Art cast adrift in celebrity chefs sea change to Byron Bay
The sea change of chef Shannon Bennett continues.
In February, the Vue de monde creative director sold his Toorak home for about $24 million to wealthy Melbourne hotelier Robert Zagame just days after listing it. He had bought the five-bedroom property for $16 million four years earlier, the same year he first split with his partner and mother of his six-strong brood, former Neighbours star Madeleine West.
Shannon Bennett has sold his âToorak Art Collectionâ.Credit:Simon Schluter
On Wednesday, Bennett completed another transaction, selling the mansionâs paintings, known as the âToorak Art Collectionâ at auction house Deutscher and Hackett as part of its sale of Important Women Artists + Selected Australian and International Fine Art.
The 13 pieces, billed as âreally interesting works, some rarely seen in Australiaâ, included a painting by Australian figurative and surrealist painter Peter Booth.
It proved to be the star of the show, as Boothâs chilly snowscape, Untitled (2007) sold for $175,000, way over its $120,000 estimate. Dystopian gloom is so hot right now.
Patricia Piccininiâs Radial (2005), a distorted car tyre sculpture of fibreglass, automotive paint and stainless steel (nope, us neither) fetched $15,000.
Patricia Piccininiâs Radial (2005) which sold for $15,000.Credit: supplied
A print by US photographer David LaChapelle fetched $19,000, while Melbourne sculptor Callum Mortonâs Cover Up #1 (2012), a âlarge sculpture shaped in the form of a painting, seemingly covered by a sheet in an effort to conceal the work underneathâ, sold for $30,000. How frightfully meta.
All up, the collection cleared $307,500, including buyersâ premium and the GST.
âHe was relaxed with the reserves and some were therefore bought for bargain prices while others attracted stronger competition,â reported Deutscher and Hackettâs Damian Hackett.
And why the sale? Last year, Bennett established Living Well Northern Rivers â" an âinnovative lending and mentoring initiativeâ based near Byron Bay in far north NSW â" with well-heeled social impact investor Danny Almagor.
âHe was very philosophical about art collecting, having loved the works on his wall but hated the idea of locking them away in storage now that he has moved to Byron,â Hackett said.
It seemed Bennett couldnât take the Toorak Collection north because he already had a Byron Collection in situ.
NEW HEARTLANDWith the sun now well and truly set on the chances of a federal election this side of Christmas, all eyes are on a 2022 polling date. But that doesnât mean that either major party is breathing easy. Spare a thought for ALP national secretary Paul Erickson and assistant secretary Jen Light who have had to take a momentary break from both politics and office politics to focus on the office.
Credit:John Shakespeare
To be precise, office logistics, and relocating Laborâs campaign team from around the country to Sydneyâs trendy inner-city Surry Hills to set up its election headquarters.
Itâs a monumental change from 2019 when Labor located its campaign nerve centre in Labor heartland â" Sydneyâs Parramatta â" in what we can only guess was a touching gesture to the partyâs western Sydney support base.
Why dump the west for the inner city? Itâs got nothing to do with coffee, weâre told. Itâs all about convenience and better public transport, it seems. Hello Oxford Street, goodbye WestConnex!
The bulk of Laborâs campaign team is already in place. Lidija Ivanovski, chief of staff to Labor deputy leader Richard Marles, is Campaign Enforcer as chief of staff, while Penny Wongâs communications director, Andrew Oliphant, will run media. His two deputies are former AFR reporter Jo Heath, taking leave from her role as a senior adviser to Tony Burke, alongside Marlesâ media boss, Kate Hanns.
Dee Madigan is on board.Credit:Quentin Jones
History repeats for Heath, Hanns and Ivanovksi who all played key roles in the 2019 effort. Meanwhile, Linda Burneyâs adviser, Tim Watts â" not to be confused with Laborâs MP in the seat of Gellibrand â" is running the policy team. Curious, considering Anthony Albaneseâs policy boss, Andrew Dempster, was regarded as a shoo-in for the gig.
Also along for the ride is Gruen panellist and Campaign Edge executive director Dee Madigan who has worked on 22 state and federal Labor campaigns and will run advertising for the party, hoping to clock up a lucky No. 23.
PUB WITH NO BEERAnd another thing: in what could be a controversial departure from a beer-soaked 2019 election, Laborâs 2022 foray will be teetotal. No more crying into your cups, Laborites!
Sources say Erickson and Co. have laid down the law: no booze shall be consumed inside campaign HQ.
Liberal HQ has been a strictly dry affair since the days of John Howard â" which was a particularly easy edict to abide by in 2019 when its offices were opposite the Castlemaine Perkins XXXX brewery.
BRIT INVASIONAcross the divide, Liberal federal director Andrew Hirst is keeping a tight lid on the Coalitionâs campaign plans. But its headquarters will again be located in the inner Brisbane suburb of Milton. How good is Queensland?
The Libs have contracted Crosby Textor for a portion of its campaign polling work. But there are likely to be some additions to the team. Party sources told CBD the door had been left open to pollster wunderkind Isaac Levido, who helped UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson clinch the 2020 general election. For that, Levido earned an Order of the British Empire in the Queenâs Birthday Honours. Hard to top that.
The one-time Ferrier Hodgson liquidator could be joined by New Zealanders Sean Topham and Ben Guerin who successfully led the Liberalâs social media campaign in 2019.
Will Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Hirst decide to put their 2019 cassette in the boom box and press play for a repeat of the partyâs surprise win? Canât blame them for trying.
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Stephen Brook is a CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former features editor and media editor at The Australian, where he wrote the Media Diary column. He spent six years in London working for The Guardian.Connect via Twitter or email.Samantha Hutchinson is a CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. She recently covered Victorian and NSW politics and business for News Corp, and previously worked for the Australian Financial Review.Connect via Twitter or email.
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