Free/State

Free/State description

The country’s longest running survey of contemporary Australian art, the Adelaide Biennial, returns. Entitled Free/State, a play on the optimism of SA’s colonial origins, the 2022 edition is centred on artist provocateurs and outsiders to create a wild and vibrant exhibition for these most uncertain of times.

The Biennial showcases 25 artists from every state and territory across multiple generations with a focus on amplifying and celebrating individual artistic voices. Senior artists such as Tracey Moffatt, Julie Rrap and South Australians Angela and Hossein Valamanesh exhibit alongside cutting edge emerging artists Loren Kronemyer, Min Wong and JD Reforma. The Art Gallery of South Australia will be inhabited by immersive installations from artists Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Stanislava Pinchuk and Darren Sylvester including interventions into non-traditional spaces within the gallery from Tom Polo, Kate Scardifield and Rhoda Tjitayi. Free/State embraces a diverse range of mediums from Sera Waters' intricate textiles, to Laith McGregor’s epic large scale drawings and Shaun Gladwell’s forays into frenetic video and extended reality works. Artists Reko Rennie, Dennis Golding and Mitch Cairns present deeply personal perspectives and examine notions of family, place and home.

Sebastian Goldspink, curator of the 2022 Adelaide Biennial, is a dynamic and fresh spokesperson for Australian art. Ten years ago he made a name for himself by commandeering empty car parks after dark in Sydney and transforming them into vibrant pop-up galleries for emerging artists. That driving commitment to ensuring diverse voices flourish shines through in this fantastic instalment of this significant exhibition.

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Credits

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Free/State: 2022 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art is curated by Sebastian Goldspink and features Abdul-Rahman Abdullah (WA), Serena Bonson (NT), Mitch Cairns (NSW), Dean Cross (NSW/ACT), Shaun Gladwell (VIC), Dennis Golding (NSW), Loren Kronemyer (TAS), Laith McGregor (NSW), Kate Mitchell (QLD), Tracey Moffatt (NSW), Stanislava Pinchuk (VIC), Tom Polo (NSW), JD Reforma (NSW), Reko Rennie (VIC), Julie Rrap (NSW), Kate Scardifield (NSW), Darren Sylvester (VIC), James Tylor & Rebecca Selleck (ACT), Jelena Telecki (NSW), Rhoda Tjitayi (SA), Hossein & Angela Valamanesh (SA), Sera Waters (SA), Min Wong (NSW)

Presented by Art Gallery of South Australia in association with the Adelaide Festival, and with generous support received from the Art Gallery of South Australia Biennial Ambassadors Program and Principal Donor The Balnaves Foundation. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body and by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.

Image Credits Dennis Golding, Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay people, New South Wales, born Sydney 1989, Untitled Botany Bay, 2018, photograph, 155 x 87 cm; Courtesy the artist. Photo: Jack Cook

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