Utopia Art Sydney returns to Waterloo

Utopia Art Sydney opened its doors three decades ago, and today represents many of  Australia’s leading artists. The gallery has remained at the forefront of exhibiting contemporary Indigenous practice from Utopia and Papunya Tula Artists, including  artworld heavy hitters Emily Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarre, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, Yukultji Napangati and George Tjungurrayi.

The gallery first moved to Danks Street, Waterloo in 2000 before making a move to Alexandria in 2017. “We anchored this art precinct for many years; this is a move back into a very familiar neighbourhood,” says gallery director Christopher Hodges.

“The new Utopia Art Studio is a perfect combination of traditional white cube and industrial chic,” he continues. Its new location makes the gallery more accessible to the public, with less congestion and more available parking. “It’s a focused exhibition space within walking distance of a range of galleries, including Darren Knight, May Space, Stella Downer, Aboriginal and Pacific Art, Sullivan and Strumpf and Artbank.”

Utopia Art Sydney’s Alexandria location is still open and running as a private space, showing museum level exhibitions and one-off special projects.

The inaugural show at the new Waterloo space opens this weekend, presenting the abstract icon David Aspden. Aspden is considered one of Australia’s leading colourists and his “abstracted work reflects deep currents that reach through the paintings into this vibrant new space”, explains Hodges. The exhibition will include previously unseen major works from the 1970s.

Hodges concludes: “We are looking forward to another 30-year run of success with our new Utopia Art Studio space, contributing to the vitality of the Waterloo art precinct.”

Image: Installation views of David Aspden The Colour of Space 2019, Utopia Art Sydney. Courtesy the artist and Utopia Art, Sydney.