YOUNG ART WEEK
I curated and produced a content take over for HERO online, spotlighting a new wave of creatives at the vanguard of contemporary art. Over the course of a week the series dove into this global community, speaking to key figures everywhere from the US to UK, Germany to Korea. We glimpsed some of the ideas, trends and movements defining new art in 2014, from the perspective of artists, curators, educators and other key figures witnessing its evolution. The series ran on HERO MAGAZINE'S digital platform – here's a peek at what it looked like.
Above: Eva Fàbregas and Andrew Lacon at Kunstraum, 2014
Top image: Andrew Lacon 'Reproduction of Sculpture', 2014
Thomas Cuckle is a young London curator. He opened Kunstraum, his Hoxton project space, in 2012 – two years after graduating from the MA Curating Contemporary Art programme at the Royal College of Art in 2010. His focus is unconventional for a young gallerist: instead of treading the well-imprinted path of young London galleries supporting young London artists, his focus is on solo exhibitions of artists based outside of the UK, in European cities. "The mission of Kunstraum is not so much to help artists be exposed to London, but rather to expose us in London to what is happening in Europe," he says.
"A big challenge [involved with being a young curator today] is getting people to take a chance with your ideas, both in getting invited to curate shows, and getting the artists you want to work with on board with your thinking. There are a lot of great projects out there being developed by young curators. I would love to initiate a forum for artists and curators to present the things they are thinking about, researching, working on at the moment." – Thomas Cuckle, curator, Kunstraum, London
Taken from the article, DIY outta London: Kunstraum’s taking a different approach to curating, published on HERO
Above: Kevin Beasley 'Movement I: DEF/ACHE/CRYSTALLINE/SLEEVE', May 16, 2014. Whitney Biennial 2014, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Photograph © Paula Court
"I think our generation is poised to shape a new global understanding of what it means to be ‘from’ somewhere and to generate a fresh cultural perspective but will not take hold until we realise that we are part of a constellation. A cosmic reality. I see art in America no differently than the possibilities in several other parts of the globe and until the prevailing sentiment of separation subsides – there will be no future, only just a desire for what it could be." – Kevin Beasley, sculptor, New York
Taken from the article, Whitney’s Christopher Lew selects “gnarly” New York sculptor Kevin Beasley, published on HERO.
Above images: Ariela Kader, from 'Social Trash' 2013. Courtesy the artist
In his work at Parsons, Professor Anthony Aziz is witnessing the impact of our changing universe on the creatives who use their work to get their message heard; and specialising in digital imaging, he sees up close the impact of digital technology on student’s preferred methods of communication.
"I would have to say there is an overwhelming desire among young artists to express their ideas and points-of-view through non-traditional, often re-cycled or re-purposed materials that suggest a strong consideration for the environment and sustainability. Additionally, I believe there is a renewed appreciation for craft and the uniqueness that can be found only in one-of-a-kind, singular objects." – Anthony Aziz, interim Director of the MFA Fine Arts program at Parsons The New School
Taken from the article, Revolt the system: Parsons The New School’s Anthony Aziz talks student subcultures and the politics wave, published on HERO.
Above: Kari Altmann ’10,000 Impressions’, 2008-Ongoing.
Top image: 'Hitashya.org' 2014-ongoing. Both courtesy Kari Altmann
Heather Corcoran is the executive director of the art and technology nonprofit Rhizome in New York. For Young Art Week, we asked Heather Corcoran to select her favourite young cyber artists of now. Up first is self-described 'cloud-based artist' Kari Altmann.
What do you think is defining this generation of artists?
"A change in what defines an image or an artwork, hypermobility and speed, as well as access to unprecedented archives, information flows, peers, and meta understandings of cultural content." – Kari Altmann, 'cloud-based artist'
Taken from the article, Rhizome’s Heather Corcoran selects cloud-based artist Kari Altmann, published on HERO.
What impact do you feel technology is having on this generation of artists?
"Recent technologies have provided even more tools for artists to realise their work. The cost of computing power, 3D printing, and communications – whether it is through Facebook, Instagram, text or a phone call – have all declined, providing more ways for artists to conceive of their art and produce it. As so-called ‘internet natives’, this is the first generation of artists who came of age navigating both digital and analogue worlds." – Christopher Lew, Nancy and Fred Poses Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Taken from the article, Whitney Museum of American Art’s Christopher Lew says young art is up to us, published on HERO.
Image, above: Trisha Baga ‘Plymouth Rock 2’ , 2012. Installation view, Whitney Museum of American Art, November 9, 2012-January 27, 2013. © Trisha Baga, courtesy of Greene Naftali, New York. Photography by Sheldan C. Collins
Above: Sholem Krishtalka 'The Real Answer 2', 2013. Courtesy the artist
Top image: 'Snax 2', 2013. Both courtesy the artist
Founding member of the legendary art collective General Idea and infamous for his early involvement in punk, AIDS activism and manifestations of ‘other’, AA Bronson is one of the most revered and radical artists living today. Bronson’s work in the art publishing field saw him found the Printed Matter NY and LA Art Book Fairs whilst director of Printed Matter between 2004 and 2010 – projects, which have played an integral role in the rise of the print medium as an accessible and innovative communication channel for young artists today.
“My work as an artist is rather difficult to define,” reflects Bronson. “I love to collaborate with friends of various generations, and I love to include my friends in my ‘solo’ exhibitions." While speaking to AA Bronson for our Young Art Week interview, we asked the prolific creative to select the artists he feels are making waves with their work in the world, and to ask them one question. Here, he selects Berlin-based artist Sholem Krishtalka.
AA Bronson: When you look into a mirror, what do you see?
Sholem Krishtalka: "I see my mirror image, which is to say, I see an image of myself as I am not; I see pores and hair and skin and tissue; I see mucosa and blackheads and whiteheads; I see surfaces and bumps and hollows; I see lines and contours and shapes and masses and colours; I see a document, a map of feelings and years and an unfolding life; I see someone staring back at me whom I continue to try very hard to understand."
Excerpt taken from the article, AA Bronson selects Berlin-based artist Sholem Krishtalka, published on HERO.
"For me, London is a valuable centre, but the interesting works tend to come more from the periphery where artists have forged their own scenes and communities, counter-cultures in old parlance," says Kit Hammonds – tutor in the Curating Contemporary Art programme at the Royal College of Art – of London's art scene. "This isn’t necessarily geographic, there are peripheries within London too, be it South London, which is finally being acknowledged as a creative and important part of the city; certain political or social groups with emancipatory aims; or simply marginalised communities. Common to the most interesting art projects from this peripheries are their connections to other parts of the globe. London’s beating heart is financial but its art is richest when it has one foot in another world.” – Kit Hammonds – tutor in the Curating Contemporary Art programme at the Royal College of Art
Taken from the article, So you wanna be a curator? The Royal College of Art’s Kit Hammonds weighs in on our shifting artscape, published on HERO.
Above: HaYoung Kim 'Future Head' 2014. Courtesy the artist
Top image: 'Modern Soup' 2014. Both courtesy the artist
"Over the past five years, contemporary Asian art has made its mark over the world,” says Niru Ratnam, director of the Global Eye Programme, an initiative that nurtures artistic talent in regions where art infrastructure is lacking – specifically, across Asia – with recent projects formed in Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore. “From big museum shows in the west (like Cai Guo-Qiang at New York’s Guggenheim in 2008) through to auction prices that were previously unimaginable for non-western artists, the region’s art has come out of obscurity in a big way. Artists like Ai Wei Wei, Subodh Gupta and Lee Ufan are now some of the most sought-after names by major collectors.
"Beneath these big now-established names is a vibrant emerging scene of young artists who are the first generation to see an older generation succeed and be taken notice of around the world. This seems to have given them the confidence to approach contemporary art in an experimental, confident way whether it is painting, installation or new media."
For Young Art Week, we asked Niru to tell us more about what’s happening in the Asian artscape from an emerging talent perspective, and to select three artists he feels are doing groundbreaking things in this context. Here, Niru selects Korean artist HaYoung Kim.
“HaYoung Kim’s work [pictured, above and below] consists of brightly coloured canvases that a whirl of bold, layered shapes,” says Ratnam. “Kim grew up in Korea and then studied in London and her work reflects living in a highly networked world where individuals are subsumed by the media and technology that surrounds them on a daily basis. Kim’s works combine a sensibility of growing up in a rapidly changing technological-orientated society with a visual sensibility that riffs on post-pop art.” – Niru Ratnam, director of the Global Eye Programme
Taken from the article, HaYoung is the first of Niru Ratnam’s Asian art boom talents, published on HERO
Above: HaYoung Kim 'Augmented Vision 1' 2014. Courtesy the artist
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