This Arts Thursday – two distinct perspectives on the visual arts in Sydney!

Firstly, an interview with John Firth-Smith, long established as a painter, much awarded and widely collected, the artist generously shares his anecdotes and gives us an insight into his new works, now on view at the King Street Gallery on William Street.

This exhibition, Rural Rust, responds to tools and implements, long abandoned by their original owners and found scattered around the gardens and landscapes of the old mining town Hill End, near Bathurst in the Central West of the state. Though broken, worn and rusted, these tools are a reminder of working lives long past, as are more abstracted works such as Foundations, which mark the foundations of ruins of former buildings in the town.

(Photographs above include the artist, his studio at Hill End and details of his work in the exhibition)

In a different vein, the next interview focusses on the statistics of the world in which we live – the growth of population, the loss of local languages, the escalating migration and degradation of the environment.

Lucy Ainsworth, Curator/Exhibitions Coordinator of the UNSW Galleries in Paddington explains the background to the extraordinary 3-dimensional installation EXIT, which translates sometimes incomprehensible statistics on major issues of our time into graphic and easily comprehended visual facts.

EXIT was commissioned by Commissioned by the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris.

The exhibition is one in a series of projects the gallery is staging through its role as a ‘platform for investigating … grand challenges of our time’.

(Photos above include Lucy Ainsworth and shots taken at the exhibition)

For further information on John Firth-Smith’s exhibition Rural Rust – paintings, works on paper, sculpture until 25 March 2017 go to: https://kingstreetgallery.com.au/

There is also an article on Firth-Smith and his recent works in the journal Artist Profile Issue 38 2017, now available.

For further information on EXIT open until 25 March as well as information about public programs in March go to: https://www.artdesign.unsw.edu.au/unsw-galleries/exit

Join me, Maisy Stapleton for a stimulating Arts Thursday from 10:30am on 9^th February.

DON’T WORRY IF YOU MISS THE PROGRAM!

If you miss the program you can listen again by going to https://eastsidefm.org/arts/artsthursday/ and clicking on the date 9 March 2017.

Join Maisy Stapleton fortnightly from 10:30 to noon on Arts Thursday for conversations with leaders in the arts and regular coverage of Sydney’s exciting arts events.