Tucked away in a back lane of Double Bay, the Clare Gallery is a little white-brick nook of an exhibition space. The stylish, savvy Dana Levitt is its owner – her middle name is Clare – and she's got a mane of golden hair and a fierce passion for the photography that makes up the gallery's inaugural Summer Series.
Bringing together five Sydney-based photographers, the Summer Series is an exaltation of salty air, sweaty skin and the prurient curiosity of faraway seaside holidays. A woman touches a peach to her lips, conjuring a Call Me By Your Name mood (Ari Pashalis), a portly man stands gazing out over the Icebergs Pool in a frame titled 'Beach Body' (Jude Cohen) and sunlight refracts off boats moored by the shore in Mallorca's clear blue waters (Theo Smallbone). Walking through the azure skies of these images feels like a temporary reprieve from the goings on of the year – a little chance to imagine you're elsewhere.
"We've got five very different artists each with their own particular aesthetic who have managed to put together a body of work that works so well together and on its own," Levitt said in a speech on the opening night of the series. "For anyone who would like to be somewhere else – or is happy where they are and would like to reflect on where they'd like to be – there are the pictures for you."
You can check out the Summer Series between 10am-5pm Monday to Saturday at the Clare Gallery (3 Kiaora Lane, Double Bay).
Want more? Here's the best art to see this month in Sydney.