Carriageworks presents the first major exhibition in Australia of work by acclaimed Italian contemporary artist Francesco Clemente, as second in the annual Schwartz Carriageworks series of major international visual arts projects. Presented free to the public from 30 July until 9 October 2016, Francesco Clemente: Encampment will include six of Clemente’s celebrated large-scale tents, transforming 30,000 square feet of exhibition space within the Redfern-based multi-arts precinct into an opulent tented village.

For this exhibition, Clemente has collaborated with a community of artisans in Rajasthan, India, over three years from 2012-2014 to create a series of tents featuring intricate patterns, emblematic imagery and vividly painted human figures, both real and allegorical. While the interiors are hand-painted in tempera by Clemente, the camouflage fabric of the exteriors is hand-wood blocked and embroidered with golden thread by Indian artisans. Viewers will be invited to walk around, amongst and inside the tents to explore the works from different perspectives.

Exhibited alongside the artist’s tents are four altar-like vertical sculptures – titled Earth, Moon, Sun and Hunger – which marry references to contemporary life with archaic forms. The exhibition also features a suite of 19 erotically-charged paintings from a series entitled No Mud, No Lotus (2013–2014), which draws on traditions of Mughal miniature painting.

The Biennale of Sydney today announced that overall visitation to the 20th Biennale of Sydney: The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed, was almost unprecedented, the second highest on record. Attendances were buoyed by interstate, international and local visitors flocking to explore seven ‘embassies of thought’ and 13 ‘in between’ spaces, including popular new venues such as Mortuary Station (Embassy of Transition) and spaces around Sydney’s inner west and CBD.

Curated by Artistic Director Dr. Stephanie Rosenthal, the 20th Biennale featured more than 200 works by 83 artists hailing from 35 countries, including 70% new commissions, from 18 March until 5 June 2016.

Artistic Director Stephanie Rosenthal said: “I conceived of the ‘embassies of thought’ for the 20th Biennale as temporary settings without borders, representing transient homes for constellations of thought. The themes allocated to each of these ‘embassies’ were inspired by the individual histories of each venue, while the ‘in between’ spaces speak to one of the key ideas in this Biennale; exploring the distinction between virtual and physical worlds. I’m very pleased audiences embraced the idea of the embassies and explored the ‘in-between spaces’. It was a tremendous pleasure to work with so many outstanding artists and to show so many new and specially realised works”.

Biennale of Sydney CEO Ben Strout added: “We are proud to have attracted so many visitors to experience and engage with the 20th Biennale of Sydney and we’re thankful for the support of our Exhibition Partners in helping us achieve this. I am particularly proud that we could realise Stephanie Rosenthal’s vision for the ‘in-between’ sites: for the past three months, for instance Archie Moore’s brick reconstruction of Bennelong’s hut A Home Away From Home: Bennelong/Vera’s Hut (2016) stood on the grassy headland overlooking the Sydney Opera House like a beacon for the whole Biennale”.

Visitors are encouraged to experience the solo exhibition of new work by Australian artist Stephen Bram, currently being presented at Anna Schwartz Gallery until Saturday 18 June.

In this series of new paintings, Stephen Bram generates dynamic and colourful geometric forms, drawing on Bram’s practice, defined by innovations in abstract painting and the representation of architectural space.. This marks a significant departure in the artist’s visual language, known for hard-edge geometry and a muted palette. Bram’s spectrum of colour acts as a catalyst for shifts in the experience of space and composes an oscillating, multi-dimensional field.

Bram’s unique method of creating painting using vanishing points began in the late 1980’s with two or three points drawn from the space outside the painting onto the picture plane. In this symbiotic relationship between art and architecture, the meeting of lines constitutes the structure of the paintings and delimits their configuration.

Throughout his career over the past three decades, Bram has followed rigorous logic and allowed his process to lead him to new territories, including painting directly onto the walls and building interior architectural spaces. This recent body of work invokes the work of likeminded conceptual artists, such as Daniel Buren and Sol LeWitt, who consistently challenge the systems they create as a means to revolutionise their practice and create new meaning.

The architectural pavilion titled Green Ladder has been created by one of the world’s ‘edgiest architects’ – Vo Trong Nghia (New York Post 2015) and will be on public display at SCAF from 7 July to 10 December 2016.  Award-winning architect, Vo Trong Nghia will be in Sydney for the opening of Green Ladder and will present a talk at SCAF during the opening week.

SCAF’s Fugitive Structures now in its fourth and final year, was the first series in Australia to explore the potential of temporary pavilions as tools for experimentation and for investigating new architectural concepts. Dr Gene Sherman, Executive Director of SCAF comments: “The design of this final SCAF pavilion centres around two central pillars of Vo Trong Nghia’s approach to architecture: the innovative use of bamboo, and his passion – and self imposed duty – to green the world’s urban landscapes with plants and vegetation.”

Vo Trong Nghia Architects Green Ladder is constructed to resemble a dense green forest, and to raise awareness of bamboo’s strength and viability as a ‘green steel’ building material.  SCAF visitors will be able to enter and hide amongst the elegant grid-like bamboo construction of the pavilion.

The BJÖRK DIGITAL exhibition is being unveiled this week at Carriageworks for Vivid Sydney, representing the world premiere of two new virtual reality projects by Björk – Stonemilker and Mouth Mantra – and featuring collaborations between the artist and some of the finest filmmakers and programmers in the world. The free exhibition runs from 3 until 18 June 2016 at Carriageworks and includes curated program of Björk’s extensive video work, spanning the artist’s 24-year career. Crowned best International Female Solo Artist at the 2016 Brit Awards following the success of her most recent album Vulnicura, Björk will perform DJ sets at two sold out concerts at Carriageworks on Friday 3 June and Saturday 4 June 2016. BJÖRK DIGITAL also includes the Australian premiere of Black Lake, an immersive cinema experience featuring a cutting-edge surround sound system, where the audience is encased in the claustrophobic and visceral experience of Black Lake.