Exhibits,

Connie Anthes & Rebecca Gallo Make or Break

Opening: Wednesday 29 June, 6-8pm Dates: 29 Jun–16 Jul 2016

Make or Break is a live art project by Sydney artists Rebecca Gallo and Connie Anthes that explores the role of audiences and collectors in the generation of art works and art market value.

Starting on opening night and continuing for the next 3 weeks, the artists will be engaged in a daily art-making relay, continuing or destroying the work that the other has made during their previous session, as if it is their own. With no art supplies to work with and only a chair, 2 sawhorses and a basic toolkit at hand, the artists will rely entirely on the generosity of audiences to donate materials throughout the exhibition period. These materials can be anything: a piece of wood, metal, plastic or paper; a hand-me-down, rubbish or a cup of coffee; an idea, a conversation or an expert’s advice.

Gallo and Anthes are seeking to provoke genuine curiosity about process and demonstrate how artists working alone can – and do – influence one another. Make or Break is an open examination of art-making as a kind of performance, and an opportunity to challenge the value of art objects and artist labour.

Rebecca Gallo is an artist, writer and editor based in Sydney. She holds a BFA from the National Art School and a Master of Art from UNSW Art & Design. Through her practice Gallo examines and challenges systems of value around everyday objects and materials. She has been the recipient of a number of grants and residencies, including the Hill End and Fowlers Gap residency programs. From 2014-15 Gallo was a co-director of Archive_ ARI, an artist-run space in inner city Sydney that foregrounded history and memory in contemporary art, and was the editor of RAVEN Contemporary, a national online platform for visual art that ran from 2013-2015.

Connie Anthes is a multi-disciplinary artist currently based in Sydney. She makes paintings, objects and installations that investigate the mechanics of vision and spatial experience, often using non-traditional materials and methods to interrogate these ideas. Anthes has held solo shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Launceston and Leipzig and been the recipient of numerous grants and residencies, both in Australia and abroad. She holds a Bachelor of Design (Hons) from University of Technology, Sydney and a Master of Fine Arts (Painting) from the National Art School, Sydney. Her work is currently represented in the collections of Artbank and Bathurst Regional Gallery. Anthes is an active member of the artist-run community, having been a past director of Firstdraft and a board member at Runway.org.au. She sits on the MCA’s Artist Advisory Group and recently co-founded Frontyard, a futuring initiative for the arts.

This project was assisted by The Australian Artists’ Grant, a NAVA initiative made possible through the generous sponsorship of Mrs Janet Holmes à Court and the support of the Visual Arts Board, Australia Council for the Arts.