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Sadie Chandler’s practice spans painting, wallpaper and occasionally object making. Her work has a cartoon-like quality characterised by graphic outlines and a figurative style that avoids any shading or traditional perspective.
Her subject matter ranges from urban cityscapes to pin-up girls, portraiture and landscapes. Rendered through economical gestures, her images have a sense of immediacy that is prioritised over realism. This is echoed through her preference for DIY processes such as paste-ups and ink on paper.
In Arcade (2017-18), a series of busts, objects and ceramic vessels are displayed on Greek columns directly referencing art history. Based on studies of Classical sculptures in the famous French museum the Louvre, Paris, some of the familiar figures include: The Venus de Milo by Alexandros of Antioch (c.100-130 BC) and The Borghese Gladiator signed by Agasias of Ephesus (c.100 BC). These are contrasted with contemporary interpretations of ancient statues such as Damien Hirst’s copy of a roman foot from Remnants of Apollo (2012). Two ceramic pots by Ernabella artists Alison Milyika Carroll and Shauna Colin also feature with Ngayuku Walka (2014) and Tali (2014) from the SAM Collection.
Chandler is compelled by the constant circulation and reproduction of existing images, and the enduring influence of art history on the construction of new ones.
Sadie Chandler has held a number of solo exhibitions across Australia since the late ‘90s. Recent significant group exhibitions include: Unfinished Business, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne (2017); Constellations – A Large Number of Small Drawings, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne (2012); Shilo, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne University, Melbourne (2009); Soft Sculpture, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (2009); I Walk the Line – New Australian Drawing, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2009). Her work is held in a number of collections Australia wide including the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Art Bank, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth; Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne; and RMIT University, Melbourne.
Image: Sadie Chandler, Arcade, 2017-2018 ink on paper
