Art exhibitions to see in Sydney today

Springtime in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs is marked every year by the heady scent of jasmine lacing the air, and gridlock on the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk. The reason for the uptick in coastal walkers? Sculpture by the Sea: the world’s largest outdoor sculpture exhibition, which will light up the iconic coastal corner of the city until Monday, November 3. Stretching along the clifftop path from Bondi to Tamarama, the 27th edition features more than 90 sculptures from artists across 13 countries – including Japan, Denmark, China and India – and promises a spectacle of creativity set against those unbeatable ocean views. This year, 36 artists are exhibiting for the first time, with 64 Aussie artists on the line-up – reaffirming the event’s reputation as both a global showcase and a proud celebration of homegrown talent. The standout pieces this year include Siren’s Song by James Rogers (a conceptual piece which won the $70,000 Aqualand Sculpture Award), i by WA artist Jina Lee (which won the Waverley Council Mayor’s Award) and Splotcher by Archibald-winning artist Tim Storried AM. In a special milestone, Japanese artist Keizo Ushio is celebrating his 25th consecutive Sculpture by the Sea exhibition – a feat that places him firmly in the event’s Double Decade Club, alongside six other long-serving artists including Ron Gomboc, Stephen King and Philip Spelman. Two more Japanese artists, Koichi Ogino and Haruyuki Uchida, join the 'Decade Club' this year for their tenth...

The Art Gallery of New South Wales’ newest exhibition – Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890-1940 – spotlights 50 trailblazing females who were among some of the first to draw attention to the fact that women can make some pretty bloody great art too.  The speedy rate of industrialisation in the 19th century meant a major shift in European society. Artists used it as a chance to reject traditional themes like religion, and instead focused on fresh ways to portray individuals (in a time where it felt like machines were going to rule the world). Meanwhile, women used it as their ticket to pull a seat up at the table. The focus of the exhibition is specifically on our very own Australian and New Zealander artists who made the journey to Europe to immerse themselves in the modernist movement. Gallery-goers can peruse works from historic names like Nora Heysen, Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith, and also witness the work of some lesser-known but equally important creatives like CL Allport, Justine Kong Sing and Stella Marks. Featuring celebrated and rediscovered paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture and ceramics, the exhibition includes work by celebrated artists such as Nora Heysen, Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith, alongside lesser-known but equally compelling figures such as CL Allport, Justine Kong Sing and Stella Marks. Dangerously Modern’s run in Sydney spans all the way to mid-February so a hot (art) girl summer awaits. You...