Front Page of the Art World: What’s Hot & What’s Not — 3 June 2022
ArtSafari #2, new artworks from Nicole Eisenman, and two world-leading art fairs begin - Art Basel and the Berlin Biennale
Yesterday I led my second Auckland ArtSafari, taking a brave group of art lovers on a discovery through the rain. We met with the following galleries in central Auckland: Michael Lett, Melanie Rogers, Anna Miles, {Suite}, The Grey Place and Season.
A highlight was ‘After Handboek’, an exhibition of photographs by Dutch artist Ans Westra. ‘Born in 1936 in Leiden, the Netherlands, Anna Jacoba (Ans) Westra came to Aotearoa New Zealand in 1957. In a few short years she was to commence her life-long photographic journey documenting the lives and cultures of New Zealanders during a period of cultural, social, and generational change.’ Read more about the exhibition here - and do visit if you get the chance.
What I’ve been following
Last month, at the 59th Venice Biennale, ART 2030 launched The Hope Forum for the United Nations, responding to the UN’s call upon the art sector to play a central part in securing a sustainable and safe future for us all. The Hope Forum convened “high-impact participants from across all levels of the art sector, alongside high-level representations from the United Nations Agencies, to ignite action and partnerships for climate change at an unprecedented speed and scale globally.”
What’s on
International:
Raphael Montañez Ortiz: A Contextual Retrospective, 14 Apr-11 Sep, El Museo del Barrio, New York. El Museo del Barrio is currently presenting the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to Raphael Montañez Ortiz, activist, educator, and founder of El Museo del Barrio, since 1988. Curated by El Muse's chief curator, Rodrigo Moura, and guest curator Julieta González, the exhibition spans several decades of his production, from the 1950s to the early-2020s, in different media such as film, painting, photography, video installations, documents, and assemblages. This is the largest exhibition-to-date dedicated to the artist.
Art Basel, 16-19 June. The Art Basel is one of the leading fairs in the international art market. At this year’s Art Basel, 289 galleries from 40 countries will be presenting modern and contemporary works, and panels will be held with artists and curators. View the programme here.
The Berlin Biennale, 11 Jun-18 Sep. The Berlin Biennale takes place every two years at varying locations in Berlin and is defined by the differing concepts of its renowned curators. It promotes experimental formats and provides the appointed curators the space and freedom to present the latest relevant and challenging positions independent of the art market and collection interests. Read Artnet’s overview of the 82 Artists Participating in the 2022 Berlin Biennale, Curated by Artist Kader Attia.
Nicole Eisenman: Untitled (Show), 5 May-22 July at Hauser & Wirth 22nd Street, New York. Nicole Eisenman’s ‘Untitled (Show)’ celebrates the interplay between painting and sculpture in their restless, expansive practice. It is their first show of new paintings in New York City since 2015. If ‘Untitled’ is a show about what Eisenman has been doing for two or three years, it is also a show – the clearest demonstration yet – of what they have been doing for three decades: building a world where life and form can finally have it out.
In New Zealand:
French Film Festival Aotearoa, June-July. Running in 15 towns and cities across the country for the next two months. Read Stuff’s review of the five films not to be missed. Here is Denizen’s write-up of the movies not to miss.
Out of Karekare - until tomorrow, 4 June! For this exhibition, Karekare House Charitable Trust partnered with Eden Arts Trust present seven artists’ responses to their residency at Karekare House. Visit their Facebook page to find out more about the residency.
MĀUI, 23 June - at Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre. Fusing Pacific, Māori, hip-hop and contemporary dance, this celebrated production retells Māui's legend using the language of movement, music, poetry and stunning graphic illustrations. Presented as part of the 2022 Matariki Festival and Pacific Dance Festival programme, MĀUI captures the stories that have travelled throughout the Pacific for hundreds of years, re-told like never before.
Auckland’s Future, Now, online - this one-day event last week hosted a series of panels addressing Auckland’s economic recovery from the impacts of the pandemic, and exploring how the private and public sectors can collaborate to harness the region’s potential to build a better future. All the panels are available to watch on Youtube. Watch the panel on ‘Creative Industries Driving Our Recovery: Unlocking Our Creative Potential and Taking on the World.’
Toi Te Kupu: Whakaahuatanga, 15-16 June - this major new wānanga toi Māori aims to celebrate and showcase the transformative power of mātauranga Māori as expressed through art, exhibition-making and wider creative practices. At the end of day one, participants are invited to a networking event (5:30–7:30pm) at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, with the chance to enjoy drinks, kai and further conversation, along with exclusive after-hours access to Declaration: A Pacific Feminist Agenda.
Culture Calendar by Stuff: What's on in Auckland this June. Click for Stuff’s selection of all the exciting things Aucklanders have to look forward to this month.
ArtNow - a one-stop shop of exhibitions across the regions of Aotearoa New Zealand - put together by Stephanie Post, co-director of the Auckland Art Fair.
Head to the APO website (Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra) for a fabulous programme of concerts and events starting next Friday 10 June.
News & opinions
Faith Ringgold and Nan Goldin Among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of the Year. Time magazine released its list of the 100 “most influential” people of 2022 on Monday and this year’s edition featured notable artists alongside the usual suspects of politicians and zeitgeisty celebrities. (ARTnews)
Jacob Rajan, creator of Krishnan's Dairy, throws off the mask 25 years later. (Stuff)
‘I Was Building This Suit of Armor’: Watch Nick Cave Sew His ‘Soundsuits’ for Protection Against Injustice in the World. As part of a collaboration with Art21, hear news-making artists describe their inspirations in their own words. (Artnet)
In case you missed this one, apologies… Mona Lisa: Man dressed as old woman throws cake at da Vinci painting. A man disguised as an elderly woman in a wheelchair has thrown cake at the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting at the Louvre in Paris. (BBC)
Christopher Wool on What Brought a ‘Sunday Painter’ Back to Life. “I had been on the treadmill for so long. And then suddenly I felt like I could just be an artist again,” he says. His long obsession with photo books has now taken full flight. (New York Times)
Queen Elizabeth II’s image was projected onto Stonehenge. Cue the controversy. As part of preparations to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, eight portraits of the monarch were beamed onto the ancient stone faces of Stonehenge, one from each decade of her 70-year reign. (Washington Post)
If you’re a Takapuna local, you might see me on the cover of Channel Magazine today! Journalist Heather Vermeer and I discuss my transition back to New Zealand, and in particular, into the Takapuna community. It was lovely to share some of my favourite parts with her, such as Sundays with my family at Botticelli. They offer a great jazz and music programme through the week, but especially on Sunday. Read the story here.
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.