Front Page of the Art World: What’s Hot & What’s Not — 6 May 2022
The art fairs are kicking off! Plus... Gregor Kregar, in the first of my weekly studio visits.
What a delight to be able to do studio visits again! I am looking forward to sharing these with you each week as a way of showing the hyperlocal and the global is all around.
I am kicking off this week with a blast from the past. Yesterday, I met up with the generous, witty Gregor Kregar at his studio. Born in Slovenia, Gregor is a sculptor known for his diverse practice which includes “reinterpreting mundane objects, shapes, situations or materials.” Gregor has lived for many years in New Zealand with his wife, Sara Hughes - an acclaimed New Zealand artist in her own right. Both are represented by Gow Langsford Gallery in Auckland.
So how did I meet Gregor? About 15 years ago (how time flies…!) I hosted a dinner for Slovenian artist Tobias Putrih, who was representing Slovenia in the Venice Biennale at the time. Max of Max Protetch Gallery in New York, who represented Tobias, asked if I would like to host a dinner for Tobias and the board of the Neuberger Museum “just up the road from me” (i.e. 45 minutes up the road from Connecticut!). I said of course, and was delighted to host Tobias and his plus one, a friend from art school in Slovenia named Gregor Kregar.
The art fairs are kicking off! The New York art fairs, Tefaf New York, Documenta in Germany commencing in June, and the Venice Biennale running until November. Tefaf New York is the world's most prestigious and vibrant art market, decorated with thousands of flowers imported from Holland (the original European Fine Art Fair was founded in Maastricht in 1988). It is held in the Park Avenue Armory’s historic Wade Thompson Drill Hall, named after the visionary entrepreneur and New Zealander, Wade Thompson.
Some go for the art, some for the flowers, some for the oysters. Whichever finds its strongest pull, the fair is insanely beautiful. Thank goodness for Instagram, where I can live virtually and vicariously through my friends.
Signing off this week with a photo from an exciting project for Auckland on the city waterfront. Updates to come…
Wishing you all a Happy Mother’s Day!
What I’m following
Venice Biennale updates
Female and Gender Nonconforming Artists Dominate the Venice Biennale for the First Time. For the first time in the 127-year history of the Venice Biennale, the world’s oldest and most important contemporary art fair features a majority of female and gender non-conforming artists, under the curatorial direction of Cecilia Alemani. Time magazine.
An Illustrated Guide for Where to Go, Where Not to Go, and Where to Find a Decent Bathroom at the Venice Biennale. Here's how to navigate La Serenissima. Artnet.
Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, Simone Leigh gives power to black women. On Saturday, April 23rd, the Venice Art Biennale unveiled its 59th edition, postponed due to the pandemic. Besides the main exhibition "The Milk of Dreams", displayed in the Arsenale and the central pavilion in the Giardini, the national pavilions' exhibitions are, as usual, part of the most anticipated events. Focus on the artist Simone Leigh, who invests the United States pavilion with a sculptural and monumental project honoring African-American working women. Numero.
What’s on
This week, New York city plays host to three distinctly different art fairs. On Thursday, Independent opens at Spring Studios, featuring sixty-six emerging contemporary galleries, sixteen of which are making their fair debut. At Chelsea Industrial, the second annual Future Fair gathers more than fifty local, national, and international galleries presenting, and sometimes collaborating on, curated artist projects. On Friday, the eighth edition of TEFAF opens at the historic Park Avenue Armory, its ninety-one dealers from fourteen countries offering visitors a breadth of artworks in style, medium and era. As always, consult Artforum’s artguide for more information about these and other art events near you. - Artforum
New York Art Week kicks off a busy spring of fairs, auctions and more. The new week-long alignment starts the spring art season with a bang, including the returns of the Independent, Nada New York, Tefaf New York and the Future Art Fair. The Art Newspaper.
At the Tefaf Fair, Modern Masters and the Self-Taught Variety. The fair, one of several opening in New York this week, offers blue-chip painting, sculpture and design for buyers and browsers. New York Times.
Two new exhibitions at Gow Langsford Gallery. Gow Langsford Gallery is pleased to present two new exhibitions; James Cousins’s A Following Cadence and Paul Dibble’s Sculpture for Strange Times. Opening on Tuesday 10 May from 5-7pm.
News & opinions
New York City Removes Restrictions on Auction Houses. In a bid to increase business in the wake of the devastating effects of the Covid-19 crisis, New York City authorities have reversed a policy meant to foster transparency in the world of art sales. Artforum.
She Put the Met on the Map for Contemporary Art. Now She’s Moving On. Sheena Wagstaff revitalized the Met’s modern and contemporary art department and staked her legacy on experiments like the Met Breuer. New York Times.
Documenta Planned to Address Accusations of Anti-Semitism Through a Series of Talks—But Then Abruptly Cancelled the Program. Ruangrupa, the exhibition's organisers said that they will first let the show speak for itself. Artnet.
The 'Wild West' of finance: governments want to regulate NFTs and cryptocurrencies, but first they have to catch up. This booming but unregulated market is under scrutiny in the US and UK, but legislation is lagging behind innovation. The Art Newspaper.
Helen Klisser During is Ambassador of Auckland University of Technology.
“AUT is New Zealand’s tech university, a pace-setter in the social, educational and economic transformation in Aotearoa New Zealand.” - Dr Damon Salesa, Vice-Chancellor.