Congratulations Ayako Saito, who has been awarded the major Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe Artist Award for her magnificent work Lunar Shadow.
Made from steel, the sculpture encloses and embraces space to create an emotional sanctuary.
‘Ayako Saito manipulates steel with wonderful agility and inventiveness truly forging space with form to create movement and dynamic relations between the parts of the sculptures without losing unity in each work. Creating a three dimensional poetry that embraces the economy of haiku.’ – Ethan Harrier, 2019.
Donated by the Minderoo Foundation, the Sculpture by the Sea Artist Award aims to increase opportunities for artists, is judged on excellence and is open to all artworks in the exhibition.
To read more about Ayako Saito’s practice, and view a selection of available sculptures visit her profile page at our website, here.
To view the beautiful works exhibited at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottlesoe 2023 click here.
Image above: Ayako Saito Lunar Shadow 2019. Installation view at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, 2023. Photo by Jessica Wyld.
Congratulations to Richard Goodwin, Greg Johns, Peter Lundberg, Ron Robertson-Swann and Ayako Saito, whose works were included in the recent Sculpture by the Sea, Cottlesloe exhibition.
Over 70 artists participated in this year’s SxS, staged on the beautiful Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia. The exhibition, now in its nineteenth year, featured from the sea wall all the way along the sand towards North Cottesloe and on the surrounding grassed areas, creating a beautiful sculpture park.
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottlesloe
Cottesloe Beach, Perth
Final day 20 March 2023
Richard Goodwin Turbulence aluminium, stainless steel, mild steel, plastic, concrete 441 x 225 x 225 cm
Photograph by B.Horgan @technicolour_vision
Greg Johns Horizon Figure 2020. Installation view at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, 2023. Photo by Michael Goh.
“This year, South Australian artist Greg Johns joins the Cottesloe Decade Club, with his work ‘Horizon Figure (2020)’, being the tenth work he has exhibited at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe since 2006. The large corten steel work is from a series which explores connections with the Australian landscape.” – Sculpture by the Sea Instagram page
Peter Lundberg Traveller. Installation view at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, 2023. Photo by Jessica Wyld.
Ron Robertson-Swann OAM The Sculptor’s Sketchbook 2020. Installation view at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, 2023. Photo by Michael Goh.
Ayako Saito Lunar Shadow 2019. Installation view at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, 2023. Photo by Jessica Wyld.
Image above: installation view, Camie Lyons Impromptu Making and Shadow steel, paint 350 x 250 x 190 cm.
Australian Galleries is pleased to share that several of the gallery’s represented and notable artists are currently showing in the latest iteration of Sculpture by the Sea. Now in its 24th year, this public outdoor sculpture exhibition – the largest of its kind in the world – is showcasing over 100 artworks by Australian and international sculptors.
Ayako Saito Tomb of Atreus 2022 steel, painted 210 x 180 x 230 cm.
“The geometry of the parts of this sculpture, through their relation, add up to a new thing.” – Ayako Saito
Ron Robertson-Swann Pythagoras 1984 steel, painted 182 x 227 x 267 cm.
“Pythagoras knew a thing or 2.” – Ron Robertson-Swann
Front and back views: Richard Tipping The Sanctuary of Distance 2020/2022 edition 7 reflective tape, aluminium sheet, galvanised pole 70 x 90 x 5 cm.
“This work is comprised of four different signs, each double-sided with ‘Oh No’ on one side, and ‘Oh Yes’ on the other. It brings the template of the “Danger” sign into new use both as a cry of distress (‘Oh No’) and as a space for resolution and repair (‘Oh Yes’).”
“The sanctuary of distance is declared; and sculpture’s contemplative nature is announced.” – Richard Tipping
Richard Goodwin Turbulence aluminium stainless steel, mild steel, plastic, concrete 441 x 225 x 225 cm.
“This work speaks to the park and dramatises the site. It is both tree-like and a furious seaweed cluster under water. The audience is left to draw the wind in their minds as the turbulence builds.” – Richard Goodwin
Michael Le Grand Global Minuet 2020 painted steel 240 x 410 x 200 cm.
Michael Snape Slow Turn 2020 steel 240 x 300 x 240 cm.
“Eighteen lines drawn, eighteen lines cut, bent eighteen times, obtuse or acute, making a Slow Turn.” – Michael Snape
Greg Johns Horizon Figure 2018-2020 edition 3 corten steel 310 x 400 x 80 cm.
“This work is from a series which explores connection with the Australian landscape. This organic and complex work references the broken stone forms of our unique, weathered landscape.” – Greg Johns
Camie Lyons Impromptu Making and Shadow 2019 steel, paint 350 x 250 x 190 cm.
“I picked up discarded wire and coaxed it into form. I found beauty in the tangled landscape. These works are those experiments blown up. The challenge was to remain true to the original continuous line work and resist the temptation to redirect.” – Camie Lyons
Jock Clutterbuck The Orange Tree 2020 fabricated and cast aluminium 210 x 130 x 47 cm.
“The Orange Tree is the title of an early poem by John Shaw Neilson who grew up and worked as a labourer in the Western Wimmera region of Victoria where I also grew up.” – Jock Clutterbuck
James Parrett M-fifty 2022 stainless steel 230 x 310 x 230 cm.
“M-fifty is primarily inspired by the aesthetic potential of the circular form and what can be achieved through the dissection and reconfiguration of radial arcs.” – James Parrett
Sculpture by the Sea continues until 7 November.
Sculpture by the Sea: 24th Exhibition
Bondi to Tamarama Beach
21 October – 7 November 2022
‘Sculpture Inside’
‘Sculpture Inside’, the small sculpture exhibition component of Sculpture by the Sea is now showing at Marquee, Mark’s Park, Tamarama – on the Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi exhibition trail until 7 November.
The beautiful works below by Jimmy Rix, Camie Lyons, Ayako Saito and Ron Robertson-Swann are part of this dynamic exhibition of small scale pieces.
“Sculpture Inside’ is our free to the public indoor exhibition located in a pop-up marquee in Marks Park on the exhibition trail, showcasing small artwork by Sculpture by the Sea exhibiting artists.
We welcome visitors to come in and marvel at the presentation of sculpture on a small scale, displaying the diversity of the artist’s practice.
‘Sculpture Inside’ also provides a unique opportunity to purchase sculpture by emerging, mid-career and established Australian and International artists.”
Above: Jimmy Rix The Sleeping Gypsy (after Rousseau) bronze edition of 9 21 x 33 x 25 cm
Above: Camie Lyons Whirlpool 2021 bronze 46 x 49 x 44 cm
Above: Ayako Saito
Above:RonRobertson-Swann
Image above: Ron Robertson-Swann Nijinsky 2020 steel, painted 195 x 215 x 215 cm, seen with the artist. Image courtesy of the artist.
We are pleased to share that Australian Galleries artists Ron Robertson-Swann, Ayako Saito, Michael Snape, David Horton and Harrie Fasher were chosen to participate in this year’s Sculpture in the Vineyards, Wollombi Valley Sculpture Festival. Showing annually since 2002, this regional sculpture festival is the longest running one of its kind in New South Wales.
Ron Robertson-Swann has presented two works at the Festival, notably his work Nijinsky, located at Laguna Hall, which has received the Governor’s Prize. Offered for the first time this year, this prize chooses one sculpture to be exhibited at the Government House sculpture garden for up to one year after the conclusion of the Festival. Nearby in the Old Fireshed Gallery, Robertson-Swann has his work Entwined on show.
Ron Robertson-Swann Nijinsky 2020 steel, painted 195 x 215 x 215 cm.
Ron Robertson-Swann Entwined 2021 steel, painted 18 x 54 x 54 cm. Image courtesy of the artist.
Ayako Saito Step x Step II steel 200 x 231 x 121 cm. Image courtesy of the artist.
Ayako Saito similarly featured in the Sculpture Festival with her work Step x Step II, seen in Wollombi Village. In the nearby Wollombi Community Hall, another work by Saito can be seen on display, Caravan 2021 (painted steel, 16 x 17.5 x 19 cm). Of Step x Step II, Saito says: “This sculpture is like sailing through our lives. It is constructed with elements whose shapes play in concert with each other. They hold and direct space within and the character of the sculpture declares itself.”
Michael Snape The Wave steel 150 x 320 x 70 cm. Image courtesy of the artist.
Also in Wollombi Village is Michael Snape‘s The Wave. Snape says of this work: “We imagine ourselves as individuals. We are that. We are also one of many. Each of us is part of the whole picture of humanity, here on the beach, assembled.”
Michael Snape is currently showing several sculptures in his exhibition Here, Australian Galleries Sydney, 15 September – 2 October 2022.
David Horton Early one Evening 2019 210 x 600 (variable) x 400 cm. Image courtesy of the artist.
David Horton also features in Wollombi Village with his work Early one Evening, which he explains is, “a triptych of three elements using arches as the galvanising theme.”
Harrie Fasher Voices at Dawn bronze, steel, concrete 250 x 115 x 115 cm. Image courtesy of the artist.
Lastly, Harrie Fasher presents Voices at Dawn in the Laguna Hall, for which she says: “Voices at Dawn stands between figuration and abstraction. A bronze female bust is held aloft by an abstract arrangement of steel and concrete line and volume. Derived from the central woman in the mythology surrounding the Morai and our mortality, her role is open for interpretation.”
Sculpture in the Vineyards – Wollombi Valley Sculpture Festival
Wollombi, NSW
10 – 25 September 2022
Ayako Saito was born in Japan and moved to Australia in 2002. Her dynamic and inventive sculptures manipulate space and form to create beautiful pieces full of movement and musicality. Ayako recently chatted with us about her experiences and creative endeavours during lockdown and throughout 2020.
What has been inspiring your work lately? Have you been finding it easier to create during isolation or more challenging?
We got our studio and home flooded at the beginning of this year and it ruined a roll of Arches paper. That liberated me from being intimidated by such a beautiful paper and inspired me to work with it freely. Now I have been playing with the paper and making paper collage and paintings.
I have been working on my work for Sculpture by the Sea this year. When my first maquette was created I realised some structural problems in the enlargement of the work. Therefore, I kept working on the same theme and developed a series of maquettes not just for solving the engineering problem but also working on something that has developed as variations on a theme.
The life of the artist is lonely. We are always isolated in the studio, but forced isolation intensified my focus on making my art. One of the challenging things during isolation is that we cannot share and talk about our works at the studio with friends like we used to do. Talking to people about art always gives me some insight and objectiveness.
Rivulet 2016 steel, painted 150 x 60 x 75 cm
What is an artwork or artist that continues to inspire you?
Henri Matisse: His use of colour makes me happy and gives me courage to tackle the emotion of colour.
Yukio Nakagawa: He is an avant gard Ikebana artist. His forcus showed the essence of flowers.
Ron Robetson-Swann: He never gives up on what he is working on and has an incredible capacity and sensibility to see and analyse intellectually anyone’s art works including his own without being disturbed by his own emotion. He is constantly challenging his own thoughts and is always open to listen to anybody’s opinion. “Interest in disinterest ” is one of the most insightful things I learnt from him.
Favourite book/literature
“Himegimi” by Amy Yamada
“Jibunn nonakani doku wo mote” by Taro Okamoto (He is a Japanese artist whose book about art and life I found more interesting than his art works)
“Mujinzo” by Shoji Hamada: This book describes lots of Japanese culture in his story that I cannot explain.
Favourite place/memory
Our bed
Offering 2019 steel, painted 29.5 x 38.5 x 11 cm
Favourite music to listen to
West Side Story: I watched the movie so many times when I was a small child (partly because my parents hardly let us watch commercial TV). I still get goose bumps when I hear the music.
Chopin
Silence (I like silence when I work)
Orbit I 2019 steel, painted 34 x 43 x 83 cm
What are you looking forward to doing once COVID is over
Hug my friends and family.
Talking to strangers without being worried about covid.
Ayako Saito with her husband, Ron Robertson-Swann