Art Wank

Fiona Verity, Julie Nicholson and Gary Seller

Come along for the ride with curious artists Julie Nicholson, Fiona Verity and host Gary Seller, as they talk about their creative journey. Hear them interviewing artists, curators, gallery owners, teachers and creatives to guide them, and the listeners, within the arts community. Enjoy the banter whilst they navigate through all the Art W**k. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 17 hr ago

    Episode 256 - Andrew Jensen, Fox Jensen Gallery

    In this episode, we speak with Andrew Jensen, founder and director of Fox Jensen, one of Australia's leading contemporary art galleries and Fox Jensen Mccrory, alongside Emma Fox and Sarah Mccrory. Andrew discusses the evolution of the gallery, from its beginnings to its current presence in both Sydney and New Zealand. We explore the changing landscape of contemporary art, what makes a successful artist gallery relationship, and how a commercial gallery balances artistic vision with the realities of the art market. The conversation also touches on collecting, the international art scene, the enduring significance of painting, and the role galleries play in supporting artists throughout their careers. Andrew shares insights from decades of experience working closely with established and emerging artists, offering a candid look at the challenges and opportunities facing contemporary art today. Whether you're an artist, collector, curator, or simply interested in contemporary culture, this episode provides a thoughtful perspective on the business, passion and commitment behind running a leading gallery. 'Andrew Jensen opened the gallery in New Zealand in 1988 and over the course of more than thirty-five years it has set itself aside in terms of its seamless presentation of international work alongside the most considered practices from the region. In early 2011 the gallery expanded to Australia opening a second gallery in Sydney. Multiple exhibitions by major artists such as Imi Knoebel, Fred Sandback, Tony Oursler, Helmut Federle, Günter Umberg, Winston Roeth, Lawrence Carroll, Elisabeth Vary and Callum Innes altered and enriched the local conditions. These exhibitions continued to provide the basis for an increasingly expansive approach that has seen the curated aspect of the gallery grow. There have been numerous notable projects over the last decade or more including E=MC2, Naked, The Architecture of Colour, Six Degrees of Separation, Points of Orientation, Detox, Melancholia, The Authority of Death, Farben, Saturation, There’s Joy in Repetition, Portrait without a Face, Eros, Permafrost and more recently Raven, Plastic Soul, Terrain, No One’s Rose & Rain.  The galleries’ programs have developed a welcome richness and energy with the inclusion of a newer generation of international artists including Jan Albers, Mark Francis, Hanns Kunitzberger, Sofie Muller, Erin Lawlor, Liat Yossifor, Koen Delaere, Jane Bustin and Gideon Rubin. Alongside this, artists from the region include Aida Tomescu, Tomislav Nikolic, Matthew Allen, Geoff Thornley, Robert Malherbe, Jenny Topfer, Todd Hunter and Gary McMillan. The galleries are also privileged to hold the Estate of Bill & Pip Culbert. With the opening of the major new gallery space in Sydney in late 2025 the galleries have both expanded and consolidated its program. In 2026 the galleries are presenting works by celebrated artists Ian Davenport (UK), Paul Czerlitzki (POL), Ingo Meller (GER), Ulrike Schulze (GER), Gerold Millar (GER) and Lucienne O’Mara (UK).  Fox Jensen, Sydney and Fox Jensen McCrory, Auckland are run in close partnership with its artists by Andrew Jensen, Emma Fox and Sarah McCrory. It participates annually in art fairs whilst remaining deeply committed to its galleries’ programs and to publishing.' - Fox Jensen Website   Thanks for Andrew Jensen and Emma Fox for having us in their home for the converstauon. Fox jensen Gallery, cnr Brennan &, McEvoy St, Alexandria NSW 2015 Fox Jensen Mcrorym, 10 Putiki St, Gtey Lynn, AKL 1021 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    58 min
  2. 19 May

    Episode 254 - Lustre: Artistic Responses to the ANZAC Campaign in Greece and Crete 1941

    Lustre is a new temporary exhibition that explores the Allied campaigns in Greece and Crete in 1941 through the works of contemporary artists who walked in their footsteps in 2025. Lustre Force was the code name for the combined Australian, New Zealand and British army units deployed to protect Greece from Nazi attack in 1941. The Allied defence of Greece was overwhelmed in three and a half weeks in April 1941 and in May, Crete fell to a Nazi airborne invasion in just ten days. To record those heroic but doomed campaigns, Australia and New Zealand sent war artists and a photographer.  Eighty-five years later, artists from Australia and New Zealand retraced their footsteps, walking the battlefields and visiting the cemeteries where the men and women of Lustre Force and their German foe lie. Lustre showcases the impressions they made of the impact of that journey. Some of the images show that the land and its people have recovered over time; others reveal that some scars take longer to fade. The exhibition opens on 15 May 2026 and is in the Memorial’s Auditorium on the Lower Floor. The Memorial is open every day, 9am to 5pm. Please note that access to the exhibition is dependent on the Auditorium’s use for education and other programs, so we encourage you to call the Memorial in advance on (02) 8262 2900. Entry is free Artists: Amanda Penrose Hart, Euan Mcleoud, Joanna Logue, Alan Daniel Jones, Deirdre Bean, Riste Andrievski, Angelika Androutsopolous, Michael Bradfield, Michelle Hiscock, Steve Lopes, Natalie OConnor and Rodney Pople Historian: Brad Manera, the Senior Historian and Curator of the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park, Sydney Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    53 min
  3. 18 May

    Episode 253 - Bonus Episode with artist and Art Wank host Julie Nicholson

    Gary has a chat with artist Julie Nicholson about her show, Nostalgia, opening May 21st at CBD Gallery in Sydney. Julie has recently exhibited with CBD Gallery at the Aotearoa Art Fair (NZ), and her work has been widely recognised in national awards such as the Paddington Art Prizre and the Muswellbrook, and held in private collections in Australia and overseas. She co-hosts the popular arts podcast, Art Wank. Her duo solo exhibition, Nostalgia, stems from a sense of homesickness after moving from the UK to Australia at the age of 23. A deep sense of nostalgia has shaped her life, and only recently did she discover that nostalgia was once considered a disease. The works in this exhibition sit within that tension, posing the question of whether nostalgia is something that nurtures us, or something that holds us back. Many of the canvases in the exhibition are split across multiple panels, reflecting the fractured experience of trying to locate familiarity within a foreign landscape. Moments of recognition such as sketching in Berrima in the Southern Highlands, where the landscape can feel momentarily like home are interrupted by distinctly Australian elements, like a palm tree or native plant, which jolt her back into the awareness of distance and displacement. Julie has also titled many of the works using Old English words for landscape elements—such as weald, meaning forest. This reflects her interest in etymology and the evolution of language over time. Just as words shift, fall out of use, and take on new meanings, her understanding of the Australian landscape has also changed. Language, like memory, holds a connection to the past while continually adapting to the present, mirroring her experience of navigating place, identity, and belonging. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    25 min
  4. 31 Mar

    Episode 249 - Nikky Morgan Smith

    Send us Fan Mail Nikky Morgan Smith is an Australian artist whose practice explores the intersection of memory, place, and emotional resonance through a refined visual language. Working across painting and mixed media, her work is characterised by layered surfaces, nuanced colour palettes, and an intuitive balance between abstraction and representation. Drawing inspiration from the Australian landscape as well as personal narratives, Smith’s compositions evoke a sense of atmosphere and quiet contemplation. Her process often involves building and reworking surfaces over time, allowing traces of earlier marks to remain visible and contribute to the depth and history of each piece. Smith has exhibited in a range of group and solo exhibitions, with her work held in private collections. Through her practice, she continues to investigate how environments, both physical and psychological, shape perception, inviting viewers into spaces that feel at once familiar and open to interpretation. She is an artist based in the Northern Rivers of NSW. Completing a cross institutional bachelor of visual arts at SCU/RMIT in 2003, Nikky has staged solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and participated in group exhibitions nationally and internationally. Her work has been selected as a finalist in many prestigious awards, most recently the Jacaranda Touring Drawing Prize and has also been the recipient of various artists in residence programs, most recently the Suzzane Bastien Foundation artist in residence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    45 min

About

Come along for the ride with curious artists Julie Nicholson, Fiona Verity and host Gary Seller, as they talk about their creative journey. Hear them interviewing artists, curators, gallery owners, teachers and creatives to guide them, and the listeners, within the arts community. Enjoy the banter whilst they navigate through all the Art W**k. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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