Sydney Contemporary

Over the weekend Sydney's collectors, speculators, professionals and simply curious turned out for Sydney Contemporary, held at Carriageworks in Redfern.

Sydney Contemporary is a lavish event where outsized works and installations compete for attention next to a selection of pop-up eateries from some of Sydney's newest, hottest restaurants presided over by an enormous disembodied head composed entirely of brass bells.

As to be expected the standard of work was exceptional, with little distinction between that of local artists and international works brought by overseas galleries. Indeed some of the strongest pieces on show are antipodean in origin.

Personal thrills came at different points around the gallery; probably too long looking at Elizabeth Thomson's Voyage Sauvage pieces...

We were drawn to Nana Ohnesorge's Aboriginal Girl, mesmerised by the mix of classical image and the work's incandescent fluoro-pink. We then successfully fought the urge to make Tomokazu Matsuyama's exciting, whimsical sculpture our own, and then to push the Playmobil rider off the silver mount and ride off into the secluded, elegant VIP bar.

There's a day of delights to be had at the fair — even if the budget doesn't quite run to a spot of shopping. Only two more years 'til the next one.