From Perth studios to Sydney Contemporary, local artists are stepping onto the national stage taking their ideas, techniques and distinctly Western Australian perspectives with them.
WORDS ANDREW THORNTON HICK
Western Australia is celebrated for its landscapes, isolation and biodiversity. But how visible is its creative talent beyond the state?
As Margaret River Region Open Studios draws record audiences, our artists headed east to Sydney Contemporary, Australia’s premier contemporary art fair.
Held at Carriageworks for its 10th anniversary, the fair brought together more than 100 exhibitors, alongside talks, installations and exhibitions across Galleries, Futures, Works on Paper and Photo Sydney. Its growing Asia-Pacific reach attracted collectors and visitors from Japan, Singapore and New Zealand.
As founder Tim Etchells observed, the fair is increasingly connecting Australian art with the wider region. For Western Australian artists, it offered something equally valuable: visibility – a chance to exhibit, connect and join a broader art conversation.
Making an Impression
Abdul Abdullah created a stir with Possession, presented by Ames Yavuz, pairing museum objects of contested origins with domestic cats to explore ownership, custodianship and cultural inheritance. "East Coast representation has opened up my practice to much larger audiences and links the work into national conversations," Abdul says.
Now based in Melbourne, WA-born Eva Fernandez presented Unos Cuantos Piquetitos, using found black-and-white photographs of anonymous Spanish women to explore loss, erasure and historical rupture.
Together, the works demonstrate the potency of contemporary art to move beyond the purely visual. At Sydney Contemporary, ideas, technique and materiality converged to invite viewers to question, interpret and connect.
Land, Light & Distance
For celebrated landscape painter Carly LeCerf, wider audiences have helped propel her work from regional WA to the national stage. Her paintings remain rooted in the landscapes, while social media and gallery representation have helped them travel further.
"I've become increasingly aware that building a career isn't just about making strong work. The work needs people to champion it. You need people who genuinely believe in your work and are prepared to place it in front of the right audiences."
Gallery director Michael Reid agrees that geography ultimately takes a back seat when the work connects. "The work speaks first and foremost. If the audience engages with the content visually, appreciates technique and is moved then the work transcends the artist’s origin."
A Collective Voice
Art Collective WA has exhibited at Sydney Contemporary since its inaugural edition. This year, it presented Sandra Black, George Haynes, Nigel Hewitt and Tony Windberg, continuing its support of senior-career local artists.
"Since 2013 we’ve been putting our artists under the spotlight with their distinct practices and this year with a focus on four distinct yet complementary approaches to landscape," says director Felicity Johnston.
Making its Sydney Contemporary debut, Swan River Print Studio brought another WA perspective to the fair, with Dominique Coiffait, Jo Darvall, Claire Lawson and Zali Morgan presenting in Works on Paper.
For Jo, simply being there was significant. "Perhaps most importantly, people were genuinely impressed that we had made the effort to come across from WA, independently and without government funding, to participate in the national conversation around contemporary art. It can sometimes feel quite isolated working from WA, and being in the centre of what is happening culturally and artistically was incredibly valuable."
The Bigger Picture
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Sydney Contemporary is that Australia’s art world is an interconnected ecosystem: open studios feed galleries, galleries connect artists with collectors, while museums, curators and digital platforms extend their reach.
For Western Australian artists, distance remains part of the story, but it need not define the work. Increasingly, recognition is being shaped by the strength of their ideas, techniques and artistic voices.
"I want to make good paintings. I want the work to mean something to people," says Carly, "I want to still be making better work years from now."
Side Story
A New Commission
Edith Cowan University has announced artist Sarah Contos as the recipient of the 2027 Copyright Agency Partnerships (CAP) Grant Commission.
The commission recognises Sarah’s dynamic contemporary practice, autobiographical content and intuitive connection to place. The resulting work will be developed for exhibition at the ECU Gallery Perth from 12 February to 7 May 2027.
Follow & Engage
Sydney Contemporary @sydneycontemporary
Abdul Abdullah @abdul_abdullah
Eva Fernandez @evafernandezartist
Carly LeCerf @carlylecerf
Art Collective WA @artcollectivewa
Swan River Print Studio @swanriverprint
Dominique Coiffait @dominique_coiffait
Jo Darvall @jodarvall
Claire Lawson @inkpaperprint
Zali Morgan @zalimorganart
ECU Gallery, Perth @ecu_gallery
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