AARHUS, DENMARK Next year, “Sculpture by the Sea” in Australia will celebrate its 20th anniversary. The brainchild of David Handley, “Sculpture by the Sea” was conceived as a free exhibition, arranged along a spectacular stretch of coastline at Bondi Beach and designed to attract both a popular audience and art professionals. The Sydney show now draws about half a million visitors annually and generates about $1 million in sales, making it one of Australia’s most significant art events.
Dispatch: Kara Walker at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Domino Sugar Factory, and Sikkema Jenkins & Co.
Kara Walker operates in the liminal—that in-between space of overlap and displacement at the border and on the margins—intent on undermining and transcending fixed definitions and domains of difference. Whether in the form of cut-out silhouettes, for which she first gained recognition, or in more recent projects, including an exhibition that she organized for the
Hunting for Stone: A Conversation with Lee Ufan
A fascinating book published in 2014 by the Fondazione Mudima in Milan documents Lee Ufan’s wanderings through the environs of Lombardy in search of stones—boulders, in fact—to be used as components in his “Relatum” series, along with plates of steel.
Geoff Bartlett: Where the Work Leads
Widely regarded as one of Australia’s foremost sculptors, Geoff Bartlett has no constant, identifiable style. And yet, regardless of the fact that he also uses a wide range of diverse media, the viewer has little difficulty in recognizing his distinctive sculptures since certain underlying characteristics have appeared in his work throughout his career.
Upside Down: A Conversation with Alex Sanson
“Upside down” is one way to describe Alex Sanson’s thought-provoking approach to art. In fact, he offers a fascinating case study for artists seeking a financially sustainable business model and a wider customer base. His practice of placing works beyond narrow art capitals and the professionalized art world infrastructure is also inspiring.
Thinking Space: A Conversation with Bernard Williams
Bernard Williams investigates the complexities of American history and culture through painting, sculpture, and installation. Within these broad arenas, his work seeks a kind of open-ended dialogue, addressing identity, flattening hierarchies, and questioning who we are collectively.
Not Hidden, Not Evident: A Conversation with Mirta Kupferminc
The daughter of immigrants—Auschwitz survivors—Mirta Kupferminc was born in Argentina. Because the family had lost every material belonging that might help their children to re-create their past before the war, Kupferminc grew up nurturing her spirit with stories and memories that shaped her life and art and established her interest in human rights.
Surrendering to the Common Life: A Conversation with Cristina Rodrigues
In situ, Cristina Rodrigues’s works read like fanciful relics. Lavishing baroque details over ordinary objects, she masterfully mixes virtuosity with the commonplace. Adventures into the sublime, her installations are as universal in their significance as they are local in their inspiration, purposefully touching the lives of everyone involved.
Illuminating Illusions: A Conversation with Iván Navarro
Iván Navarro’s activities this past year—participation in a summer 2014 show at the Guggenheim Museum, a new Skira Rizzoli book Iván Navarro, his “This Land is Your Land” exhibition in Madison Square Park, shows at Hotel Particulier in Manhattan and Galerie Hyundai in Seoul, and his electronic, minimal music CD Oido (Huseo Records)—suggest diversity, fluency,
Bradley Wester
NEW YORK Pavel Zoubok Gallery Bradley Wester, best known as a painter and printmaker, has pushed his two-dimensional works into three dimensions, making sculpture out of what might have originally been paintings. A New Orleans native, he celebrates the city’s famed Mardi Gras and glitzy nightlife with works incorporating disco balls and glitter. For Wester, who lived for a long time in New York and now resides in Bristol, Rhode Island, this exhibition paid homage, not only to the glamor of New Orleans, but also to his memories of the gay community there.
