’Behind Closed Doors’: Esther Stewart’s strict forms at Sarah Cottier Gallery
Having taken the fashion world by storm, Australian artist Esther Stewart is showing her (art) stripes with 'Behind Closed Doors', her first solo exhibition at Sydney's Sarah Cottier Gallery.
Showcasing her latest geometric works, Stewart's strict forms and idiosyncratic colour combinations are made new again, having cemented a fashion following by way of Valentino creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli's A/W 2015 menswear collection, which they framed with Stewart's optical precision. On view until 8 May, Stewart's latest creations blend an unusual mix of blocked bottle green, egg yolk yellow, maroon and duck egg blue with the precise lines of Euclidean geometry, resulting in abstract patterns that simultaneously reference Islamic mosaics, Russian suprematism and constructivism, and the pop of the Memphis Group in one bright, fell swoop.
'The title of this show is taken from a Charlie Rich song [which] I first heard sung by Loretta Lynn and then later by Dolly Parton,' explains Stewart. 'The name stayed with me.'
Despite not liking the song's original message, there are two things specifically that interest her about 'Behind Closed Doors' when sung by Lynn and Parton. 'First, they switch the gender of the narrator, [which] changes the scope for the song’s interpretation. Secondly, I’m intrigued by its possible interpretations and references: public vs private; domestic spaces and decoration; secrets and desires; personal or true identities; and cultural expectation, gendered spaces, thresholds, façades and the unknown.'
By using the visual languages of hard-edge abstraction and minimalism and drawing on the works of male artists like Donald Judd, Frank Stella, Ellsworth Kelly and Robert Mangold, Stewart seeks to subvert, 'to twist and change the gender, context and possible readings of the languages that I am engaging with', she explains. The provocative titles of the paintings further the narrative as well; The Glass Ceiling Your Husband Installed Is Beautiful and I Was Hoping For More are particular favourites. It is this enduring fascination with domestic space that is most salient about Stewart's work though. That and the pleasing symmetry of it all.
INFORMATION
’Behind Closed Doors’ is on view until 8 May. For more information, visit the Sarah Cottier Gallery website
Photography courtesy of Sarah Cottier Gallery
ADDRESS
Sarah Cottier Gallery
23 Roylston Street
Paddington, NSW 2021
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Three new coffee makers for a contemporary brew, from a casual cup to a full-on branded espresso
Three new coffee makers, from AeroPress, Jura and Porsche x La Marzocco, range from the defiantly manual to the bells and whistles of a traditional countertop espresso machine
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Don't miss Luxembourg's retro-futuristic lab pavilion in Venice
As the Venice Biennale enters its last few weeks, catch 'A Comparative Dialogue Act' at the Luxembourg Pavilion
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
A Berlin park atop an office building offers a new model of urban landscaping
A Berlin park and office space by Grüntuch Ernst Architeken offer a symbiotic relationship between urban design and green living materials
By Michael Webb Published
-
Australia’s first Art Grand Tour unites three biennials in a city-hopping trail
Australia’s Art Grand Tour showcases more than 400 artists, across Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide in a build-your-own art adventure
By Hannah Silver Published
-
At Melbourne’s NGV Triennial 2023, artists consider magic, matter and memory
Melbourne’s NGV has opened its third triennial, uniting art, design and architecture from around the world
By Elias Redstone Published
-
Photo 2024: what to expect as Australia’s largest photography festival returns
Photo 2024 International Festival of Photography will take place 1-24 March 2024 across Melbourne and Victoria
By Hannah Silver Published
-
William Kentridge on failed utopias and transcending borders: ‘art must defend the uncertain’
Azu Nwagbogu profiles South African artist William Kentridge, whose show at London's Royal Academy of Arts runs until 11 December 2022
By Azu Nwagbogu Published
-
Francis Upritchard blends science fiction and folklore in epic new Sydney Modern Project commission
We explore the making of Here Comes Everybody, Francis Upritchard’s fantastical bronzes sculptures for the much-anticipated Sydney Modern Project
By Kate Goodwin Last updated
-
Photo 2022: a trip through past, present and potential futures in Melbourne and beyond
The groundbreaking Photo 2022 International Festival of Photography will return to Melbourne from 29 April – 22 May 2022. Charlotte Jansen spoke to artistic director Elias Redstone ahead of the opening
By Charlotte Jansen Last updated
-
‘By queers for queers’: NGV hosts largest ever show of queer art in Australia
Celebrating Pride Month, we revisit our article on the major Melbourne show, ‘Queer: Stories from the NGV Collection’, which reveals how LGBTQ+ stories and histories can be told through art (until 21 August 2022)
By Elias Redstone Last updated
-
‘By queers for queers’: NGV hosts largest ever show of queer art in Australia
Celebrating Pride Month, we revisit our article on the major Melbourne show, ‘Queer: Stories from the NGV Collection’, which reveals how LGBTQ+ stories and histories can be told through art (until 21 August 2022)
By Harriet Lloyd Smith Last updated