The front door opens to an expansive, light-filled gallery space and salon-style rooms lined with works that provoke, mesmerise and invite conversation. Above, Amanda and her husband Andrew live surrounded by art in a way that is deeply personal yet unpretentious, a reflection of an ethos that blurs the line between collecting, curating and living.
Doing it for the LoveArt
Author
BW Creative
Hidden within a grand Victorian terrace in Woollahra’s Ocean Street is a quiet cultural force. For more than three decades it has been home to LoveArt, the private gallery and advisory founded by Amanda Love.
“I’ve always followed curiosity,” Amanda says. “After studying both law and fine arts, I realised that art allowed me to combine rigorous thinking with emotional intelligence - and to work with visionary people. I've been following that thread ever since.”
That direction has led her across continents, building a collection and practice shaped by instinct and critical thinking, and firmly rooted in the belief that Australian art belongs confidently on the world stage.
“Yes, Australian art is international art,” she says. “Our artists bring distinct perspectives shaped by this place - its histories, distances, and complexities - yet they speak fluently to global concerns. That tension gives their work a rare vitality and a valency internationally.
Indigenous artists are central to this - their practices are both ancient, radically contemporary and cannot be seen in any way as derivative. The recent Emily Kame Kngwarreye exhibition at Tate Modern has been a powerful reminder of how profoundly Australian voices can shift the global conversation.”
This conviction radiates through her home-gallery, where pieces by leading Australian and international artists hang not as trophies but as part of a lived environment.
“Living with art is how I make sense of the world - it’s woven into daily life,” Amanda says. “Opening my home lets others step inside that conversation.
Works like Bronwyn Oliver’s ethereal copper forms or Shaun Gladwell’s video pieces feel completely different when lived with day to day - that intimacy changes how people experience them.”
Every new acquisition becomes part of the ongoing dialogue of the collection. “It always begins with instinct - that spark of recognition. Then I step back and consider context, longevity, and relevance.
Sometimes it’s an emerging voice like Ser Serpas, other times it’s a significant work by someone like Tracey Emin or Isaac Julien - but always something that expands the conversation and crucially, my husband Andrew must love it too - art in a home should bring people together, not divide them.”
Woollahra has always provided a consistent backdrop. “The area has a quiet, creative energy - a village heart with international reach,” Amanda reflects. “It’s sustained LoveArt’s Sydney base from the start: intimate yet connected, only half an hour away from a flight to our bases in New York and Athens!”
That duality has allowed LoveArt to grow from a private Sydney experience to an influential voice in international contemporary art, operating both locally and abroad while remaining grounded in sense of place.
Amanda values environments that foster connection between artists and audiences, and sees art fairs as an important catalyst. “Fairs create critical mass - artists gain visibility, collectors gain confidence, and audiences get a snapshot of the zeitgeist.
At Sydney Contemporary this year, for instance, it was exciting to see younger spaces like Nasha Gallery shown alongside established names. Their impact is most substantial, however, when they complement a healthy gallery ecosystem.”
Much of LoveArt’s distinct character comes from Amanda’s willingness to explore unconventional formats, epitomised by her nano-project space, Love (f)Art. “Love(f)Art is my tiny playground for ideas - a nano-project space tucked inside my home, our guest powder room. It gives artists the freedom to experiment in ways that might not suit a traditional gallery, and invites visitors to encounter art in unexpected, personal ways. Past projects have included everything from Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran’s exuberant ceramic deities to site-specific video and sound works. It’s intimate, disarming, and blurs the line between collecting and curating - which has always been at the heart of what I do.”
Looking ahead, LoveArt shows no sign of slowing. “Continuing to champion artists, locally and globally, while embracing new ways of connecting people with art,” she says. “We’re also expanding into the secondary market, offering access to significant works through private sales. Alongside this, we’re developing international collaborations and preparing a new round of LoveArt projects - ensuring the program evolves in step with the artists and audiences it serves.”
In Amanda Love’s world, art is not decoration. It is an active force, a way of thinking, feeling and inhabiting space. Here in Woollahra, art is lived - and that makes all the difference.
