Biennale of Sydney announces new curator - Charles Merewether
Biennale of Sydney
43-51 Cowper Wharf Road
Woolloomooloo NSW 2011
Australia
Telephone (61) 2 9368 1411
Facsimile (61) 2 9368 1617
art@biennaleofsydney.com.au
In the midst of the 2004 Biennale of Sydney, Sydney’s three-month celebration of the best and boldest international contemporary art, Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, Chairman of the Biennale of Sydney, has announced Charles Merewether as the new curator for the next Biennale of Sydney in 2006.
“Charles Merewether brings a wealth of international experience to Australia for 2006, and his background presents a depth of knowledge for the 2006 Biennale of Sydney that is as impressive as it is unique,” said Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, Biennale of Sydney Chairman.
“Charles returns to Australia following 20 years extensive travel, work and living abroad in regions as varied as Latin America and Europe, including the last 10 years at the Getty Center in Los Angeles,” said Belgiorno-Nettis. “He is also no stranger to biennales, having served on the advisory boards of Johannesburg, Istanbul and Sao Paulo biennales.”
“The next Biennale will represent a continuing dialogue between people and cultures,” said Charles Merewether. “It will be broadly based, drawing upon artists from radically different parts of the world, a wide range of media, involving a number of sites and venues in Sydney and across Australia.”
“Charles Merewether’s appointment as curator commences an exciting path towards the 2006 Biennale of Sydney,” said Paula Latos-Valier, Biennale of Sydney Managing Director. “His in-depth knowledge of Australian art, complemented by the perspective he brings from his international experience, means the 2006 Biennale of Sydney will be strongly anchored in this region of the globe.”
Charles Merewether has curated over 20 major shows in Europe, USA, Latin America and Australia, including the Adelaide Festival and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
“Charles’ curatorial work, writing, teaching and editing in countries as diverse as Spain, Japan, Turkey, China, South Africa and Mexico, and his extensive list of visiting professorships, demonstrates an enduring commitment to education and the potential to actively engage the local community,” Latos-Valier added.
Charles Merewether is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Cross Cultural Research, Australian National University. An art historian, he was Collections Curator at the Getty Center in Los Angeles between 1994-2004. He has taught at the University of Sydney, Universidad Autonoma in Barcelona, the Ibero-Americana in Mexico City and University of Southern California. He was a Research Fellow at Yale University and, in 2003, Fellow at the Humanities Research Centre, ANU. He also received a Research Fellowship from the Japan Foundation. Merewether’s most recent book is Conditions of Uncertainty. He is currently writing a book on the cultural history of looting, preparing an exhibition on post-war Japanese art (1951-1970) for the Getty Center in Los Angeles and is researching recent art in China.
The 2004 Biennale runs until 15 August, and already the event is a public success. Weaving an artistic walking trail around Sydney’s harbour foreshore and into leading art venues, it continues to delight, surprise and challenge viewers. Jimmie Durham’s red family car sits crushed under a smiling 2.5 tonne boulder on the Sydney Opera House forecourt, and gallery-venues that include the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Artspace, report increased attendance figures over previous years.
Visual arts media enquiries:
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