Ursula Sullivan and Joanna Strumpf are two of Australia’s most proactive and successful art dealers. The dynamic duo launched their Sydney gallery, Sullivan + Strumpf, in 2005 and began climbing the ranks of the country’s commercial gallery scene.Having reached the pinnacle of success in their home market, Sullivan and Strumpf have decided that the time is right to develop a stronger presence within the South East Asia region, and will open a second gallery space in Singapore at the Gillman Barracks art cluster in mid 2016.Sullivan + Strumpf has participated in the Art Stage Singapore art fair every year since 2013 with great success, and will now join a list of top international galleries with spaces at Gillman Barracks, including the likes of Pearl Lam Galleries, Yavuz gallery, ARNDT, and OTA Fine Arts.To find out more about their plans for the new Singapore gallery, BLOUIN ARTINFO got in touch with Sullivan and Strumpf and asked them a few questions.What was the motivation and inspiration to open a new gallery in Singapore?Australia can be a bit of a wallflower, standing on the edge and looking in at the exciting international art world. We like to navel gaze, searching for our relevance from the sidelines, waiting to be invited. But in reality, no-one really 'invites’ anyone - regardless of nationality-, people simply get out there and start talking, they actively contribute. So this Singapore thing is really about getting out there, making a contribution to the bigger conversation that is happening, and being active of the world.Your Sydney gallery has become one of the country’s most influential in a relatively short period of time, and continues to be a leader in the Australian contemporary art scene. Why expand into Singapore, and why now?We like to be outward looking, expansive and see ourselves very much a part of a broader context. The question should be why not open a gallery in Singapore.What approach will you take with the Singapore gallery in terms of the program, events, and the structure of the space?We are looking for new artists and are excited to discover new stars that speak a new visual language, and it will be fascinating how they spark off the artists we already represent. We'll take this quite slowly as it is incredibly important. It will be an evolution.What is it about your experience in the gallery scene, your knowledge of the Singapore market, and your plans for your new Singapore space that makes you confident of success?In the same way that Sydney is not just about Sydney, Singapore is not just about Singapore. It is about Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines - the entire South East Asian region, and this is a truly mammoth population. In the past 6 years that we have been working in this region, we have come to know many passionate and complex collectors, and we know there are many more. Of course it takes dedication and hard work, but it’s also rather thrilling to be able to provide this opportunity to our artists.What are your plans in 2016 for the Sydney gallery and how will you link the Sydney and Singapore spaces?It’s a big year in Australia and many of our artists are crazy busy in Biennales and Museum shows, such as Hiromi Tango, Richard Lewer, Tony Albert, Tim Silver, Liam O'Brien. Sydney Ball has a new book due out in May. Some have wonderful things happening overseas, for example Sam Jinks is in shows in Bilbao, Denmark and Mexico. It really is incredible and we so admire our artists for their commitment and hard work, it’s no easy road. We’ve also taken on several new artists such as Polly Borland, Grant Stevens and Sanne Mestrom, all artists very much about to hit their stride and we’re set to see them grow.Sydney and Singapore will of course be connected by the fact that Joanna and I involved. But they will be independent of each other and have their own flavour – not all artists that show in Sydney will show in Singapore and vice versa. There’s little point repeating ourselves, the idea is to add diversity and depth and that is what is most appealing.
↧