Milan: Tavar Zawacki – Shapeshifting ( Wunderkammern)

November 29, 2018 butterfly

While in Milan we popped by to see the latest exhibition of Californian based artist Tavar Zawacki aka Above, whom we previously met in Berlin ( see our coverage here) in 2017.

For twenty years (1996–2016) the artist created and signed all of his artworks with his street artist pseudonym, ‘ABOVE’. In January 2017, he decided to step out of his self-imposed shadow of anonymity and start signing artworks with his real birth name – allowing more freedom of creative exploration, as well as liberation from the arrow icon he has associated himself with. His painting styles with mural works in large scale, as well as his indoor fine art are characterized by the use of hard-edge painting, color field, geometric abstraction, Op art, and Trompe-l’oeil painting styles. Since 2005 the artist displayed his work in galleries and creative institutions around the world.

The solo exhibition ‘Shapeshifting‘ at Wunderkammern Gallery reflects on the concept of metamorphosis intended in a personal and artistic sense, where the artist is testing himself with the use of different types of shapes and colors. The exploration of different forms and their intersections is seen by Tavar Zawacki as a stimulating game and a continuous experimentation, materializing in a visual aesthetic and in a use of techniques that enhance the color. The geometric shapes are combined freely as if they were puzzles. Playing with size, shapes and colours, canvases and sculptures leave the viewer the opportunity to look at his works from multiple angles.

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Tavar Zawacki – Shapeshifting
Until 22 December 2018
Wunderkammern Milano
Via Ausonio 1A, 20123 Milano

Miami, Milan, Museum

Milan: The Art of Banksy – A Visual Protest

November 20, 2018 butterfly

Various exhibitions of Banksy’s work have taken place in art galleries, but until now no public museum has ever given the artist a solo exhibition.

The Italian culture museum in Milan, MUDEC – Museo delle Culture – is presenting for the first time a solo exhibition of elusive artist Banksy. The unauthorised retrospective titled ‘ The Art of Banksy. A visual protest”, curated by Gianni Mercurio, unites under one roof more than 70 works, including paintings, sculptures and prints by the artist, and accompanied by objects, photographs and video. For the first time a public institution takes a retrospective look at the work, socio-political context and philosophy of Banksy.

Stay tuned for further updates and behind the scenes access.

MUDEC
“The Art of Banksy. A Visual Protest”
21 November 2018 – 14 April 2019

Art Fair, Paris

Paris: FIAC Highlights 2018

October 20, 2018 butterfly

Two weeks after FRIEZE in London, Paris attracts the center of the art world for a week with FIAC (Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain).

Located in the spectacular venue of the Grand Palais, the 45th edition of FIAC featured 195 galleries from 27 countries. The five-day fair, held in the majestic setting of the Grand Palais, combines contemporary and modern art under one soaring steel-and-glass roof, and attracts about 75,000 visitors, according to the organizers. The Frieze and Frieze Masters fairs, which separate contemporary and modern, each attract 60,000.

Here are some highlights from this year’s edition

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FIAC – 18-21 October 2018
Grand Palais
Paris

Art Fair, Shows

London: Moniker Art Fair 2018

October 9, 2018 butterfly

Moniker Art Fair returned to East London last week, celebrating their 10th edition, by taking over the upper floor of The Old Truman Brewery and extending their 30,000 square foot fair space outdoors with their first-ever Formula-E art car painted by British street artist D*Face, as part of their ongoing collaboration with Kaspersky Lab.

Uncensored presented in partnership with Urban Nation

For the 10th edition, Moniker Art Fair has also partnered with Berlin’s Urban Nation Museum to present ‘UNCENSORED, a wholly unfiltered and unrestricted celebration of the revolutionary elements of urban contemporary art with a series of immersive installations.

Upon entering the upper floor of the Truman Brewery, visitors were greeted by a giant maze by French duo Lek & Sowat and had to navigated through to get to the entrance of Moniker.

Uncensored Installation Hall Co-Curated by Urban Nation features the works of Lek & Sowat (France) / Herakut (Germany) / FaithXLVII (South Africa) / Ann J Lewis (USA) / Li’Hill (Canada) / David Mesguich (France) / Dan Rawlings (UK)

In parallel Moniker also featured Artists Open Studios with VESOD (Italy) Vermibus (Spain) / Bom.K (France) / Axel Void (USA) / Dont Fret (USA) / Skewville (USA) / Louis Masai (UK)

Moniker also hosted a series of talks and conferences in partnership with the Nuart Journal, and film screenings including X Art documentary

Galleries and international artists showing works at the Fair include :
Under The Radar Gallery (London, UK) / Jewel Goodby Contemporary (London, UK) / Thinkspace Projects (Los Angeles CA, USA) – Solo show by Kaili Smith / Jealous Gallery (London, UK) / Landmark Street Art (Carlisle, UK) / BSMT SPACE (London, UK)/ 1963 Gallery (London, UK)/ Egle Zvirblyte (Lithuania) / Curious Duke Gallery (London, UK) / The Art Hound Gallery (Cambridge, UK) – Solo show by Lauren Baker / Well Hung Gallery (London, UK) / Graffik Gallery (London, UK) / Spoke Art Gallery (NYC and SF, USA) – Solo show by Erik Jones / The Moleskine Project presented by Spoke Art / The Secret Art Prize / Fοusion Gallery (Barcelona, Spain) / Fanakapan (London, UK) / Vinyl on Vinyl (Manila, Philippines)

Click below to view a photo gallery of the London Moniker Art Fair 2018

Moniker Art Fair
4-7 October 2018
Truman Brewery
https://www.monikerartfair.com

Auctions

London: Banksy self destructs live at Sotheby’s

October 6, 2018 butterfly

With the crazy art week and all the collectors gathered in London for the Frieze Art Fair and plethora of glamourous art events, a series of artworks by elusive artist Banksy were presented at prestigious auction house Sotheby’s, including his iconic Girl with Balloon for the evening auction of 5 October 2018.

Girl with a Balloon (2006) was the final lot of the night, and just as the canvas hammered at £953,829 ( totally 1,042,000 GBP after taxes) — exactly the same figure as the artist’s previous auction record, achieved in 2008 — an alarm was triggered inside the work of art. Onlookers turned just in time to see the canvas slip through its faux-gilt frame and be shredded into pieces.

Pics courtesy of Sotheby’s

“It appears we just got Banksy-ed,” said Alex Branczik, the auction house’s head of contemporary art, Europe, immediately after the sale. “He is arguably the greatest British street artist, and tonight we saw a little piece of Banksy genius,” he said, adding that he was “not in on the ruse”, although it is not clear whether other members of staff were. Some commented on the unusually thick frame, which could have easily concealed a shredding mechanism.

After a man dressed in black sporting sunglasses and a hat was seen scuffling with security guards near the entrance to Sotheby’s shortly after the incident, speculation mounted that the elusive artist had himself pressed the button that destroyed the work. According to the provenance, Girl with a Balloon was acquired directly from the artist in 2006.

“We are busy figuring out what this means in an auction context,” Branczik said. “The shredding is now part of the integral art work. We have not experienced a situation where a painting has spontaneously shredded, upon achieving a record for the artist.”
One potential outcome, according to a spokeswoman, is that the destroyed painting could be preserved as a document of the guerrilla tactic. “You could argue that the work is now more valuable,” Branczik said. “It’s certainly the first piece to be spontaneously shredded as an auction ends.”