John McDonald

When your website has been up for five months and has received more than 5 million hits, you may justifiably be called a celebrity. In her native land Simi Garewal is known as a movie actress, and as the host of Rendezvous, a provocative television program on which she has interviewed Indian film stars, politicians, … More

Nude women in rooms are as big a drawcard for major art events as they are for Kings Cross sleaze parlours. There is, however, a world of difference between the tawdry eroticism of the strip club and the aura of high aesthetic distinction that applies to a project such as 13 Rooms. John Kaldor and … More

Mention a “Master Plan” and people start thinking about Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers movies. Yesterday that role was shared between Steven Lowy, President of Trustees, and Director, Michael Brand, as they unveiled their wicked new vision for the Art Gallery of NSW. Lowy gave us the bad news about the existing gallery – … More

Letters to The Adelaide Advertiser: “I am absolutely apalled and disgusted how this sculpture can be classed as ‘art’.” “I, for one, will not be going to see this outrageous monstrosity.” “The picture of a horse hanging, with no head, displayed as art was disgusting. I will never again visit the Art Gallery if they … More

In China last week for Shanghai Contemporary, it began to dawn on me why Australia’s commercial gallery scene seems to be struggling to keep afloat: while the contemporary art market has become completely globalised we remain a stubborn provincial outstation. This is no reflection on the quality of Australian art but it is a growing … More

When Robert Hughes died last week, I spent much of the day on the telephone. Inevitably, the passing of this great, controversial figure was a media event of the first order. Among the mass of small comments I had to produce, the Sydney Morning Herald asked for a quick 500 words. The following day the … More

A few months ago I advised a friend not to labour over her blog, but to write smaller, more spontaneous pieces and publish more frequently. Unfortunately, it seems I’m completely incapable of following my own good advice. The perennial gap between theory and practice – or should that be good intentions and reality? – has begun … More

“Hurry, hurry, last days!” Margaret Olley used to say, when she felt the pinch of old age. Her final show, completed in fairy tale fashion on the day she died, reveals an artist who knew she did not have much time left. The paintings in the exhibition, The Inner Sanctum, hosted by Philip Bacon in … More

As half of the Sydney art world celebrated the launch of Art Month, and the other half clinked glasses at a valedictory show of Margaret Olley’s work, I was on Cottesloe Beach watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean. It was the eighth incarnation of Sculpture by the Sea in Western Australia, and I … More

As a man walked down the aisle towards his bride-to-be, the best man whispered to him: “You are making the biggest mistake of your life.” Within a few months those words had rung true. Is it too late to stop the Art Gallery of NSW making the same mistake? When Edmund Capon announced last August … More