Feasting on Art

The artists for the upcoming exhibition Sugar, Sugar have now been finalised and the show will feature ten female artists working with sugar as their medium. The artists include Matina Bourmas, Irianna Kanellopoulou, Judith Klausner, Stephanie Jones, Claire McArdle, Shelley Miller, Mylyn Nguyen, Janet Tavener, Claire Anna Watson and Elizabeth Willing. Works range from carefully carved cameos out of Oreo cookies by Judith Klausner to Shelley Miller’s sugar street art that will be installed on the 2 Danks Street building.

Progress on the catalogue is well underway with essays by myself, Olivia Welch and Cassandra Edlefsen Lasch. The catalogues will be available for purchase during the exhibition. For further information and media queries, please contact Brenda May Gallery.

Sugar, Sugar | 1 to 19 October 2013 | Brenda May Gallery, Sydney

Smørrebrød is the Danish tradition of open-face sandwiches. A dark dense bread, usually a type of rye, is toasted and topped with smoked or pickled fish and other vegetables. In this version, the smoked trout is the star and so it is essential to purchase high-quality fish. I picked up a whole fish and carefully de-boned all of the flesh before assembling the smørrebrød. If you have any extra pickled red onions, store them in their pickling liquid in the refrigerator and consume within a week. They are great toppings for hamburgers and can be used to liven up a grilled cheese sandwich.

Gustave Courbet, The Trout, 1873
oil on canvas, 65.5 x 98.5cm, Musee d’Orsay, Paris

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The oil painting by William Scott was selected for this post by British artist May van Millingen. Rather than photographing the finished dish, May created an illustration of a recipe by Jamie Oliver (pictured below) of mackerel with mixed tomato salad. Her illustrations have been commissioned by many leading brands and more of her work can be viewed on her website here.

William Scott, Mackerel, 1947
oil on canvas, 52 x 76cm, National Galleries of Scotland

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I am pleased to announce that I will be curating a second art + food exhibition in October at Brenda May Gallery. We are now accepting proposals from professional practicing artists so please read the exhibition brief below and contact the Gallery with any questions or visit the submissions page for further details. In conjunction with the exhibition, I will be producing a 20-page catalogue illustrating the artworks selected for the show as well as a short essay.

‘Sugar, Sugar’ – 1 to 19 October 2013

As a species, we are predisposed to seek out sugar to supplement our diet. “Sweet tooth” and “sugar rush” are colloquial phrases used to describe our bodies’ cravings for and reaction to the substance. Our inclination to seek out the sweet stuff speaks to the pervasiveness of sugar in the visual arts. This exhibition will feature contemporary art made exclusively with sugar.

Proposals for this show must be received by Friday 5 April 2013.

Made with odds and ends from the bottom of my crisper, this soup can be easily adapted to suit whatever you may have on hand. You could add a few potatoes, or tomatoes or even a few peppers. The chipotle chilies lend a bit of smoky spice to what would be a rather sweet soup because of the pumpkin and the carrot. The soup freezes well and delicious when topped with some roughly chopped nuts for a bit of texture and a bit of feta cheese for the sharp tang against the creaminess of the soup.

Johan Briedé, Still Life with Pumpkins 1931
oil on canvas, 53 x 95.5cm, Private collection

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