, Sarah Fitzgerald, Stefania Riccardi, STEVEN FASAN, Sue Callanan, Sue Murray, Tom Loveday, Vilma Bader

PREVIEW

Black and Red Organic Spill (2021) by Anya Pesce

Untitled: Remake, 2014-2021 by Margaret Seymour

PACKAGING NEEDS (my plastic brain). 2021, by Jan Handel

Notation Series (2015) by Barbara Halnan

#walkinginthecity by Molly Wagner

'and she called him Daddy!' by Judy-Ann Moule

Between Here and There, 2021, by Karen Benton

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Conditions of entry:

NSW Public Health Order requires all visitors over 16 years of age,
To sign in with the QR code provided at the entrance,
To have double vaccination, and wear a mask.
Social distancing rules will also apply.
Please don't come if you are feeling unwell.
Articulate is a registered Covid Safe business.

Backroom | Sarah Woodward - It's all part of the process

Opening Event Saturday Nov 20th, 1-4pm
Exhibition from Nov 19th until Dec 5th
Open 11am - 5pm | Fri-Sun
Other times by private arrangement with the artist

Image of Sarah Woodward

A project work using this white space as process clarification in time of change

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Conditions of entry:

NSW Public Health Order requires all visitors over 16 years of age,
To sign in with the QR code provided at the entrance,
To have double vaccination, and wear a mask.
Social distancing rules will also apply.
Please don't come if you are feeling unwell.
Articulate is a registered Covid Safe business.

 

Backroom | Steven Fasan - ‘BEFORE the HORIZON’

Opening Event Saturday Oct 30th, 1-4pm
Exhibition from Oct 29th until Nov 14th
Open 11am - 5pm | Fri-Sun
Other times by private arrangement with the artist

Artist talks Sunday Nov 7th, 2pm - 3.30pm

'The Offing'

Again I’m working with images taken on road trips to/and in the Australian outback. This time it’s the horizon that interests me. Surrounded and overcome by the expanse, the isolation and quietness of a never-ending landscape, it (the horizon) imposes the realisation of one’s insignificance.

At times the horizon, visually presented itself as relentless and monotonous: north, south, east and west. 360 degrees. Visually almost identical. The horizon was to be a destination. A place to aim for. However, in reality it’s a destination to be observed only and disappointingly, a destination forever beyond reach. Trying to reach this, that or any horizon is a futile endeavour. As soon as you reach your horizon a completely new horizon opens in front of you: an optimistic cruelty.

Cruel Optimism, a concept given to the phenomenon of engagement with a false but present moment: the holding up of hope and ultimately rendering a longed-for outcome, (in this case the horizon), unattainable. One is forever destined to be before the horizon.

Ideas gleened and manipulated from,

Lauren Berlant’s book ‘‘Cruel Optimism’.

My apologies,

sf

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Conditions of entry:

NSW Public Health Order requires all visitors over 16 years of age,
To sign in with the QR code provided at the entrance,
To have double vaccination, and wear a mask.
Social distancing rules will also apply.
Please don't come if you are feeling unwell.
Articulate is a registered Covid Safe business.

 

Articulate Backroom: Jeffrey Wood - Weapons of Choice

Articulate Backroom

Open 11am - 5pm Friday – Sunday, 28th May – 13th June 2021

Opening event Saturday 29th May 2-5pm

Jeffrey Wood Weapons of Choice 2020 (detail)

Artist Jeffrey Wood presents a body of work made while self isolating during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Six small sculptures are all made from the materials immediately available at home. Caring for two cats; Gonzo and Eddie ensure a consistent supply of Cat food tins. The material has a unique aesthetic quality, having a texture and finish similar to Brass or Gold. The pandemic has shut down the global economy and the consequences of that unprecedented but necessary halt to commence is largely unknown and frightening. The Weapons of choice collection is a response to the science driven shutdown and influenced by the philosophy of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and American artist Tom Sachs. Wood is interested in our participation in the economy through consumption. The ubiquitous act of feeding the cats is inextricably intertwined with the manufacturer and proliferation of weapons. Our choices have consequences.

Conditions of entry:

Please do not come if you are unwell or a contact of a COVID-19 case.

Use the hand sanitisers provided at the entrance to Articulate.

Complete your contact tracing information on entry to Articulate.

Keep 1.5 metres distance from others or wear a face mask

Open from 15 January: Ro Murray: blue//blue//black//black//blue

Articulate Backroom: open 11am-5pm Fri - Sun 15 - 7 Feb 2021

opening event Saturday 16 Jan 1-5pm

blue//blue//black//black//blue is a new site specific wall-work in 100mm and 150mm PVC tape nailed to the wall, in a similar way to  Every Time the Sun Comes Up in AIRspace Projects in 2020, but in the restricted palette of black and blue. This new work is influenced by the colour concrete poems of Robert Lax, in particular his Homage to Reinhardt:

black/black/black//
blue/blue/blue//
black/black/black/black//
blue/blue/blue

Ro Murray Black//black...blue//blue//black (detail) 2021. Photo: the artist

Ro Murray Every Time the Sun Comes Up (detail) AIRspace Projects 2020

romurray.com.au.

Conditions of entry to the exhibition:

There are limited places in Articulate due to COVID restrictions. 

Please do not come to Articulate if you are unwell or a contact of a COVID-19 case.

Use the hand sanitisers provided at the entrance to Articulate.

Fill in your contact tracing information on entry to Articulate.

Wear a face mask and maintain 1.5 metres distance from other people.

Barbara Halnan's Inclined Plane opens Saturday 26 Sept in Articulate Backroom

Inclined plane - an ephemeral installed work.

September 26 - October 11, 11am-5pm Fri -Sun
Opening day: Saturday September 26 11am - 5pm
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Inclined Plane is a site-specific drawing in space in Articulate Backroom in September/October 2020.

Barbara Halnan Inclined Plane a schematic drawing

This space attracts because it is the closest to a "white box" in the gallery. This is the second time this year that I have attempted to make an ephemeral installed work (i.e. now you see it, now you don't) - the first cut short by the pandemic - which didn't worry me too much because the joy of it was in the making.  I'm hoping that this time the dreaded Covid will allow the work to sit there for a bit longer.

Apart from the "boxiness" of the space,  I am also attracted by the distortions which happen - the sloping ceiling emphasised by the beam across the room - making a disturbance in perspectives, a distorted reality - added to this, a spiral is hinted in the configuration of the entrance.

The space itself is an integral part of the work which only exists within its proportions. The inclined plane is defined only by its boundaries. It is delineated within the space, but does not occupy it.

The two elements which are important to me in this exploration are firstly the notion of site-specificity and secondly the ephemeral nature of this genre of installed work.

 

Barbara Halnan

bhalnan.blogspot.com

Conditions of entry to the exhibition:

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, there are limited places in Articulate. You may be asked to wait a few minutes if it is full when you arrive.

Please stay at home if you’re unwell.
Stay at home if you’ve been in contact with a known or suspected COVID-19 case.
Please wear a face mask in Articulate.
Utilise hand sanitisers provided at the entrance to Articulate.
Fill in your contact tracing information on entry to Articulate.

Maintain 1.5 metres distance from other people. 

Noise opens in the Backroom on Friday 4 September 6-8pm

noise

Daniel Herten and Morgan Moroney

Opening Friday 4 September 6-8pm
Open 5 – 20 September 2020

Friday – Sunday 11am – 5pm

noise is us realising that we’re submerged in a stream of digital media - and strangely enough, trying to drink our way out of it. We feel digitally saturated. It seems that the more we absorb, the less we retain. In search of a way to understand this feeling, we discovered a sense of familiarity in the connection between obsolescent technology and its display of layered, seemingly meaningless content. The CRT television is a discarded remnant of our journey through media, as is the incomprehensible and exponentially increasing amount of information dumped into the depths of the internet. Sinking deeper, as we explored our media environment we began to question whether we have lost a meaningful connection with the content we consume, and if so - why we’re still able to connect so strongly to these media and mediums that seem so distant. We think of noise as our way of trying to filter the waters. In a life of staring at screens, we occasionally come face-to-face with ourselves as the media temporarily disappears and we are reflected. 

noise is us realising that we’re submerged in a stream of digital media - and strangely enough, trying to drink our way out of it.

Morgan Moroney:  www.morganmoroney.com / Daniel Herten:  www.danielherten.com

Facebook Event Page:  “noise - an audio-visual installation” 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1014019072385330

Conditions of entry to the exhibition:

There are limited places in Articulate You may have to wait a few minutes if it is full.

Please stay at home if you’re unwell.
Stay at home if you’ve been in contact with a known or suspected COVID-19 case.
Please wear a mask in Articulate.
Utilise hand sanitisers provided at the Articulate entrance.
Fill in your contact tracing information on entry to Articulate
Maintain 1.5 metres distance from other people.

Articulate Backroom is located at the back of Articulate project space and available for artists, curators etc to rent for individual projects that synchronise with Articulate's program (whose 2020 dates can be seen here) or for longer term rental (with more detail here).

Mediated Displacement: Meander: Barbara Halnan (no opening event Friday due to Covid-19)

Mediated Displacement: Shifting curatorial rhetoric and meaning

A Backroom Project facilitated by William Seeto

Barbara Halnan

Preview: Saturday & Sunday, 21 & 22 and 28 & 29 March 2020, 12-4pm

Open Hours: 11am–5pm, Friday–Sunday, 21-29 March 2020

Meander

Water finding a path through a flat terrain – a starting point? Or is it purely about a line, Klee’s dot taking a walk, the line diverging from the horizontal, then returning to find a new level. A second line joins the first, following the same rules of engagement, but without mirroring the first line.

 The two lines together create a third irregular linear form which meanders around the space.

Form is important: the formalism of the work; abstraction taking a concept beyond representation and also, perhaps more importantly, beyond symbolism – the form is itself with outside reference reduced to a minimum. But what is being aimed at is not “minimalism” as such. A reductive process is certainly used, but not reduction as a concept - its more a refining of an idea – formalising rather than reducing.

So the initial concept is about lines that behave according to a set of parameters that control direction and deviations. There are elements of the random, but always a kind of balance is maintained in the pathway. The aim is for a feeling of continuity: a feeling that it could go on forever – or within this specific space – circularity. The paradox is that in the end the installation could be interpreted as a “representation” of the initial concept.

Barbara Halnan.

http://bhalnan.blogspot.com/ 

Over the past decade, in the absence of private and institutional curated support, the curator’s role shifted from gatekeeper and go-between for the fashionable and popular to mediating and interacting directly with artists without ties to the interests and objectives of private and public institutions.

‘Mediated Displacement’ is an artist-funded project in the backroom of Articulate Project Space, an artist-run not-for-profit. It is the first in a series of mediated displacement projects outside mainstream curation facilitated by William Seeto beginning with multifaceted artists Adrian Hall and Barbara Halnan.

‘Mediated Displacement’ engages with the architectural site free from the constraint of curatorial direction; it relies on artwork brought together by the limits of the space and the artists’ own ability and experience in creative structure. The ‘Backroom Project’ features work by artists for artists that are not made to fit a curatorial recipe. It allows artists to experiment with practice and artist-run spaces to evolve and shape discourse. William Seeto

William Seeto is an exhibition facilitator and installation artist with a practice of more than three decades. He is experienced in mediating exhibitions and creating perceptual installations that examine visual perception and the different way artworks heighten or displace experience and referential codes.

http://williamseeto.blogspot.com/

Articulate project space backroom

497 Parramatta Rd, Leichhardt NSW 2040 Australia

http://articulate497.blogspot.com/