Our 5th annual exhibition pairing of a trailblazing local artist with a celebrated international artist presents THINGS THAT ARE REAL: ALVARO BARRINGTON X DEAN CROSS.

Following a series of breakthrough presentations (2021 Primavera, MCA, 2022 Adelaide Biennale of Australian Art, Goulburn Regional Art Gallery and Carriageworks 2021- 2022), this project will feature a major new commission by regional NSW-based artist Dean Cross. A Worimi man, born and raised on Ngunnawal/Ngambri Country, Cross’s work enacts First Nations sovereignty through expanded contemporary art methodologies.

Cross will present alongside Alvaro Barrington, whose prolific work is also informed by a commitment to personal heritage and community. Barrington was born in Venezuela to Grenadian and Haitian parents, and raised between the Caribbean and New York by a network of relatives. Remarkably, his first solo exhibition was held at MoMA PS1 (NY) in 2017, and recent major exhibitions include an acclaimed solo show at South London Gallery (2021) and Mixing It Up: Painting Today, Hayward Gallery, UK (2021).

Things that are real: Alvaro Barrington x Dean Cross will be the most ambitious of this series to date, creating an unprecedented level of cultural and artistic exchange. The project facilitates a dynamic and hybrid engagement model, with the artists exchanging works-in-progress and ideas during a remote, development phase and collaborating together in Sydney when we host Barrington for an intensive, creative install period. This rich exchange of culture, ideas and methodologies will embrace risk-taking, experimentation and innovation.

Featuring solo and collaborative artworks, Things that are real culminates from an exchange of works-in-progress between Australia and the UK and a live experiment in situ, with the artists generating new material conversations in an intensive creative install period at Cement Fondu.

Videography thanks to Harvey Creative. With special thanks to Sadie Coles HQ and STATION.