The 59th edition of the Venezia Biennale is finally here. It's headed by Cecilia Alemani. The theme of the show is "The Milk of Dreams." Here are my highlights of the exhibition. For the first time in its 127-year history the majority of the artists are women. The Russian Pavilion is closed this year, while Ukraine occupies a prominent spot. Finally, the U.S. Pavilion is transformed into a West African palace. Chicago-based artist Simone Leigh is the winner of Golden Lion for the Best Participant Award. Due to the limited time, I only saw the Giardini, hopefully, I will re-visit this summer to see the Arsenale part. The exhibition runs till November 27, 2022.
Category: art
Palm Beach Modern and Contemporary Show 2022
At the opening night of the Palm Beach Modern and Contemporary Show, British photographer Harry Benson was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. At 92, Benson is full of wit and humor. His career spans over 60 years, from refugee camps in Africa to royals and presidents, but perhaps his most recognizable photographs are of the Beatles. Nowadays, he lives in Florida with his wife Gigi and two dogs. "The first thing I'll do is when I get home I'll show it to my dogs," he said accepting his award. The show collaborated with Holden Luntz Gallery to exhibit some of Benson's most prominent works. Jodi Luntz shared with me the backstory of the iconic photograph "The Pillow Fight" at George V hotel in Paris.
Frieze Los Angeles 2022
After skipping a year due to the pandemic, the third edition of Frieze Los Angeles is back and has a new venue called “The Tent” in Beverly Hills. It’s designed by LA-based architect Kulapat Yantrasast, a darling of the art world. Also, the fair has a new director, Christine Messineo. It’s always nice to see a woman at the helm. One of the highlights of the fair is a participatory installation “Dreamer's Folly” (2010) at Gagosian. It’s designed by the late L.A. artist Chris Burden and consists of three joined cast-iron gazebos covered in lace. A separate exhibition BIPOC EXCHANGE is curated by LA-based artist Tanya Aguiñiga and showcases ten local non-profits.
Art Basel Miami 2021
After a skipped year due to the pandemic, Art Basel Miami is back. It's December in Florida, in the high 70s☀️, and it's Miami Art Week here. There are several smaller shows happening simultaneously, including Art Miami and Context Art Miami, art events and installations at Faena Art Forum. It's impossible to be everywhere (I'm a one-woman band after all), but here is my (limited) take on it. Like in Basel earlier this year, masks and wristbands are required (I got a nice pink one). Despite the pandemic, the show attracted about 60,000 visitors, lots of first-timers - both among the visitors and exhibitors. I heard that the entry requirements are more lenient this year, and some art is quite perplexing (I left it out 🤷🏻♀️ but I am no expert), and the rumor goes that some old-timers are not happy...The poster child of the art world, NFTs are ubiquitous (I covered NFTs last year in one of my posts). After three years of schlepping around art fairs, I finally can recognize same artists and galleries, and the experience is not a complete vertigo, but still overwhelming especially carrying all my equipment like a sherpa. But I wouldn't do it any other way, and the best thing about shows, is meeting new interesting people. I just wish I could do more and better... Whoever is watching, if only one person, enjoy and thank you! Plain Jane 😘
Ole Aakjaer | Alter Ego
Meet Danish watercolor artist Ole Aakjaer. After two years of Covid-related restrictions, he finally travels to the U.S. for his third solo exhibition at Chase Contemporary gallery in Soho, New York. Find out how creativity helped him dealing with childhood trauma, the career path that took Aakjaer from streets of Czechoslovakia to the corporate world, and later to becoming a full-time artist while "being different from the correct people." And a little trivia: matreshka is known in Denmark as... Enjoy!
Greaves Productions 