Monday 06 February 2012
And the sad news Mike Kelley passed away. I was lucky enough to have met him last year and wrote about him in my diary. http://www.zabludowiczcollection.com/collection/art-diary/2011/10/the-big-freeze-or-frieze
Then off to the East End with Lizzie. I saw for the first time one of Andy Holden’s Multi finish plaster works called Tender at 17.
Then it was to Arcade where we saw this lovely work by Caroline Achaintre called Tie Man.
Was a lovely visit to Supplement, where Steve Bishop was there to show us his new mercury works and a load of rubbish behind a see-through door.
Dropped into Cell Project Space where Laura Buckley’s walk-in installation was showing. It was spectacular, like an inverted kaleidoscope. Very jealous of the new owner of this work. Heard he does not like video??
Cathy Wills had curated a fabulous show at Chelsea Arts and here she stands in front of Ian Skedd’s Double Self Portait in the Garden
And here with her lovely daughter Annabelle in front of the work of David A Smith.
I liked the work of Ula Darjeling. She stands in front of her art work which is an infrared heater.
A lovely video work at the Approach by Erin Shirreff showing the Rockefeller Centre.
And finally, here's a dispatch from Finland: the Matthew Day Jackson installation is coming along amazingly....and mysteriously!
Monday 06 February 2012
Last week I promised to announce the winners of our Curatorial Open...
Troubling Space is a proposal by Helga Just Christoffersen and Natasha Marie Llorens, which the judges selected from our four finalists with the help of Skype. It was a very tense four hours all the proposals were good but Troubling Space was shining through.
Tuesday 31 January 2012
It's been an exciting few weeks...
David Hockney show at the Royal Academy is an explosion of colour filling the senses with good feeling.
The iPad drawings were printed out to give the impression they were real paintings.
Small detail of painting.
The Samsung Art Prize was full of surprises. We met Doug Fishbone and Karen Russo with their new little girl.
My favourite works were Lucky PDF in Frieze who showcased Hannah Perry and Ron Kovet interviewing Tiny Iron and Rage who were out of control in the art Fair all over the place and in front of the KAWS.
Then it was: Fly to Baku Contemporary art from Azerbaijan. To my surprise the work was not too Shabby. Artist called Mirnadir Zeynalov in front of White Absheron.
Went to a lovely dinner hosted by Sadie Coles for the Master painter Avner Ben-Gal.
The winner out there though is Toby Ziegler. The show at Simon Lee is perfection. We all had a lovely dinner in his studio and we are so looking forward to Toby’s installation in Finland.
Future Map is a huge success with umpteen visitors and a fantastic window advertising us all in Selfridges Window. Meanwhile I head to very cold Finland and check out Mathew Day Jackson’s commission which is very creepy.
Then Back home to London where Reza Aramesh is presenting Centrefold 8. I have been collecting these books for eight years.
Monday was judging the Curatorial prize, Ellen, Lizzie and I alongside Martin Herbert, Chris Dercon, Tate Modern Director and Maria Lind Director of Tensta Konstall. Watch this space for the announcement of the winners next Monday!