Front Page of the Art World: What’s Hot & What’s Not — 10 June 2022
A wrap on the jubilee, new Queen's Honours names revealed, and thoughts on art's role in tackling gun violence
What I’ve been following
The news that Antony Gormley is to become German citizen (due to Brexit) prompted me to reflect, and revisit some old photos. In 2017, at the grand opening of the Hall Art Foundation’s Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg in Germany, Gormley presented his largest retrospective to date in conjunction with White Cube. Several monumental installations marked the occasion, including On Being (1993), a whole building filled with 35,000 figurines by Gormley. This week, he is at a major retrospective of his work at the Museum Voorlinden near The Hague - a nice full circle.
Also at the grand opening of Schloss Derneburg was Tracey Emin and Nicole Eisenman. All three artists are in the news this week - Emin having just installed a permanent 6-metre-long bronze sculpture at Jupiter Artland in Scotland (and a year cancer-free 🙏🏻), and Eisenman celebrating their first major solo exhibition at Hauser & Wirth New York. Like crocuses we are starting to pop up our heads again… it has been two long years! Hopefully I will get back there soon.
In the meantime, how lucky I was to have met these icons. Here are some images from that day - the grand opening of Schloss Derneberg with Antony Gormley, Tracey Emin and Nicole Eisenman.
New & noteworthy
Artfull, the highly anticipated new art platform for New Zealand collectors, is now live! Born out of COVID lockdowns, the innovative platform is designed to connect artists, galleries, collectors and art enthusiasts in Aotearoa. It combines buying and selling with behind-the-scenes stories and resources to make the art world more accessible to both old and new players.
“The online space is very relevant and powerful for artists and buyers in the 21st century. For artists, it’s about reaching a larger, broader audience at any time of the day or night, rather than strictly within gallery opening hours. For buyers, the online space serves to demystify the art world and make it more accessible whilst enhancing the connection between artist and buyer. Artfull is especially appealing to those who are new to collecting art and wouldn't call themselves collectors but rather, art lovers; those who feel more comfortable engaging with the art world through the online space than through the stereotypical white cube of the traditional gallery environment.” - Jessica Agoston Cleary, co-founder alongside John Barnett CNZM
What’s on
Art Basel opens to public on 16 June. Art Basel Hong Kong opened last week with scaled-back but effective form. Art Basel Switzerland - opens next week.
Read the Art Newspaper’s review from yesterday: Art Basel plans comeback in Switzerland: but is it all business as usual? “With a new Paris fair on the horizon, attendance figures are expected to rebound to pre-pandemic levels next week at the Swiss flagship event.”
From the Art Basel blog: On the rise at Art Basel in Basel: In this year’s Statements sector, seven young artists dig deep into history and longing.
Exhibition: Māori Moving Image ki Te Puna Waiwhetū, 4 June – 16 October at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. An exhibition championing film, animation and video art made by several generations of Māori artists. Features Leboutin X Reihana, a collaborative artwork between Lisa Reihana and Christian Leboutin.
Indian Ink’s Krishnan’s Dairy - opened last night! Winner of the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe First Award and two Production of the Year Awards in New Zealand, this iconic play has won the hearts of generations of people throughout the world. Touring the country now - buy your tickets here.
DocEdge Film Festival, 1 June-10 July. An Oscar-qualifying International Documentary Festival, DocEdge celebrates its 17th edition with in-theatre screenings from 15-26 June (Auckland, Christchurch) and 30 June-10 July (Wellington). The nationwide virtual festival is now live too. Here are eight great documentaries to check out at this year's Doc Edge Film Festival, from Stuff.
Event: M9 - 17 June at the Civic. The inaugural M9 event, in celebration of Matariki, boasts an impressive line-up of all-wāhine creatives and thought-leaders who will take to the stage to inspire, empower and entertain audiences with unique stories that speak to the event’s theme, Matariki Rau Mahara - the Power of Reflection. Featuring: Anika Moa, Stacey Morrison, Lisa Reihana, Chelsea Winstanley, Kiri Nathan, Dr Hinemoa Elder, Qiane Matata- Sipu, Maru Nihoniho and Mīria Flavell. Hosted by Miriama Kamo.
Film: The Territory, playing at Sydney Film Festival on 19 June. This new Sundance film involving Chelsea Winstanley ONZM chronicles the struggle of Indigenous people in Brazil to protect their ancestral land. Read the review from the Hollywood Reporter here. It will also be coming to NZIFF in August - more information closer to the date!
New exhibition at Auckland Museum: Ancient Greeks: Athletes, Warriors and Heroes - opens today, 10 June! A world-class exhibition from The British Museum, encounter the fascinating civilisation that laid a legacy still influential millennia later and discover treasures and stories never before seen in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Tipua sculpture exhibition, 13 June - 7 July at AUT. Tipua is a regional tour of new and traditional Whakairo Sculpture created by artists for Lake House Arts. Works will be on display from Monday 13th of June to 7th of July, with a special blessing reception at 4pm on Monday 13th of June. Meet at AUT - WA Gate Entry 3 - outside WH (PIKO), Wellesley Street.
Brett Graham: Ark of Forbearance, until 18 June in Wellington. Bartley & Company Art is delighted to present a major new site-specific installation alongside two new wall works by this celebrated New Zealand sculptor. With Ark of Forbearance, Brett Graham asks questions about why we believe what we believe, and what we do in response to those beliefs. Read the review from Stuff here.
Winter Magic, 30 June at the Auckland Town Hall. Join this Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra event - the New Zealand Herald Premier Series.
New Zealand International Film Festival Has Set Its 2022 Dates and Announced Its First Seven Movies. This year's NZIFF will head to 13 cities and towns around Aotearoa from July to September. (Concrete Playground)
News & opinions
A wrap on the Queen’s Jubilee weekend. On 6th February this year The Queen became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of service. The events and initiatives taking place throughout the year to celebrate this unprecedented anniversary culminated in the Jubilee weekend last week. As a receipt of time, here is the wrap on the Jubilee!
Queen’s Platinum Party at the Palace – in pictures. Elton John, Queen with Adam Lambert and Diana Ross among stars paying tribute to Her Majesty’s platinum jubilee at a concert held in her honour at the Mall. (Guardian)
Compiled by the BBC: a review of the art around the UK celebrating the Queen's Jubilee.
The Queen’s portraits: a potent mixture of politics and fantasy across 70 years. A history of majesty from Cecil Beaton’s coronation portrait via Warhol and Freud to a postcolonial image for the platinum jubilee. (Financial Times)
Platinum Jubilee Honours List 2022. Alongside the 70 years of service by the Queen, we recognised the service of a number of New Zealanders doing valuable work. Watch the 1NEWS segment on the Wāhine Māori we celebrated this week, including Lisa Reihana MNZM, for services to the arts, and Chelsea Winstanley ONZM, for services to the screen industry and Māori. Read the press release from Waatea here. Ka rawe, e hoa! These are great acknowledgements.
News from Tracey Emin: ‘I Think a Lot of People Misjudged Me’: Tracey Emin Opens Up About Aging, Love, and the Art Scenes That Shut Her Out. The artist has just installed a permanent artwork at Jupiter Artland in Scotland. (Artnet) And from the Guardian - Tracey Emin review – fiercely honest artist bares body and soul. Taking to her famous bed once more, Emin returns after bladder cancer to invite us into the most intimate crevices of her life.
Flying mermaids and moonlit dancers – Paula Rego: a life in pictures. The internationally acclaimed Portuguese-British artist has died aged 87. Here we look back on her extraordinary career and body of work. (Guardian.) From Artnet - ‘A Dazzling and Powerful Force for Good and Change’: Friends and Colleagues Remember the Late Artist and Feminist Trailblazer Paula Rego.
William Kentridge has been awarded The Queen Sonja Lifetime Achievement Award 2022 for his distinguished contribution to the art of printmaking through a long and outstanding career. The Queen Sonja Lifetime Achievement Award is one of the world’s most important prizes for printmaking. William Kentridge will be presented with the Award by Her Majesty Queen Sonja at an Award Ceremony at the new Munch Museum in Oslo on 20 June 2022. “It is a great honour for the QSPA board to present William Kentridge with the Lifetime Achievement Award .”-HM Queen Sonja”
Lost at the Venice Art Biennale. Sharon Lam goes in search of Yuki Kihara’s Paradise Camp, the New Zealand pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale. (The Spinoff)
At the Venice Biennale, a Surreal and Intimate Showing for Photography. From Yuki Kihara’s reinterpretation of Gauguin to Elle Pérez’s “configurations,” the international exhibition features a range of perspectives on image making. (Aperture)
In Struggling Murano, a Design Intervention. The Venetian island, famous for its glass, has long been on the wane, but 700 years of expertise is a terrible thing to squander. (New York Times)
Philadelphia Museum of Art Names a New Director. Sasha Suda, director and chief executive of the National Gallery of Canada, will replace Timothy Rub, who stepped down in January after 13 years and an apology to employees. (New York Times)
A Watershed Feminist Exhibition Is Reimagined at The Aldrich. 52 Artists: A Feminist Milestone revisits the practices and artists of the Ridgefield, Connecticut museum's seminal 1971 feminist art show, Twenty Six Contemporary Women Artists, and brings new voices into the conversation.
How Ukrainian Folk Art Became a Tool of Resistance Against Russia. Ukrainian people have been using folk art, music, and traditions to resist the war and foster hope. (Hyperallergic)
Unteach Racism - new campaign by Taika Waititi. This week Dame Anne Salmond shared a reflective piece on Newsroom, ‘Time to unteach race.’ In it, she shares film director Taika Waititi’s new 3-minute video, ‘Unteach Racism’ released for local teachers. It contains a powerful message which I have been thinking about.
A Young Horn Player Could Become ‘a Real Legend.’ At 21, Nathaniel Silberschlag landed a principal seat with the storied Cleveland Orchestra. Now tenured, he doesn’t ever want to leave.
A 'sonic refresh' is coming for RNZ. Earlybirds tuning in to Morning Report will have a fresh wake-up call from Monday morning. (RNZ)
For the Love of God, Where Can I Stream This New Jewish Kiwi Sitcom? “I wholeheartedly believe Kid Sister from Jewish New Zealander Simone Nathan is the next Fleabag.” (Hey Alma)
Top 10 books about listening to nature. From precise transliterations of birdsong to a quest for one square inch of silence, these stories teach us how to open our ears to the world. (Guardian)
A note on gun violence
This week, we saw Matthew McConaughey make an impassioned plea at the White House to pass gun control legislation in the wake of last month’s shooting rampage at an elementary school in his home town of Uvalde, Texas. His key question to Congress: "how do we make the loss of these children's' lives matter?"
My work has always had a strong focus on addressing issues of social justice, including gun violence. When I co-founded #UNLOAD USA in 2015 with Mary Himes (husband Congressman Jim Himes) our mission was to reduce the amount of gun violence in the US, and we turned to the arts to achieve this.
I strongly believe in the power of the arts to bring diverse people together for conversations that that lead to better understanding and drive consensus. In times like this, we must return to the most human forms of connection: shared emotion. Art helps us feel and think in ways that trigger conversation, and conversation drives outcomes. This blog is built on that power, it is a neutral, non-partisan platform for engagement.
Helen Klisser During is recognised by Kea as a World Class New Zealander, is a Global Woman, and Ambassador of Auckland University of Technology.
The ArtCafé blog is put together with the help of Laura Cheftel.