'Desert Of New Ideas'

Oh dear !. Just as the Sydney Contemporary was launched this weekend with a myriad of writers proclaiming it's brilliance (especially those whose bosses were sponsoring it) comes a report from the UK Sunday Times savaging an Australian art exhibition at the Royal Academy in London.

Rachel Griffiths at the Olsen Irwin                       'Sydney Sun'                                                  John Olsen   

As our snaps show actor Rachel Griffiths attended a media conference at the Olsen Irwin Gallery in Woolahra and also the exhibition at the Carriageworks in deepest Alexandria. The Olsen Irwin is run by Tim Olsen, son of one of our most celebrated artists John Olsen who recently exhibited at a Mayfair gallery.
The Time's art critic Waldermar Januszczak has labelled Olsen's Sydney Sun (purchased for the National Gallery in Canberra for $500K) and on display at the RA as evoking " the sensation of standing under a cascade of diarrhoea.”. Olsen has hit back accusing Januszczak of attempting to "put colonials in their place".

Continues Januszczak :"Australia is let down by lots of the art, which is weedy, provincial and all too European.". 
God only knows what our British critic would think of our publicity friendly Charles Billich who a local writer recently trilled had presented a grieving Katherine Jackson with a portrait of her late son Michael Jackson. Below is our much watched Youtube video of the master at work.