An Opening

Artist and writer Stephanie Radok possesses a unique international perspective. For over twenty years she has written about and witnessed the emergence of contemporary Aboriginal art and the responses of Australian art to global diasporas. In "An Opening: Twelve love stories about art", Stephanie Radok takes us on a walk with her dog and finds that it is possible to re-imagine the suburb as the site of epiphanies and attachments. "Art wants to enter our lives, yet it is a rare art writer who lets it do that. Writing with full personal disclosure, Stephanie Radok lets us in on her secret. Art can inspire love, and a whole host of other unruly emotions. 'An Opening' is a confession, a provocation, a celebration - a highly original, much-needed book in a field that too often prefers to be offputting and hermetic. A revelation, a gem." - Nicholas Jose. "In 'An Opening' Stephanie Radok engages sensuously and poetically with the art she has seen from her place in the suburbs of Adelaide and as a citizen of the world. Her contribution to Australian art is idiosyncratic and determinedly marginal. I once titled an essay on Australianness 'The margins strike back'. Australian art needs more margins." - Daniel Thomas.