Journal

Artist spotlights, reviews, insights, and art world news from our team.

17July201930th August 2023

Dreams, Fantasies, Nightmares: Raqib Shaw, Lu Song and Kenny Scharf

The narratives of dreams and nightmares have long been represented in art. Whether biblical, fantasies of folklore or fictionalised, artists have for centuries depicted surreal visions. Recent works by the three artists Raqib Shaw, Lu Song and Kenny Scharf all provide interpretation of dreamscapes that linger in your mind long after your first encounter with them. Dreamscapes Raqib Shaw’s large canvases are as beautiful as they can be overwhelming. His iridescent works represent imagined landscapes in meticulous detail. Self-Portrait in Kashmir Landscape draws the viewer into a cascading view of a landscape, presumably Kashmir in its titular reference. Born in...

This Week in the Art World: Shifts in Beijing’s art scene, a conclusion to Pace’s lawsuit, important acquisitions by the Smithsonian and more [15th July 2019]

15July201930th August 2023

Columns, Exhibitions, JournalBy Artvisor

This Week in the Art World: Shifts in Beijing’s art scene, a conclusion to Pace’s lawsuit, important acquisitions by the Smithsonian and more [15th July 2019]

The excitement surrounding the high-octane sporting events over the weekend was palpable here in London at Artvisor’s headquarters. Here’s what you might have missed during the weekend, plus the latest breaking art world news to start off your week. The end of last week saw a major shift in the Beijing art scene, with the announcement of the closure of Pace Beijing Gallery. Citing the US-China trade war, restrictions on flows of money and high import and sales taxes, Arne Glimcher, founder of Pace, did not hesitate to make fiery indictments of the Chinese art market. [via South China Morning...

This Week in the Artworld: 8th July 2019

08July201930th August 2023

Columns, JournalBy Artvisor

This Week in the Artworld: 8th July 2019

Welcome to Artvisor’s This Week in the Artworld, a new weekly journal entry where we discuss the latest art world happenings. Last week saw some turbulent reactions following France’s retreat from their controversial Savoy-Sarr report. The policy had recommended the automatic restitution of looted African artefacts and had been held up as an exemplar for other countries. [via The Art Newspaper] The collector and adviser Olyvia Kwok has launched her private selling events, held in New York and London. Under the name “Olyvia’s soirées”, Kwok’s company Willstone Management will provide buyers loans of up to 50% of the value of...

London’s Contemporary Art Auctions June 2019: Spotlight on Her

02July201930th August 2023

Exhibitions, JournalBy Artvisor

London’s Contemporary Art Auctions June 2019: Spotlight on Her

Last week’s Contemporary Art sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips saw established names achieving stellar results. William Kentridge’s The Pool set a record for a work on paper at the hammer price £447,000 at Sotheby’s on Wednesday. At Christie’s the day before, Gerhard Richter’s Musa (2009) achieved £1,031,250, a world record for a tapestry by the artist. But the fact remains: women – specifically black and African artists – are taking the lead when it comes to contemporary art market momentum. Most notable among them is Tschabalala Self whose work Out of Body (2015, pictured in header) broke the artist’s...

Organic humanity in the 21st Century: Nicholas Johnson & Rory Menage

28June201930th August 2023

Exhibitions, JournalBy Artvisor

Organic humanity in the 21st Century: Nicholas Johnson & Rory Menage

In our world of the digital and the concrete, the sight of high-rises and fluorescent screens have left us thirsty for green space as well as headspace. By returning to the dynamic forms of nature and humanity, British artists Nicholas Johnson and Rory Menage offer us reprieve from the monotony of technological precision. Fantasies of tropicalia A nod to his Hawaiian birthplace, Johnson’s canvases are a riotous arrangement of botanies both invented and real. The vegetation in Foliate Suspension (2019), represented in a gentle palette of greens, blues and pinks, reminds us of the botanical illustrations found in encyclopaedic texts....

29May201928th August 2021

ExhibitionsBy Artvisor

Contemporary Art Trends 2019

Tumultuous global relations, the consolidation of the technological revolution and an ever-louder call for populist ideologies have guaranteed 2019 to significantly develop from the status quo of 2018. Whilst artists and institutions are being urged to reflect on and contribute to the current socio-political zeitgeist, the question remains: how is the contemporary art world responding? The divisive arena of identity politics 2018’s #MeToo movement, as well as debates in the US regarding abortions and women’s rights, have resulted in magnified attention towards the inequalities of our modern society. The confusion of Brexit, the global immigration crisis and incidents such as...

Changing History: Chile at the Venice Biennale 2019

22May201930th August 2023

Exhibitions, JournalBy Artvisor

Changing History: Chile at the Venice Biennale 2019

Amidst the turbulence presented at the 58th Venice Biennale, Chile’s pavilion is a fitting (anti)monument to the hegemonic power structures that have distorted the historical canon. Much in line with Ralph Rugoff’s questioning of truth in his centrepiece show, Altered Views, curated by the Spanish Agustín Pérez Rubio, presents Chilean artist Voluspa Jarpa’s three-part exploration and destabilisation of the Eurocentric canon. A meticulously executed research project, Jarpa tackles the thorny space of the archive in an attempt to question historical perception, so often focused on the European, heterosexual, male experience. More broadly speaking, critical re-assessments of colonialism’s global heritage have...

20May201930th August 2023

Advisory, Columns, Exhibitions, JournalBy Artvisor

Our Venice Biennale Highlights

Two weeks ago, the jet set of the contemporary art world continued their breakneck pace around this year’s circuit of must-see/must-be-seen-at-events with the preview of the 2019 Venice Biennale, titled “May You Live in Interesting Times”. It seems as though the whirlwind of Frieze New York is in the distant past. The crowds were heavy during the preview with Artvisor’s team in attendance. That said, the buzz was that many collectors, particularly those from the US, have decided to come to Venice en route to Art Basel, which takes place in mid-June. Now that we’ve had some days to catch...

Artvisor’s Frieze New York 2019 Highlights

04May201930th August 2023

Advisory, Columns, Exhibitions, JournalBy Artvisor

Artvisor’s Frieze New York 2019 Highlights

The first days of Frieze New York delivered solid sales and excitement, leaving the heat issues experienced in last year’s tent a distant memory. Artvisor’s very own Nico Epstein is currently working at Frieze as part of their VIP bespoke services and gave us a quick guide to the highlights of the fair’s eighth edition… Spot the artist! Many of the artists whose works were on display came to show support of their galleries. Though the influential conceptual artist John Baldessari once famously quipped that being at an art fair was like watching your parents have sex, it seems that...

Gian Maria Tosatti at the A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town

29April201931st August 2023

Exhibitions, JournalBy Artvisor

Gian Maria Tosatti at the A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town

A door opens into a dim hallway, and the faint sounds of a television filter through, like the memory of a childhood homecoming. But the voice remains muffled, trapped behind a frosted screen, even in the mirrors we try and catch a glance of ourselves in. This is My hart is so leeg soos ‘n spieël, the third “episode” in Gian Maria Tosatti’s ongoing project ‘My Heart is a Void, the Void is a Mirror’, currently on show in Cape Town. Referencing the controversial Louis-Ferdinand Céline’s ‘Exile’ trilogy, Tosatti situates each visual instalment in conversation with a city, providing a...

25March201930th July 2025

Advisory, Artvisor Projects, Columns, Exhibitions, JournalBy Nico Epstein

Nico’s Art Basel Hong Kong Preview

“Basel Basel”? Too much blue chip art being dealt at the Hotel Les Trois Rois and not enough fun. Basel Miami? Too much partying and not enough business. Art Basel Hong Kong? Jussst right. Hong Kong is one of those cities where a five/six day span is just the right amount of time. There is the tropical heat, the humidity and the clustered gallery scene. I can get in and get out without feeling like I’ve missed something. Returning for my third visit over the past year, I finally have a sense of what I’m doing in the city… along...

Getting Ready for the 2nd Edition of 1-54 Marrakech

22February20191st September 2023

Exhibitions, JournalBy Artvisor

Getting Ready for the 2nd Edition of 1-54 Marrakech

The 54 countries of Africa are joining together once again at the luxury hotel La Mamounia for the second edition of 1-54 Marrakech. With 18 international galleries and over 64 emerging and established artists, 1-54 is back in town for an exciting program of events in collaboration with local institutions across the city. Iterations of the fair are held in Marrakech, London (in October) and New York (in May) every year. The Marrakech edition will have an invite-only preview from February 21 – 22 and will open to the general public from Feb 23 – 24. At the helm of...