American inferiority complex For a long time the United States suffered from an inferiority complex with regards to its painting. This was because despite America’s status as an economic powerhouse, up until the Second World War it was Paris –...
How museums are responding to the crisis (2): The reactions of directors from Beijing to Paris
The highest idea of man “The museum, after all, is one of the places that give us the highest idea of man (…) The role of museums in our relationship with works of art is so great that we can hardly conceive of the fact that they have existed...
How museums are responding to the crisis : the reactions of directors from Los Angeles to Saint Petersburg (1)
Museums: the highest idea of a man “The museum, after all, is one of the places that give us the highest idea of man (…) The role of museums in our relationship with works of art is so great that we can hardly conceive of the fact that they...
Hong Kong, Dubai: the online fairs attempt to make a few international sales while the world is at a standstill
Controversies With a large part of the planet confined to their homes, the art trade has been dormant for a while, experiencing a lull that would seem at risk of flatlining were it not for a few controversies, like the fact that Maastricht’s...
Jordan Wolfson: video interview with the taboo-busting artist who brings America’s demons to life
https://youtu.be/CSgG7HEBaAs An American Artist His name is Jordan Wolfson. You may not have heard of this American artist, born in 1980, but the New Yorker has just published an in-depth profile on him running to 28 pages. David Zwirner and...
Art market: Lessons from previous crises, from an unpaid for Van Gogh to the resurgence of young artists…
Crises comes and go Crises in the art market come and go, and no two are quite alike, but they can help us to understand how market values may be called into question. The crisis sweeping the world today and affecting the economy and the art...
Acute Art: augmented reality and virtual reality from Kaws to Ai Weiwei, how a new kind of art is invading our homes now
Seen by tens of millions of people The figure has been seen and shared on social media over the past few days by tens of millions of people. It’s what’s known as an “art toy”, a figurine now sold as a work of art – we can also see it as a...
Where is the art market heading in response to the coronavirus crisis? Online
Troubled times In these exceptional troubled times, with part of the planet living in confinement in response to the life-threatening nature of the pandemic, as the entire world comes to a standstill, it might seem inappropriate to talk about...
Art Basel Hong Kong: the organizers’ response to the coronavirus, a virtual fair which looks set to be interesting
Rushing towards technology As the coronavirus outbreak spreads across the world, art dealers and gallerists have been rushing at breakneck speed towards technology. In parallel to the Tefaf antiques fair in Maastricht, which was supposed to...
Tefaf, Maastricht: a spectacular antiques fair through hell and high water
An air of bleakness The world is at a standstill and it seems as though the love of art is unable to change anything. China aside, the announcement of the temporary closure of museums in Italy, the cancellation of the Art Basel Hong Kong fair and the fair in Dubai at...
Hans Ulrich Obrist goes green: resolutions and warnings. A video interview
https://youtu.be/ot4aupt4VkY History of contemporary art Swiss-born Hans Ulrich Obrist (born in 1968) is now part of the history of contemporary art. The artistic director of the Serpentine Gallery in London has become a phenomenon in his own right thanks to...
Arco Madrid: the whisper of a new “Movida” in the art market?
Troubled times Coronavirus, various regions in quarantine, political upheaval and economic uncertainty… Do people still want to buy art in these troubled times? And yet it’s against this backdrop that the first large-scale fair of the year, Arco Madrid, has opened...