CHALK HORSE + SYDNEY BOAT SHOW
Since it first opened its doors in 2007, Chalk Horse Gallery has been offering up edgy and usually very hip art to the Surry Hills clique. This week sees it say farewell to its original and much-loved space artist run space and make the move into new digs on Lacey St, Surry Hills. The space promises to carry on the business of sourcing young artists and giving them somewhere to show that has that New York feel.
Never to be out-cooled, however, the new gallery’s new home is less SoHo and more Meat Packing District, with a roller-door laneway entry and no-expense spared finishes and fittings. The move also sees the progression of the gallery from artist run space to commercial gallery, an often difficult and all-too-rare leap for artist collectives. While retaining a focus on high-quality young and local artists, Chalk Horse has expanded its stable, and the new space offers the chance to make it bigger, better and bolder than ever.
The show to christen the new space will be Sydney artist Jasper Knight’s Sydney Boat Show, which explores the diverse range of vessels that traverse our harbour every day. Sydney Boat Show channels Knight’s signature style of bold and fluid painting through boats, and from the looks of it, the artist has taken to the subject like a duck to water (excuse the pun).
It’s an exciting time for the arts in Sydney, as artist run spaces proliferate and there’s always more shows than hours to see them. Chalk Horse is in many ways emblematic of this growth, and this next stage in its life will likely cement its already well-established role for emerging artists and younger collectors.
May 5-Jun 18, Chalk Horse Gallery, 8 Lacey St, Surry Hills, 9211 8999, chalkhorse.com.au
