When we curated the stand for our Arts Projects space at London Art Fair we wanted to show a cross-section of work from the Axisweb directory. The directory is bursting at the seams with talent and the Art Fair is a great way to show it in the flesh.
- Hanae Utamura, Wiping the Sahara Desert, 2010
Selling the work is, of course, important in this context and the work was selected with this in mind. However I think it would be fair to say that the success of Hanae Utamura’s ‘Wiping the Sahara Desert’ has taken both the artist, and us, by surprise.
- Audio Obscura produced by ArtAngel
On a recent trip to London I had one evening and a day to explore, but how much art can you see, in the middle of a bizarre Autumnal heat-wave? As long as there is some beer to accompany it, quite a bit it seems!
Audio Obscura by Lavinia Greenlaw is a project produced by Artangel, set for the time-being in St.Pancras International Station. I spent a contemplative half hour watching the world go by, listening to the fragmented stories of unknown strangers through a borrowed head-set.
- Axis stand at Manchester Contemporary 2010
A definite plus to working part-time is that I can manage my own time when I’m not in the office. Like many of the artists on Axis I juggle a part-time job, freelance work (both art related and my own business, which in my case is as a yoga teacher) and my artistic practice.
So it doesn’t leave much spare time, but who could turn down a jolly jaunt to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) on one of the few glorious days in August? My main mission was to see artist on Axis Emily Speed’s solo show in the Bothy Gallery.
Copyright. We’re all familiar with copyright, and I’m sure we all understand its fundamental importance in protecting artist’s work. But in these times of burgeoning technological developments and social media, how do we negotiate copyright and should artists and galleries take a new approach to protecting their output?
- Maurizio Anzeri, 'Angelo', courtesy and copyright the artist
When you are passionate about contemporary art, you are always searching for that moment when you enter a gallery and you see a work that pulls on your heart strings, that satisfies the intelligent mind, and is beautifully, aesthetically executed.
On a fleeting visit to The Baltic in Gateshead yesterday, I had one of those moments.
I’m not sure how the work of Maurizio Anzeri has passed me by up to this point. His sculptures are achingly familiar but I suspect that is the nature of them, with their references to traditional African costume, shapes and materials.
