The Other Art Fair

Adrienne Cavell
4th Dec 2022

The Other Art Fair is not your conventional Art Fair. Forget the typical white- walled experience of an art gallery. It's an eclectic mix of some 135 independent artists set in the vast, encompassing space of the Cutaway at Barangaroo. On the right hand side is the sheer wall of golden Sydney sandstone, topped by the high concrete ceiling, full of industrial gantries to support lighting equipment. An appropriately atmospheric setting for this unique fair.

In fact these International Art Fairs, partnered by Saatchi Art, have a global reach and take in 7 cities, in the US, UK, and Australia. The cities include Brooklyn, Chicago, Dallas, London, LA, Melbourne and Sydney.

Each highly original art work is showcased by the artist themselves, making art both affordable and accessible. This ensures that emerging new talent is able to interact with an appreciative audience. In a word, this is Art Reframed.

Not only are all types of contemporary art on display, but other delights await. From Poke Tattoos, to live DJ sets, to a fully stocked bar, as well as collage workshops. A refreshing variety of cocktails is on offer at the bar from Bombay Sapphire. Just right to sip on while you enjoy the art offerings. Top of the list is the new Mediterranean lemon gin pre-batched cocktail, known as Bombay citron presse. Or if you prefer something sweeter, the pretty in pink Floral cocktail with watermelon juice maybe more your style. Otherwise there's always the purple berry option or the blushing spicy sunset drink. All served in an eye-catching long, blue stemmed glass!

The over 100 artists exhibiting at the Fair come in every possible style and colour palette imaginable to suit every taste & budget. Indeed, the picture on the cover of the Fair Map shows the arresting art work by Marie Pol no. 52 in the artist's guide. She takes Greco-Roman sculpture and gives it an intriguing contemporary twist. As the number of artists is so extensive, I have chosen a random selection to give you an idea of the types of works on offer.

An interesting collection of works are exhibited by Matthew Cauchi, who tells me his name is of Maltese origin. His mixed media works consist of a layered effect in which he uses plaster, paint, wood glue and water all applied with a trowel. Thus, pastel shades of paint break through the white plaster generously applied over the top. His blue hair perfectly matching some paint on the canvas! All presented in a narrow black timber frame.

His influences include street art and the Italian artist Jose Parla who works in Brooklyn, in New York.

"I find a balance between minimal & chaotic composition" he tells me.

"Chaos and beauty emerge from the negative space, it has a big impact."

The texture is most compelling, like decaying walls with the plaster giving up it's secrets...

Other artists include Dilara Niriella, from Sri Lanka. She specializes in rendering "everyday relatable items" in an ultra realistic manner. Known as assemblage, she first cuts out each object and then paints it, producing an incredible trompe l'oeil effect. Her objects include classic orange Penguin books, such as Alice in Wonderland and Oscar Wild's The Picture of Dorian Grey, as well as playing cards and hearts matches from Sweden.

Angus Martin's work is equally striking resembling that of Leger and Matisse with his bold blocks of colour. His work has a cutout effect with large abstract patterns.