The best art exhibitions in Sydney this month

For the last two years, the Art Gallery of NSW has focussed on Europe in its big summer exhibitions: the Netherlands in Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age (2017-18), and Russia and France in Masters of Modern Art from the Hermitage (2018-19). But this summer is all about Japan with an epic exhibition of more than 200 artworks from artists past and present.

The Museum of Contemporary Art's summer blockbuster slot has attracted some pretty big names in recent years, with shows from Pipilotti Rist, David Goldblatt, Yoko Ono and Grayson Perry. For 2019-20, it's Cornelia Parker's turn. Parker is considered one of England's biggest and most influential art stars from the last few decades.

Daniel Boyd is known for his signature style, which sits somewhere between traditional Aboriginal dot-painting and Impressionist pointilism. The dot motif has appeared in plenty of his work, from large-scale public art installations to smaller paintings. Now it's been exploded out into an immersive video installation at Carriageworks, as a dreamy cosmic journey through time immemorial.

Carriageworks has been home to its fair share of large-scale artworks in recent years, including Nick Cave's monumental 'Until' and Daniel Buren's playground of oversized kids' toys. But Rebecca Baumann's 'Radiant Flux' reaches even further, turning the Redfern arts wonderland into a giant kaleidoscope of colour.

For ten years now, Judith Neilson's four-storey temple of contemporary Chinese art has stood proudly in Chippendale, showcasing an enviable collection of bold, playful and frequently provocative work. 

Beijing-born Guan Wei is one of the most provocative and distinctive artists making work in Australia today, about both China and his adopted homeland, and the connection between the two nations. He first left China for Australia in 1989, following the protests in Tiananmen Square, and has divided his time between Sydney and Beijing since then.

From the outside, the spectacular luminaria created by UK company Architects of Air look a little like retro spaceships landed from an alien planet. But if you venture inside the Dodecalis luminarium, you’ll discover no invading super race. Instead, you’ll find a labyrinth of uniquely curved and beautiful tunnels lit in dazzling colours.

Arts space Cement Fondu have turned to African American writer, feminist and activist Audre Lorde for inspiration for their latest public project. Inspired by Lorde’s 1981 speech to America’s National Women’s Studies Association, in which she argued that anger was “an appropriate reaction” to the racism experienced by African American women, the gallery has curated a series of exhibitions and live events from women artists of colour.

Badtjala artist Dr Fiona Foley is known for her photographic works dismantling historical stereotypes, such 2004’s HHH (Hedonistic Honky Haters), which featured a portrait of African Americans wearing black KKK-style hoods and African-print garments. Now, as part of Sydney Festival, the National Art School hosts a new survey exhibition of her work.

Australia hasn't produced that many superstar painters in recent decades (or at least not that many that have reached that status just yet) but Ben Quilty's work is known across the country for its vivid, luscious and tormented quality, all realised in oils. This exhibition is Quilty's first major survey in more than a decade and covers 15 years of his work.

Explore Indigenous connection to cultural legacy and the physical, cultural and spiritual lines that link First Nations practices and narratives across Australia. This exhibition at the Powerhouse has been curated by the award-winning head of design at Bangarra Dance Theatre, Murri man Jacob Nash. 

Fifty years ago, John Kaldor changed Australian art history when he invited Christo and Jeanne-Claude to Sydney to wrap two and a half kilometres of coastline with white fabric. Fast forward half a century, and Kaldor has now staged 34 awe-inspiring public art projects from artists including Jeff Koons, Marina Abramovic, Gilbert & George, Jonathan Jones and Sol LeWitt.

Each year, the Museum of Contemporary Art invites an artist or curator to take the reins of Primavera, an exhibition for emerging artists under 35. The brief is simple: showcase artists from across Australia who they feel represent current trends or styles emerging in the next generation. 

The long and often fraught relationship between Australia and Indonesia is at the heart of this new exhibition by internationally acclaimed Javanese artist Jumaadi. Drawing inspiration from Cintaku Jauh di Pulau (My Love is an Island Far Away), an epic poem by the Indonesian writer Chairil Anwar, Jumaadi juxtaposes it against the brutal treatment of Javanese political prisoners during the 20th century.