David Doyle’s Terra Nullius, winner of the 2019 Cox Family Acquisitive Prize. Photo: Lisa Herbert.
Six months ahead of the 20th anniversary of Sculpture Bermagui, the organising committee has unveiled a top-level judge for the milestone year.
A former senior curator at the Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW) and Sydney Morning Herald art critic, Terence Maloon brings a deep love of sculpture in the natural landscape to his role as guest judge in March 2026.
Sculpture Bermagui president Ivan Baker is thrilled to have Mr Mallon on board for a special year of celebration for the event.
“For 20 years, artists have been drawn to exhibit in our stunning gallery alongside the ocean and under the gaze of sacred Mount Gulaga and 2026 is promising to be even more special,” Mr Baker said.
While plans are still under wraps, an open-air picnic with music, an artist symposium, an art trail celebrating sculptures from across the years, and a special acknowledgement of the incredible work of founder and visionary Jan Ireland are on the cards.
With five decades of experience under his belt, Mr Maloon believes sculpture is not simply an art form, but a way of experiencing space, presence and human connection.
“A sculpture in the landscape becomes a self, a figure in dialogue with its setting,” he said. “That relationship can be deeply thrilling.”
In the 1980s, when he was at AGNSW, Maloon said sculpture in Australia was marginalised.
“When I asked (former AGNSW director) Edmund Capon why there was so little commitment to it, he replied, ‘Australians don’t like sculpture’.
“That was the mantra. There was no will to educate the public about how sculpture inhabits and alters its environment.”
Terence Maloon OAM will judge the entries at Sculpture Bermagui 2026. Photo: Supplied.
The arrival of Sculpture by the Sea and other events that followed have marked a turning point.
“It changed everything,” Mr Maloon said. “Suddenly, huge audiences could encounter sculpture outdoors, free of institutional walls. They developed discernment and taste simply through repeated exposure and education.”
Maloon said regional sculpture festivals such as Sculpture Bermagui were essential in continuing to make art accessible and engaging.
“They bring sculpture to audiences who might never set foot in a gallery. They open possibilities – generous, multidimensional experiences that accumulate knowledge and appreciation year after year.”
Educated at London’s Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and the University of East Anglia, Mr Maloon lectured in art history and theory before moving to Australia.
His own curatorial reputation was forged on major international projects.
Plucked from public programs at AGNSW, he was entrusted with the Cezanne exhibition which he described as “a trial by fire”, but one for which he was perfectly prepared.
This led to 500 Years of Old Masters for the Sydney Olympics and the landmark Path to Abstraction 1867-1917.
He also curated exhibitions on Picasso and Pissarro. He later directed the Drill Hall Gallery at ANU between 2014 and 2024 where he balanced scholarly depth with public engagement.
There, Maloon embraced the challenge of making exhibitions that were rigorous and welcoming.
The Bermagui headland will be adorned with dozens of sculptural works in March 2026. Photo: Lisa Herbert.
Sculpture continues to animate his thinking. For Maloon, judging is in large part about presence.
“I look for human qualities – integrity, scale, the inevitability that a work feels as though it could only ever be that way. The material – steel, stone, clay, wood – is to an extent immaterial. What matters is distinctiveness. The work becomes a self, resonating with its place.”
His programs combined scholarship with accessibility, allowing audiences to engage with works of great depth while also making discoveries of their own.
“Institutions are only the tip of the iceberg,” Mr Maloon said. “What really matters are individuals, their conviction, imagination, and sense of the possible.”
After decades of working in institutions, Mallon remains as curious and enthusiastic as ever.
“I have always loved what I did and the fact I got paid for it seemed miraculous,” he said. “Art is the theory of everything. Its exhilaration lies in its power to surprise, endure and remain open to the possible.”
Mr Maloon received the Medal of the Order of Australia this year.
Sculpture Bermagui will be held 7 to 15 March.
