DOUBLE OPENING CELEBRATION

JACQUIE MENG + BOBBY CORICA (Naarm)

Stanley Street Gallery is delighted to invite you to the double opening celebration of two new exciting exhibitions in the Darlinghurst gallery on Saturday November 23rd from 3 - 5 PM.

JACQUIE MENG'S first solo presentation 'The World is my Playground'

(Main Exhibition Space)

"In 'The World is my Playground' uncanny distortion and self-portraiture as self-roleplay facilitate the emergence of new identities, chance encounters and transformation. Vulgarity at the carnival is about the body warping; the foot is a map, the eye is a pool ball, the faces are contorting, and the world is synthetic. Exaggerated self-portraiture goes beyond self-representation into immersion with the thing-power objects, which have a radiating agency of their own. Smoke, light beams and patterned grass coalesce around the body and objects and are entirely enmeshed. The textural experience of Meng's works reinforce painting as a practice of playing with space and collapsing time" - Claire Grant

Jacquie Meng (b.Hangzhou) works with painting, sound, and installation. Her work redefines diasporic cultural identity beyond national and geographical specificities, rather seeing it as unfixed. Meng was awarded Guy Warren Emerging Art Prize 2024, the Brett Whitely travelling scholarship in 2021, was a finalist in the churchie Emerging Art Prize at the IMA, and was a part of PICA’s Hatched 2022. In 2023, she completed two overseas artist residencies, at Kunstraum in New York (April-July) and Pilotenkueche International Art Program Leipzig (July-September). Meng is represented by Stanley Street Gallery.

BOBBY CORICA (Naarm) 'Orders'

(Tank Space)

The latest exhibition 'Orders' by Bobby Corica explores the meeting place of chaos and repetitive gesture in gold and silversmithing techniques.

"I have always remarked that my work often comes from a place of inner chaos, channeled through highly repetitive and traditional gold & silversmithing techniques. I think my work has always been a showcase of order and disorder, and how they can both exist simultaneously. Not so much a struggle for dominance, but more of a delicate balance; a display of dynamic interplay, in that one always affects the other. This body of work in particular is a love letter to my own chaos and my deep appreciation for it, in all its varied orders." - Corica

Bobby Corica, born in Naarm/ Melbourne 1994, works from his Brunswick studio in Naarm / Melbourne. Drawing from his Italo-Australian heritage and a background in biochemistry and molecular biology, Bobby embarked on his silversmithing journey in 2019, honing his craft in the art of chain making. Guided by his interest in “chaos”, Bobby's process is best described as "intuitive," as he delicately responds to the qualities and limitations of materials such as silver, gold and glass. The culmination of Bobby’s intuitive practice manifests in highly textured and truly one-of-a-kind pieces that carry a distinctive allure.

In 2022, The National Gallery of Victoria commissioned Bobby for the 2022/2023 Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse summer show. His work has been exhibited as part of NGV Design Week, Oigall Projects, Jam Factory and Craft Victoria. Alongside his online store, his work can be found in design stores both nationally and internationally. We are thrilled to have Corica in Eora for the first time!

Please join us for a drink, meet the artists and have a chat.

When: Saturday 23rd November

Time: 3 - 5 PM

Where: Stanley Street Gallery, Darlinghurst