Fittingly, Canberra’s new art gallery at 100 Barrier Street, Fyshwick, is called the Canberra Art Gallery. It is the biggest and brightest commercial art space in Canberra, says ROB KENNEDY.

At the grand opening of the Canberra Art Gallery on Friday night, no expense was spared to welcome Canberrans to this exciting new space in Fyshwick. Hundreds of cool Canberrans swelled the gallery to experience the atmosphere (it was electric), the artwork, the booze and food — and there was plenty of it.

Over several spaces upstairs at 100 Barrier Street, Fyshwick, the owner, art entrepreneur Keith Murphy, of Murphy Art, created a happy and welcoming experience that had everyone talking about their huge collection of art on display (several hundred works) and the inviting atmosphere.

Many well-known local arts identities, artists and art lovers were all there to eat, drink and talk art. And what a collection it is. There were the Clifford Possums, the Sarita Kings, Tommy Watsons, and a few Kngwarreyes, and that’s just the Aboriginal artists.

Then there are the sculptures, bespoke art furniture, books, and dozens of small artistic works scattered around the large space. They had several paintings by one of my favourite artists, David Bromley. There were also Picassos and Salvador Dalís.

This will be a one-stop shop for art and artists in Canberra. They will be stretching and framing art, along with showing and promoting local artists’ works, as well as pieces from across Australia and, by the looks of what was on display, artworks from across the world.

It feels like they are establishing themselves to be around for quite a while, which will be great for Canberra. Talking to one of the people who helped set it up, he said that the gallery has big ambitions for art in Canberra. The building will include a studio with a full kitchen and bathroom, which they hope to offer to artists in residence once it is set up.