The Spoken Object

This luxuriously presented monograph documents the life, work, architecture and design achievements, plus the art, jewelry and fashion collections of leading Australian cultural advocate Gene Sherman. Here she shares intimate accounts of her journey in her own words and is joined by many internationally renowned and influential art world commentators, curators, fashion designers, and educators who have contributed incisive essays — ich with personal anecdotes — on the impressive cultural trajectory of this world-renowned art advocate and academic, collector and philanthropist. Beautifully photographed throughout, The Spoken Object features many previously unseen pictures of Gene Sherman, along with photographs of her personal collections, iconic fashion items and jewelry, significant art and sculpture, designer furniture, significant architecture, including the beautifully designed interiors of the stunning home she lives in and shared with her late husband, Brian Sherman.

Dr Gene Sherman AM is a leading Australian cultural figure and philanthropist. She is founder, executive and artistic director of the Sherman Centre for Culture and Ideas (SCCI), established in 2017 as a cultural-exchange platform focusing on contemporary fashion and architecture. For more than two decades, Gene Sherman was director and proprietor of Sherman Galleries, a commercial gallery with a focus on artists from Australia, the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. She was chair and executive director of the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, presenting scores of projects by significant visual practitioners across art, architecture, fashion, film and design from the Asia Pacific, Australia and the Middle East. She is an adjunct professor at UNSW Art & Design, a member and co-chair of the Tate Asia-Pacific acquisitions committee, a member of the Tate International Council, and a board member of the Australian Institute of Art History. Gene Sherman regularly lectures on Australian and Asian contemporary art, Australian and Asian private foundations, gallery management, the art of collecting, and architecture and fashion. She was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2010 in recognition of her cultural philanthropy and support of emerging and established artists. The French Government has honoured Gene Sherman with two prestigious awards in its Legion of Honour awards system: the Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2016), and the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2003). She has two children and six grandchildren. She lives in Sydney, Australia.

With contributions by Gene Sherman; Dolla Merrillees; Joni Waka; Akiko Fukai; Chikako Tatsuuma; Alison Kubler; Timothy Nicol-Ford; Diane Venet; David Congram; Karen McCartney; Stephen Todd; David Clark, Dr Susan Holden; Dr Ashley Paine, and Phillip Rossington