Jewelry Designer Nadine Kanso’s Art Collection Celebrates Arab Art https://ift.tt/t7Tgzav

On a sunny day in Dubai’s popular beachside neighborhood of Jumeirah, Artsy is here to meet Nadine Kanso. A native of Lebanon, Kanso has made a name for herself in Dubai thanks to her high-end jewelry company, Bil Arabi (meaning “In Arabic”), which celebrates the Arabic language, scripture, and identity.

Much like her own vision of crafting wearable statement pieces that render beloved Arabic words, Kanso’s art collection—be it at home or in her trendy office in the bustling Dubai Design District—is a thoughtful reflection of Arab creativity that spans across generations.

Kanso has lived with her family in a two-story villa for more than two decades, filling it with stacks of coffee table books, knickknacks acquired from travels, and, of course, a large variety of art. Her collection spans an eclectic range from contemporary to modern, Arabic to Western, and it explores themes both vibrant and solemn. A striking visual aspect of Kanso’s living and dining rooms is her bold and groovy choice of wall color—dark purple and green. On these walls hang maximalist clusters of artworks, which include paintings, photographs, and prints. Kanso, who is also a photographer, doesn’t go by rules when hanging her artworks, but rather by intuition, where not everything has to match.

“I think it’s a matter of taste and how I see things. It’s an organized chaos.…If something is beautiful, why not display and enjoy it?” she said of her buzzing layout of objects. “There are certain things that you can’t really explain: why you put stuff on the table like this, or why you decorate your house like that, or why you buy this kind of art. Visually, it needs to make sense to me and I need to relate to it and love it. It needs to talk to me.”

Kanso owns approximately 100 artworks but, notably, doesn’t consider herself an art collector. She has a particular soft spot for Arab artists, whether hailing from Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, or Egypt. “I always believed that if we do not support our own artists, and make them get to higher places, then who would?” she told Artsy, donned in a casual chic pairing of jeans and a Gucci t-shirt. “Everyone else does that. Why not us? The least we can do is support this industry. This is how you make artists stronger.”

Kanso started buying artworks more than two decades ago, initially by regional artists such as Samir Sayegh and Mohammed El Rawas, notably delving into figurative art. In Kanso’s living room are French painter Françoise Nielly’s Untitled, Emirati artist Nasir Nasrallah’s Untitled, and Lebanese artist Mohammad El Rawas’s One of a Kind. There is also an intriguing portrait, Jamal El Din Al Afghani, by the pioneering Egyptian Armenian artist Chant Avedissian, who produced a stenciled image of Jamal El Din Afghani, a 19th-century Islamic reformist. Elsewhere hangs a lively painting of a Ferris wheel, Untitled, by the first-generation Emirati artist Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, who represented the U.A.E. at the Venice Biennale in 2022. The work was a gift for Kanso’s 50th birthday.

Another master in the group is the veteran artist Hussein Madi, dubbed the “Lebanese Picasso,” who died earlier this year. Hung in Kanso’s home is the artist’s work Lying Lady with the Pillow (1999). “I had met him years back and I have a copy of his book that he signed for me at the time,” Kanso said. “He was a special character, who was very outspoken.” A duo of eye-catching Arabic calligraphic images by the Lebanese artist Samir Sayegh, who was born in 1945, are also present. Kanso is a discerning fan of calligraphy, she noted.

“Calligraphy is my passion in life, but I’m very particular about it,” she explained. “It needs to be strong like this. I don’t like it to be classic calligraphy that you do in swirls. I mean, it’s beautiful and hard to do, so I appreciate it. Sayegh’s work is more thought-out, with an element of typography, not only calligraphy.”

As for the dining area, decorated with vintage radios and elegant candlestick holders, a standout in the room is a large portrait Malika (2022) by Spanish artist Angeles Agrela, who is known for portraying women in flashy colors and flamboyant hairstyles. "At the time, I didn’t know much about the artist, but I fell in love with the work,” she said.

Some of Kanso’s artworks also have a political edge. Among them is a poignant black-and-white photography piece by the Iranian artist Reza Aramesh, one of the first artists she bought art from. Entitled Action 65 (2009), the artist juxtaposes two contradictory images: Egyptian prisoners captured by Israeli troops in 1967 huddled together against an opulent setting. “It’s about all that contrast of our lives,” she remarked. Palestinian artists, such as Rula Halawani, Samia Halaby, Larissa Sansour, and Hazem Harb, are also brought up by Kanso while touring her home. “Palestine has been a big part of our lives as Arabs,” she said.

As a longtime Dubai resident, Kanso has befriended gallerists and artists over the years. “I usually like to get to know the artist, not because I’m buying their art, but I like how they think and the stories behind their art,” she said. Some of her favorite galleries in the city are Ayyam Gallery, The Third Line, Lawrie Shabibi, and Gallery Isabelle.

Visiting Art Dubai, the U.A.E.’s premier annual art fair, is a must, too. In fact, at this year’s edition of Art Dubai, Kanso loaned one of her artworks—a red pillow-like sculptural piece, Expand (2018), by Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou—to an on-site exhibition at the fair, organized by The Dubai Collection. “I was invited to talk on a panel with much bigger collectors, and I was the only woman,” she recalled. “I did not realize this until I sat down in my chair. But still, having my piece in that collection was a proud moment, actually.”

Indeed, as Kanso continues to discover new artists and artworks, the aim of her collection remains the same as it was two decades ago. “It is about being able to access beauty on a daily basis in the environment you are in,” she said. “You surround yourself with works that resonate with you, and tell you a story that means something to you, evoking feelings of happiness, memory, and nostalgia at times.”

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Auction House Leaders on Their 2024 Reflections and 2025 Predictions https://ift.tt/hOoDEk5

Cyberattacks, blockbuster lawsuits, bananas—there’s no question that 2024 has been an eventful year in the auction market.

At the top end, total prices for the 100 most expensive lots sold at auction in 2024 totaled just under $1.8 billion, compared to $2.4 billion in 2023 and $4.1 billion in 2022. Key sales seasons this year have also offered an uneven picture: Most recently, New York’s marquee sales week in November yielded a total of $1.3 billion at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips—a 40% decrease from the year before.

But these top-line figures conceal a more nuanced picture of what’s selling at auction houses more broadly. According to Artprice, for instance, lots that sold for less than $10,000 were the fastest-growing segment of the auction market in the first half of the year, representing 91% of art offered at auction worldwide. This marks an increase from 89% two years ago or an additional 30,000 artworks.

Despite the doomsayers, 2024 was still a year of standout lots, strong artist records, and significant sales. As 2025 approaches, auction houses—like the art market more broadly—have reasons to feel optimistic, with a more hopeful economic environment chief among the reasons.

Here, senior figures from Sotheby’s, Heritage Auctions, and Bonhams share their reflections on 2024 and look to the market in 2025.

Helena Newman

Executive vice president and worldwide head of Impressionist and modern art, Sotheby’s

What are your general views on the auction market in 2024?

What we saw in 2024 reflected the continuing demand for quality, fresh-to-the-market artworks that are well-priced, with blue-chip artists regaining their foothold.

There were some fantastic collections offered, from that of Sydell Miller in New York to Ralph I. Goldenberg in London. There were also some unexpected moments that brought real excitement to the general public of art lovers, from the record-breaking dinosaur selling for $44.6 million to Maurizio Cattelan’s unmissable Comedian (2019).

It was a year of two significant anniversaries in my field in particular: the 100th anniversary of the Surrealist manifesto and the 150th anniversary of Impressionism, with exhibitions [about both movements] all over the world.

In this context, it was fitting for us to be able to celebrate that with the top lot of the year at Sotheby’s: a beautiful Claude Monet water lilies [painting]. It saw demand from four different bidders, selling to an Asian collector for $65.5 million—a perfect reflection of the demand from that region for iconic works of Impressionist art. It was also particularly fitting that the artwork that achieved this price was a later, large-format work that was created towards the end of his life, showcasing the growing appetite for the more abstract works in his oeuvre. With Surrealism, there was no better way to celebrate the opening of our landmark new premises in Paris, than with a white glove 100% sold sale of Surrealist art, led by gorgeous pieces by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Kay Sage, Joan Mir, and Man Ray.

Complementing our auction business, we have once again seen strength in private sales, where we are on track for one of our best years. There has been a steady flow of private sale transactions throughout the year and through all our locations, not just with traditional brokered deals, but also the extensive selling exhibitions that we have mounted. There is a great synergy between private sales and auctions, more so than ever.

Our last evening auction of the year, earlier this month in London, saw a rediscovered early Sandro Botticelli chased by nine bidders—with my colleagues from across the company racing to put in bids for their clients.

From the Monet taking the crown for the year, to the Botticelli showcasing the depth of cross-category bidding, it was the year for masterworks.

What are your expectations for the auction market in 2025?

With the recent results confirming continued momentum in the art market, and the growing appetite for blue-chip works, my outlook going into the new year is a positive one.

In the marquee sales in New York in November, we saw increased competitive bidding on a lot-by-lot basis, and that is something that will no doubt encourage auction consignments and should in turn lead to even more quality material coming to the fore.

It is all about the supply, and the conversations are already starting now for next year’s pipeline, which leads me to feel optimistic—and excited—about the offerings we might be bringing to the market.

India Phillips

Managing director, Bonhams

What are your general views on the auction market in 2024?

This year it’s been a selective market. There have been geopolitical factors at play: We have had elections this year, including in the U.S. and U.K. Now that that is done and dusted, it seems as if stability will breed more confidence from both buyers and sellers.

As always, provenance and quality remain key factors. Best-in-class objects have sold and sold well above estimate. A recent example is a sensational pair of paintings by Johann Joseph Zoffany that we offered in our Old Master paintings sale in December that sold for £991,000 ($1.26 million) against an estimate of £300,000–£500,000 ($380,957–$634,929).

The other successful trend this year is items belonging to celebrities and film memorabilia. This year, Bonhams had a number of white glove sales in this category including props from The Crown, the Rory Gallagher collection of guitars, as well as the estates of Senator Dianne Feinstein, and rock star Tom Petty.

What are your expectations for the auction market in 2025?

Spring season will be stronger. We have already seen an uptick in inquiries about consignment.

What themes in the market in 2025 will you be keeping an eye on?

We’re going to see a continued interest in provenance and celebrity sales. Clients from the Middle East will continue to become more prominent in the top end of the market, and areas such as South Asian art, Surrealist, and modern British art will continue to grow.

Steve Ivy and Jim Halperin

Co-chairmen, Heritage Auctions

What are your general views on the auction market in 2024?

There was a pullback at the highest end of the fine art market, as seen elsewhere. But in our experience and estimation, the auction market—particularly the collectibles market—continues to thrive.

At Heritage, 2024 was our best year ever—the fourth in a row—with sales approaching $2 billion and nearly every one of our 50 categories experiencing increases. This year alone, Heritage set numerous significant auction records. These included but were not limited to the $32.5 million [Wizard of Oz] ruby slippers; the $24.12 million Babe Ruth “Called Shot” jersey; and the $6 million Action Comics No. 1, which was responsible for the most successful Hollywood, entertainment, and sports auctions ever held.

What are your expectations for the auction market in 2025?

If the economy continues to improve, we expect the auction market to continue the growth that Heritage, at least, has experienced in recent years.

We are very bullish: In 2024, we opened offices in Munich and Tokyo while significantly expanding our presence in West Palm Beach. Next year, we expect to open offices in Montreal and possibly several other cities. We also expect to expand our workforce by 10–12% with the anticipated increase in business, particularly top experts in all collectibles and fine art categories with significant successful experience in the auction world.

What themes in the market in 2025 will you be keeping an eye on?

The continuing trend of internet bidding, especially on mobile, and clients’ confidence in conducting auction business online. Otherwise, we anticipate a steady increase in some categories and substantial growth in others.

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5 Tips for Installing Street Art in Your Home https://ift.tt/Kh2CUBJ

Street art is a term that encompasses a wide-ranging and dynamic set of artworks, from the paintings of Richard Hambleton to the hyperrealistic sculptures of Mark Jenkins. Inspired by graffiti, and—as its title suggests—visual expressions on the street, the peculiarities of street art can also make it a challenge for collectors to display and arrange works in their homes.

Whether it’s finding a visual flow that feels cohesive with your interiors, or optimizing how works are displayed, this article taps experts for five key tips on how to find the perfect balance when it comes to arranging your street art collection.

1. To frame or not to frame?

Street art works sometimes contain distinct characteristics and materials that can influence how they are displayed. This is particularly important when it comes to framing. Some works, such as those by Swoon, have a particularly raw aesthetic that may not suit conventional framing techniques. At the same time, it’s also important to consider how you will protect your piece from damage.

“When the medium or support is fragile—such as a paper-based work, which is far more delicate than a canvas—framing can protect it over time from various factors, including temperature fluctuations that can be harmful,” said Lionel Simon from Paris’s NextStreet Gallery. “This is especially true if the support is very thin.”

Additionally, framing can protect from light and UV rays, which put an artwork at risk without proper framing. It’s important to remember that framing is a way to enhance a work’s intrinsic qualities and that considering the artist’s vision and intentions—as inspired by the street—could inform some of your decisions. “The raw and unrefined character of a work might be undermined by the application of a frame,” Simon suggested.

2. Don’t limit your display by genre

Street art can often be unfairly categorized as distinct from other fine art genres. Many studio-based works by artists who are influenced by graffiti and their history of working on the street have a distinct identity that can often be more closely aligned with other forms of figurative and abstract artworks.

“Just because an artist grew up working on the streets in their teens doesn’t necessarily reflect the nature of their work in the studio, and so this distinct quality of studio work should be taken into consideration when a collector is hanging work to be embraced alongside other fine art genres,” said Roger Gastman from L.A.’s Beyond the Streets.

When hanging your works, however, be sympathetic to the unmistakable character of each piece. This is particularly important with street art, where works are often charged with meaning. “Street art often carries cultural, political, or social messages rooted in its urban origins, and so, respecting this context preserves the integrity, cultural significance, and meaning of the work,” said Lauren Barker from London’s Woodbury House. “Display choices should align with the artist’s vision.”

3. Mind the flow

Rope Pulling Soldier Rat, 2024
Blek le Rat
Woodbury House

If you are looking to create a sense of flow when hanging your street-inspired collection in the home, focusing on key themes and balancing different styles and sizes are important considerations. “Consider grouping different genres within the wider street art category to represent them throughout your home,” said Barker.

If, for instance, you have works by the stencil-graffiti artist Blek le Rat, she advises grouping them in one space to showcase this genre in a coherent way: “Different areas can thus be dedicated to different styles, such as traditional graffiti or works from artists,” she suggested. Ensuring that your display has uniform hanging heights will establish its overall cohesiveness, and is another way to create an even sense of flow.

4. Think about lighting

Unlike in a gallery, where the purpose of lighting is to serve the artwork, crafting the lighting for a domestic setting is a balancing act between shaping how your collection is perceived and creating the right atmosphere for your living space.

NextStreet’s Simon advises using multiple directional lights to “highlight every aspect of the surface,” given the three-dimensional nature of some street art works by the likes of Isaac Cordal. “It’s also essential to prioritize bulbs with a color temperature that ensures an accurate rendering without distorting the colors,” he added.

To ensure that lighting is sympathetic to the environment, Simon pointed out that “ambient lighting should be accessorized as much as possible to complement the overall setup.”

5. Let your artwork breathe

Above all else, your home is a living space before being a gallery, and so it’s not necessary to aim for a perfect “white cube” result when hanging your collection, experts say.

“Treat it as you would with anything in your home,” said Gastman of Beyond the Streets. “But make sure to respect the artist’s intentions when you are hanging a work. Continue to be inspired, and let the artworks breathe.”

This can be an especially important factor for street art, given the “vast diversity of mediums used,” said Simon. For example, JR’s photographic works and use of photomontage or Ernest Pignon-Ernest’s dramatic charcoal drawings have an entirely different character to Keith Haring’s brightly colored and playful “Pop Shops” prints.

Whether you prefer a more minimalist look or a maximalist presentation of your collection, it’s important to not let your collection be overwhelmed by its surroundings. Periodically rotating pieces to keep the display fresh can also highlight different works over time.

But, Simon also pointed out, “don’t hesitate to play with contrasts: a piece with a rich, vibrant palette will reveal its full potential next to a monochromatic, highly graphic work, and vice versa.”

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Takashi Murakami and Louis Vuitton to launch new collab collection for January 2025. https://ift.tt/RzJQdpA

Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and fashion brand Louis Vuitton are set to release a new collection of fashion goods in January 2025, more than 20 years after their first collaboration. The new collection will be released in two installments. The first selection will debut globally on January 1, 2025, featuring new versions of the original collaboration enhanced by modern digital technology. This will be followed by a second product launch in March 2025.

The extensive collection includes leather goods, footwear, and other accessories, each adorned with Murakami’s world-renowned floral motifs and vivid colors. A standout feature of the collection is the Monogram Multicolore pattern, which reinterprets the classic LV logo in a palette of 33 colors, with either a white or black background adorning the accessories. This new pattern, though similar to designs from the previous collab, was created using advanced printing techniques that offer sharper detail and richer colors than the original collection.

Murakami’s famed “Superflat Panda” character will also be featured on several new bags, wallets, and necklaces. These products will be accompanied by a selection of perfumes decorated with Murakami’s “Superflat Garden” and other designs. The second collection in the collaboration will launch March 2025, featuring Murakami’s “Cherry Blossom” pattern.

Louis Vuitton and Murakami first collaborated in 2003, when the fashion company’s then artistic director, Marc Jacobs, facilitated the partnership for that year’s spring/summer collection. At the time, it was one of the most high-profile collaborations between a fashion brand and visual artist. Much like the upcoming collection, it featured the Louis Vuitton logo in a colorful rainbow palette, as well as accessories adorned with Murakami’s anime-inspired characters.

It’s not Murakami’s only recent involvement in the fashion world. In November, the artist also launched a shoe collection called Ohana Hatake, an independent footwear brand led by the artist in collaboration with footwear company VIOLET ST.

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The Artists on Our Radar in 2024 https://ift.tt/tQfjZbB

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How Surrealist Women Artists Took a Radical Approach to Family Dynamics https://ift.tt/xHlRpuq

One hundred years since the Surrealist movement began, its themes remain searingly relevant. This year, a major touring exhibition led by the Centre Pompidou has captured the enduring and more popular subjects of Surrealism, such as dreams and psychoanalysis. Other exhibitions have homed in on the individual offerings of the movement’s famous names, such as “Man Ray Liberating Photography” at the Photo Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland; or “Dalí: Disruption and Devotion” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. However, there are many lesser known themes in the Surrealists’ works, such as family, with many works exploring this subject made by women artists.

In new exhibitions at the U.K.’s Henry Moore Institute and Hepworth Wakefield, the lesser discussed theme of family and generational trauma comes into focus. Some featured artists grapple with their parents’ role in World War II, while others address the oppression of women within the traditional family home. Ultimately, Surrealism gave women artists a way to explore the complex, entangled nature of the family unit and broader political and social constructions. André Breton, the founder of Surrealism, saw the family as one of several repressive structures that needed to be dismantled, writing in his 1924 manifesto for the movement: “Everything remains to be done, every means must be worth trying, in order to pay waste to the ideas of family, country, religion.”

Surrealism was an innovative, unorthodox movement that enabled artists to throw off many constrictive ideals that find shape and form in the traditional family. For many women, Surrealism enabled a powerful reckoning with the past, and a reassertion of female life in the post-war world whose value stretches far beyond the family home.These artists, especially those coming to prominence after World War II, witnessed how the family unit was used as a propaganda tool for Nazi recruitment, and a structure relentlessly pulled apart for those oppressed by the regime.

“The Traumatic Surreal,” on view through March 16, 2025, at the Henry Moore Institute, focuses entirely on German, Swiss, Austrian, and Luxembourgish women artists from the post-war generation, such as Renate Bertlmann, Pipilotti Rist, and Ursula. Inspired by co-curator Patricia Allmer’s 2022 book of the same name, the show explores how the shadow of World War II, and the first wave of Surrealists from the 1920s and ’30s, shaped the artists who came after. Some of these artists can be seen working through their own family’s war experiences, and the ensuing pride, fear, or shame that ensued. As such, their works are flooded with nightmarish and escapist references: Metal cages abound, situated among spikes protruding proudly from breasts and an abundance of animal fur and feathers.

“I think all the artworks are significant in different ways in their registering of the effects of personal, family, and historical trauma,” Allmer said. “Surrealism’s interest in the unconscious, dreams, and the psychic life makes it ideal as a register of these generational traumas, which are often only perceivable indirectly and certainly only experienced at a distance by post-war generations of artists.”

Méret Oppenheim takes a central place in the exhibition, as one of the early adopters of Surrealism. Her work is influenced by her own family’s experiences during World War II. A German-born artist of Jewish heritage, she fled to Switzerland with her family at the outbreak of the conflict and was said to have fallen into a depression and creative block that lasted for over a decade after the war ended. The artist destroyed much of the work that she made in this period. This was not the first time that state violence impacted her family; shortly after she was born, her father was conscripted into the army to fight in World War I, and she moved to Switzerland with her mother to live with her grandparents.

Her whimsical sculptures have a sinister edge, reflecting her own experiences of familial displacement and oppression during the war. Many of Oppenheim’s works are full of contradictions, highlighting the hypocrisies of post-war societies that attempted to regroup in the proceeding years. Her Squirrel (1969) sits at the entrance to the exhibition, a miniature piece consisting of a beer mug with an upright fluffy tail attached. The brutality of this soft, tactile object is implicit: It has been chopped clean off the squirrel’s body. Both the mug and squirrel have been “spoiled” in some way, perhaps revealing Oppenheim’s feeling towards the family unit and broader societal structures in the post-war years.

Birgit Jürgenssen was born in 1949, and it was only later in life that she discovered her family’s complicity in the Nazi regime. Artmaking was discouraged by her parents, and her feminist, avant-garde pieces process her own family history and are a wider critique of the fascist regime. In the decades after the war, her work reflected the repressed legacy of Hitler’s Europe, acknowledging that covert support and its connected beliefs were still woven through the collective consciousness.

Jürgenssen often placed household items in compositions that have an unnerving impact. In Caught Happiness (1982), she utilizes cages and aggressive cogs, all painted gold; Untitled (Dog) (1972) is a small sculpture showing soft guts spilling from a ceramic hound, as though its dark inner world is falling from its neatly packed external form. Meanwhile, Untitled (Zipfel) (1967) presents a mass of soft textiles taking on a gut-like shape, squeezed tightly into a bell jar. Her pieces address the long-term impact of fascist ideology through the roles and restrictions placed on Austrian women, in the home and beyond. The domestic realm of the family, in Jürgenssen’s work, is shown to be tainted.

Similarly, filmmaker and artist Bady Minck’s family were part of the resistance during World War II, two decades before she was born. Her work continued this activism, using Surrealism as a tool to resist fascist tendencies within the culture through a feminist lens. She is one of the more contemporary artists in the exhibition, with her 2005 stop-motion piece Beauty Is the Beast depicting the body overrun with fur in an act that is both chilling and seductive. The most famous shot from the work features a protruding tongue covered in gray fluff. The idea of metamorphosis is central to this work, which subverts the gendered sexualization of women’s mouths and challenges the strict gender distinctions of the Nazi ideology.

At the Hepworth Wakefield show, on Surrealists’ use of landscapes, the claustrophobia and sometimes malicious undercurrents of the family structure is visualized in heady ways. Edith Rimmington’s Family Tree (1938) is a combination of photomontage and painting, which contrasts a giant, heavy chain with the freedom of the sea around it. A snake slithers out from underneath the metal structure. The work is ambiguous, with the chain providing two possible readings on family: an unbreakable and solid structure that links one generation to the next, or a restrictive and oppressive form that demands uniformity and obedience—especially from its women. The serpent, which could be missed on first glance, is a symbol of the Christian beginnings of family in the Garden of Eden, and as a poisoning, destructive force.

Also included is Maria Berrío’s Solstagia (2024). Her works focus on families that are displaced or torn apart, and often feature women and young people. She was originally inspired to make them following headlines about the Trump administration separating mothers and children at the U.S.–Mexico border. Here, the idea of home is central, as the work’s heroine finds her own land unfamiliar due to environmental change. The work depicts a woman moving through a post-apocalyptic landscape as her psyche breaks down, without family and utterly alone in a strange place.

Of course, as galleries look back on 100 years of Surrealism, the generations of artists themselves can be seen to impact those who come after. There is a sense of family-like development seen through these generations of Surrealists, as ideas evolve and communion happens across decades. “The intergenerational responses between the artists in the exhibition show correspondences and resonances and an ongoing dialogue between their works,” said Allmer. “The Surrealist procedures and techniques that were developed by the first generation are available for later artists to employ in approaching their own experiences of trauma.”

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Zilia Sánchez, painter who worked with erotic abstraction, dies at 98. https://ift.tt/stHXx5w

Cuban artist Zilia Sánchez, known for her multidimensional paintings that challenge Minimalism with abstract, erotic forms, has died at the age 98. Her death was confirmed by the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico and Galerie Lelong & Co., which has represented the artist since 2013.

Sánchez’s work, characterized by canvases that bulge outward, was distinct within the Minimalist style of her era, asserting a bodily presence in her work. Her work Lunar (1980) was featured prominently in this year’s Venice Biennale exhibition, the second time she participated in the preeminent biennial, and one of many queer, older artists included. Sánchez’s latest solo exhibition, “Topologías / Topologies,” was displayed at the ICA Miami from April 20th to October 13th. It is scheduled to travel to the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico in San Juan in spring 2025.

Born in Havana in 1926, Sánchez was introduced to art by her father, along with her childhood neighbor, Cuban artist Victor Manuel. She studied the arts at Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro, which she graduated from in 1947. Throughout the 1950s, Sánchez gained significant recognition for her early abstract paintings. She presented her first solo exhibition at the Havana Lyceum in 1953. The artist then represented Cuba in the Bienal de México in 1958 and the Bienal de São Paulo in 1959.

Shortly after the Cuban Revolution, Sánchez decided to live abroad, moving to New York in 1962. There, she worked as an illustrator, supporting her studies in printmaking at Pratt Institute. She spent about 10 years in the city, where her work adopted characteristics of the Minimalist movement, such as smoother canvases, and a greyscale palette. Her dimensional works were created by stretching the canvases over hand-crafted wooden sculptures. These works, unlike those of her contemporaries, explored the female form in works that became known as “Erotic Topologies.”

Sánchez relocated to Puerto Rico in 1971. During her time there, the artist scaled up her abstract works, designing the facades of apartment buildings. Meanwhile, she also contributed to designs for the short-lived publication Zona Carga y Descarga. For the next few decades, her recognition declined outside of the Puerto Rican art community.

In recent years, Sánchez’s work achieved notable recognition in the U.S. and internationally. In 2019, the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. showcased her retrospective “Zilia Sánchez: Soy Isla (I Am an Island),” which later toured to New York’s El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico.

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Nicholas Galanin wins $200,000 Crystal Bridges prize. https://ift.tt/awr5K9A

Tlingit Unangax̂ artist Nicholas Galanin has been awarded the 2024 Don Tyson Prize for the Advancement of American Art by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The prize includes a $200,000 cash award.

The Don Tyson Prize, inaugurated in 2016, honors individuals or collectives in the United States working in any medium. The award was founded by the Tyson Family in honor of the late Don Tyson, former chairman and CEO of Tyson Foods. Past American artists who have received the award include Deborah Willis in 2022 and vanessa german in 2018.

“Nicholas Galanin’s work is a celebration of the rich cultural heritage, spiritual beliefs, and deep connection to the land of Indigenous peoples,” said Olivia Tyson, president of the Tyson Family Foundation. “We are inspired by his talent and are thrilled to award him with the fifth Don Tyson Prize. He’s a bold artist who creates thought-provoking work. Nicholas has impacted the field through innovation, creative thinking, and risk-taking.”

Born in Sitka, Alaska, in 1979, Galanin learned to make art at a young age. At 14, he learned jewelry-making and carving from his father and grandfather. He pursued his formal education in art at London Guildhall University, where he earned his BFA in 2003. He continued his education at Massey University in New Zealand, graduating with his MFA in 2007.

Galanin’s practice spans various media, including sculpture, video, music, and performance, often blending traditional Tlingit crafts with contemporary themes. His work is known to critique colonialism and address urgent social and environmental issues. Many of these works reclaim historical narratives and celebrate Indigenous knowledge. This recognition from Crystal Bridges highlights Galanin’s impact on the art world and his contribution to expanding the narrative of American art.

“My work seeks to disrupt colonial frameworks while celebrating Indigenous presence, knowledge, and creativity,” said Galanin. “This recognition fuels my ongoing efforts to create art that sparks dialogue, reclaims narratives, and envisions a future where culture, land, and identity are protected and celebrated.”

Galanin’s current exhibition, “Exist in the Width of a Knife’s Edge,” is on view at the Baltimore Museum of Art until February 16, 2025. He recently presented a site-specific installation on Faena Beach during Art Basel Miami Beach. This work, titled Seletega (run, see if people are coming/corre a ver si viene gente) (2024), represented a buried Spanish galleon where only the masts and sails were visible, symbolizing the failed empire. His works have also been featured globally, including at the Biennial of Sydney, the Whitney Biennial, and Site Santa Fe. He has been represented by Peter Blum Gallery since 2019.

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The Most Influential Artists of 2024 https://ift.tt/b3Y7LoG

In 2024, there were major shifts in the art world. The first headline event came in April, when the Venice Biennale opened, projecting a new cadre of artists into the spotlight. The international exhibition “Foreigners Everywhere,” curated by Adriano Pedrosa, highlighted Indigenous and queer artists outside the Western art world, many of whom went on to receive international gallery shows, rolling the show’s influence across the globe. With underrecognized artists such as these gaining new acclaim, 2024 looked like a year of adjustment towards a canon that is, thankfully, growing all the time.

As art fairs have proliferated across the world and emerging markets develop in importance, art world power is shifting globally, with Middle Eastern and Asian metropolises growing in stature. Against this backdrop, in 2024, artists were often vocal activists for the causes that mattered to them. Influence, for artists this year, was measured not just by what they did within the walls of the gallery, but the collaborations, statements, and impact they made in the outside world.

Here are Artsy’s most influential artists of 2024.

Julie Mehretu

B. 1970, Addis Ababa. Lives and works in New York and Berlin.

Known for her frenetic markmaking and meticulously layered paintings, Julie Mehretu cemented her place as one of the preeminent abstract artists in the world this year.

Her high-profile year was marked by both market and institutional milestones. Insile (2013) sold for $9.5 million at the third edition of Art Basel Paris, while her largest European exhibition to date, “Ensemble,” opened at Palazzo Grassi just before the 2024 Venice Biennale and will run through January 2025.

If that wasn’t enough to make her one of the most influential names of the year, Mehretu was tapped to create an installation for the new Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, which will adorn the museum’s façade when the campus opens in 2026. In New York, where the artist is based, she contributed $2.25 million to the Whitney Museum’s new “Free 25 and Under” program, ensuring greater accessibility for the next generation of art enthusiasts.

Potentially the flashiest landmark of Mehretu’s year is her design for the 20th BMW Art Car. Unveiled in May at the Centre Pompidou, her design for the BMW M Hybrid V8 represents her explosive aesthetic, drawing directly from her painting Everywhen (2021–23), which is currently on view in her Palazzo Grassi retrospective.

—Maxwell Rabb

Jeffrey Gibson

B. 1972, Colorado Springs. Lives and works in Hudson, New York.

The first Native American artist to represent the U.S. in a solo presentation at the Venice Biennale, Jeffrey Gibson made sure his solo pavilion had a critical edge. His installation, an explosion of color and geometric forms, challenged restrictive colonial narratives and celebrated Indigenous and queer identities. The show was named by Artsy as one of the 10 best pavilions at the 2024 biennale, featuring sculptures adorned with bright tassels and colorful, text-laden paintings.

The year began auspiciously for Gibson as he opened “They Teach Love” at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Oregon. This major exhibition, showcasing 15 years of his work, ran from just before the new year through March 2024. By October, mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth had announced global representation of the artist in collaboration with Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

If representing the U.S. at the Venice Biennale wasn’t enough, Gibson secured one of the most prestigious commissions of his career: The Met’s Fifth Avenue façade. His contribution, set to feature four monumental “ancestral spirit figures,” will be on view from September 2025 to May 2026. Additionally, this fall, Gibson debuted a series of public installations during Climate Week New York. These large-scale projections were shown at Union Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Columbus Circle, among other locations.

—Maxwell Rabb

Isabella Ducrot

B. 1931, Naples, Italy. Lives and works in Rome.

Isabella Ducrot’s debut solo show with Petzel Gallery in New York this past January opened with a quote from the artist: “You can make a drawing of two people in love, but the tenderness doesn’t always come out. I’m trying to make tenderness come out, tenderness and the possibility of touch.” This feeling radiates through Ducrot’s luminous depictions of flowers, lovers, and landscapes. It also describes the way she transforms rare, centuries-old papers and fabrics sourced from across the globe in her collages and works on paper—and the way she has gently enchanted the art world.

Hardly a month passed this year without a major moment for the Rome-based artist, whose rise to renown primarily took place after she turned 90. Ducrot’s Petzel show coincided with Big Aura (2024), her stunning installation that enveloped Dior’s spring/summer runway show at the Musée Rodin in Paris. In April, her solo show at Le Consortium in Dijon, France, marked her first major international museum exhibition. By June, her second solo show with Sadie Coles HQ opened in London, followed in August by another exhibition at the Museo delle Civiltà in Rome.

In October and November, Ducrot’s work was presented in solo booths at Frieze Masters and ADAA’s The Art Show—she is represented by Petzel, Sadie Coles, Galerie Gisela Capitain, and Standard (Oslo)—cementing her status as a favorite among collectors. Yet it may well have been a widely admired New Yorker profile by Rebecca Mead that really catapulted Ducrot into the public consciousness this year. Ultimately, her work transcends trends, offering a timelessness that is delightfully seductive.

—Casey Lesser

Maurizio Cattelan

B. 1960, Padua, Italy. Lives and works in New York and Milan.

Gunshot-riddled gold panels, the return of the banana, and a major museum show—this was a vintage year for Maurizio Cattelan. Often dismissed as the art world’s perennial prankster, Cattelan this year reaffirmed not only his unique ability to generate fiery mainstream debate, but also his status as arguably one of the most important artists working today.

At the turn of the year, a solo presentation of the artist opened at Stockholm’s Moderna Museet featuring some of the artist’s most iconic works. In April, he created a mural in the Vatican’s standout national pavilion during the Venice Biennale. Then in May, his solo show “Sunday” at Gagosian in New York’s Chelsea—his debut with the mega-gallery—held an uncompromising and controversial mirror to contemporary American society. Featuring works such as a 17-foot-tall wall of gold-plated panels riddled with gunshots, and a sculpture of a figure urinating on the ground, it was the artist in trademark form: brazen, confrontational, and laced with a streak of dark humor.

And then there was the return of the banana. Initially conceived in 2019, where it caused a sensation at Perrotin’s Art Basel Miami Beach booth, one of three editions of Comedian (2019)—a literal banana, duct-taped to a wall—was put up for auction in November at Sotheby’s. Estimated at $1 million–$1.5 million, it eventually sold for $6.2 million (with fees) to crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who paid in crypto. The work also inspired a meme coin of its own, and a few weeks after the sale, Sun ate the banana. The turn of events could have been written by Cattelan himself.

—Arun Kakar

Alvaro Barrington

B. 1983, Caracas. Lives and works in London.

Ever since completing his MFA at the Slade School of Art in 2017, Alvaro Barrington has gone from strength to strength. BLUM, Thaddaeus Ropac, and MASSIMODECARLO are just a few solo show venues for the Venezuelan-born artist, whose paintings often incorporate burlap, postcards, and clothing.

This year, however, Barrington’s biggest moment was not a top-tier gallery show (though he had some of those, at Mendes Wood DM and Thaddaeus Ropac, for instance). Instead, it was a monumental commission at Tate Britain. His installation, titled Grace, is a three-part project that uses sound, painting, and sculpture to celebrate the influence of women in Black culture. It also serves as a personal tribute, honoring women from his own life: his grandmother, mother, and a close friend, Samantha. At the heart of the installation is a 4-meter-tall aluminum sculpture of a dancing woman.

All the while, the London artist’s presence has been felt worldwide, from inclusion in group shows at El Espacio 23 in Miami and James Fuentes in New York to his colorful installations at the Glastonbury Festival in England. Perhaps most notably, in the Parcours sector of Art Basel in June, Barrington unveiled Come Home (2024), an architectural installation inside the city’s Tropical Zone supermarket—a space serving the local Afro and Latin American communities. This structure, built from traditional Caribbean materials like burlap and timber, featured new abstract paintings from his “Hibiscus” series.

—Maxwell Rabb

Joan Jonas

B. 1936, New York. Lives and works in New York and Nova Scotia, Canada.

Video and performance art owe much to New York artist Joan Jonas. During the 1960s and ’70s, Jonas was at the forefront of establishing video performance as a medium. However, as she modestly insisted in a recent Vogue interview, she never considered herself a “pioneer.” Mirrors, the wind, and her alter ego, named “Organic Honey,” are the subjects in her boundary-pushing videos. And this year, these significant works were featured in a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, titled “Good Night Good Morning.”

It was unmistakably the season of Jonas in New York. Coinciding with the MoMA retrospective, the Drawing Center mounted “Joan Jonas: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral,” presenting 300 drawings from the artist’s collection of some 2,000 works spanning her 60-year career. Elsewhere, Jonas’s work appeared on clothing in Rachel Comey’s spring 2024 collection.

Just last month, Jonas was awarded the 2024 Nam June Paik Prize by the Nam June Paik Art Center in Korea. Frances Morris, former director of Tate Modern and chair of the international jury, commented on the decision: “Jonas not only played a key role in shaping early video and performance art but continues to explore urgent new terrain.”

—Maxwell Rabb

Kim Yun Shin

B. 1935, Wonsan, North Korea. Lives and works in Buenos Aires and Yanggu, South Korea.

Add Two Add One Divide Two Divide One 2015-20, 2015
Kim Yun Shin
Lehmann Maupin

Kim Yun Shin emerged dramatically on the global art scene this year at the age of 88, after spending more than six decades crafting kaleidoscopic paintings and chainsaw-carved wooden sculptures largely outside the limelight. This noteworthy year for Kim kicked off after gaining dual representation at Lehmann Maupin and Kukje Gallery, with solo exhibitions in New York and Seoul, respectively.

Kim’s work, now known for exploring themes like natural harmony, stood out at the 60th Venice Biennale’s main exhibition. The display featured eight sculptures, four carved from wood between 1979 and 1986 and four sculpted from stone between 1991 and 2001. These pieces are part of her long-standing series “Add Two Add One, Divide Two Divide One,” inspired by the Chinese philosophy of yin and yang.

Lehmann Maupin debuted Kim’s work at Frieze L.A. in February. Since then, the artist has become a mainstay at art fairs around the world, featured in major booths at KIAF, Frieze Seoul, and Art Basel Miami Beach, among others.

—Maxwell Rabb

Steve McQueen

B. 1969, London. Lives and works in Amsterdam.

With one foot in film and the other in art, Steve McQueen is a household name across creative industries. From headline-grabbing exhibitions to critically acclaimed movies, his rising clout is hard to miss—evident in his climb to fourth place on this year’s ArtReview Power 100 list, up from eighth in 2023.

McQueen’s concurrent exhibitions at Dia Beacon and Dia Chelsea generated quite a buzz this May. At the Beacon show, on view through May 2025, McQueen presented a newly commissioned, site-specific work, Bass (2024), where the ceiling is adorned with 60 LED lightboxes. Meanwhile, in Chelsea, he is showing three film-based works: Exodus (1992–97), Sunshine State (2022), and Bounty (2024). Exodus is the artist’s first film, rarely shown, and comprises a Super 8 reel featuring two men carrying palm trees through London.

This November, McQueen premiered his latest film, Blitz, a war drama starring Saoirse Ronan and Harris Dickinson. The film explores the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. It closely follows his 2023 documentary film on the same subject, Occupied City.

The British filmmaker and artist will also be curating a forthcoming exhibition at Turner Contemporary titled “Resistance.” The show, which will open on February 22nd, explores acts of political activism throughout U.K. history and the role of photography in documenting social change.

—Maxwell Rabb

Jasleen Kaur

B. 1986, Glasgow. Lives and works in London.

Jasleen Kaur’s Turner Prize–winning installation Alter Altar (2023–24) is a monument to the everyday objects of her life growing up in a Sikh community in Glasgow. The eclectic piece includes an orange Ford Escort covered in a white doily alongside sculptures of outstretched hands.

When accepting the award at Tate Britain, Kaur noted the significance of her upbringing to her work. However, she spent the larger part of her acceptance speech expressing support with the Palestinian cause. Dressed in the colors of the Palestinian flag, she demanded the Tate divest from organizations with links to Israel and called for a ceasefire.

It was an apt way to end a year in which some artists have very visibly wielded their cultural capital to attempt to change institutions’ political attitudes to the war in Gaza, which has caused polarizing rifts across all levels of the art world. Just a few weeks earlier, Nan Goldin, at the opening of her retrospective at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie, gave a powerful speech condemning Germany’s role in supporting Israel, as she was cheered by protesters both inside and outside the museum’s glass walls. Outside the Turner Prize award ceremony, too, there was a large protest against the Tate’s links to Israel, which Kaur joined before she went in to be awarded her prize. As the artist put it at the end of her acceptance speech, “If you want us inside, you need to listen to us outside.”

—Josie Thaddeus-Johns

Shahzia Sikander

B. 1969, Lahore. Lives and works in New York.

In April, Shahzia Sikander opened the most comprehensive survey of her three-and-a-half-decade career to date. An exhibition of this scale, mounted as a collateral event to the Venice Biennale, would have been the headlining event in most artists’ years. But Sikander was unwittingly thrust into an even bigger spotlight in July, when her 2023 sculpture Witness was violently defaced after getting caught in the crosshairs of the culture wars.

Originally installed in New York’s Madison Square Park, where it stood in the shadow of the Manhattan Appellate Courthouse, Witness symbolizes women’s strength in the context of a legal system that has historically failed us. The towering metallic figure’s coiled braids evoke the ram’s horn motif—a symbol of power—found in the courthouse’s architecture. Its lace jabot honors Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who often wore decorative collars with her judicial robes.

The invocation of Ginsburg, and references to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in an artist’s statement that accompanied the installation, caught the attention of conservative media and anti-choice advocates, who interpreted the work as pro-abortion and “satanic.” There were protests when it was installed in University of Houston earlier this year; a vandal, presumed to be ideologically motivated, ultimately decapitated the sculpture with a hammer.

Rather than repair it, Sikander allowed the figure to remain headless—a gesture that underscored the work’s feminist message by laying bare the violence that is inflicted upon women who attempt to assert their own agency. The episode was a salient reminder of art’s power to stir emotions and inspire debate—and of the uncanny ways in which life and art mirror one another.

—Olivia Horn

Browse available works in the collection “The Most Influential Artists of 2024.”

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