Allora & Calzadilla

Never before seen in Sydney, Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla’s Stop, Repair, Prepare: Variations on ‘Ode to Joy’ for a Prepared Piano was presented in the Entrance Court of the Art Gallery of New South Wales over two weeks. At once poetic and athletic, the work combines music, performance and sculpture to create a captivating experience for audiences. In collaboration with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Stop, Repair, Prepare… was performed by specially trained pianists—current and former Conservatorium students, and some who had performed the work before—on a modified Bechstein grand piano, on loan for the occasion from the Castello di Rivoli in Turin, Italy. The work was first presented in Australia as Kaldor Public Art Project 26 at the State Library of Victoria.

Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla create works that explore societal systems and are characterised by their sense of playfulness and use of humour. They respond to these contemporary issues by using visual art as a tool for experimentation and research, creating poetic videos, photographs, collages, sculptures and installations. Allora & Calzadilla often include performative elements in their works, soliciting public interaction and participation.

Presented on the occasion of the exhibition Making Art Public: 50 years of Kaldor Public Art Projects at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 7 September 2019 – 16 February 2020