https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0NLVDadpcQ The most powerful pieces of art are the ones that offer the potential for multiple readings. In the work of the French artist Annette Messager (born 1943) ambiguity itself becomes an art form. The winner of the Golden...
New York is the international epicentre of the art market. And it’s here, from 2 until 5 March, that The Armory Show, a fair that is emblematic of the city, takes place, assembling 210 contemporary and modern art galleries along the banks of the Hudson. It is also the...
This exhibition is the first of its kind. It doesn't just tell the history of an art dealer but also the history of art, the history of a family and plain History with a capital H, filled with the blood and tears of the Second World War. ‘21 rue La Boétie’ is the...
Diego Giacometti (1902-1985), the brother and close collaborator of the illustrious sculptor Alberto Giacometti, has a seat in the pantheon of 20th century decorative arts. Hubert de Givenchy (born 1926), whose creations were made famous by the actor Audrey Hepburn...
There was once a time, until the late '90s, when if you wanted to be considered a prominent artist, you were best off being North American. Back then, money and institutional support was primarily found on the other side of the Atlantic. But thanks to globalisation,...
The lady in question is one of the most influential ever bestowed to us by the history of art. Nobody has painted anything more touching or arguably more beautiful since. As of 1659, this woman from a humble background, in a dress cut from a coarse cloth which can be...
On 16 April of last year I posted an article about a fabulous exhibition by the Greek artist Jannis Kounellis at La Monnaie in Paris. He has just died at the age of 80. Here is a homage to an artist who created harmonious works from the most thankless raw materials....
True connoisseurs of Picasso will already know it well. In the village of Gisors, an hour outside Paris, the Boisgeloup studio is whispered about in hushed tones and is central to the work of the Spanish artist. It’s where he created a collection of exceptional...
Edgar Degas (1834-1917), a major artist from the dawn of modernism, both as a painter and a sculptor, died exactly 100 years ago this year. A hundred years is how long it took for a forgotten box containing 55 unseen drawings by this exceptional artist to appear on...
The press conference for the Venice Biennale, arguably the world’s most important contemporary art event, takes place three months earlier and is usually quite a confusing affair. Not this time. Here's a foretaste of what the 57th Venice Biennale, curated...
Switzerland is a unique blend of alpine culture, cows, rustic tradition, cheese, and world-class expertise in such diverse domains as watchmaking, banking and contemporary art. Every two years, in Gstaad, a show called Elevation 1049 perfectly incarnates these two...
When uncertainty reigns, everyone tries to protect themselves, and the art market is no exception. ‘For some time now, there has been a strong trend towards contemporary artists with recognised careers and a place in history. Serious collectors who previously showed...