Mendes Wood DM Creates Success through Friendship, from São Paulo to Paris https://ift.tt/PBLK4D8

To run any business requires structure and strategy. But in the art world, there isn’t an accepted playbook of how to build and run a gallery. That said, the founders of Mendes Wood DM, Pedro Mendes, Matthew Wood, and Felipe Dmab, never intended to open a gallery. The trio—who describe themselves respectively as “visionary,” “spiritual advisor,” and “mastermind”—met as idealistic young men, energized by the philosophy of art and the poetry of life. The basis for the gallery was really a friendship circle, or a “thread of affection,” as they call it. “We’ve done like a superhuman amount of hosting,” explained Wood.

In Paris during the early 2000s, Mendes and Wood were studying the philosophy of art and hanging around the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where the duo were inspired by relational aesthetics and the performance of life. When Mendes’s sister introduced them to the Brazilian artist Sônia Gomes, an idea sparked. “She said, ‘You live in Paris, you need to sell some of this,’” recalled Mendes of the artist’s fabric wearable sculptures. At the time, the Fondation Cartier was holding an exhibition, “The Brazil Popular-Brazil Neoconcrete.”

While Gomes’s work may not have been included in the exhibition, Mendes continued to wear or bring Gomes’s work to parties and people’s homes around the city, eventually beginning to sell pieces to top Parisian collectors. But it would still be a few years until the commercial operation became fully fledged.

5 Acordes (sinfonia branca series) | 5 Acordes (série sinfonia branca), 2021
Sônia Gomes
Mendes Wood DM

Untitled (meu amarelo é ouro series) #4, 2023
Sônia Gomes
Mendes Wood DM

Wood grew up in a commune in New Hampshire, but a peripatetic impulse led him to Europe well before he was awarded a high school diploma. Mendes, meanwhile, hails from Minas Gerais, Brazil’s agricultural and industrial county seat. After their studies in Paris, Mendes lured Wood back to Brazil where the two decided to open a residency in Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais. “It was on a dirt road, in the middle of nowhere,” explained Mendes. It also happened to be the location where most of the artists that the gallery works with today hail from.

Ja.Ca, as the artists’ residency is called (and still exists today, operated by Francisca Caporali), opened as a research center and haven for Brazilian conceptual artists in 2010, around the time that Bernardo Paz opened the iconic sculpture park Inhotim in Minas Gerais. Mendes fundraised from Brazilian industrial companies to distribute as grants, and the project pulled in Paolo Nazareth and Lucas Arruda, who, like Gomes, are the linchpins in the formation of the gallery and its continued success today. “There [are] three people that we started representing before we started having a gallery,” explained Wood, citing Gomes, Nazareth, and Arruda as the foundation of their gallery concept.

The gallery’s operation begins with its artists. It has come to shepherd the careers of names such as Rubem Valentim and Solange Pessoa, as well as playing a key role in introducing the art world to the likes of Alvaro Barrington, Vojtěch Kovařík, and Antonio Obá. “All of our artists come from us,” said Wood.

Dois Mineiros Preto y um Capitao do Mato dos Dragoes Reais, 2019
Paulo Nazareth
Mendes Wood DM

That materialized into the first gallery space—debuting with an Arruda solo show—in 2009 in São Paulo, which, as Mendes explained, served as “an Athenian square where people gathered, in the backyard of this house, where people just spent the day there, talking about things.” The gallery freewheeled through its first year or so, for as Mendes explained: “There was never a business plan. There was never any other plan than just to pay our rent. It was 100% intuitive, it was instinctual. In Portuguese, we say, ‘We sold our socks to buy our shoes.’”

This curatorial forum, lushly gardened by botanist Wood, also happened to be next-door to a fledgling gallery concept run by Felipe Dmab, and the fate of Mendes Wood changed. The trio had a natural rapport, and Dmab had more experience in the art world than simply knocking on doors. Thus an alliance was born, and the “master strategist,” as Wood says of Dmab, was folded into the gallery. “Immediately in a way that no one else has understood the vision and the scope of things, Pedro, Felipe, and I came into harmony, I think when we established that there was a real brotherhood between us,” said Wood.

Domingas, 2023
Solange Pessoa
Mendes Wood DM

That’s when the three knew that their operation was ready for the big leagues. For them, that meant applying and exhibiting in international fairs like Art Basel and Frieze. “In the beginning when we did a beastly amount of art fairs, it was really out of necessity, because there was no way to put Brazil out there. It’s far away,” said Wood.

Looking back at works sold during that period from 2009 to 2012, Wood said that, with Dmab and Mendes, the power of their relationships had a lasting impact: “Even then, when a work [by Gomes or Arruda] was like a $2,000 thing, you put it in a collection that still has it on the wall, and loans it out [to institutions] and hasn’t sold it.” Many of those $2,000 works are now worth six figures.

But there remained one small issue, as Mendes recalled: “We needed an embassy elsewhere. We had so many people and visitors who are outside of Brazil.” Part-joke, part-acknowledgment, Mendes Wood DM frames their own operation as a diplomatic enterprise: “Our first spaces were consulates and then they became embassies, and now they’re entities,” said Wood. The gallery has always been deeply Brazilian—convivial, fun, diverse—but what’s often glossed over in understanding a Brazilian context is its diverse, international DNA. Brazil, like the United States, is a melting pot of cultures—Indigenous, African, European, Middle Eastern, and Asian—where roots are strong both at home and abroad. More than 50% of Brazil is of African descent, and though never publicized, Mendes Wood DM was the first gallery to represent living Afro-Brazilian artists. (Similarly, the gallery’s appointment of Renato Silva to partner, himself Afro-Brazilian, was a first.)

In 2017, the gallery launched internationally by committing to a space in Brussels, a signal of “this desire to show Brazilian art in other places, bring them to these places, and bring international artists to Brazil,” Mendes explained. The gallery brought in Carolyn Drake Kandiyoti as the founding European partner to help anchor it in the region. In 2022, the gallery opened in Tribeca, New York, with a survey of Nazareth, and followed it with ambitious shows by the likes of Pessoa. New York is where the largest community of the gallery’s collectors reside.

Now, this fall, Mendes Wood DM reunited with the city of its youth with its first Parisian gallery, housed in a unique space on the 17th-century Place de Vosges. “Sometimes you complete a cycle where you began and the last note is the first note,” said Wood, who recounted recently speaking to his “kid” sister who spent time in Paris with Wood and Mendes in the early 2000s: “She was like, ‘When you were, like, 18, you always said you would have an art space in Paris. Remember?’ and I was like, ‘I don’t remember that?’”

Dmab added: “I feel that Paris is a melting pot for the exchange of ideas and a very inspiring ground for business.”

The trio behind the gallery sees it as fate, but also a testament to how they’ve run their operation with the people in for the ride along the way. “We’ve managed to keep a community,” Wood said. “I’m a great believer in the idea that you can actually do business while being nice while being peripatetic while being poetic.”

With four spaces and nearly 50 represented artists, how is the gallery doing today? “We’ve never been bad at that. It’s never been a problem,” Wood quipped.

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New York gallery Cheim & Read to close after 26 years. https://ift.tt/REYyOn9

Cheim & Read, a stalwart of New York’s gallery scene for 26 years, will close its doors in Chelsea next month. The gallery’s current exhibition of Kathe Burkhart, on view until December 23rd, will be its final show. The news comes in the wake of a string of downtown New York galleries closing earlier this fall.

Maria Bueno, the gallery’s longtime director and partner, will launch Bueno & Co. in 2024. “This enterprise will focus on private sales of works by historical and contemporary masters and will continue to work with the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Louise Bourgeois, Lynda Benglis, William Eggleston, Louise Fishman, Ron Gorchov, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Pat Steir, Sean Scully, Andy Warhol, and Matthew Wong,” the gallery shared in an email on Tuesday.

Founded in Chelsea in 1997 by John Cheim and Howard Read, Cheim & Read quickly became known for supporting contemporary artists, especially women. Since its inception, the gallery has represented Louise Bourgeois, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, and Ghada Amer. The gallery previously closed its Chelsea space in 2018 and reopened on the Upper East Side in 2019, before returning to Chelsea.

Cheim recently made headlines with the sale of his personal art collection. Auctioned at Sotheby’s New York, the collection, including works by Basquiat and Bourgeois, fetched a remarkable $34.7 million.

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Exploring Canyon Road, Santa Fe’s Timeless Gallery District https://ift.tt/wk8LnDX

A walk down Santa Fe’s iconic Canyon Road can feel more like visiting a mellow art fair than a contemporary art district. Just 10 minutes by foot from the city’s central plaza, the tree-lined thoroughfare features 82 galleries—many of which are housed in adobe-style structures that were built as far back as the mid-1700s—showcasing everything from traditional Pueblo pottery to Southwestern landscapes, and even the occasional Picasso.

Over its six-decade history, Canyon Road has helped New Mexico’s capital achieve a reputation as a leading art and culture destination in the U.S. Despite being a major attraction for the 1.5 to 2 million travelers who flock to Santa Fe annually, the district has managed to maintain its small-town ambiance and reputation as a sanctuary for blossoming artists. Gallery owners describe it as a “magical place” and a “fairy tale of contemporary art.”

“Even though it’s not the kind of high-pressure urban hip place like New York, it has that slow, deep, rich history of artworks that have proven to be some of the most well-collected artists of history,” said Tonya Turner Carroll, co-owner of Turner Carroll Gallery. The presence of pioneering artists such as Judy Chicago, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Agnes Martin—all of whom have created work in Canyon Road studios—still lingered when Turner Carroll Gallery first opened in 1991. “It had that real sense of the greatness and the gravity of history, and with that, a certain responsibility,” she added.

Untitled (Blue with Neutrals), n.d.
Janet Lippincott
Matthews Gallery

Like Santa Fe itself, Canyon Road’s history is one of intertwined cultures and artistic inspiration. At the turn of the 20th century, the region’s clean air, notorious quality of light, and picturesque landscapes drew creatives and unconventional thinkers from near and far. Painters of the Santa Fe Art Colony—Olive Rush, Sheldon Parsons, and Gerald Cassidy among them—all resided along Canyon Road and helped to shape the city’s advancing creative community.“The thing that I hear most often” from first-time visitors to Canyon Road, said Lawrence Matthews, owner of Matthews Gallery, “is, ‘We had no idea that there was this kind of diversity of work here.’” Southwestern landscapes and bronze-carved moose sculptures are commonplace, but visitors can also come face to face with paintings by Marc Chagall and Philip Guston, or monumental sculptures by Rose B. Simpson. Specializing in modern and contemporary works on the secondary market, Matthews Gallery has handled the estates of numerous artists tied to the region, including New Mexico modernist Janet Lippincott and Abstract Expressionist Robert Walters

Karla Winterowd, another gallery owner and organizer in the Canyon Road community, pointed to the values Santa Feans cherish as an important factor in understanding the culture—and art—of Canyon Road. “They value spirit, they value nature, and they value human connection,” she said. While the vast majority of artist studios that once dotted Canyon Road have disappeared, authenticity and pride in exhibiting artists are shared among gallery owners.

Nüart Gallery offers a prime example of the artist-first ethos that permeates Canyon Road. Juan Kelly, the gallery’s Costa Rican co-owner (and a painter himself), told Artsy that he can’t imagine living anywhere else. “There’s a really strong creative energy here and it’s because you can make a living as an artist,” he said. With rotating shows every two and a half weeks and 3,000 square feet of space, Nüart Gallery showcases virtually every artist in its stable at once. “It’s part of our model,” said co-owner Kim Kelly. A changing display “pushes artists,” she said, incentivizing them “to produce more work and to try new things.”

For Robert Casterline, partner at Casterline Goodman, part of the attraction of Canyon Road was its collectors, many of whom are only beginning to grow their collections. “In Santa Fe, you can take risks,” he said, whereas in Aspen, Colorado, where the gallery has another branch, “I have to be right all the time.” Looking to expand outside of Colorado, Casterline Goodman partnered with Canyon Road’s Blue Gate Gallery in 2021 and has sold secondary-market works in Santa Fe with “great success” ever since. “The thing about Canyon Road,” said Casterline, “is if you have a good space, and you know the rent is affordable, you can have fun with it.”

Like Casterline, who “stands behind” the work that he loves, Ventana Fine Art’s owner Connie Axton—whom Winterowd called the “grand dame” of Canyon Road—looks for “honesty” in an artist’s work. “I want somebody to look at that painting and say, ‘Oh, that’s a John Nieto,’” Axton said. “I don’t want it to look like anybody else.” Bold primary colors spill from Nieto’s Fauvist-inspired portraits of Indigenous people and wildlife, making them distinctly identifiable. Since 2021, Axton estimates that a “huge” 70–80% of Ventana Fine Art buyers have been new to the gallery.

Bolstered by the recent opening of the contemporary art museum Vladem Contemporary, Canyon Road is likely to see more first-time visitors. The Canyon Road community is proud of its history as a supporter of Indigenous American artists. In Turner Carroll’s current exhibition “Transcendent,” presented in conjunction with Vladem Contemporary, the New Mexican ceramist Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo) is presented alongside Anglo artists like Angela Ellsworth. “We’re leveling the playing field by not siloing them,” said Turner Carroll, “not siloing people like him as a Native American.”

Overwhelmingly, Canyon Road galleries embrace the fact that the appeal of Santa Fe has spread, believing the street’s artistic integrity is unlikely to fade. As Santa Fe’s Mayor, Alan Webber, made clear, one characteristic of the so-called “The City Different” will continue to define it: “We make art, we promote art, we market art—but most importantly, we live art. That’s in our DNA as a community and as a people,” he said.

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R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe to stage debut museum exhibition. https://ift.tt/TGkjJQy

Michael Stipe, best known as the lead vocalist for R.E.M., will present his first museum exhibition at Fondazione ICA Milano. The show, entitled “I have lost and I have been lost but for now I’m flying high,” will be on view from December 12, 2023 to March 16, 2024.

Curated by Alberto Salvadori, Stipe’s debut museum exhibition explores various forms of portraiture. It features an array of mediums such as photographs, book covers, ceramics, sculpture, and audio works, offering a comprehensive look at Stipe’s introspective practice. The thematic impetus of the exhibition is inspired by Max Ehrmann’s 1927 poem “Desiderata,” which encourages the creation of serenity through acceptance of fragility.

Born in Georgia, U.S.A. in 1960, Stipe finds strength in vulnerability and considers it a guiding force in contemporary art. His early exposure to the work of self-taught folk artists in Georgia, such as Howard Finster and R.A. Miller, deeply influenced his artistic practice.

“Vulnerability emerges as a ‘superstrength’ in this dynamic,” Stipe said. “It’s a map that describes the difficulties of our present, while highlighting new opportunities and a renewed understanding of our importance—not only to ourselves but also to those around us, to our communities, to our world. In this moment, I choose to focus on the most precious commodity beyond time, which is the brilliance, beauty, and playfulness of life. I have lost and I have been lost, but for now, I’m flying high”

The exhibition also features work from notable artists like Constantin Brancusi, Bruce Nauman, and Marisa Merz. These pieces complement Stipe's own creations, forming a dialogue between his influences and his unique artistic voice. Complementing the exhibition is a publication titled “Even the birds gave pause,” produced by Damiani Books. The volume marks Stipe’s photographic book and includes several works-in-progress related to the exhibition.

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At sobering galerie, Trust in Emerging Talent Pays Off https://ift.tt/cysavrJ

Patricia Kishishian and Jean-Claude Ghenassia, the couple behind sobering galerie in Paris, share a passion for supporting and identifying emerging artists. Their journey began in 2002 with the creation of Annual magazine, which became a platform for fostering dialogues between established and emerging artists.

Kishishian’s unconventional path into the art world, with her background in law, combined with Ghenassia’s experience in publishing and art collecting, brought a refreshing perspective. Driven by their love of presenting young artists, the couple exhibited work in their apartment across the street from the Musee de Rodin on Rue de Varennes. Here, the two had the idea to open a gallery space, and the project set the stage for the 2013 opening of sobering. Located in the bustling Le Marais neighborhood, the gallery continues to champion the works of budding artists alongside renowned masters.

These early exhibitions, inspired by their love for art, were also fueled by practical considerations. “We love art—that’s the first—but also we need to eat. That’s life,” said Kishishian. This encapsulates the ethos underpinning sobering’s success: a commitment to not just showcasing but also supporting the careers of its artists. Most recently, sobering presented work from several ultra-contemporary artists at Luxembourg Art Week, including Ivan Arlaud and Adrien Fricheteau.

“We present many young people, and these people are waiting for us to sell because they need to gain their life,” Kishishian told Artsy. “We take care of each of [our artists].”

Meanwhile, another defining characteristic of sobering’s portfolio is its emphasis on emerging Chilean artists, whom Kinishian has developed close relationships with. Of the 21 artists represented by the gallery, five hail from Chile: José Cori, Rodrigo Arteaga, Andrea Breinbauer, Benjamín Ossa, and Elisa Alcalde. These artists see Kinishian and Ghenassia’s work as an opportunity for growth.

“We began to defend many Chilean artists from the beginning…it became as if I was representing the Chilean artists in Paris,” said Kinishian. “We became a reference for the Chilean [artist community] in Paris.”

The Pond, 2023
Andrea Breinbauer
sobering

One such artist is Andrea Breinbauer, a Chilean talent who recently presented a solo exhibition, “New Clouds,” at sobering. Initially, Breinbauer approached Kishishian with a catalog of her works painted on wood. Kishishian, recognizing her potential, encouraged Breinbauer to explore painting on canvas after the gallery unsuccessfully attempted to sell her works on wood.

“She began to produce one, two, three, four, five pieces, and each time we added a piece, we sold it,” Kishishian said of the collaboration. “People loved the way she painted the subject, the archive she used…I’m very happy with her work.”

This shift marked a significant development in the artist’s career as her new paintings sold one by one, leading up to her first solo exhibition with the gallery. Consequently, sobering’s approach goes beyond mere exhibition. It’s about building relationships with artists, understanding their vision, and providing a platform where their art can reach wider audiences.

Marine Septembre, 2023
Thomas Andréa Barbey
sobering

Matin Pitiüse, 2023, 2023
Ivan Arlaud
sobering

Additionally, Kishishian creates these close relationships with her collectors, who, according to her, are often surprised to love every artist in their diverse roster. At sobering, the exhibitions draw inspiration from their inaugural apartment showcases, meaning they present work that would add beauty to the homes of their collectors. This philosophy shapes the gallery’s aesthetic, favoring works that resonate with beauty, positivity, and are, ultimately, thought-provoking. It’s even in the name, defined by the gallery as “tending to make one thoughtful.”

“There is something positive in what we present; we don’t want to have torn bodies and things like that,” she said. “All the pieces that we have, we could have at home.…There is something about the beauty of life. We are on a certain line of happiness.”

Before everything, Kishishian and Ghenassia share a dedication to investing in the talent they encounter. The same is true for Baptiste Léger, the gallery’s assistant, to whom Ghenassia entrusted the keys on his very first day. Although Léger never sold art before, Ghenassia hired him as an intern on the same day they met two years ago. Since then, he has become an integral part of the sobering team, all credited to the trust put in him on the very first day.

“Jean-Claude and Patricia are two people who really trust other people,” Léger said. “Me, but also artists, and that’s also one of the reasons we have young emerging artists because they see potential in them. They can evolve, and [Jean-Claude and Patricia] have this very incredible gaze on the art world.”

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Manal AlDowayan to represent Saudia Arabia at the 2024 Venice Biennale. https://ift.tt/beqIJ94

Manal AlDowayan will represent Saudi Arabia during the 2024 Venice Biennale. The announcement was made on Tuesday by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture’s Visual Arts Commission, which commissions the Saudi national pavilion in Venice. AlDowayan is known for her multidisciplinary approach spanning photography, sound, and sculptures. For the pavilion, she will create an installation aligned with the Biennale’s theme, “Foreigners Everywhere,” focusing on cultural disparities.

Born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in 1973, AlDowayan creates work devoted to challenging the socio political norms in her home region. Her notable works include the black-and-white portrait series “If I Forget You Don’t Forget Me” (2012), capturing Saudi oil workers; and “And I, Will I Forget?” (2016), a photography series that interweaves intergenerational narratives of Saudi culture. In “From Shattered Ruins, New Life Shall Bloom” (2023), she invited visitors to shatter porcelain scrolls at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, embodying women reclaiming their narratives.

“My approach to art over the last two decades has given me the chance to be part of a transformation that is taking place in my country,” AlDowayan said. “The Biennale Arte 2024 presents a rare opportunity to represent where I stand in my practice, positioned in the context of my community, my country, and the world as a whole.”

Educated at the Royal College of Art, London, AlDowayan is currently represented by the Madrid–based gallery Sabrina Amrani. She has showcased her work globally, including at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the British Museum, and the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. The Venice Biennale 2024 marks Saudi Arabia’s fourth year participating and will offer an international stage for AlDowayan to further explore collective memory and sociopolitical tensions within the art world.

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Amanda Baldwin’s Bold, Surreal Landscapes Transform the Way We See Nature https://ift.tt/BdQV5SD

A considerable shift occurred in Amanda Baldwin’s practice three years ago. Having risen to prominence working in still-life painting, the New York–based artist turned her attention to landscapes in 2020. “I noticed that many of my still-life or interior scenes had windows in the corner and, over time, I found myself more drawn to the realm beyond the window. I wanted to open it up and go outside,” Baldwin told Artsy in an interview.

Much like her still-life works, Baldwin’s landscapes take a subversive approach, destabilizing the conventions of a longstanding painting genre. Rather than rendering typical vignettes of pastoral beauty, Baldwin’s landscapes depict alluring alternative worlds created by distorting the architecture of reality. Featuring nine new pieces painted over the past year in her studio in Queens, “Wild Weeds,” Baldwin’s first solo exhibition with Public Gallery, affirms this relatively new direction for the artist.

Building on her recent solo presentations with Galerie Marguo in Paris and HESSE FLATOW in New York, the pieces on show at Public Gallery through December 15th are defined by hyperpigmented color palettes, multidimensional depth, and detailed patterning. In them, we see Baldwin delicately balancing seemingly opposing ideas to create worlds that are intrinsically beguiling but, crucially, still believable. In every piece, she thoughtfully incorporates elements of the real and the familiar, along with the imaginary and the unknown, to defy expectations while still portraying the beauty of the natural world.

“I like the idea of things being recognizable but at the same time different in my work,” she said. “There are very familiar elements that one is used to seeing in nature, but they are always a bit skewed, a bit different, or a bit exaggerated.” In Burning the Breeze (2023), for example, swirling pea-green patterns decorate a luminous yellow tree in an exaggeration of tree bark’s naturally occurring spiral grain. The mauve tree that lies behind it, meanwhile, sees Baldwin reimagining the natural fractals of tree branch distribution into an elegant haze of ombré paint.

Her carefully controlled use of color creates a sense of internal coherence within the worlds she creates: “I don't like to have many different colors in each painting because each painting is its own world,” she said. In Sweeping the Sea (2023), for example, a purple sea bubbles in the foreground, framed by bulbous trees of similar shades that recede into the background, almost undulating like a mirage. By redistricting her palette in this way, Baldwin merges the disparate elements within this work together.

The natural elements in her work, meanwhile, often defy the laws of physics. In Cerulean Monsoon (2023), a glowing moon appears to create a lopsided gravitational pull. Rather than sweeping in towards the shore, as expected, the water seems to be flowing from left to right across the canvas. Much like her use of color, which cements her worlds as alternative realms where flora and fauna have turned psychedelic hues, the oceans, skies, and forests she creates have their own internal logic that differs dramatically from our own.

These subtle and clever subversions of reality, such as switching the direction of the tides, allow the artist to disrupt familiar scenes, making them uncanny. Yet, by resisting pure abstraction and not taking these surreal gestures too far, Baldwin also grounds her work in reality and the landscape genre. “I like the idea of looking at something that’s very familiar and thinking about it in a little bit of a different way,” said Baldwin. “It’s really about trying to view things from a new perspective.”

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