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ART REPORT 2022

Reflection of the year: 

“You no longer have the middle classes buying something beautiful to put on the wall and hang on to it. This is a thing of the past.”

After 2 years of doubts and uncertainty, and despite the war having a huge impact, 2022 marked a reversion to the pre-pandemic world, with renewed confidence in the art market, the launch of new art fairs, and the return of in-person exhibitions.

This year saw the comeback of Art Basel, Manifesta, Documenta, Venice Biennale, Istanbul Biennial, and several other international fairs. 

The 59° Venice Biennale “The Milk of dreams”, curated by Cecilia Alemani, closed in November its record edition: with more than 800thousand tickets sold, it’s the highest attendance in the 127 years of history of the Venice Biennale.

 

Whitney Biennial took place after a year of suspension due to COVID. Titled “Quiet as It’s Kept”, the 2022 edition featured an intergenerational and interdisciplinary group of sixty-three artists and collectives whose dynamic works reflect the challenges, complexities, and possibilities of the American experience today.

Two new art fairs were inaugurated this year: ‘Paris+, par Art Basel’, a new section of the Art Basel set at the feet of the Tour Eiffel, and the Frieze Seoul, the first Asian fair that included more than 118 galleries worldwide.

The auction houses are creating again, and in general, the art market is rising up, in a positive trend after 2 years of stasis.

Philips declared 2022 as “the best year ever”, with auction sales for $1.3 billion, the highest annual total in the company’s history for the second consecutive year, and has beaten the most valuable lot ever of the auction house: ”Untitled” by Jean-Michel Basquiat from the collection of Yusaku Maezawa, which made 85 million dollars.

With its 8.4 billion dollars made, Christie’s is the undisputed queen of international auction sales.

The first place on the podium was taken by Andy Warhol with the award of $195 million of his “Blue Marilyn”. In addition to being the most expensive work of 2022, it has become the most expensive American artwork ever sold and the most expensive work of the 20th century auctioned off.

Andy Warhol, Blue Marilyn

 

Second and third positions are still taken by Christie’s with “Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version), 1888” by George Seurat, sold for $149,2 million, and “La Montagne Sainte-Victoire, 1888-90” BY Cezanne, sold for $ 137,7 million.

This year art world experienced two of largest and most exceptional art collections’ sales.
One was Macklowe collection auctioned in May, which generated $922 m,
the other one Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s collection sold in November for $1.5 bn, which became the biggest art sale in history, and setting numerous new auction records.

The only negative trend in auction selling is set by China, due to the zero-tolerance policy on COVID.

China, in fact, in the same period of 2020/2021 was the unchallenged leader of this segment while today it has lost the -33% and left the head of the market that has been regained by the United States, growing by +20%.

It was undoubtedly a banner year for the ultra-contemporary market and the under-40 artists.
The number of artists under 40 at auction increased fivefold and their turnover increased twenty-six times in just over twenty years and in the first half of 2022 stood at a record figure of 200.9 million dollars.

Lucy Bull had one of the most impressive auction debuts of the year: Special Guest (2019) sold for $907,200 at Sotheby’s in May. Anna Weyant had her breakthrough year, with 15 paintings sold at auction in 2022, ranging in price from $150,000 to $1.6 million. 

Rachel Jones is one of the most promising British artists working today; her works have been acquired by esteemed institutions worldwide, and her painting “Spliced Structure” broke the million-dollar mark and set the promising artist’s current auction record.

In “The Milk of Dreams” exhibition at the 59th Venice Biennale, one room was dedicated to Louise Bonnet’s Pisser Triptych”, a work with recalls religious iconography, apart for its subject matter: hulking bodies peeing. Bonnet’s work is becoming increasingly welcome beyond just institutional spaces.

 

Anna Weyant, Falling Woman, 2020

Courtesy of Sotheby’s

 

Lucy Bull, 8:50, 2020

Courtesy of Phillips

 

Rachel Jones, Spliced Structure (7), 2019

Courtesy of Bonhams

 

Louise Bonnet, Pisser triptych, Venice Biennial, 2022

 

Abstraction & Surrealism rising again

If in 2021, figuration was everywhere, but this year, the tide seems to be shifting and abstraction is taking over faces, objects, and recognizable objects. Paintings are still the favorites for collectors, but the trend seems to shift more to abstracted figures and metaphors.

For instance, at Gagosian’s Frieze London fair, abstract painter Jadé Fadojutimi’s works, each priced at £500,000 were sold out before the fair even opened.

Jadè Fadojutimi, There exists a glorious world. Its name? The Land of Sustainable Burdens, 2020

 

“The Milk of Dreams” exhibition at Venice Biennale presented the subconscious, the mythical, and the spectral through a female-led list of Surrealists like Jane Graverol, Unica Zürn, and Alice Rahon, alongside contemporary artists like Dora Budor, Marianna Simnett, and Raphaela Vogel, who explore those themes in new ways.

 

How about NFTs?

NFTs, a trend that I’ve talked about that seems to be taking over the world at the end of 2021, seems now like a big bubble ready to implode: if in February Pak’s “Clock” was sold for a record $53 million in Ethereum, and plenty of galleries moved to cater to this new segment of collectors, by May, much of the shine of blockchain-based works was depleted by the enormous crash in the prices of cryptocurrencies.

And the market for NFT’s collapsed as dramatically – sales volume stood at $9m in November, compared with $93m just sic months before.

Despite that, the art world continues to find ways to work with NFTs: Christie’s, for example, announced its new platform, Christie’s 3.0. 

Due to the inconstancy of this kind of currency, it’s hard to foresee what will happen to NFTs next year, so we must wait and see what will happen in 2023.

 

Ai & Art

On the other side of NFTs, there’s no doubt that AI is becoming increasingly more prevalent in the art world: algorithmic paintings are spreading all around, from social media to exhibitions in museums like the MoMA. AI-generated artwork is increasing and probably will mark a huge slice of the art market next years, whether the ethical implications are good or bad. 

With both NFTs and AI artwork, technology has now become intertwined within the art world. This is evidenced by the unprecedented popularity of online auctions, digital viewing rooms, and, of course, the growing role of social media in discovering art and artists.

 

The war in Ukraine

This year is marked by the war in Ukraine: since February 2022, every aspect of the worldwide economy and life has been touched by the conflict, including art.

Many NFT artists used the profits of their work to benefit war efforts in Ukraine, and many auction houses raised money to help in this time of difficulties. 

“Women at war”

 

In NY, at Fridman Gallery, “Women at War” featured works by a selection of the leading contemporary women artists working in Ukraine, and provides a context for the current war, as represented in art across media. Several works in the exhibition were made after February 24, 2022, when Russia began its full-scale invasion.

New York-based art dealer Cuban Fine Arts and EUASU (the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in Ukraine)  started the project “Art Against War” to support scholars, journalists, photographers, and people in need due to the present conflict in Ukraine. The participants in the project are Ukrainian artists who express the courage and unity of the Ukrainian people through their art.

“In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900 – 1930s”, in Madrid, is an exhibition that collects early 20th-century masterworks from Ukraine’s National Art Museum left Kyiv shortly before the city was struck by the heaviest bombardment of missiles by Russian forces during the year. 

“Carousel” (1921) by David Burlier, a painter associated with the Futuristmovement.

Credit: National Art Museum of Ukraine

 

Also, at Venice Biennale, The Future Generation Art Prize @ Venice 2022 has been replaced by the collateral event “This is Ukraine: Defending Freedom”, in partnership with the Office of the President of Ukraine and Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, presenting the work of contemporary Ukrainian artists whilst also contextualizing Ukrainian history and culture with support from international artists.

JR , Ukraine Defending Freedom, Venice Biennial, 2022

 

The future is female

Female artists utterly dominated the biggest contemporary art exhibitions and prizes in 2022. The Venice Biennale’s “The Milk of dreams”, curated by Cecilia Alemani, was dedicated to female artists, and the Golden Lion for best contribution went to Simone Leigh. The award for the best pavilion was won by Great Britain for an exhibition curated by Sonia Boyce, and the Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement went to Katharina Fritsch and Cecilia Vicuña. 

Simone Leigh, Venice Biennial, 2022

 

The Turner Prize 2022 was won by Veronica Ryan ahead of Heather Phillipson, Ingrid Pollard, and non-binary artist Sin Wai Kin. 

The winner of the Marcel Duchamp Prize is the French Mimosa Echard, highlighting the increasing relevance of women in art.

A piece of huge news concerning international prices is that after 26 years, Guggenheim canceled the prestigious $100,000 Hugo Boss Prize.

 

New Museums

New museums opened this year for the very first time, despite the years of lockdown when this possibility seems to fade away. Not only Europe, but most of them are opening in Africa, India, Turkey and China.

The Instanbul Museum of Art  is set to enliven a seaside stretch that has also seen the recent opening of Galataport, a multipurpose development with a long pedestrian promenade along the 

Bosphorus.

Opened in November 2022, the Grand Egypt Museum in Giza is the biggest museum in the world dedicated to a single civilization.

In India, in Bengaluru, businessman Abhishek Poddar, known for his eclectic collection of art and photography, opened the Museum of Art & Photography. More than 18,000 of his own pieces will be on display here.

The Hong Kong Palace Museum houses nine galleries, full of rare books, traditional calligraphy and imperial treasures on loan from the Forbidden City in Beijing.

 

Briefly: 

It’s been a  very good year for art, despite the war coming up after 2 years of uncertainty. Auction houses closed the year with a positive trend of profits. 

Surrealism ad abstraction is rising again, as seen in Venice Biennale. Female artists are more and more represented. 

Technology has now become irreversibly intertwined within the art world, both with AI-generated artworks and NFTs.

New museums are opening for the first time, marking a good signal for the world to reopen their frontiers to visitors and tourists.

 

“The Shades Of The Art Rainbow Are Endless: Choose Your Favorite!”

Linda
In News

BETWEEN PIXELS AND BRUSHES. HOW WAS 2021 FOR THE WORLD OF ART??

This year, despite the inconvenience due to the long closures of galleries, museums, fairs, limited travel and many uncertainties about the future, we still breathed an air of transition and change, experimented with new ways of enjoying art and the long-awaited sociality.

Strong interest in emerging artists,female artists, in new technologies and social and environmental issues. But above all, the new trend is the various types of digital sales that have brought about change and experimentation in collecting.

And so, it seems to us to witness a historical moment, the birth of a new form of art:

NFT or non-fungible token.

These sales have turned the spotlight on the cryptoart market, leading to a real boom in NFTs, works encrypted and authenticated through blockchain technology. But the real breakthrough for the sales of this new art form was the moment of the transition from the only form of payment cryptocurrency to also a credit card, allowing a wider audience to easily purchase these digital creations.

The fashion of NFTs has made it possible to expand the typology of art buyers also involving younger generations of collectors and/or technology experts.

Among the surprises of 2021, Beeple – artist who earned the top spot on Art Review Power 100 and became the third living artist with the highest top record after Jeff Koons and David Hockney.

The work “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” at Christie’s online auction – the first international auction house to offer an NFT work – reached a record figure of $ 69.3 million.

It is not his only work auctioned: on November 9 at Christie’s “Human One” – a hybrid sculpture composed of LED screens and images that evolve over time – it reached $ 28.9 million.

Beeple, “Human One”

 

In addition to Beeple, several artists have sold works on blockchain for millions of dollars.

CryptoPunks, an NFT project created by Larva Labs, is an art collection of 10,000 images and was one of the first in circulation.

These unique digital characters were sold in May at Christie’s for $ 14.5 million and achieved total annual sales of $ 29 million.

CryptoPunks 58, 603, 768, three of nine works sold as a single NFT for $ 16,962,500 on May 11, 2021 at Christie’s NY

 

The NFTs of the Bored Apes Yacht Club series on the Ethereum platform were also one of the biggest hits of cryptoart. In September, the two Bored Apes collections auctioned at NFT organized by Sotheby’s and comprising 101 pieces each generated $ 24.39 and $ 1.83 million respectively.

 

Bored Apes Yacht Club

This new art modality could also represent an important bridge between present and past as in the case of the Uffizi Museum, which offered the contemporary market the exclusive possession of a masterpiece from their collection.

The digital version of Michelangelo’s Tondo Doni was created thanks to the patent of the Italian company Cinello (sold for € 240,000), which will also sell other works by great masters such as Leonardo, Caravaggio and Titian.

A completely different thing compared to the very high amounts paid for the purchase of coloured monkeys.

 

YOUNG EMERGENT ARTISTS:

Another very strong trend of 2021 was the great appreciation of emerging tallents, names that are not yet very well known but in auctions are reaching prices of historically established artists.

One of them is Flora Yukhnovich (1990) who reached £ 2 million at Sotheby’s London auction last October 14th. But the list of young stars – many female – is long: among them Avery Singer, who’s work was sold for $ 4 million, Christina Quarles (1985), Shara Hughes (1981) with her auction record $ 1,482,000, also Jadé Fadojutimi (1993) $ 877,000, Ewa Juszkiewicz $ 730,800… to name a few of the hot names this year.

Flora Yukhnovich, “I’ll Have What She’s Having”, 2020

Oil on linen, 169 x 220 cm

Christina Quarles, “Common Ground (Worlds Apart, Miles Away) », 2016

Acrylic on canvas, 127 x 101 cm

 

Avery Singer, “Untitled”, 2018

Acrylic on canvas, 216 x 241 cm

 

Shara Hughes, « Inside Outside », 2018.

Oil and acrylic on canvas, 198 x 167.5 cm

 

OTHER INTERESTING RECORDS:

A new record was in the air for Banksy, who with “Love is in the Bin” reached £ 18.5 million at Sotheby’s London auction in October.

The work, which became a performance – originally “Girl with Balloon” – self-destroyed shortly after it was sold for £ 1.1 million at Sotheby’s auction in 2018.

Record for Frida Kahlo self-portrait “Diego y yo” (1949) sold for $ 35.8 million during the Modern Evening Sale at Sotheby’s New York.

A figure that also marks the absolute record for a Latin American artist and ranks second for the most expensive work sold at auction by a female artist.

Georgia O’Keeffe has been on the podium since 2014 with “Jimson weed/White flower no.1”, sold for $ 44.4 million again at Sotheby’s New York.

 

Frida Kahlo, “Diego y yo”, 1949

Oil on canvas, 30 x 22,4 cm

 

The sale of the Macklowe Collection proposed by Sotheby’s, one of the most important American private collections auctioned following the divorce of the two spouses, will certainly remain in history.

White gloves for the 35 works by European and American masters of the 20th century and a New York evening Sale that marked the highest sales record ever in the history of Sotheby’s: $ 676.1 million.

 

Jackson Pollock, “Number 17”, 1951

Enamel on canvas, 148,6 x 148,6 cm

 

Agnes Martin, “Untitled #44”, 1974

Acrylic on canvas, 182,9 x 182,9 cm

 

Mark Rothko, “No.7”, 1951

Oil on canvas, 240,7 x 138,7 cm

 

FOR AUCTION HOUSES YEAR 2021 WAS WONDERFUL:

Sotheby’s in 2021 achieved a record turnover of $ 7.3 billion, the highest in 277 years of business.

There are rumors that Patrick Drahi is considering an initial public offering (IPO) for the auction house, a move that would mark the company’s return to the stock market less than three years after the magnate bought it for about $ 3.7 billion.

Also good year for Christie’s, which reached $ 7.1 billion – the highest amount in the last 5 years.

Phillips during the November auctions in New York Phillips scored the highest total in its history, almost $ 140 million, thanks to young artists.

Surely these results were favored by the extraordinary sale of the Macklowe collection, made up of works that undoubtedly have an indisputable value, but also by the growing popularity of NFTs, whose value I believe should be revised and adjusted, at least for certain works.

 

LEADING MARKETS?

Hong Kong, at the centre of an increasingly solid and active Asian market, has established itself as the second city in the world for contemporary art after New York, playing a role of accelerator for the most important young artists and for the promotion of art contemporary and ultra-contemporary.

Seoul is also booming, the debut of Frieze Seoul in September 2022 and the recent opening of many important international galleries such as König, Pace, Perrotin, Thaddaeus Ropac, Gladstone and Lehmann Maupin will give even more impetus to the South Korean art market.

Another attractive factor for growth is the subsidized tax regime: Seoul does not charge import taxes on art and there is no sales tax on works worth less than $ 55,000.

All elements that will make Seoul more and more a protagonist of the market.

 

MY FAVORITE EXHIBITIONS OF 2021:

« Elles font l’abstraction », Centre Pompidou. Curator Christine Macel

Beautiful retrospective on the contribution of women in abstract art through 106 artists and more than 500 works, from 1860 to the 1980s.

In addition to the historicized names, the exhibition also enhanced the work of little-known artists by revealing contexts, individual and group research, including decorative arts, photography, cinema and dance.

Among the artists on show: Louise Bourgeois, Rosemarie Castoro, Georgiana Houghton, Verena Loewensberg, Helen Frankenthaler, Elaine de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Saloua Raouda Choucair, Regina Cassolo Bracchi, Dadamaino, Carla Accardi, Giannina Censi and many, many others.

Magnificent exhibition!

Lynda Benglis during a performance, 1970

 

Joan Mitchell, “Mephisto”, 1958

 

Véra Pagava, “La Grande Ville », 1959

 

Paola Pivi, “25.000 Covid jokes (It’s not a joke)”

Paola Pivi collected 25,000 jokes from different countries, creating an incredible mosaic of images and words at the Chapelle de la Vieille Charité in Marseille.

Brilliant idea of tragicomic testimony of the surreal times of lock-down, in the light and pleasant style of Pivi.

 

“Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped”, Christo e Jeanne-Claude

25,000 square meters of silver fabric covered the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, completing the last project of the artist who passed away in 2020, a dream that Christo pursued for 60 years.

This installation certainly strengthened the market of the Bulgarian artist couple even more.

 

Domenico Gnoli – Fondazione Prada, Milano, visible until 2/27/2022

A great retrospective – the latest project conceived by Germano Celant – celebrating the Roman artist who died prematurely.

The intense and enigmatic works of Gnoli show the beauty and poetry of everyday objects and seem to want to reveal the secret of things to us, well, as they say: “the devil is in the details.

A truly spectacular exhibition.

 

“Shine” Jeff Koons – Palazzo Strozzi, Florence

Palazzo Strozzi offers us a beautiful journey into the world of Jeff Koons with a retrospective that brings a selection of the most famous works of the American artist to Florence. Curated by Arturo Galansino and Joachim Pissarro.

As always Galansino manages to entertain and surprise us with high-level exhibitions, with an educational imprint, easy to understand for all age groups. Well done!

 

Breath Ghosts Blind – Maurizio Cattelan, curated by Roberta Tenconi and Vicente Todolì, until February 20, 2022.

“There was no one in Italy able to compete with Anselm Kiefer. No one, among his contemporaries, has such a monumental vision.” These are the words of Carlo Vanoni to describe “Breath Ghosts Blind”, a monographic by Maurizio Cattelan at Hangar Bicocca.

A site-specific project that addresses issues such as the fragility of life, memory and the sense of loss.

The only sin is to see pigeons as a metaphor for the third time, renamed from “Tourists” 1997 to “Others” 2021, then “Ghosts” 2021….

But anyway, Cattelan rocks.

 

ANNE IMHOF, “Nature Mortes” – Palais de Tokyo, Paris

Anne Imhof has created an all-encompassing and polyphonic work by blending space and bodies, music and painting.

Inside the structure of the Palais de Tokyo, the artist has inserted a labyrinth of glass walls that have fragmented the space and generated new perspectives between paintings, installations, drawings, video, audio and sculptures, inviting 30 artists of great importance in dialog to each other.

A very powerful exhibition!

 

Stop Painting – Fondazione Prada, Venice.

Everyone should have seen this exhibition conceived by artist Peter Fischli, a profound reflection on some fundamental moments in the history of art over the past 150 years.

Starting from the invention of photography, the project highlights 5 radical breaks – between technological and social factors – which led to the rejection or reinvention of painting.

 

NEW TRENDS/ AWARDED IN 2021:

In addition to the re-evaluation of female artists and African American artists – which has already been taking place for some years – another trend that is taking shape concerns the artistic collectives, increasingly present in the contemporary art scene even in prestigious roles.

This is the case of the Indonesians Ruangrupa, who next year will curate the 15th edition of Documenta in Kassel, placed in 3rd place in the ranking of Art Review Power 100.

They are not the only ones present in the ranking: the indigenous Australians Karrabing Film Collective appear in 12th place and Forensic Architecture in 19th place.

 

CHANEL NEXT PRIZE- It is a new international award founded by the French maison to promote and support emerging talents, to experiment with new forms of artistic creation and encourage fluidity between different forms of art.

The winners – representing 11 countries and disciplines spanning design, cinema and visual arts – are: Jung Jae-il, Keiken, Lual Mayen, Marlene Monteiro Freitas, Rungano Nyoni, Precious Okoyomon, Marie Schleef, Botis Seva, Wang Bing, Eduardo Williams.

Each will receive a prize of € 100,000 and the support of experts selected by the brand.

Chanel will also collaborate on the programming of exhibitions with various institutions such as the Center Pompidou, the Underground Museum in Los Angeles and the recently opened GES-2 in Moscow.

PHOTO: Precious Okoyomon, New York-based artist and poet, who won the 2021 Frieze Artist Award. He is known for his immersive installations examining the natural world and its ties to racial events.

 

TURNER PRIZE– It is the first edition of the  Turner Prize to not include single artists but only collectives.

The winners – Array Collective – are a group of Belfast artists and the first Northern Ireland artists to win the prestigious award.

The work, an Irish pub reconstructed in the gallery spaces, reflects on the theme of inclusiveness without barriers or distinctions.

 

PRIX MARCEL DUCHAMP- Lili Reynaud-Dewar won the 21º Prix Marcel Duchamp 2021 with a project dedicated to Pier Paolo Pasolini focused on the relationship between the body and politics.

 

MAXXI BULGARI PRIZE- awarded to Tomaso De Luca with the work “A Week’s Notice”, a video installation that stood out for its ethical, social and political involvement.

This year, for the first time, all three works by the finalists (Giulia Cenci, Renato Leotta) have been acquired and become part of the contemporary art collection of the Maxxi Museum in Rome.

 

Despite the uncertain year, there have been several openings of new art centres and museums:

New life for the Paris Bourse, which since May hosts a new contemporary art museum and the Francois Pinault collection – more than 10,000 works by around 350 artists from all over the world.

Many exhibitions and on-site projects are scheduled in the building restored by Tadao Ando, which has already become an essential destination for art lovers.

M+

Open in November, the M + Museum in Hong Kong is the largest centre for contemporary art in the Asian area, a cultural institution that reflects the international identity of the territory on which it stands.

The M + collection is interdisciplinary and, in its spaces, includes 33 galleries, 3 cinemas, a media library, a hanging garden and a LED facade for the projection of moving images that are also visible from the seafront.

There was no lack of controversy over possible censorship by the Chinese authorities, which in 2020 introduced very strict laws on national security, significantly limiting some fundamental freedoms.

GES-2 MOSCOW

Renzo Piano’s project has revived an old power plant, transforming it into the new headquarters of the V-A-C Foundation, an institution of contemporary art founded by the Russian oligarch Leonid Mikhelson.

Open in December, this multidisciplinary space takes up the idea of the House of Culture and houses cinemas, concert halls, areas for workshops and exhibition halls, all in the name of experimentation.

ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES

Different continent, same architect: Renzo Piano has also signed up in Los Angeles for the largest museum in the world dedicated to cinema, a journey to discover the films and Hollywood stars who have made history.

 

DEPOT BOIJMANS VAN BEUNINGEN

In Rotterdam, the first art depot in the world opens its doors to the public, for those curious to know what is hidden “behind the scenes”, in museum warehouses and restoration laboratories.

Curiosity: the building has 5 different climatic zones and the works are not exhibited by age or style but for conservation needs.

 

MUNCH MUSEUM

The Munch Museum has opened in Oslo, which in addition to the Master’s masterpieces will also host various projects and exhibitions dedicated to contemporary artists.

Tracey Emin’s solo exhibition inaugurated the museum with a collection of works created by the English artist over the last decade, in dialogue with some works by Edvard Munch.che oltre ai capolavori del Maestro ospiterà anche diversi progetti e mostre dedicate ad artisti contemporanei.

 

ARTE IN NUVOLA

In Italy, in addition to the historic fairs that have returned to the public – Miart, Miart Photo Fair, Artissima – after several postponements, a new modern and contemporary art fair has been inaugurated in Rome, “Arte in Nuvola”, a new impetus for the restart of the art in our country.

 

Who is no more…

Etel Adnan, the great Lebanese essayist, poet and only in recent years also acclaimed artist passed away last November ‘21′.

Leading voice of Arab-American culture, Adnan has created works that cross different cultures and disciplines, moving with fluidity between writing and art.

Her geometric-abstract paintings of landscapes (sunsets, mountains, valley) made with a small knife will remain unmistakable, always in small dimensions.

 

Lawrence Weiner, one of the greatest exponents of conceptual art, left us in December / recently.

The artist began to create large installations starting from the 60s and has always focused on the use of words and their meaning, on the interpretation and perception of the work by the observer.

 

Richard Rogers, pioneer of the high-tech movement, architect of the Millennium Dome in London and of the Centre Pompidou together with Renzo Piano, passed away on 18 December.

 

In 2021 one of the best-known names in Italian photography has left us.

Giovanni Gastel, in addition to his commitment to the world of fashion, has carried out his own artistic research which culminated in 1997 with the personal exhibition at the Milan Triennale curated by Germano Celant.

In 2020 the Maxxi in Rome dedicated an exhibition to his famous portraits, 200 photographs of personalities from the world of culture, art, fashion but also politics, such as the famous portrait of Barack Obama.

A great master and inspiring person.

Great example of the world of art merging with fashion.

 

LOOKING FORWARD:

2022 is the year of the 59th Venice Biennial, and Italy will be represented by Gian Maria Tosatti.

It is the first time that a single artist will compete with the space of the pavilion and it is the first time that the Biennale will be led by a female curator, Cecilia Alemani.

 

A part that there will be many interesting art appointments. Follow me to stay up to date!

 

So summing up:

There is a lot of effervescence in the air, new forms of art, Big buyers, many new openings, auctions stronger than ever, focusing on new trends.

Women, BIPOC, emergents and NFT are greatly appreciated. It is not yet clear how and if they will position themselves in the art world in the future, but this year’s digital “superstars” have already signed contracts with companies such as UTA and other entertainment agencies.

Who knows what awaits us in 2022, certainly the world of art is becoming more and more fun.

Have a good year!

 

* BIPOC: acronym taken from the English language which means “Black, Indigenous, & People of Color Movement”

 

“The Shades Of The Art Rainbow Are Endless: Choose Your Favorite!”

 

Linda
In News

ART REPORT 2020

2020 was undoubtedly an unprecedented year, the year of online and the virtual.

Like all sectors, the world of art was also affected by the pandemic, we have seen a new initiative and a re-directing of resources, an adaptation to new display and communication methods.

In response to the lockdowns that forced us at to stay home, museums, galleries and institutions quickly organized themselves to offer visits to their collections on virtual tours.

Not only the exhibitions, but also the fairs have become visitable and commercially available in viewing rooms. I believe that this phenomenon could remain active even after the reopening of the spaces.

Social networks like Instagram and Facebook have become the meeting place between artists, organizations and the public, offering interesting live broadcasts and other forms of communication and it is good, because the art world was almost the only sector not yet operating in this mode. Many museums around the world have immediately turned to these platforms to give access to their collections without borders.

Other major exhibitions, such as the retrospective at the Tate Modern dedicated to the South African artist Zanele Muholi, the dialogue between Tracey Emin and Edvard Munch at the Royal Academy of Arts, Artemisia Gentileschi at the National Gallery in London, have been canceled, postponed or reopened for short periods.

There has also been a lot of talk about the traveling exhibition on Philip Guston which would have opened in June at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, canceled due to the pandemic and further postponed due to some works depicting the Ku Klux Klan that could be misinterpreted by the public and attract criticism in the year of the “Black Lives Matter”.

The movement engaged in the fight against racism has in fact also involved the art sector, triggering reactions of solidarity from many artists and institutions. In recent years we have already witnessed a great growth in Afro-American art – a sign that something has been changing for some time – and now I think they will have even more visibility. Just during the London auctions in February we witnessed new amazing personal records for the most popular black artists of the moment, Tschabalala Self, Amoako Boafo and Jordan Casteel. It is no coincidence that this year the Black Lives Matter movement is at the top of ArtReview‘s Power 100.

 

Tschabalala Self, “Princess”, 2017

Fabric, acrylic, hand hair and oil on canvas

Sold for £ 435,000 including tax at the Phillips auction in London on February 13, 2020

 

Amoako Boafo, “The Lemon Bathing Suit”, 2019

Oil painting on canvas

Sold for £ 675,000 including tax at the Phillips auction in London on February 13, 2020

 

In addition to the exhibitions, the Biennials have also been postponed, first of all the Venice art review that will take place in 2022 – henceforth it will always be held in “even” years.

Almost all fairs have been canceled – places par excellence for collectors and gallery owners from different countries – with a few exceptions such as Manifesta 13 in Marseille, which in any case closed one month early.

After canceling all three 2020 appointments, Art Basel also postpones the Hong Kong edition scheduled for March 2021 and postponed to the end of May. But there is also good news, as Online Viewing Rooms and other multimedia experiences have brought a decent level of sales, confirmed by the lively exchanges at Art Basel Miami.

Frieze Art Fair for the London appointment has combined virtual tours with small events in the city and for the first time the galleries have transformed their London offices into real booths to be visited by appointment.

Frieze then postponed the Los Angeles stage to the end of July 2021, while in February there will be 3 days of special (online) programming to celebrate 30 years of activity.

2020 has therefore triggered many changes and all the actors of art – artists, gallery owners, curators, directors of fairs and museums – have had to rethink organizational methods, the maintenance of existing structures and the development of new strategies.

But as we well know: not all evil comes to harm.

Some have allied themselves and almost all digitized. And thanks to this, a new era of communication will begin also for the world of art, which had remained among the last in modernization.

Of course there were some difficulties to face, such as the staff cuts also made by art giants – from large galleries such as Perrotin, David Zwirner and Pace Gallery to important institutions such as the Guggenheim in New York, the Tate Modern and the Royal Academy of London – all forced to close for a very long period.

Probably, when they can reopen and return to normality, things will return to the way they used to, but digitization will certainly remain an additional service forever.

In addition to the Coronavirus, Brexit is also destined to partially change the geography of European art. 

Some galleries have in fact decided to close their offices in London, such as Marian Goodman, who will close the space at the end of the year to give space to a new exhibition mode – “Marian Goodman Projects”. The initiative will organize exhibitions in different places in London depending on the nature of the works and the project.

David Zwirner, a gallery with offices in New York, Hong Kong and London, to cope with Brexit has also opened a gallery in Paris, a city destined to become the European center of contemporary art. Pace Gallery and White Cube also followed his example.

A news that closes a chapter is the closure of the famous Blein/Southern gallery founded in London in 2010 with offices also in New York and Berlin. In February, the closure of all three galleries was announced and there are rumors that the causes are serious financial problems, to the point of having to return the works to the artists with the shipping costs to be borne by them.

Another certainly unexpected announcement for the entire art market is the closure after 26 years of activity of the New York gallery GB enterprise of Gavin Brown, a great dealer and pioneer to join and become a partner of Gladstone Gallery (by Barbara Gladstone). It will present only 10 of its artists: Joan Jonas, Ed Atkins, Arthur Jafa, Rachel Rose, laToya Ruby Frazier, Kerstin Brätsch, Alex Katz, Frances Stark, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Mark Leckey.

Laura Owens, Jos de Gruyter, Herald Thrys instead will not be part of Gladstone Gallery.

The value of collaboration between different realities was therefore rediscovered – even among those that were previously considered competitors.

In Italy, for example, Italics was born, a consortium that brings together over 60 Italian galleries of contemporary, ancient and modern art aimed at enhancing the territory of the Bel Paese with advice to tourists ranging from historical and artistic beauties to visit to food and wine excellences not to be missed.

The “Milano Art Community” was created in Milan, a platform managed by some of the most important galleries, foundations and non-profit spaces in the city to promote the initiatives of its members.

As we have seen, in this atmosphere of great uncertainty there was also no lack of positive implications such as the many solidarity initiatives that involved established artists such as Wolfgang Tillmans, Tracey Emin, Marlene Dumas, Martin Parr and others, but also galleries and houses of art auction like Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Artcurial – all engaged in numerous charity sales.

Hauser & Wirth recently launched the “Artists for New York” fundraiser: more than 100 artists have decided to donate their works for a charity sale in support of some institutions in the city including MoMA PS1, the New Museum and the High Line Art. (Hauser & Wirth has waived any sales commission). 

Also Italy has activated many initiatives of charity, from the personal mobilization of artists such as Alessandro Piangiamore who sold the work “La cera di Roma” (purchased by Veronica Siciliani Fendi) on Instragram, the proceeds of which were donated to the Hospital Spallanzani in Rome, up to initiatives by auction houses such as Blindarte with “Art To Stop Covid-19” – the proceeds went to the Lombardy Region and the Pascale Institute in Naples; or the Cambi auction house with “Design Loves Milano”, a charity auction to help the Luigi Sacco hospital.

In a year hit by so many losses, Italy and the whole world have also mourned one of the greatest curators and art critics in history. Germano Celant passed away at the age of 80 precisely because of Covid-19, perhaps taken in New York during one of the last fairs in attendance, the Armory Show.

Theorist and founder of Arte Povera, Celant had made Italian artists known to the world. Curator at the Guggenheim in New York and of many exhibitions in foreign museums, director of the Venice Biennale in 1997, since 2015 he was the artistic director of the Prada Foundation.

The major auction houses – forced to cancel or postpone scheduled appointments as early as March – have run for cover by taking on different forms rather than traditional ones. The use of online, private rooms, the growing Asian market and the launch of “cross category” auctions – an approach that has changed the offer model by merging the various departments – have partly leveled the situation. However, the top three auction houses suffered a significant decline in sales – for Christie’s  – 25% compared to 2019, Sotheby’s -27%. In numbers, compared to $ 4.4 billion in 2019, 2020 generated sales of $ 0.9 billion.

The lack of live auctions has therefore generated a decrease in turnover, also due to the fact that many customers have preferred to give up selling important works while waiting for better times for their valorization.

While ten lots exceeded $ 50 million in 2019, this year only two lots exceeded this figure.

First place was the “Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus” (1981) by Francis Bacon, which reached $ 84.6 million on June 30 at a live auction at Sotheby’s.

After the Chinese classic masterpiece – which took second place on the podium – we find Roy Lichtenstein, with “Nude with Joyous Painting” (1994) sold for $ 46.2 million at Christie’s on 10 July.

David Hockney follows with “Nichols Canyon” (1980), which was changed hands for $ 41 million on December 7 by Phillips, which reached the highest total for a NY auction in the history of the auction house.

A sign of a lively market despite the complicated year, capable in some cases of surprising and exceeding expectations.

 

Francis Bacon, “Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus”, 1981

Oil on canvas

 

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Roy Lichtenstein, “Nude with Joyous Painting”, 1994

Oil on canvas

 

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David Hockney, “Nichols Canyon”, 1980

Oil on canvas

 

Fortunately, there was no shortage of successes, such as the 8th edition of “Contemporary Curated” by Sotheby’s which on April 22 broke the record for the most profitable online auction ever totaling $ 6.4 million (estimate of 5, 75 million), thanks to a catalog full of masterpieces and Margherita Missoni as Guest Curator.

Online auctions have brought in an influx of new buyers – many millennials – and seen a 20% increase in profits over last year, apparently high, but lower than the revenues of a traditional auction – a way to stem the crisis – so much so that Sotheby’s fired around 200 employees in March (around 12% of its staff).

For the first time, the Turner Prize was divided into 10 scholarships of £ 10,000 each, awarded to as many artists: Liz Johnson Artur, Oreet Ashery, Shawanda Corbett, Jamie Crewe, Sean Edwards, Alberta Whittle, Sidsel Meineche Hansen, Ima -Abasi Okon, Imran Perretta and the Arika collective.

The traditional collective exhibition dedicated to the finalists has not been organized but the winners of this edition may be re-elected in future editions of the award.

The winner of the 2020 Hugo Boss Prize is Deana Lawson, an American photographer whose research focuses on social issues and family intimacy in African American culture.

Emma Talbot wins the eighth Max Mara Art Prize for Women. The English artist explores inner landscapes full of thoughts, emotions and personal stories in delicate works painted on silk or other textile media and include sentences written by the artist or taken from other sources.

Canadian artist Kapwani Kiwanga wins the Prix Marcel Duchamp – an award born in France in 2000 – with “Flowers for Africa”, a project that reflects on the political and social history of African countries.

Returning to Italy, Palazzo Strozzi in Florence was able to adapt to the times and extend the long-awaited “Aria” exhibition by Tomás Saraceno, which was suspended a few weeks after its opening and which at the reopening received a great response from the public.

The highly anticipated monographic dedicated to Carla Accardi at the Museo del ‘900 in Milan, scheduled for the beginning of October, was also able to bring a sigh to culture, precisely in the window of openings between one lockdown and another. Over 70 works on display by Accardi – the first internationally recognized Italian abstract artist – will be open to visitors until the end of June 2021. 

2020 was a special year and it is clear that it will take time to reach a new balance, but each period of crisis always brings new opportunities and allows us to see things in a new light. We still have a period of transition and many other changes ahead of us – certainly positive!

… The art does not stop!

 

“The Shades Of The Art Rainbow Are Endless: Choose Your Favorite!”

Linda
In News

Art outside the museums

Part II

 

As we have seen, investing in art has become a common practice for large fashion companies and this form of new patronage is increasingly supported by institutional initiatives, not without a certain audacity combined with high economic opportunities, making success in showing also private collections to the general public, which otherwise would be inaccessible.

In recent years the numerous foundations have assumed a role of great importance in promoting contemporary art and in popularizing the work of more or less emerging artists, as well as having started urban redevelopment processes by creating new attraction poles thanks to exhibition spaces designed by well-known architects, not only “containers” but real works.

In addition to the aforementioned Fendi, in Italy it is the Prada Foundation with its two offices – in Milan and Venice – which pursues a cutting-edge cultural commitment also with respect to European experiences and long-term innovative projects by supporting young artists who are not yet established.

Born in 1993 at the behest of Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, the current Milanese headquarters is a sort of campus that invites the interaction between different languages ​​and disciplines such as cinema, music, literature, philosophy, art and science.

This year, the London Design Museum will dedicate a major retrospective to the Italian fashion house, highlighting the innovation and creative approach that characterizes the company’s business and further proof that art, fashion and design are intertwined.

Prada Foundation, Milan, Italy

 

Also in Milan, the Trussardi Foundation – a “nomadic institution” established in 1996 – carries out projects that bring together contemporary art and city spaces through the eye of international artists.

Among the many projects, Elmgreen & Dragset’s “Short Cut” of 2003; the solo show of Sarah Lucas at the Diurnal Hotel Venice in 2016 and this year the installation of Ibrahim Mahama at the bastions of Porta Venezia.

In the next edition of Miart 2020, the intervention “The collectivity project” by the Danish artist Olafur Eliasson awaits us, which will invite citizens to build their ideal city from Lego bricks.

At the head of the Foundation which boasts prestigious collaborations with the Tate Modern in London, the Kunsthaus in Zurich and the Venice Biennale, are the women of the Trussardi family: Beatrice, Maria Luisa and Gaia supported in turn by private patrons and by companies that participate as sponsors.

Elmgreen & Dragset, “Short Cut”, Milan, Italy, 2003

 

In Italy many important projects have been launched thanks to the foresight of fashion-related personalities with a strong passion for art: in Reggio Emilia the desire of Achille Maramotti – founder of Max Mara and passionate collector – to create a collection of contemporary art takes shape already in the 70s. The works, representative of artistic trends from 1945 until today, are initially exhibited in some spaces of the establishment until 2003, when the old Reggio Emilia complex will be transformed into a real exhibition space dedicated both to the permanent collection and to temporary exhibitions for emerging artists.

The collaboration with the Whitechapel Gallery has also led to the birth of the Max Mara Art Prize for Women, a biennial award aimed at supporting young female artists residing in the United Kingdom.

Another important recognition is the Furla Prize – now in its 10th edition – which has seen great names in contemporary art alternate in the role of artistic consultants and jury presidents such as Joseph Kosuth, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Kiki Smith and Vanessa Beecroft. The Foundation of the same name, established in Bologna in 2008 by Giovanna Furlanetto, supports and encourages young Italian talents with a view to future development through various training projects.

Not least is Hugo Boss, who makes a great contribution to contemporary art with the biennial prize of the same name.

Established in 1996 and coordinated by the Guggenheim in New York, it does not provide any kind of limitation for age, sex or nationality and in addition to the recognition of a prize of $ 100,000, the work of each winning artist is presented in a personal exhibition at the museum.

In addition to the ones mentioned, there are many foundations that operate in Italy in promoting culture and the protection of the historical-artistic heritage, as in the case of the Benetton Foundation of Treviso, established in 1987 and concentrated on the protection of cultural heritage or like the Zegna Foundation in Trivero (2000), in the Biella area, an aggregation centre that blends culture and nature in an ad hoc project that focuses on site-specific works of art.

The great protagonist in terms of foundations, however, is France, a country in which the proliferation of these cultural activities is also aided by the generous tax breaks according to the Aillagon law of 2003, called the “patronage law” which has introduced important tax reliefs (even up to 60%) for those who invest in art.

The passion for art that guides the two great tycoons and collectors Francois Pinault (Kering group) and Bernard Arnault (LVMH group) – whose rivalry is known – pushed them to create important exhibition and cultural places, not only in Paris.

Pinault – one of the greatest collectors of contemporary art – between 2006 and 2009 inaugurated Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana in Venice, spaces restored and set up by Tadao Ando, where exhibitions are regularly organized also with the involvement of artists in the creation of site-specific works.

The Japanese architect was also involved in the design of the new museum of the Pinault Collection, which will open this year and will be located in the historic building of the Paris Stock Exchange.

 

Paris Stock Exchange

 

Francois Pinault at Punta della Dogana, Venice, Italy

 

Chiharu Shiota, Installation view, Le Bon Marché, Paris, 2017

 

The “rival” Arnault, another great patron, opened the futuristic and highly visited Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris in 2014 based on a design by Frank Gehry, a structure that has become an emblem of 21st century architecture and already a work of contemporary art in itself.

Arnault’s commitment is aimed at promoting French and international contemporary art, with a special focus on music and sound art.

The Foundation organizes important exhibitions which also have the merit of making incredible private collections known to the general public.

 

Louis Vuitton Fondation, Paris, France

 

Bernard Arnault

 

In 2018, the very famous Galeries Lafayette opened a space for contemporary art in the Marais on a project by Rem Koolhaas, – architect who also restored the Milanese headquarters of the Prada Foundation – “Lafayette Anticipations” as the name suggests, it is a centre of innovation with the aim of creating new artistic and cultural heritages through workshops, ateliers, debates and performances.

 

Lafayette Anticipations, Paris, France

 

But when did the first contaminations between art and fashion start?

We have to go a little back in time, until the early 1900s when the dialogue between the two disciplines was explored by Art Nouveau artists applying their aesthetic conceptions to women’s clothes intended as artistic clothes not conforming to the fashion of the time.

One of the first to try his hand at fashion creations is Gustav Klimt, creating highly innovative clothes for the Viennese atelier of Emilie Flöge – his muse and companion.

The precious decorative style with small tesserae blends with the modern cut of the clothes, giving life to an experience that will remain unique in the context of the Art Nouveau.

Gustav Klimt and Emilie Flöge

 

Portrait of Emilie Flöge, 1902

 

Shortly afterwards Sonia Delaunay, an artist who with her husband Robert carried out research on the perception of light and colour, converges these studies first on applied art and then also on fashion by creating colourful and abstract fabrics.

They were responsible for the first experiments with geometric prints on fabrics that had a strong impact on fashion by opening up a particularly innovative line that will also be developed in the years to come by other artists and stylists.

The close connection between the two areas that materializes in Delaunay’s clothes finds its theoretical consideration in the book she wrote in 1927, “The influence of painting on fashion”.

In her “Simultaneous Workshop”, the first tailoring works that dictate the rules of French fashion of the 1920s and 1930s were born, so much so that the great couturiers of the time competed to win one of her designs.

Sonia Delaunay, Simultaneous Workshop

 

Sonia Delaunay, fabric prints

 

With the historical avant-gardes of the early 1900s, the relationship between art and fashion became even more symbiotic and it was the futurists – interdisciplinary par excellence – who were among the first to perceive the potential of dressing in a colourful, eccentric and unconventional way.

Supporters of a revolution that embraces every aspect of daily life, for futurists even clothing must reflect the dynamic ideal as opposed to the grey of the bourgeois suit, and in 1914 Giacomo Balla presented the “Manifesto of the anti-neutral dress”.

 

Giacomo Balla, “Anti-neutral dress”, 1914

 

Giacomo Balla, “Anti-neutral dress”, 1918

 

Avant-garde experiments also come from the Bauhaus which, starting from 1920, has included the weaving workshop in its program where new stimuli and stylistic innovations are born.

The influence of Klee, Kandinsky, Moholy-Nagy and Itten on Annie Albers – who works on the basis of pure colours and geometric shapes – favour the affirmation of trends towards abstraction, with the result that fabrics and patterns will increasingly resemble with geometric paintings.

Annie Albers, “Wall Hanging”, 1926

 

Annie Albers, “Preliminary Design for Wall Hanging”, 1926

 

Abstraction and geometries have entered the collective imagination and the homes of thousands of women also thanks to Pierre Cardin, visionary stylist who created structured clothes made with unconventional materials, inspired on the one hand by the theme of space and the moon landing, on the other, precisely to the experimentation of the avant-garde on geometric motifs.

Excellence in the world of fashion, he was inspired by stylists such as Issey Miyake for the creation of sculpture-dresses and minimalist patterns.

Pierre Cardin

 

Issey Miyake

 

Little by little the dress becomes more and more a work of art in all respects – almost a support that replaces the canvas – and not just something to wear: this is the case of the “Filzanzug” felt suit created by Joseph Beuys in 1970 or the “Untitled shirt” by Roy Lichtenstein of 1979, which incorporates the Ben-Day dots technique of the famous canvases, up to the disturbing dress-provocation “Mur de la Montée des Anges” (1993) by Jan Fabre made up entirely of insects.

Roy Lichtenstein, “Untitled Shirt”, 1979

 

Jan Fabre, “Mur de la Montée des Anges”, 1993

 

Oscar Wilde said: “Either you are a work of art or you are wearing it.”

But is it still true today?

Today, more than ever, art is inspiring and, having come outside the museums, is addressing us directly.

 

“The Shades Of The Art Rainbow Are Endless: Choose Your Favorite!”

Linda
In News

Art outside the museums

Part I

You don’t necessarily have to go to museums to experience the emotion transmitted by art because it blends into our daily lives.

It is with us every day and we can find it in the clothes we wear, in the design objects that decorate our homes and in the futuristic architecture of our cities.

Different areas mutually influencing each other have lost their boundaries: art offers an extraordinary contribution in almost all spheres of activity, inspiring various personalities such as architects, designers, stylists, graphic designers and advertisers.

Drawing on past or contemporary art contributes to the birth of unique and original creations, just think of the goals achieved by design: the balance between functionality and beauty brings it closer and equates it more and more often with contemporary art.

Even before responding to functional needs, modern buildings define a very precise image by getting closer and closer to the peculiar language of art in a dialogue between the two disciplines that is increasingly complementary, in total interpenetration.

In the new generation museums, the space that separates architecture from the work of art (the container from the content) is now eliminated, and the Guggenheim of Bilbao designed by Frank Gehry is emblematic of this radical change, a work of art in all respects and a tourist attraction that has become the symbol of the city.

The soft forms of the museum are a perfect example of deconstructivism, an architectural trend inspired by the works of Russian constructivists of the 1920s, who first broke the balance of the classical composition to create new geometries.

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain

 

Art goes beyond tradition to support new ways of learning via the internet, and it is possible to visit museums, monuments and archaeological sites around the world for free and without leaving home.

The need to get a cultural experience at 360° also translates into the creation of virtual tours in many cities of art, the most recent promoted in Milan on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci.

Profiles and forms typical of art have not only entered architecture and design but – as we said – also fashion, making unique and original creative paths and exchanges.

Just look at the catwalks of recent years, full of tributes and references to art not only in clothes but also in scenography, often closer to artistic performance than to the presentation of seasonal collections.

The “museum” effect often accompanied the fashion shows of Dutch stylists Viktor & Rolf, from the homage to Van Gogh in 2014 to the clothes that recalled the action painting in the following year, but the most surprising was the collection dedicated to Picasso in 2016, when they literally transformed the models into living sculptures with asymmetrical monochrome looks so typical of Cubist works.

Viktor & Rolf, Haute Couture S/S 2015

 

Viktor & Rolf, Haute Couture F/W 2015-2016

 

Viktor & Rolf, Haute Couture S/S 2016

 

Picasso himself made his contribution to the world of fashion by creating a button for Coco Chanel and designing performance costumes for Diaghilev’s Russian Ballets – an occasion on which he met his future wife and muse Olga KhoKhlova.

Pablo Picasso, button created for Coco Chanel, 1920

Ceramic and enamel

 

Pablo Picasso, Curtain for the ballet “Parade” by Massine, 1917

Tempera on canvas, 1050 x 1640 cm

Centre Pompidou, Paris, France

 

Pablo Picasso, costume for the Chinese Conjurer for the ballet “Parade” by Massine, 1917

Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Theatre and Performance, London, UK

 

Moschino instead chose to give life to the most famous works of the Spanish painter –  from the pink to the blue period up to the Cubist abstractions –  in a S/S 2020 fashion show, to say the least, amazing.

Jeremy Scott’s models – between giant straps, gilded frames and decomposed woman profiles –  were perfect living works of art, personifications of the great master’s paintings.

Moschino, S/S 2020

 

The choice to pay homage and to be inspired by art does not only concern current events: in the past, great stylists have taken over famous artists and works, as in the case of Yves Saint Laurent with the “Mondrian Look” of ’66, a collection that incorporates the geometric designs by the Dutch painter who made history.

Yves Saint Laurent, “Mondrian Look”, 1966

 

About thirty years later, Gianni Versace paid homage to Andy Warhol with a great tribute on the occasion of the S/S collection of 1991, proposing the famous serigraphs of Marylin Monroe and other pop icons printed on polychrome silk dresses.

Gianni Versace, S/S 1991

 

Always Warhol – from ’62 to ’66 – in turn created a series of clothes inspired by his own works: “Fragile, handle with care” and “Campbell’s Soup Can” communicate the strong criticism towards the society, so typical of the production of the artist, who also manages to transform women’s clothes into a consumer icon. Perfectly in its style, art becomes merchandise and clothes become art.

Andy Warhol, “Souper Dress”, “Brillo” and “Fragile, handle with care”, 1962-66

Suits in paper, cellulose and cotton

 

The link between art and fashion is consolidated more and more, represented by frequent partnerships and collaborations between fashion houses and contemporary artists engaged in the creation of individual pieces or capsule collections: today the works of art can be seen on the covers of Vogue, in the videos of rappers like Jay Z, on Nike sneakers or Louis Vuitton bags.

Just the fashion house of Bernard Arnault’s LVMH group – which as we will see is strongly committed to promoting and supporting art – thanks to the creative director Marc Jacobs started a series of collaborations with various artists in the late 90s, including Cindy Sherman, Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami and Richard Prince.

The Monogram bags have become some of the most iconic and best-selling fashion accessories of the decade, true works of art to wear, so much that the “Artistic collaborations exhibition” just ended at the Beverly Hills venue celebrated the 180 most charming models of all time of the House.

A collector Marc Jacobs, in turn, recently decided to sell part of his collection at Sotheby’s for New York auctions this November: over 150 works collected over 20 years, from the Impressionist masters to Andy Warhol via Ed Ruscha, the highlight of the collection.

Yayoi Kusama, handbag Monogram for Louis Vuitton, “Infinitely Collection”, 2012

 

Richard Prince, handbag “Monogram Jokes” for Louis Vuitton, Collezione S/S 2008

 

Alex Israel, handbag “ArtyCapucines” for Louis Vuitton, 2019

 

Staying in France, the Celine House has often distinguished itself for collections borrowed from the art world, such as the S/S 2017 line inspired by the famous anthropometric performances of Yves Klein.

The silhouettes of the models’ bodies are imprinted on white dresses like canvases in a shade that incorporates the International Klein Blue patented by the French artist.

In addition to this illustrious tribute, the fashion house has often collaborated with contemporary artists and the last in order of time is Christian Marclay for the S/S 2019 collection, an artist who was inspired by the world of music and comics for a collection who winks at rock.

Left: Yves Klein during a performance; right: Celine, S/S 2017

 

Christian Marclay for Celine, S/S 2019

 

Dior – in turn very active in the field of art – recently announced the collaboration with 11 female artists for the 3rd edition of Dior Lady Art, a collection that leaves carte blanche to the reinterpretation of the iconic bag.

This year also the Dior Men capsule was worked out by Kaws, redesigning the historic bee-shaped logo and transforming it into a witty cartoon in the style of the characters of his works.

Not new to experimentation even outside the strictly artistic sphere, Kaws had already collaborated with Nike, with Kenye West designing the cover of the album “808s & Heartbreak” and even in the graphics of the perfume “Love for fairer sex” by Comme Des Garçon in collaboration with the musician Pharrell Williams.

This is to show that the contaminations between different areas are always deeper and more complex.

Keith Haring, sneakers for Adidas

 

Album “The Velvet Underground and Nico”, 1967

 

For Marni too, the dialogue between art and fashion represents a continuous source of inspiration. Sally Smart, Ruth Van Beek and David Salle, Stefano Favaro and Christophe Joubert are some of the names related to the Italian house that has recently turned the spotlight on the theme of sustainability and the environment, a key to the reading clearly visible in the scenography of the last show and in the creations of the artists Shalva Nikvashvili and Kazuma Nagai for S/S 2020.

Sometimes collaborations also arise thanks to personal friendships, as in the case of Riccardo Tisci and Marina Abramovich, who on 11 September 2015 created the scenography of the parade to celebrate 10 years as creative director of Givenchy. The harsh setting between the skyscrapers of New York created with recycled materials was a metaphor for the reconstruction on the rubble, in homage to the symbolic date.

Marina Abramovic, catwalk created for Givenchy, S/S 2016, New York, 2015

 

When art and life intertwine, unique experiences are born, destined to make history, today as yesterday: in the 1930s Elsa Schiaparelli transposed the surrealist poetry on clothes and accessories thanks to her personal friendship with the artists of the calibre like Salvador Dalì, Man Ray and Jean Cocteau.

From these collaborations iconic pieces were born, such as the coat with drawer-shaped pockets designed by Dalì, inspired by the work “Venus de Milo with drawers” of 1936, the famous lobster print embroidered on the clothes or the hat in the shape of a shoe inverted (1933).

Salvador Dalì, “Skeleton” dress, 1938

Other creations by Salvador Dalì for Elsa Schiaparelli

 

Another current example of today is the link between the Venetian artist Nico Vascellari – Delfina Fendi’s partner – and the collaboration with the Italian fashion house, for which this year he played with the dualism of good-evil / light-dark, creating a walkway transformed into a sort of cave.

In 2018 Fendi sponsored the installation “Revenge” by Vascellari at Maxxi in Rome, thus strengthening the link with the capital and the world of art, increased in 2015 by the restoration of the Trevi Fountain and the opening in 2018 of Rhinoceros, the final seat of the Alda Fendi Foundation in a historic building renovated by Jean Nouvel.

The grand palace of art combines conservation and innovation by offering an avant-garde cultural laboratory in a neighbourhood that until today had not fully exploited its potential.

As we will see later, one of the many benefits brought by the foundations is starting the urban redevelopment processes: while in Milan Prada has rehabilitated an entire neighbourhood – in its wake, the ICA and numerous commercial activities have opened – in Rome the Alda Foundation Fendi turned the spotlight on one of the many places forgotten by the institutions.

 

“The Shades Of The Art Rainbow Are Endless: Choose Your Favorite!”

Linda
In News

2019 – What a year!?

Without a doubt, 2019 will be remembered as a year of transition.

A year full of political and financial uncertainties which consequently also reflected on the art market.

Although the art world was confident, not anticipating major changes in Europe’s so-called “big apple” – London – Brexit led to the closure of some galleries and the opening of their headquarters from London to Paris, to name some of them: – White Cube, David Zwirner, Pace Gallery.

The year was enriched by the 58th Venice Biennale curated by Ralph Rugoff “May You Live in Interesting Times” which – as the title suggests – proved to be a true reflection of the climate of great changes we are experiencing, with works focused on current themes concerning international politics, environmental emergency and social problems such as the issue of migrants, the feminist movement, racial and gender equality.

On the occasion of the Biennale, the city’s foundations and museums have prepared exceptional exhibitions such as the retrospective on Jannis Kounellis at the Prada Foundation, Arshile Gorky at Ca’ Pesaro, the monograph on Georg Baselitz at the Academy Galleries, Luc Tuymans at Palazzo Grassi, Pino Pascali at Palazzo Cavanis and Alberto Burri at the Cini Foundation.

With a witty appearance the street artist Banksy, not officially invited to exhibit but also inevitable figure that this year has caused a lot of talk about himself, was also noted.

In addition to this performance followed by a mural in the Dorsoduro district, Banksy was able to anticipate and ride the Brexit wave with the work “Devolved Parliament“, strategically put up for sale by Sotheby’s on the occasion of the last London auctions prior to the exit of the Great Britain from the EU, marking the record for the artist with 11.1 million euros.

Always on time on occasions, this time anticipating Christmas, the artist offers his version of Santa Claus on a wall in Birmingham, rendering the tragic beauty of the holidays into flesh and blood.

Instead, Maurizio Cattelan, on the occasion of Art Basel Miami – after 15 years of absence – presented his new sculpture “Comedian“.

The edible banana attached to the wall with adhesive tape and priced at 120,000-150,000 $, was a winning strategic move to get the whole world talking about it, and it is clear that the old concept of the value we attribute to things is reconfirmed to be still very much popular.

Cattelan had leapt to the headlines already in September when his work “America“, a massive gold toilet, was stolen during his recent solo show at Blenheim Palace, Oxford.

2019 was a year characterized by very important retrospectives dedicated to great artists, such as Olafur Eliasson at the Tate Modern in London, Antony Gormley at the Royal Academy, Mario Merz and Cerith Wyn Evans at the Hangar Bicocca in Milan, the aforementioned Maurizio Cattelan at Blenheim Palace in Oxford, Lucio Fontana at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and many others.

The result of 4 years of work, with almost 80 works on display, I would say that the exhibition of the year was “The Young Picasso – Blue and Pink Periods” at the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, where even the prestigious monograph on Rudolf Stingel had a huge feedback.

In international auctions the climate of uncertainty was recorded in the appearance of a smaller number of works valued above 20 million dollars, perhaps a symptom of a period of little confidence.

Despite this the general results were quite positive again this year, so much so that we have witnessed excellent records, including Jeff Koons who has reconfirmed himself as the most paid living artist in the world with the “Rabbit“, a sculpture of 1986, sold at auction in May by Christie’s New York for 91.1 million dollars.

It was a year of great changes for the historic Sotheby’s auction house – founded in 1744 – which passed into private hands following the sale last June: entrepreneur and collector Patrick Drahi bought the giant of the sector for 3, 7 billion dollars.

The main international trade fairs have registered excellent sales and the recently concluded Art Basel Miami, featuring a positive climate, seems to be no less so.

Similar to it, Frieze London has also enjoyed excellent feedback from the public and buyers, so much so that in the climate of uncertainty many have called it a bubble of happiness.

Also Fiac in Paris saw a great success both in sales and in public, a result obtained also thanks to the first benefits of the shift of interests.

The Turner Prize – established in 1984 – was for the first time assigned to all four finalists, Lawrence Abu Hamdam, Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo and Tai Shani.

The innovative proposal came precisely from the artists through a letter to the jury explaining that at such a difficult time, their choice to present themselves as a collective is a symbolic gesture in the name of sharing and solidarity, in art as in society.

Technology, including new startups, art created by artificial intelligences or Cryptoart – a market that involves only digital works of art to be purchased with digital currency is also playing an increasingly important role in the art world.

We are in the era of interactive images and many museums are moving to accommodate new methods of using and learning. In Italy, the M9 in Mestre and the MAV in Ercolano are an example, the new generation museums that use advanced technologies and immersive installations.

The desire to live a 360° cultural experience is increasingly leading to the creation of virtual tours in many cities of art, the most recent promoted in Milan on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci.

In recent years, online art sales have shown considerable growth (in double figures) and have produced revenues of about $ 6 billion, a sign that the art market – very traditional in structure and dynamics – is opening up more and more to new languages.

I imagine that the future of art will reserve us many beautiful surprises and also in 2020 there will be fun!

 

“The shades of the art rainbow are endless: choose your favorite!”

Linda
In News

Artexit

October is about to end and Brexit – now at the door – could change the games.

In a positive or a negative way?

It is a question that everyone is asking, but apparently doubts about what could or could not happen for now remains uncertain, pending the agreement between the parties.

London – considered the “Big Apple” of Europe – has a very important role and position within the art market and its success is due in particular to the English regulatory model, which sees import taxes at 5% – the lowest in the EU – and Brexit could represent another opportunity for Great Britain to be even more competitive on the global market, implementing a regulatory review closer to its competitors USA (0%) and China (3%).

European Union legislation, with its complex bureaucracy and costly administration, allegedly penalized the London market by placing it in a position of disadvantage compared to its big rivals, New York and Hong Kong.

Brexit could therefore represent an interesting opportunity for Great Britain, free from the constraints of the EU, but it could also lead to a significant weakening of the market, since the exit from the European Union will stop the funds and financing of which the United Kingdom and its many museums and galleries have benefited from, not to mention individual artists.

An example of the monumental sculpture “Angel of the North” (1994-1998) by Antony Gormley located in Gateshead, was financed exactly thanks to EU funds.

Already at the time of the referendum many internationally renowned artists such as Tacita Dean, Wolfgang Tillmans, Michael Craig-Martin, Banksy, the aforementioned Antony Gormley and many others – had taken the side in favour of staying within the European Union by actively joining to the “Remain” campaign by creating works of art, posters and slogans.

Strong concerns were also expressed by historical institutions and institutional roles – from the director of Tate Nicholas Serota to Martin Roth – director of the Victoria & Albert Museum, also worried about the consequences of the lack of European subsidies dedicated to research.

But it’s not just about funding. In addition to the disappearance of legal and economic facilities, the possible weakening of investments and the impact on the economy in general, other obstacles such as export licenses will also have to be taken into consideration.

Many of the leading players of the art-market are in fact evaluating a possible withdrawal of the works deposited in London, as Larry Gagosian, who apparently has already begun to move assets from London to the offices of Athens, Basel, Geneva and Paris.

Certainly London will no longer represent the world airport for the importation of works within the European Union and it is precisely the French capital that is preparing to take up the baton, having the second lowest European taxation with 5.5% .

Some important galleries – including White Cube, David Zwirner, Pace Gallery – are already planning to open Parisian offices and the city is ready to reap the rewards of moving capital, a situation that could therefore favour the French market.

Conversely, the galleries that have scheduled shows from November onwards have been organized in advance to bring the works to Great Britain, in order to avoid the risk of new rules on customs duties.

For now, despite the uncertainties, London continues to maintain its central role – just think of all the museums, galleries, international fairs and auction houses that have their headquarters here – and the good results obtained from the auctions just concluded and from the fair Frieze confirm it.

Regardless of favourable predictions or not, what emerges is the important repercussions on the global market implied by the United Kingdom leaving the European Union that make the close correlation between art, politics and the economy even clearer.

 

“The shades of the art rainbow are endless: choose your favorite!”

Linda
In Exhibition

Sparkling “Summer Show”

Summer Show

Curated by Linda Bajàre

On June 20, the exhibition “Summer Show” was opened, an intriguing artistic project curated by Linda Bajàre which presents the international artists Artis Nīmanis and Aivars Kisnics in Italy.

Scheduled until September 5, the exhibition is held at the prestigious Palazzo Matteotti in Milan, immersed in the atmosphere of the Italian capital of luxury, just a few steps from the Quadrilatero della Moda.
The Dedica Anthology, a new luxury hotel brand, is a vibrant part of the city and a fascinating depository of unique and authentic stories that are also told through temporary exhibitions like the Summer Show.

The works of the two Latvian artists interact with the exclusive spaces of Palazzo Matteotti, creating an exhibition itinerary that welcomes the visitor from the moment he enters and accompanies them to the Gallery Hall, the main hall of the exhibition.

The essentiality of the forms and of the sign are traits that unite Artis Nīmanis and Aivars Kisnics, like the profound manual skill that shines through in their works: the works exhibited – 21 in total – are charged with feeling, emotion and intense colors capable of enchanting the viewer offering a journey to infinity.

Despite being very different from each other, the echoes and references between the two artists are continuous and their works interpenetrate each other: the 14 canvases by Kisnics range from delicate and almost monochrome oils on canvas to bright, passionate color compositions that emit all the energy of the sea and summer; as well as the 7 sculptures of Nīmanis play with the theme of water, of carefree games on sunny days.

Equipped with a strong expressive charge, painting and sculpture are the two forms of art with which Latvian artists want to focus attention on the importance of technical research and experimentation on the subject.

From the “interior landscapes” of Kisnics, where skilfully superimposed pictorial layers on the canvas embody the mutability of the conditions and moods of the most important “forces of nature” – the sea and the human being – to the rigor and sinuosity of the forms of Nīmanis’s works that, thanks to the luminescence of the glass and the metallic reflections of the materials, capture the viewer’s gaze on a journey to infinity: Summer Show by the curator Linda Bajàre represents the impetus of a wave that guides the artistic research of two Masters able to amaze and excite the observer, bringing a breath of color and freshness to an exhibition dedicated to the effervescence of summer.

“All my works are multi-layered abstractions, composed of ten to thirty layers of color, carefully studied to enhance every mood,” says Aivars Kisnics, recounting his works: abstract landscapes that tell of sunsets, sunrises, wind and mirrors of water, horizons and chromatic games linked to the theme of the sea.

Next to them the magic of the sculptures by Artis Nīmanis dialogues, where glass, gold, silver and bronze bring us back, in a game of mirrors and visual effects rendered by light, to the origin of the universe: mysterious places to discover, in which each of us, as in a maze, can find his own intimate and personal path.

ARTISTI PRESENTATI:

ARTIS NĪMANIS
Latvia 1978

Artis Nīmanis is one of the best known Latvian artists: his works have been exhibited both in personal and in group exhibitions all over the world, including Europe, America and Asia. During a period of time that lasted about twenty years, Artis Nīmanis managed to achieve a unique technique thanks to a constant work of experimentation and research on the art of glass processing: the innovative method patented by him is at the base of the creative process of the artist, who manages to achieve a unique result by expertly combining glass and precious metals. This technique is based on a very particular procedure during which the glass, in the absence of air, is coated with a very thin layer of metal that gives the characteristic “mirror” effect to the glass surface. The fragility of glass, combined with a great variety of materials such as gold, silver, bronze and copper, make these sculptures even more mysterious. The originality of the works, the visual effects, the light emanating from the works of Nīmanis mean that the artist opens a door to a magical and mysterious world rich in unexpected transparencies. Glass, gold, silver and bronze bring us back to the origin of the universe in a game of mirrors and visual effects rendered by light: mysterious and undiscovered places, where each of us, as in a maze , can find its own intimate and personal path. To further increase this magical atmosphere given off by his works, the artist pays special attention to light: the different faceted surfaces of the glass create further optical effects and illusionistic combinations. Nīmanis in fact always creates optical illusions in his sculptures and for this reason the use of the mirror in his works plays a fundamental role, capable of giving his impressive technique a very high quality. The marked aesthetic sense of stylized forms, lines, rhythm, impulse, emotion and sensuality, and the treatment and perception of the fluidity of art, make Nīmanis appear among the greatest European glass artists.

AIVARS KISNICS
Latvia 1955

Born and raised in Latvia, Kisnics approaches art from a young age, participating in numerous painting and photography competitions. During the times of Soviet occupation he is forced to abandon the art, to carry out the career of captain of ship in the Baltic Sea. From 2005 he resumed painting and devoted himself completely to the oil technique on canvas of the school of abstract expressionism. The close relationship with the sea, where he spent most of his life, is the common thread and the source of inspiration for his paintings, where he transmits the emotion that the seascapes give, the beauty of dawn and the magic of sunsets, moments of perfect calm and serenity, in contrast with the strong energy of the storms and the torment of the waves.
In Kisnics’ painting nothing is left to instinct as the violent jet of color might suggest, each brushstroke is carefully considered with a rigor and evident technical precision, like a drawing in which the colors are mixed in a meticulous and orderly manner.

 

 

“The shades of the art rainbow are endless: choose your favorite!”

 

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Linda
In News

Something we don’t see

The Nicola Trussardi Foundation presents “A Friend”, a monumental intervention by the artist Ibrahim Mahama at the toll booths of Porta Venezia, a site-specific installation curated by Massimiliano Gioni visible from 2 to 14 April 2019.

The Ghanaian artist, as happened on the occasion of other important events including the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015 and Documenta 14 in 2017, wrapped Milanese bastions with jute bags from African markets that have been used for different types of goods, circulating around the world.

To completely cover the 5,000 square meters of the two structures, as many as 10,000 jute bags were used, mounted by 8 Alpine guides by special clamps, in order to avoid the use of nails that would have permanently altered the monuments.

The chosen place is emblematic for the memory and symbolism of the city as an entrance that marked the border with the countryside for centuries and outlined the relationship between Milan and the outside.

Porta Venezia, as a multi-ethnic neighborhood with a strong presence of other cultures, helps to read Ibrahim Mahama’s work both in the context of Milan and that of today’s Italy: the reflection on the concept of threshold, of the relationship between oneself and the other, the external/internal dichotomy is extremely current in a historical moment full of tensions towards everything that can be defined as “foreign”.

The toll booths, places closely connected to the outside world, also evoke all the complexities of the ethical and political aspects concerning the traffic of goods destined to travel around the world, in clear contrast with the alienation of the manpower that creates them.

The Ibrahim installation has the merit of entering the fabric of society so that it can be enjoyed by all and arouse an interesting public debate in a context that is connected to Christo’s interventions in the 1970s. If the “packaging” of the Bulgarian artist was a criticism of growing consumerism, today the intervention of Mahama tells and denounces worrying global tensions.

The worn and jammed jute bags, which in Ibrahim’s work are synonymous with gauzes that plug the wounds, also refer to the research conducted by Alberto Burri.

The title “A Friend” has the function of remembering all the people who have worked and still work in the creation of the bags and in the trade in objects, people forgotten and erased from the collective memory despite each of us dealing with these goods and products on daily basis.

For Ibrahim Mahama this work is a way to remind ourselves that behind every object, behind each of these bags there are hundreds of millions of stories and potential friends, voices and thoughts.

 

“The shades of the art rainbow are endless: choose your favorite!”

 

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Linda
In News

The curious world of photography

It is a sector experiencing a significant development and strong growth demonstrated by the increase in global sales, a positive trend reported by all international observers.

The ability to speak to a wide audience and specifically to attract many beginners in art collecting are the characteristics and strengths of a medium that is increasingly imposing itself worldwide, able to excite a wider range of people than classical or traditional techniques seen as more “elitary”.

In Italy this segment remains in minority compared to other countries, but the opening of new spaces entirely focused on photography means a step forward to its full recognition.

Also the initiatives of auction houses, such as Bolaffi, Finarte and Il Ponte, to reserve more and more spaces and dedicated catalogues for this special sector speak of constantly increasing numbers of enthusiasts collecting art.

The last auction house to go in this direction is Cambi of Genoa, which last December debuted in Milan with an entire catalogue dedicated to it, receiving an excellent public response.

It must be said that the Italian catalogues perhaps have the flaw of being rather cautious, with their proposals often more oriented towards historical and “classical” authors: the works are usually in black and white of the photographers – humanists or some other genres, and there are few proposals of more “avant-garde” or emerging artists.

In terms of the offer, Blindarte is the most dynamic; Finarte, for now, seems to be the only one to have really invested and bet, also in terms of international competitiveness: in 2017 it achieved the best result as a catalogue dedicated to photography.

Many collectors traditionally interested in “more classical” techniques – painting and sculpture, are now approaching photography, turning it into an integral part and completion of already structured art collections. But the opposite is also happening, in other words, amateurs who have always been linked solely to the new medium, born only in 1826, also begin to approach painting, a new trend born thanks to the experiments of international artists who create a mixture between the two genres, where photography and painting are featured in the same work, changing and influencing the way of collecting.

Today Mia Photo Fair concludes, the most important international photography fair in Italy, now in its ninth edition under the direction of Fabio Castelli, open to the public on March 22nd at The Mall in Piazza Lina Bo Bardi.

There are 85 galleries, one third of which are international: 58 Italian, 27 from European countries and 4 from non-European countries plus a host nation, South Korea, to which are added exhibitors and special projects for a total of 135 exhibitors.

The fair born in 2011 is always notable for so many presences, contributing to relaunch and promotion of this medium, especially in terms of the general public.

As in past editions, there will be plenty of opportunities to study the different areas and facets of artistic practice.

Understanding the market dynamics to define the value of photography is one of the key topics of the in-depth analysis proposed at the fair, also in order to disseminate the evaluation tools of this medium.

This year the winner of the BNL Prize Group BNP Paribas is the Chinese Liu Bolin with “Mosé, San Pietro in Vincoli”, a work from 2018 that will become part of the banking group’s collection. The artist is known throughout the world for his photographic self-portraits, characterized by the mimesis of his own body with the surrounding landscape.

The “Beyond Photography” focus is very interesting, investigating the ways and meaning of photography in relation to the world of contemporary art.

New this year the Mia Photo Fair Architecture Photography Award was given to the “Urban Self-Portrait” (2010-2015) project by Anna Di Prospero, and the Rossana Orlandi Award was won by Isabella Accenti and Massimo Pelagagge, which will allow the two artists to exhibit in the gallery of the same name.

There are many international trade fairs dedicated to photography, such as Paris Photo, Photo London and PhotoFairs Shanghai, up to satellite fairs such as Photo Basel, “younger daughter” of in conjunction with Art Basel. The local Arte Fiera of Bologna in the last edition has a special section dedicated to “Photography and moving images”, which was attended by 18 specialized galleries.

Here are the next appointments with the spring photography auctions:

02 April, New York: Christie’s

04 April, New York: Phillips

05 April, New York: Sotheby’s

April 15, Milan: Boetto

April 18, Milan: Finarte

May 16, London: Sotheby’s

May 16, London: Phillips

05 June, Milan: Cambi Casa d’Aste

June 13, Milan: Il Ponte

 

“The shades of the art rainbow are endless: choose your favorite!”

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