Journal

 

 

Artist spotlights, reviews, insights, and art world news from our team.

 

London’s Contemporary Art Auctions June 2019: Spotlight on Her

London’s Contemporary Art Auctions June 2019: Spotlight on Her

Last week’s Contemporary Art sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips saw established names achieving stellar results. William Kentridge’s The Pool set a record for a work on paper at the hammer price £447,000 at Sotheby’s on Wednesday. At Christie’s the day before, Gerhard Richter’s Musa (2009) achieved £1,031,250, a world record for a tapestry by the artist. But the fact remains: women – specifically black and African artists – are taking the lead when it comes to contemporary art market momentum. Most notable among them is Tschabalala Self whose work Out of Body (2015, pictured in header) broke the artist’s...

Organic humanity in the 21st Century: Nicholas Johnson & Rory Menage

Organic humanity in the 21st Century: Nicholas Johnson & Rory Menage

In our world of the digital and the concrete, the sight of high-rises and fluorescent screens have left us thirsty for green space as well as headspace. By returning to the dynamic forms of nature and humanity, British artists Nicholas Johnson and Rory Menage offer us reprieve from the monotony of technological precision. Fantasies of tropicalia A nod to his Hawaiian birthplace, Johnson’s canvases are a riotous arrangement of botanies both invented and real. The vegetation in Foliate Suspension (2019), represented in a gentle palette of greens, blues and pinks, reminds us of the botanical illustrations found in encyclopaedic texts....

Contemporary Art Trends 2019

Contemporary Art Trends 2019

Tumultuous global relations, the consolidation of the technological revolution and an ever-louder call for populist ideologies have guaranteed 2019 to significantly develop from the status quo of 2018. Whilst artists and institutions are being urged to reflect on and contribute to the current socio-political zeitgeist, the question remains: how is the contemporary art world responding? The divisive arena of identity politics 2018’s #MeToo movement, as well as debates in the US regarding abortions and women’s rights, have resulted in magnified attention towards the inequalities of our modern society. The confusion of Brexit, the global immigration crisis and incidents such as...

Changing History: Chile at the Venice Biennale 2019

Changing History: Chile at the Venice Biennale 2019

Amidst the turbulence presented at the 58th Venice Biennale, Chile’s pavilion is a fitting (anti)monument to the hegemonic power structures that have distorted the historical canon. Much in line with Ralph Rugoff’s questioning of truth in his centrepiece show, Altered Views, curated by the Spanish Agustín Pérez Rubio, presents Chilean artist Voluspa Jarpa’s three-part exploration and destabilisation of the Eurocentric canon. A meticulously executed research project, Jarpa tackles the thorny space of the archive in an attempt to question historical perception, so often focused on the European, heterosexual, male experience. More broadly speaking, critical re-assessments of colonialism’s global heritage have...

Our Venice Biennale Highlights

Our Venice Biennale Highlights

Two weeks ago, the jet set of the contemporary art world continued their breakneck pace around this year’s circuit of must-see/must-be-seen-at-events with the preview of the 2019 Venice Biennale, titled “May You Live in Interesting Times”. It seems as though the whirlwind of Frieze New York is in the distant past. The crowds were heavy during the preview with Artvisor’s team in attendance. That said, the buzz was that many collectors, particularly those from the US, have decided to come to Venice en route to Art Basel, which takes place in mid-June. Now that we’ve had some days to catch...

Artvisor’s Frieze New York 2019 Highlights

Artvisor’s Frieze New York 2019 Highlights

The first days of Frieze New York delivered solid sales and excitement, leaving the heat issues experienced in last year’s tent a distant memory. Artvisor’s very own Nico Epstein is currently working at Frieze as part of their VIP bespoke services and gave us a quick guide to the highlights of the fair’s eighth edition… Spot the artist! Many of the artists whose works were on display came to show support of their galleries. Though the influential conceptual artist John Baldessari once famously quipped that being at an art fair was like watching your parents have sex, it seems that...

Gian Maria Tosatti at the A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town

Gian Maria Tosatti at the A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town

A door opens into a dim hallway, and the faint sounds of a television filter through, like the memory of a childhood homecoming. But the voice remains muffled, trapped behind a frosted screen, even in the mirrors we try and catch a glance of ourselves in. This is My hart is so leeg soos ‘n spieël, the third “episode” in Gian Maria Tosatti’s ongoing project ‘My Heart is a Void, the Void is a Mirror’, currently on show in Cape Town. Referencing the controversial Louis-Ferdinand Céline’s ‘Exile’ trilogy, Tosatti situates each visual instalment in conversation with a city, providing a...

Image of Hong Kong by Nico Epstein

Nico’s Art Basel Hong Kong Preview

“Basel Basel”? Too much blue chip art being dealt at the Hotel Les Trois Rois and not enough fun. Basel Miami? Too much partying and not enough business. Art Basel Hong Kong? Jussst right. Hong Kong is one of those cities where a five/six day span is just the right amount of time. There is the tropical heat, the humidity and the clustered gallery scene. I can get in and get out without feeling like I’ve missed something. Returning for my third visit over the past year, I finally have a sense of what I’m doing in the city… along...

Getting Ready for the 2nd Edition of 1-54 Marrakech

Getting Ready for the 2nd Edition of 1-54 Marrakech

The 54 countries of Africa are joining together once again at the luxury hotel La Mamounia for the second edition of 1-54 Marrakech. With 18 international galleries and over 64 emerging and established artists, 1-54 is back in town for an exciting program of events in collaboration with local institutions across the city. Iterations of the fair are held in Marrakech, London (in October) and New York (in May) every year. The Marrakech edition will have an invite-only preview from February 21 – 22 and will open to the general public from Feb 23 – 24. At the helm of...

Cyrus Mahboubian at Christie’s Lates – Fashion/Forward

Cyrus Mahboubian at Christie’s Lates – Fashion/Forward

On the occasion of Christie’s Lates on 11 February, the artist Cyrus Mahboubian will be exhibiting a selection of works and giving a short talk about photography. He will end the session by making portraits of the guests on old polaroid film. In his work, the British-Iranian artist rejects conventional approaches to the digital manipulation of images. Instead, he embraces the raw immediacy of analogue processes and techniques, including Polaroid. The resulting photographs inadvertently, though carefully, scrutinize the way in which our world has been mediated by the rapid proliferation of digital image-making devices. Mahboubian’s “intentionally slow process” is a response to...

8th Edition of Artgenève

8th Edition of Artgenève

With 90 exhibitors coming from 18 different countries and more than 800 artists exhibited, Artgenève is back in town. This 8th edition will be held from 31 January to 3 February 2019 at the Palexpo convention center. Artgenève was founded in 2012 by  Thomas Hug who remains at the helm as its current director. After studying musicology, Thomas founded COBRA Center of Opinions and Musical Art, in Berlin, which he ran for four years. This inspired him to start his Salon d’Art Artgenève at the Palexpo which was looking for a new form of artistic engagement. Over the years, Hug has...

Artvisor’s Director Nico Epstein “Think Like an Art World Expert” Podcast

Last week, Artvisor’s Director Nico Epstein featured as the first guest on Christie’s Education’s new podcast, Think Like an Art World Expert. In this episode, he talks about his role as director of Artvisor and his career progression for people who want to get involved in the niche online space for contemporary art. In the interview, he also discusses careers in the art world in a more general context for those looking for employment in the industry.