Aesthetica Magazine Blog

Even more exciting news from Aesthetica finalists

2009-07-03T13:52:00.002Z

I’m so pleased to say that Paul Harris, yet another of our Aesthetica finalists, is opening his first solo exhibition at Barista’s Café, Sandyford, Ireland on 22 July. The exhibition, CubaOne photographs, is the culmination of Paul’s visit to Cuba during the last weeks of Castro’s presidency. The images are evocative of Cuba’s past as a great revolutionary nation, and stunningly capture the laid back nature of Cuba’s run-down streets, alongside epic countryside and intimate glimpses into the work and play of its inhabitants.

Paul’s photography is striking in its ability to entice the viewer without giving away too much, retaining a mysterious relevance to the viewer while remaining inherently place specific. In this manner the works fit into National Geographic’s tradition so it comes as no surprise to learn that Paul was shortlisted for the top 30 audience award in the prestigious National Geographic International Photographic Competition.

We’re so excited to have discovered Paul’s fantastic work, and wish him the best of success for the exhibition. CubaOne Photographs will run from 22 July, full details can be found on Paul’s website at www.paulharris.ie

Have a great weekend!

Pauline

Wimbledon fatigue? Take in a show…

2009-07-02T13:18:00.004Z

Do you wish Andy Murray all the best, but find the ‘Murray Mound’ hysteria all a bit much? Maybe you should check out some other sickeningly young and talented rising stars.

The season for Wimbledon and Pimms, now is also the time of year graduate degree shows are endemic. Across the country, arts graduates from photography to fashion are now exhibiting their work to the public. For students, the graduate degree shows are the years’ highlight, a chance to display the culmination of 3 or 4 years hard work and commitment. For the exhibition attendee, the shows present an exciting opportunity to sneak-preview the future of British design.

Last week I was inspired at the opening night of the Leeds College of Art and Design; personal favourites were the graphic design projects. The innovative use of different materials used by the designers to engage with philosophies and convey visual solutions was stunning. Font and type-face have never been so stirring! As Peter Saville highlights: “The actual visual material, which was a big step for people, would not have been so openly received had it not been n the context of pop affiliation,” it’s bringing the specifics of design to all.

I’m hoping to make it to Nottingham for another show later this month. Fine and decorative arts, fashion design, knitwear and textiles, fashion marketing and communication, photography, graphics, multimedia and product design are just some of the disciplines you can take in at Work the Way the World Works, brought from the graduates of Nottingham Trent’s school of Art and Design. More than 100 students from 15 countries are exhibiting, in a show which truly reflects culture, creativity and diversity from across the globe.

Carol Jones, Academic Team Leader for Masters Programmes, explains the thinking behind the theme,”Work the Way the World Works, reminds us to keep our focus on a world which, whilst experiencing a global economic downturn, is also rich in multi-level opportunities in many different contexts.” Graduate projects include an investigation into the buying behaviour of design-conscious Chinese males, strategies for the improvement of fashion e-retail websites in Taiwan and research into the relationship between the Bombay film industry and the Indian fashion market.

I’m particularly intrigued to see one student’s product design project, where intricate symbols and meanings from traditional Chinese furniture design are incorporated into a table created using Western design practices.
This East-meets-West merging of ideology and design is a hot topic in the Aesthetica office at the moment. China’s current economic boom has translated into an extremely powerful contemporary art market. Within the space of a generation, the changes in this country’s culture have been immense to say the least. The seemingly ever-rising popularity and importance of Chinese art is discussed with artist Chen Ke in our current issue.
Work the Way the World Works is open from July 11-18. If you fancy a break from all the tennis coverage, or – more likely – the last British hope is knocked out, a visit to a graduate show comes highly recommended!

[Image credit. 1. Ken Wong, Interim. 2. Valeria Artistidou, Motion Graphic Design]

Aesthetica's New Digs are brilliant

2009-06-30T17:03:00.006Z

So, we've moved! The new Aesthetica HQ is much improved, it's light, modern, airy with French doors onto a courtyard. In fact it's perfect.

The move went well, you know there's always a panic about this, that or the other, but when Monday morning came around the phones were on, broadband was up, and we were unpacked and completely moved in.

I must admit, it was a pretty long weekend making sure that everything was perfect. It feels so liberating to have such a monumental change. Our old offices were fantastic, but alas, we outgrew them, and needed to move on. At first you resist change because it's such a big deal, but once it happens you embrace it. That's how I feel about this move, it's really a positive step forward and with triple the space, it's so spacious, I have the freedom to think.

And one more thing...my 30th birthday is this week, another big change. I won't be in my 20s any longer, it's so hard to believe. So, lots a change afoot.

I've been working on the latest issue, and I've got to tell you issue 30 is very exciting, there's a lot of experimental work being covered not to mention a big surprise, but you'll have to wait until it's released to find out.

This is also the issue in which Aesthetica gains 1250 additional stockists, in addition to our current stockists, it makes Aesthetica Magazine one of the most widely stocked arts magazines in the country. Go on, check it out for yourself.

Is anyone else really into chairs?

2009-06-29T15:37:00.011Z

I’m pleased to say that at the grand old age of 24, I visited Brighton for the first time this weekend – I felt like I’d found my spiritual home, all sunny café terraces, vibrant market stalls, a fabulous clean (by British standards) beach, and those mesmerising north and south lanes with their clusters of dream shops.

After sunning it up for a while on the beach, I took myself to the Pavilion and the Brighton Museum where I discovered the city’s small but exceptional collection on 20th century art and design. I remember once reading (I’m a little foggy as to where) that the one object which every designer hopes to make his own is a chair. The distinction between one chair and another is sometimes negligible, mundane even, but living as I do with a real chair enthusiast (furnishing 1 small living room = 8 random mismatched chairs, and counting) I’m starting to understand the nature of this fascination, helped along by Brighton’s collections.

The amazing thing was to see the influences of each time and each movement discussed manifested into the chairs. The arts and crafts movement’s deliberating craftsmanship in sweeping organic curves, the roaring twenties’ glistening decadence in art deco’s tasteful classicism, and the incorporation of industrialism in modernism’s clean bent wood and metal. Maybe the chair is the best representation of civilisation, of a society’s values, preoccupations and aims, but these elements can be seen in the objects all around us, our teapots and our lemon squeezers, our cabinets and our lamps, as well as our paintings and our sculptures.

Various fluctuations between form and function serve to distinguish the pragmatism of modernism, from the flights of fancy represented in the surrealist collections. The distinction between art and design and its increasingly confused boundaries is something that we recently discussed in depth with Peter Saville and the visit to Brighton’s museum, showcasing art along the 20th century’s trailblazers of design, emphasised the intertwining between the two. It reminds me of the juxtapositions in women’s fashions, and the medium’s own encroachment into areas reserved for the visual arts through creative visionaries at the helm of the world’s top labels.

My ideal chair? I love the stark metal mesh of Eames’s DKR-2, an existing element of my flat’s collection, but I’d like to combine it with the frivolity of a rocking chair, still on bent metal, but with the bikini cushioning, or maybe something a bit more sixties in fibreglass… I can see how this fascination can grow…

It’s a joy to notice the intricacies and the details of the things around us, the tiny little minutiae which makes something a pleasure or a pain to use. Collections like Brighton’s allow us to stop and take note of the everyday beauty around us, the pieces which have experienced hours at the hands of exacting designers, and if you find yourself with time to spare, I’d recommend a visit.

[Image credits: courtesy of Brighton Museum at http://www.virtualmuseum.info/]

The Aesthetica HQ is moving

2009-06-26T12:13:00.005Z

Pauline, the Marketing Officer here at Aesthetica, has suggested starting this blog with "MJ's not the only one moving on". Too crass for me, but I thought I'd mention it, as I know she'll be reading this at some point. This kind of leads me to this question, when is it okay to make jokes? I've kind of realised that my sense of humour isn't attuned to that.

I digress, so today is moving day! The Aesthetica HQ is relocating to larger, brighter, new premises. We have lovely french doors that look out onto a courtyard garden. Fantastic!

Change is amazing. It's a fantastic feeling to alter the routine, do something else, do something new. Usually, I either cycle or walk to the office, and for the past 4 years I've had my morning regulars (people that I see everyday, but never speak to), and in fact I will miss them! Here they are:

1. Worried guy on bike
2. Lady with super-fly bike (you should see this thing, it even has wing mirrors)
3. Guy who looks like Steve from Coronation Street.
4. Grumpy gal
5. Guy with hat
6. Smiles a lot lady
7. Couple who always drink coffee
8. Lady with really really high heels.

Alas....my morning gang will change! It's amazing, isn't it, how these people have become such a part of my daily routine, and I don't even know them or say hello. So it goes, I guess.

Back to the move, I'm very excited. Please check the site www.aestheticamagazine.com for our new contact details, although the email addresses will remain the same.

Signing off from Rowntree Wharf

Cherie

Hopefulness through photography

2009-06-25T16:11:00.007Z

With all the recent furore over the Iranian elections, I was pleased to discover an alternative, more positive aspect on the country through the artist Sara Shamsavari, who moved to the UK after spending her first two years in revolutionary Iran. Shamsavari’s images capture a hopefulness uncharacteristic of so much coverage today, and they reflect the artist’s mixed cultural heritage and increased awareness of art’s responsibilities as leaders in spiritual and social progress.

Shamsavari’s work reminds me of Martin Parr, and she has the rare gift of capturing how the light strikes a face to illuminate it in hope. Standing in stark contrast to the almost nihilistic, magic realism of Roger Ballen, or the readily packaged nostalgia of MoMA’s recent Into the Sunset Exhibition, Shamsavari looks forward rather than back and presents us with an alternative view of reality. It seems apt that Shamsavari was recently selected as one of the exhibiting artists at the ICA’s Love in the Sky. The exhibition asks us to imagine – what would we do if our aim was a world based on love, and serves to reach for the kind of positivity which seems to be evading many of our contemporaries.

For more information, visit Shamsavari's flicker page.

Images (c) Shamsavari

Stephen Deuchar appointed the new Director of The Art Fund

2009-06-24T15:53:00.002Z

The Art Fund has just announced today the appointment of Dr Stephen Deuchar as the new Director. Currently the Director of Tate Britain and Chairman of the 2009 Turner Prize, Dr Deuchar will start at The Art Fund in January 2010.

David Verey, Chairman of The Art Fund, said: “Stephen Deuchar is passionate about art and artists, and in giving the public the opportunity to experience great art in all its forms – which has been The Art Fund’s charitable purpose for more than 100 years. It is wonderful that he will be joining The Art Fund as our new Director. A great arts professional, Stephen Deuchar will bring a wealth of expertise and exceptional achievement to The Art Fund. We are all very excited for the future of The Art Fund under his forthcoming directorship.”

Stephen Deuchar said: “I am simply thrilled to have been offered the opportunity to direct the UK’s leading art charity. Its vital support of art galleries and museums across the UK, and the role it plays in galvanising support for the visual arts in Britain, make it a truly exceptional organisation. I cannot wait to start work.I am very proud of my time at Tate Britain, and to have been entrusted with the task of being its founding director. I feel privileged to have worked alongside many inspirational colleagues, especially Nick Serota. But The Art Fund represents an important new chapter for me and an exhilarating challenge.”

Dr Deuchar was appointed to the Tate in 1998 after 12 years as a curator and exhibitions director at the National Maritime Museum. He oversaw the creation of Tate Britain in 2000 at Millbank, home of the original Tate Gallery, and the opening of its Centenary Development galleries in 2001. Under his leadership Tate Britain has acquired an outstanding international reputation for the quality of its exhibitions, drawing 60% more visitors over the past eight years. He led the campaign to secure Rubens’s Sketch for the Banqueting House Ceiling last year, and worked closely with The Art Fund on the campaign to acquire Turner’s Blue Rigi in 2007. Dr Deuchar succeeds David Barrie who stepped down at the end of May after 17 years in the post.

With the recent exhibitions at Tate Britain bringing exceptional art and contemporary thought to the forum, it will be exciting to see what Stephen Deuchar will bring to the Art Fund, and consequentially to our galleries and museums across the UK. It’s hard to believe that the Art Fund give grants up to £5 million per year to help enrich collections across the UK.

Image credit: © Marcella Leith

Artists’ run spaces reinvigorate the gallery

2009-06-23T17:31:00.002Z

Opening on 4 July at Eastside Projects in Birmingham, a solo show by Glasgow based artists Joanne Tatham & Tom O’Sullivan. The collaborative duo have made a new work which through its very naming, Does your contemplation of the situation fuck with the flow of circulation, clearly, eloquently and aggressively, introduces the duo’s playful, provocative and interrogative art practice. Tatham and O’Sullivan have been creating work since 1995 that is concerned with the mythic potential of art, and how art can exist as an event in a particular space and time.

Embodying the concept of interdisciplinary their work is situated between and utilising, sculpture, painting, architecture, photography, performance, literature, institutional critique and curation. The artists’ works use carefully crafted paths, displacements and diversions as strategies for synthesising the concept of culture as a localised system of meanings and the world of art - seen as a community.

Does your contemplation… is a complex re-presenting of the artists’ rhetoric as a new construct, tackling the fact that the artists’ most significant works exist in the form of an exhibition. While an exhibition may be comprised of a number of ‘pieces’, it is the choreography or curation of these pieces that needs to be read as the work-construct. Eastside Projects’ very particular state of reflexive performativity as a venue, and context within which to make a new work, provides the artists with an opportunity to test out new strategies as a public process of re-analysis.

Tatham and O’Sullivan consider Eastside Projects a non-standard gallery and are treating it as a found site, working “on top of” the venue with components that form the exhibition as a series of objects (or constructed artefacts) designed to challenge the function and status of the venue and its contents. The objects consist of a new architectural construction, a large patterned Z-shaped tunnel which can be entered and passed through, positioned centrally amongst elements that adapt and reclaim the artists’ existing tropes with a new development in the form of a digital projection sequencing colour manipulated photographs interwoven with an innate rhetorical question.

The artists are opening up the language that they use in order to better fashion an exhibition to make the viewer aware of their own thinking processes - an environment to highlight consciousness. Very exciting work.

The exhibition runs from 4 July until 6 September. www.eastsideprojects.org

Image credit (c) Joanne Tatham & Tom O’Sullivan

Yayoi Kusama at Victoria Miro, London

2009-06-19T14:50:00.004Z

Installation is one of my favourite art forms. Depending on the work it can embody the space, enhance it and inevitably change it in some way. Thinking about the natural world versus the built environment led me to follow up Victoria Miro’s press release on Yayoi Kusama’s three giant pumpkins that will be on view for about a month this summer. The new giant dotted pumpkins will be installed in Victoria Miro's canal side garden to mark the 80th birthday of Japan's most revered contemporary artist.

Yayoi Kusama - whose legendary career spans six decades - celebrates her 80th birthday this year. To mark the occasion, for the first time in London, three new pumpkin works will be on display. Situated in the gallery's canal side garden the sculptures will be presented alongside her permanently installed iconic piece Narcissus Garden (1966-).

Kusama's acclaimed presentation in the Japanese pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1993, which consisted of a mirrored room filled with tiny pumpkin sculptures in which she sat in colour coordinated magician's attire - marked the beginning of the artist's preoccupation with the pumpkin motif. Following the Biennale she went on to produce a huge, yellow pumpkin sculpture covered with an optical pattern of black dots. This pumpkin came to represent for her a kind of alter ego or self-portrait and remains one of her signature series of works.

Kusama is a fascinating artist; the fact that her career has lasted over 60 years is a testament to the longevity of her work. I am amazed that in Novemvber 2008, Christies New York auctioned her a piece of her for $5,100,000. The hightest sum ever paid for a living female artist’s work!

Another fabulous Japanese artist is Yoshitomo Nara. His last work in the UK was at BALTIC, A-Z project.

Yayoi Kusama: Outdoor Sculptures runs at Victoria Miro from 23 June until 25 July. Opening hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 6pm.

Image credit (c)Yayoi Kusama courtesy of Victoria Miro

The First City of Film: Congratulations Bradford!

2009-06-18T12:34:00.004Z

Beating Los Angeles, Cannes and Venice on 12 June Bradford became the first ever UNESCO City of Film.

Revealing pride for his home-town, Slumdog Millionaire screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy said of the award: “This is superb news for Bradford and is testimony to the City’s dedication to the film and media industry. Not only has Bradford played a crucial role in the story of cinema and helped shape its history, it has inspirational plans to enhance its future relationship with film, which will benefit both the local community and the industry at large.”

The UNESCO award (United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) means that Bradford is now part of the Creative Cities Network.

The only other two UK cities awarded UNESCO status, are Edinburgh City of Literature and Glasgow City of Music. Designed to promote the social, economic and cultural development of cities in both the developed and developing world, this important award promotes the shared interest of Bradford and UNESCO in the mission towards cultural diversity.

One crucial component to Bradford’s success is the city’s film festivals. These encompass the length of breadth of film making, with Bite the Mango, Bradford International Film Festival and Bradford Animation Festival showcasing shorts, feature-films, documentaries and animation from every corner of the globe.

Aesthetica was present at Bradford International Film Festival 2009, where we chatted with festival director Tony Earnshaw about his personal highlights of the festival and the importance of festivals to independent film. For a further overview of film festivals on a global scale, take a look at the Aesthetica ‘Film Festival’s at a Glance’ feature, which covers the best of contemporary and classic film from Munich to Cambodia

Bradford’s City of Film bid was chaired by Bradford-born Steve Abbot, producer of films such as “A Fish Called Wanda” and “Brassed Off”. If you want to emulate Abbot’s success, why not try your own hand at filmmaking? The current issue of Aesthetica has a step-by-step DIY guide penned by leading industry insiders Shooting People and Branchange Festival Programmer Philip Ilson. Here at Aesthetica, we are committed to supporting independent film making, and host a new short film every month on our homepage – courtesy of Shooting People.

If part one of our DIY Film Guide has sparked your creativity, our August-September issue is set to be essential reading. We’ll be bringing you the second part of our how to’ guide – with tips on how to promote, distribute and just get your film seen!

Image Top: Awayday

Middle: Steve Abbott producer and chair of the Bradford City of Film Board and Simon Beaufoy Oscar winning screenwriter

Marcus Coates Wins the Daiwa Foundation Art Prize

2009-06-17T09:52:00.004Z

You might remember the cheeky image that was on the cover of the Feb/March issue this year? A man in super cool shades, a hare jumping out of his retro Adidas jacket and a badger on his head? Well, that was Marcus Coates who was one of the artists involved with Nicolas Bourriaud’s exhibition as part of the Tate Triennial“AlterModern” which finished on 26 April at Tate Britain.

Bourriaud argues that post-modernism is over and that it’s a term which is no longer relevant in today’s world. Coates’ film, installation and performance art focuses on the relationship between humans and other species. His work has received international acclaim.

Being one of the featured artists in this high profile exhibition really sets the stage for Coates’ contributions to the debates in contemporary visual culture. He was selected from an impressive shortlist. The Daiwa Foundation Art Prize was launched this year to introduce British artists to the Japanese visual arts scene. As well as receiving £5,000, Coates will be going on to Japan for his solo exhibition at Tomio Koyama Gallery in Tokyo.

Jonathan Watkins on behalf on the judging panel: ‘Coates has emerged as an artist with a distinct an extraordinary vision. He is making work now which is better than ever.’

The prize has been a resounding success, with nearly 900 applicants from across the UK. The prize, as well as providing a unique opportunity for artists wanting to establish themselves overseas, helps to further consolidate Anglo-Japanese relations in the arts. The shortlisted artists include Adam Dant and Bedwyr Williams; will be exhibiting their work at the Daiwa Foundation Japan House Gallery in London until 17th July.

Coates is an exciting artist making real contributions to contemporary art, introducing new concepts and themes while at the same time encouraging us to re-think our standard views.

Members of The Judging Panel were:

Jonathan Watkins (Chair): Director of Ikon Gallery, Birmingham.

Mami Kataoka: International curator who works with both The Hayward Gallery, London and Mori Art Museum, Tokyo.

Tomio Koyama: Owner of Tomio Koyama Gallery and collector of major Japanese and international artists.

Joanna Pitman: Art Critic for The Times and former Times correspondent in Japan.

Edmund de Waal: Artist potter, curator, writer and Professor of Ceramics at the University of Westminster.

Daiwa Foundation Art Prize Exhibitions London runs from 15 June – 17 July 2009 (Mon-Fri 9:30am -5:00pm. Daiwa Foundation Japan House Gallery,The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation13/14 Cornwall Terrace, London NW1 4QP. In Tokyo from 7 – 21 November 2009 Tomio Koyama Gallery

Image credit top: Galapagos Fashion (c) Marcus Coates
Image credit middle: The Plovers Wing (c) Marcus Coates

Can't wait for summer festivals...

2009-06-16T15:59:00.004Z

Finally, the sun is shining, and in these credit crunch times I’m looking forward to some fantastic free festivals over the coming months. In my mind, festivals are what make the British summer – plastic cups of warm cider, the intoxicating smell of frying onions, floppy burgers and the holy trinity of wellies, cagoule and sunburn. And rather than heading for the bright lights (and inevitable mudfest) of Glastonbury or Reading, there’s something wonderfully homespun about the assortment of local community festivals which spring up each year. As a Leeds University veteran, the city’s annual Hyde Park shindig, Unity Day, holds a special place in my heart.

Leeds’ Hyde Park area is typical of an eclectic city community, with an ethnic mix jumbled up among the constant flux of arriving and departing students, and Unity Day aims to draw this varied community together in a safe environment where everyone can have a good time. That’s my favourite part of the whole experience – the mingling of different groups, seeing children run between their parent’s legs, while student revellers boogie away to bongo drums and dubstep. There are always some great creative types, a graffiti jam, local stalls, delicious food (I’m sure anyone whose enjoyed a festival over the past few years would know that the soggy burgers mentioned above are really a distant memory) and a chance for local acts to let their neighbours know what they’ve been up to. I can’t wait to spend the day lazing on the grass, and wandering between jazz, tea dances, drum and bass, and alternative performers and I’d like to hear of any other community festivals that have earned a special place in your hearts over the years? Or is anyone else a Unity Day regular?

Bring on the summer!

Image credit: Roland Seaton

Art Basel 40 –strong results for 2009

2009-06-15T14:34:00.003Z

The sentiment reflected throughout the art world has been that of the recession, cut backs and closures. It has been a tumultuous time for all; however, as Wayne Hemingway said to Aesthetica in the last issue a recession can create serendipity and variation.

Now then, how’s the art fair industry holding up? At Aesthetica we work with numerous fairs from Art Beijing, India Art Summit, Art Chicago, Glasgow Art Fair, Zoo Art Fair, Newcastle Gateshead. We know how these events work, and with Basel being 40 years old, it has already been through a recession or two, so how did it go this year?

The 40th edition of Art Basel closed yesterday having attracted 61,000 artists, collectors, curators, and art lovers from around the globe, slightly more than last year and the highest number ever. The participating galleries, art connoisseurs, and the media were unanimous in pronouncing this a strong year for the show. Art 40 Basel demonstrated the health of the high-quality segment within the art market: Collectors rewarded excellent material and strong booth presentations with unexpectedly strong sales throughout the week.

With more than 300 galleries from 29 countries exhibiting works by over 2,500 artists, Art 40 Basel was a triumph. Many artists also attended the event: Stefan Balkenhol, Matthew Barney, Elmgreen and Dragset, Thomas Demand, Olafur Eliasson, Liam Gillick, Dan Graham, Subodh Gupta, Joan Jonas, Jeff Koons, Mark Leckey, Sigmar Polke, Ed Ruscha, Nedko Solakov, Not Vital and Franz Erhard Walther. And over 50 museum groups visited, as did major private collectors from North and South America, Europe and the emerging markets of the art world.

Participating galleries displayed their most interesting pieces and presented them in carefully curated booths. Many of the stands featured thematic exhibitions and one-person shows, while many galleries presented video works, installations and large sculptures. Paintings, works on paper, and photography continued to be strongly represented. Private collectors came from all continents, as did representatives of almost all the world’s major museums. Many exhibitors reported excellent results given the current conditions, adding that they also made valuable new contacts for the future of their program, and look forward to Art 41 Basel, which takes place June 16- 20 June 2010.

Discussing their experience at Art 40 Basel, gallerists offered this:

“The overall quality of the fair really creates an energy that makes collectors excited about buying art, which has resulted in us doing solid business - not just on the opening but every day of the show.” Mark Payot, Hauser and Wirth, Zurich/London

“We came with no expectations, but it went really well for us. There were many pleasant surprises and we connected with many new people.” Tim Blum, Blum and Poe, Los Angeles

“Business was surprisingly good, which was unexpected. Art Basel still remains the best place to see clients who return for many years, and to meet new ones as well.” Monika Sprüth, Sprüth Magers, Berlin/London

“Art 40 Basel witnesses a return to the roots of the artmarket. Knowledge, sustainability and seriousness move back to the foreground and the program-driven galleries especially benefit from this phenomenon.” Mathias Rastorfer, Galerie Gmurzynska, Zurich/St. Moritz/Zug

“Art Basel was a huge success against sober expectations. Business was very good, and the quality of the art and all the exhibitor booths was superb.” Roland Augustine, Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York

“Art Basel has exceeded all our expectations. Not just in terms of sales, which were strong, but also in terms of the joy and excitement for our artists, who were exhibiting both in our booth and in Art Unlimited. This is an unparalleled venue to expose the greater world to African art, and to introduce our artists to the most prestigious collectors and institutions in the world.” Liza Essers, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg

“We are very happy and sold works by almost all the artists from our program. We could even place the large installation by Hans op de Beck at Art Unlimited with a private foundation.” Lorenzo Fiaschi, Continua, San Gimignano/Beijing/Le Moulin

“At Art 40 Basel we met the highest level of curators and collectors, and many important museum opportunities will arise from this. We feel really honoured that our artist Nina Canell was selected as a winner of the Baloise Art Prize.” Finola Jones, Mother’s Tankstation, Dublin

One of the most spectacular events at this year’s Art Basel was the presentation of “Il Tempo del Postino” at Theater Basel. All three nights were completely sold out and many art lovers extended their stay to experience this unique presentation, which many viewers aftewards described as a “historical art world event”. Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Philippe Parreno as a group exhibition that would occupy time rather than space, “Il Tempo del Postino” (Postman Time) presented a sequential display of time based art on the theatre stage. The Basel edition of “Il Tempo del Postino” was directed by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Philippe Parreno, Anri Sala and Rirkrit Tiravanija; each of the twenty artists - Doug Aitken, Matthew Barney & Jonathan Bepler, Tacita Dean, Thomas Demand, Trisha Donnelly, Olafur Eliasson, Peter Fischli / David Weiss, Liam Gillick, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Douglas Gordon, Carsten Höller, and Pierre Huyghe.

See www.mif.co.uk for more info on “Il Tempo del Postino”

The recession is in full swing, but the show must go on. It’s that type of determination that keeps the art world alive and well. We know that we can’t return to the way it was before, in fact, I wouldn’t want to. I feel it’s given me a positive outlook for the future, and mended some of my careless ways. It’s a highly creative time, energized and full of opportunity – you just have to be open to it.

Aesthetica will be working with several fairs and festivals this summer, check our website for further details.

www.aestheticamagazine.com

Image credit: Bruno Bischofberger

Super Contemporary at the Design Museum, London

2009-06-09T16:12:00.006Z

Finding myself with a couple of hours to spare at the weekend I went along London’s south bank to catch Super Contemporary at the Design Museum. Having interviewed guest curator Daniel Charny, for Aesthetica’s current issue I was interested to see the logistics of showcasing a timeline of the UK, and particularly London’s, political and cultural fluctuations over the past half century, alongside new innovations from 15 top design makers practicing in London today.

I’m a big fan of the design museum, especially the recent Hussein Chalayan retrospective and this provided a great contrast for the full scope of the institution’s remit. While the Chalayan space felt spacious and separated, Super Contemporary’s occupation of the museum’s first floor seemed to almost shrink the space with so much going on and the exhibition felt both smaller, with a paradoxical excess of information. Charny’s timeline proved to be truly absorbing however - I kind of wish I’d left my friends earlier in order to soak it all up and I feel like I’ve received a comprehensive crash course in the sparser areas of my design awareness. The exhibition faces a difficult predicament in contextualising the four prolific areas of product design, architecture, fashion and communication design within the huge changes of the British cultural, political and everyday realities since 1960 and for me the timeline was the most absorbing asset (despite the fact that Charny had emphasised the centrality of the commissions in our interview) – perhaps I’m too preoccupied with looking backwards instead of forwards!

Of the commissions Neville Brody’s Freedom Space was really striking, enhancing my awareness of being observed to an unnerving degree, but I also looked upon Paul Smith’s kitsch Rubbish Bin with amusement, it combined a traditional racing green with the plastic bunny mould in a manner which Smith has made his own over the years, and hints at the source of the unique extent of his popularity in Japan – paragon of the traditional and the contemporary amalgamation. Paul Cocksedge’s Rain It In was fantastic in its fusion of the dichotomies of art and science, and would prove hugely popular to this nesh visitor. I was also really interested to see Wayne Hemingway’s KiosKiosk, as it built on his ideas which we’d recently discussed on opportunism for escaping rents for new businesses in the recession.

All in all, Super Contemporary was a fantastic visit, another great contribution on the all-encompassing aesthetic possibilities showcased by design today.

Visited the Design Museum recently? I’d love to hear your thoughts…

www.designmuseum.org

Pauline

Image credit: New London Bin by Paul Smith

Aesthetica Magazine: New Issue Out Today

2009-06-05T10:43:00.002Z

What's inside the latest issue of Aesthetica Magazine:

Chen Ke, one of China's young rising stars, discusses her work and looks at this era of abandonment, while grappling with its truths and consequences. Peter Saville examines the democratisation and changing aesthetic of design. Also, highlights and recommendations from this year's Venice Biennale, and a new perspective on contemporary Polish art, as well as the 10 must see exhibitions.

Many of the features look at the grey areas between right and wrong, such as Fred Cavaye's recent film 'Pour Elle', and Matt Charman's new production, 'The Observer', which opens at the National Theatre this summer. In keeping with the DIY theme, we're running a two-part guide on How to Make A Short Film, as well as admiring the enterprising attitude of new British band, Morton Valence. Finally, we chat with Daniel Charny about 'Super Contemporary' at the Design Museum.

This issue reminds us that we are innovative and can break away from the assembly line of manufactured culture. In fact, it pays homage to the spirit of that idea.

Out now nationwide from WH Smith, Borders, galleries and newsagents or from www.aestheticamagazine.com

Contemporary Chinese Art

2009-05-12T16:35:00.005Z

Okay, so contemporary Chinese Art has been on the rise for the greater part of a decade, so I'm not announcing anything new, but there is really something special about contemporary Chinese art. I find it subjective yet at the same time universal, it begs for your attention and offers an insight into one of the most fascinating countries in the world. Only to have come out of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, to become a major world player in both consumption and production, epitomising globalisation, moving from agrarian to urban all in a few decades is amazing. Think about how long it look for the shift from agriculture to industrialisation in the UK?

I feel inspired when I see some of these images, through the cultural, social and political aspects of the work, which I find awe-inspiring.

We were recently one of the media partners for Art Beijing, and today I received the catalogue (I must say that it's more of a book, a beautiful collection of artworks from the galleries), and coupled with my reading of Young Chinese Artists, published on Prestel (Ed Noe and Steiner), I feel like there is so much at stake here. In the arts world, we're in the middle of a major shift here. In find contemporary Chinese art challenging and provoking, and I like that.

If you haven't guessed, I'm currently working on a piece for the June/July issue of Aesthetica, on a pioneering young artist, called, Chen Ke. Her work is sombre, dark, lonely, and incredibly intriguing.

Check out the issue from the end of the month.

So, out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on Chinese contemporary art, how does it compare to other work being produced today?

Finalists of 2008’s Aesthetica Creative Works Competition are enjoying further successes…Neale Howells at the John Martin Gallery

2009-04-21T15:57:00.002Z

Neale Howells’s work is now showing at the John Martin Gallery in London as part of Storylines. Please visit http://www.jmlondon.com/pages/thumbnails/22314.html for further details.

Neale is wonderfully open in his conceptions of art. He says: “'What do you want from a piece of artwork...?' Well I believe imagination is an important component... perhaps a word that is rarely used to describe contemporary art these days but I believe a fundamental term for our mathematical artistic equations... what's the difference between these paintings and our current, most popular media form of pop video... nothing.. both carry the universal idents that we come to enjoy but not understand except with these works you really have a lot more to enjoy...'How do you judge a good bit of art...?' Well for me it's how many time you come back to view it.... “

The work that I help to do have quite often been thought of as graffiti art... I have disagreed with this because graffiti, real graffiti doesn't carry any aesthetics, I believe just the ability to say something... you can not help but be impressed though with some street art... especially when after a while it has deteriorated and worked over by others.... a bit like that poster over a poster that is peeling... graffiti art then becomes what it is, itself.... being part of 'storylines' at the john martin gallery this April gives the opportunity to view new paintings that carry the same ideas of the outside world, inside... how do you judge a good piece of art...? well for me its how many times you come back to view it...

http://www.jmlondon.com/pages/thumbnails/22314.html

I HEART PEMBROKESHIRE, WALES

2009-04-16T16:24:00.004Z

I really felt I had to write the title of this blog in capital letters, so you'd know exactly how strongly I felt. I'm not one for emoticons, so you'll just have to deal with the capitals - although sometimes significant to that of shouting - in this case it's gushing.

So, I decided that it was high time I took a little break, so Easter was the perfect time for me. I really love being outside. It's so funny, I tell people that I'm from New York, and they automatically assume that I'd be more comfortable in the concrete jungle, but the truth is I love hiking, being outside and breathing fresh air. Something about it makes me feel alive - reminding me of our connection with the natural world - we are part of the whole eco-system.

My other great love is the sea. I love being near the ocean. The sound of the crashing waves, the sand on my feet, the birds, the smells, rock pools, you name it - I love it. So, I thought that south Wales would be a perfect spot to spend the bank holiday - it's a long drive from Yorkshire, but it was worth it.

I hiked a total of 25 miles, and just enjoyed being outside. Pembrokeshire has some lovely villages, great local galleries, and an overall feeling of calm.

So, I'm back in the office, writing this blog. It's been very hectic the first few days back with several deadlines to meet. I am planning the editorial for the next issue, which is proving to be great fun. There are a whole host of things coming up this summer that I can't wait to tell you about.

Have you had a look at the April issue? I am really delighted with it - Boo Ritson is a fascinating artist. I love the interdisciplinary nature of her work. She really opens up the forum for painting, sculpture and photography - I love it.

So, did you do anything over the Bank Holiday? Do you hike? What do you do to chill out? I feel with all the doom and gloom, all we need is a good spell in the outdoors to help clear the mind - no it won't solve all your problems, but it will chill you out.

Right, I'm off home to make a curry.

Cheers

Cherie

I’m not on a soapbox of denial

2009-04-01T08:44:00.002Z

I thought I'd share this with you from the new issue - out today 1 April 2009.

I believe in the concept of adaptation - nothing can stay the same forever. It’s essential to undertake any situation with a positive attitude and a willingness to overcome its challenges. This signifies that a major shift will be necessary. We are going through hard times and change is easy to resist, as we so often take comfort in the quotidian.

I’m not on a soapbox of denial, but I know that we’ve got to “keep on keeping on”, as Curtis Mayfield so famously said. Everything always becomes clearer with hindsight, but I say, hindsight is just experience, and experience is knowledge.
In keeping with Mayfield, I feel that it’s a stimulating time for the arts. We can’t “recession proof” ourselves; we can only use this time as fuel for our creative output. Reflection aside, we need serendipity, and throughout challenging times, we are pushed to the limit, we try harder and work faster. In short, maximising our assets.

Inside this issue there are features that examine both the cultural and political aspects of contemporary arts. Boo Ritson explores artistic boundaries, Transmission Interrupted opens at Modern Art Oxford and looks at the here and now, while Into the Sunset at MoMA looks at 150 years of photography from the American West. We analyse the short story Vs. the novel, and chat with the award winning Canadian author, Miriam Toews. In music - a gentle walk away from the mundane and ordinary. In film a preview of Paul Morrison’s Little Ashes, and a look at the film festivals of 2009. In theatre, the sublime and experimental at this year’s Spill Festival.

In these times, we should think about what the art we are producing says about our society. What does it mean for you and me? This issue takes a closer look at this important question.

What do you think? Have a look at the new issue, www.aestheticamagazine.com/shop.htm

Be the First to see New Independent Film!

2009-03-24T14:24:00.004Z

Be the first to see new independent film; Aesthetica now hosting Film of the Month.

Visit the Aesthetica homepage to see our exciting new ‘Film of the Month’, the best new film as judged by high profile patrons including Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle. This is an opportunity to view new film created by the rising stars of tomorrow, as hand-picked by the leading talents of today.

Aesthetica continues to support independent film through partnership with Shooting People, an international networking organisation which recognises and promotes indie filmmaking. Shooting People’s 35,000 members make and upload the higgest quality independent films. Each month, these films are viewed and rated by the members, creating a shortlist of three. These are then sent to one of Shooting People’s high-profile patrons, who give a personal review of each of the three, and choose the ‘Film of the Month’.

This month’s winning film has been chosen by Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me). Picking Trevor Hardy’s animation Pushkin, Spurlock comments: "This film is really, really good, extremely impressive. Give this guy a TV show, quick! He could be the next Nick Park. It's so well done, so professional."

Future judges include Danny Boyle (Dir. Slumdog Millionaire), Martha Fiennes (Dir. Onegin; Chromophobia), Asif Kapadia (Dir. Far North), Stuart Beattie (Scr. Australia), and Nick Park (Dir. Chicken Run; Wallace & Gromit).

At Aesthetica magazine, we are dedicated to encouraging independent filmmakers and filmmaking. In 2008/9, Aesthetica has worked with the following film festivals in the UK and abroad: Sundance Film Festival, London Short Film Festival, Rushes Soho Shorts Festival, Glasgow Film Festival, Leeds International Film Festival, Flatpack Birmingham, Motiroti and Bradford International Film Festival. The forthcoming April/May 2009 issue of Aesthetica features a guide to the most innovative and exciting film festivals from around the globe.

To see the current Film of the Month, please visit www.aestheticamagazine.com

Further details of our partner organisation, Shooting People, can be found at www.shootingpeople.org
I hope you find a moment to check out this innovative new addition to the Aesthetica homepage: Pushkin is well worth a look!

Have a great week
Sam

Arts Against Guns Campaign

2009-03-12T13:08:00.004Z

Having read the paper yesterday with the utmost sadness, I have tried to reach some conclusion or understanding of how 25 people died yesterday from gun shots. 15 in Germany and 10 people in the United States.

When on earth are we going to learn that guns are bad? America has had a lot of gun crime, in fact it's the country in the world that experiences the most deaths due to guns each year, is it over 25,000?

I wonder, why people feel it's their right to own something, which can effectively take away another human life. Why would anyone want one - okay, I understand the whole hunting debate. In fact, my dad used to hunt. My mother still has his old guns in the house, but they haven't been used in at least 20 years, and there aren't any bullets. I guess my mother keeps them for more sentimental reasons.

And with gun crime rife in the UK, I feel like we need to take a stand, some type of action, to get guns out of people's hands and off the streets. Maybe an Arts Against Guns Campaign?

When atrocities occur like yesterday, it just doesn't make sense to me why anyone would want them around. Senseless. A tragic loss of human life.

What's your verdict on guns, then?

Cherie

Further career successes have been reported by the artists and writers published in the Aesthetica Creative Works Annual this week.

2009-02-27T10:57:00.000Z

Aesthetica’s 2008 Competition was judged by Cherie Federico, Creative Writing lecturer Dr Kate North, and journalist David Martin. Cherie Federico says: “Artists and writers around the world really made the Annual project so worthwhile by presenting us with some truly amazing works. It was wonderful to discover new artists and writers throughout the judging process but it proved to be a real deliberation for Kate, David and myself because of the quality and talent involved.”

The high standard of works published has continued to build the reputations of artists and writers around the world. “It’s great to see that we’ve made successful choices as a number of Borders stores have had to put in orders for replenished stocks because their copies of the 2009 Annual have sold out two months early. Meanwhile, we’ve been hearing some fantastic updates from the finalists from our 2008 competition, with a number of exhibitions and commissions arranged. I’m very excited to see how things go for 2009.”

Mark Wagstaff’s new novel, In Sparta, is due out from Matador in March. Details can be found
here

Helen Kaminsky will be featuring in Catch by the Eye, Save in the Heart in Covent Garden, London in June. For further details please visit the website

Natalie Scott’s success has been featured in the Middlesborough Gazette. Check out her comments on the Aesthetica Creative Works Competition here

With its second year in publication, the Aesthetica Annual Creative Works Competition is now well established for burgeoning talents around the world, and the perfect compliment to the bi-monthly Aesthetica Magazine.

Cherie is now looking ahead in anticipation to the new entries: “I can’t wait to get our 2009 Creative Works Competition up and rolling. I’ve always loved finding new writers and learning about new artists so the competition has been a real eye-opener. Furthermore our 2008 competition proved to be a major springboard for many of the finalists involved so I’m hoping to nurture some new careers in 2009.”

Fantastic News from the budding Artists and Writers featured in the 2009 Aesthetica Annual

2009-02-16T12:39:00.002Z

The 2009 Aesthetica Creative Works Annual is now available through Borders stores nationwide and from the Aesthetica website. The Annual showcases Artworks, short stories and poems from the very best entries to the 2008 Aesthetica Creative Works Competition and those artists and writers featured continue to go from strength to strength. It’s been fantastic to be involved in building the reputations of so many talented people.

I’ve heard some great feedback from numerous competition finalists over the past few weeks and it’s great to see so much success for Creative Works. Here are a few snippets of news on the finalists of the Aesthetica Creative Works Competition.

One of our youngest finalists, Ellen Hayward, still studying for her A Levels, has a piece on her in her local paper. Check it out here

Kate Rudkins has been commissioned by Channel 4 to make a three minute wonder – I’ll be sure to let you all know when to expect the screening and hopefully we can see their ratings soar!

Sonja Benskin Mesher has also had an article on her inclusion in the annual published in her local press, the Cambrian News. You can check out Sonja’s work at www.sonja-benskin-mesher.co.uk and at www.sonja-benskin-mesher.com

Meanwhile, Jennifer Claire has some of her work on display in a gallery in New York (I think! I’m awaiting confirmation), you can take a look at more of her work here

Maria Emilov is in the process of finalising a solo show in London towards the end of March. Again, I’ll let you know when the venue and dates are finalised if you’re in the area and would like to pop along.

Kristine Hughes has been congratulated by Glasgow Metropolitan College, you can read the article on Kristine’s publication here

Mark Wagstaff’s new novel, In Sparta, will be published by Matador (via Troubador Publishing) in March. You can check out further details here

Finally, some of our finalists have been fantastically pro-active and organised a group show at Goldsmiths University in London on 30 March. People who are finalised to be involved are Rod Vincent, Helen Kaminsky, Ewa Kazmierczak, Dorothy Schwartz, and Leslie Tate, as well as Aesthetica’s Campus Ambassador for Goldsmiths Matthew Allcock. I’ll certainly keep everyone in the loop with times and publicity for this, it looks to be shaping up to be a great event!

If you would like to check out the Creative Works from this talented bunch then why not pick up a copy of the Aesthetica Annual? The Annual is available from Borders and from the Aesthetica website. Or why not take advantage of our brilliant combination offer of an Annual subscription to Aesthetica Magazine PLUS a copy of the 2009 Aesthetica Annual for just £21 including UK postage?
http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/shop.htm

Anyway, that’s all for now, except to say that the 2009 Aesthetica Creative Works Competition is now open for entries. If you would like to see your work in print this year please find further details here http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/submission_guide.htm

New Issue!

2009-02-03T14:28:00.007Z

New Issue: Issue 27 (Feb/Mar) out today!
Really, this is one not to miss.

THE END OF POST-MODERNISM - Looking into Altermodern: the new strand of thought with Nicolas Bourriaud.
CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART – Beyond the Global Market.
ANGUS FAIRHURST – A retrospective of the quiet man of the YBAs
20 YEARS SINCE THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL - Mark Ravenhill and Ramin Gray personalise the political in theatre production, Over There.
Also featuring…

Nicolas Dickner, Clare Jay, Danny Moynihan, Roger Ballen, Official Secrets Act, Andrew Bird, Sergeant Buzfuz, Moscow Belgium, Bradford Film Festival and 10 Recommended Exhibitions. For more details visit www.aestheticamagazine.com

£3.90 per copy from WH Smith, Borders, UK university bookstores and direct from www.aestheticamagazine.com

How do you define yourself?

2009-01-23T13:18:00.004Z

It's a time of uncertainty fraught with change, and most of it out of our control. I think that's the most damning scenario of this economic situation.

However, based on my last blog, I do think that the arts can offer a variety of outlets and escapes from this doom and gloom. It's hard right now, I know it.

We have to stick it out, quitting whatever it is that you do or abandoning any dreams of ambitions is not an option. We need to work harder, stronger and faster.

As an artist or someone working in the arts, these times parody a different era a bygone age, something banished to the history books forever, until we got too greedy again. I really feel that in the past 15 years, globalisation has reached its pinnacle with a Pizza Hut and Starbucks on every corner of every street in particular the whole world. We're become a culture that has abandoned ourselves and each other.

There are so many gadgets and everything is disposable, that we're become a culture that is focused on the concept of upgrading everything. Nothing lasts for ever. We always want and we always want more. Where 50 years ago the church was important, it's been replaced by the high street. Yes, it's 50% the fault of the banks, but we are adults and we do have to take responsibility for our own spending. How many times have you used your credit card when you know that you shouldn't have or bought something that you didn't really need and then we got it home you didn't really want it?

As people working in the arts, it's time to look at where we were, where we are but most importantly, where are we going? The world is so small now with the Internet. It has really changed everything. See, I am the last generation of teenagers to grow up without the Internet. I got my first email account in 1997. I didn't even know how to log-in to hotmail. I sat at the computer for ages before I could figure out even how to get on a website. It was something so new and fresh. it was almost technical. It was hard to grasp, and now I live my life with it. It's a major part of how I communicate.

So, we were all happy in excess. It defined who we were as a culture. Money was no object. We just went to the cash machine. Things are clearly different now, with many unemployed and budgets stretched. It's a statement about our value system, actually, more of a critique.

It's a time to reflect on the dynamic relationship we have with objects. It makes me think of Walter Benjamin. Imagine what it must have been like the first time a camera took your picture. It was an image of a moment, something that had been and passed, but still existed. Two states of being.

History really does repeat itself. What do you think?