Pompeii is jumping on my ass while I’m staring at the hypercolour depictions of rural Australia in front of me. Pompeii is Eloise Cato’s dog, her so-called ‘Italian disaster’ (greyhound), who runs around greeting and shaking paws with everyone who comes into Cato’s gallery in inner city Sydney.
Cato sees galleries as ‘spaces of pause and reflection for all people’, and wants her exhibition openings to celebrate artistic communities and those who appreciate art and collecting at any stage of life. ‘The age of blind deference is over’, she says, ‘and how galleries contribute and engage with our communities is everything.’
