Corrs Chambers Westgarth is one of Australia’s leading independent law firms, with a longstanding reputation for advising on significant and complex matters. For the firm’s new Sydney workplace, Coupland Cormack developed an art strategy that would complement the sophistication of the new interior while creating a distinctive identity across its principal client and staff spaces.

Our curatorial approach was built around the concept of Regulation and Release — exploring the balance between structure and freedom, gravity and levity, and control and spontaneity. These dualities have a natural resonance with legal practice, where rigorous frameworks and processes sit alongside strategic thinking and creative problem-solving.

The final collection brings together artists whose practices offer distinct interpretations of material, colour, structure and place. Jonny Niesche’s luminous abstraction provides a strong focal point within the central stair, its shifting fields of colour responding to both the architecture and changing light. Lara Merrett’s fluid, gestural paintings introduce movement and softness, while Michael Georgetti’s layered abstraction brings a quieter, materially complex presence. These are complemented by the work of Ross Manning, Matt Arbuckle and Jeremy Eaton, alongside significant First Nations artists including Maureen Poulson Napangardi, Maree Clarke and Hubert Pareroultja.

Together, the works move between geometric and organic abstraction, intensity and restraint, creating a collection with considerable variety while maintaining a coherent visual language across the two floors.

Particular attention was given to key public-facing locations, including the meeting corridors, Void Lounge and the areas at the top and foot of the central stair, where artworks were selected to enter into a dialogue with Vincent Leroy’s kinetic installation. The result is a cohesive collection conceived as part of the experience of the workplace itself — introducing colour, movement, texture and visual energy while reflecting the quality and contemporary character of Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

Images courtesy of the artists.