Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Sarah Sze the 42 year old American contemporary artist who uses ordinary objects to create sculptures and site-specific installations, states “I want people to stop and look at my art”. Sze’s latest installation profiled by Vanessa Thorpe for the Observer at the London Victoria Miro gallery, Thorpe states “…known for the involving intricacy of her sculptural work, but this dramatic piece, which now dominates a room … seems in danger of hypnotising even her. It is a theatrical construction that plays with light and water and yet is made entirely of household items. …The installation reminds me of student storage, with desk lamps, electric fans, paperclips, stepladders, books, chairs, and the added intimacy of folded clothes and a sleeping bag. Sze picks up bits and bobs everywhere she goes, she says; happy to exhibit the trace of her travels. … A talent for subtle showmanship has won her an international reputation and next year she will represent the US at the Venice Biennale. She is always thinking about the way the viewer sees her art and wants visitors to the London show to feel drawn to a “backstage area”, to glimpse things they feel they were not intended to. … “I am aware people might dismiss my art, but I’m interested in getting them to stop and look; for no other reason than that is what I do.”

Inspired by The Guardian ow.ly/c4XGD image source Columbia University ow.ly/c4Yqi

Own artistic style in line with ‘pintura matèrica’ (February 14th)

Antoni Tàpies i Puig the 88 year old Catalonian Spanish painter sculptor and art theorist has died. Tàpies the best known Catalan artist emerging in the post Second World war period, had studied law before devoting his life to painting, initially influenced by Paul Klee and Joan Miró, he was instrumental in helping establish a Spanish movement connected to the Surrealist and Dadaist movements  known as ‘Dau al Set’. Tàpies established his own artistic style in line with ‘pintura matèrica’ where a mixed media of non-traditional artistic materials are included into the painted work, such as clay, waste-paper, rags, string and marble dust. Tàpies represented Spain at the Venice Biennale in 1993, and in 2003 he was awarded Spain’s foremost honour for artists, the Velazquez Prize. Tàpies painted approximately 8,000 pieces over his career, prompting Spain’s King Carlos in 2010 to award him the title of Marqués de Tàpies.

Inspired by Helen Stoilas http://ow.ly/8ZnnR image source canalhub http://ow.ly/8Znhv

Expert in creating mesmerizing forms of repetition (January 17th)

Anri Sala the 37 year old Albanian artist renowned for his favored medium in video has been announced as a representative for France at the 2013 Venice Biennale. Sala is currently based in Paris, represented by Hauser & Wirth Gallery along with the Marian Goodman Gallery. Sala studied video production at the French Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and film direction in Le Fresnoy-Studio National des Arts Contemporains, Tourcoing. Sala currently has a video installation titled ‘Dammi i colori’ (Give me the colors) on display at the London Tate Modern. The installation explores the colour transformation of his hometown Tirana in 2003. The installation includes a discussion between Sala and a personal friend Edi Rama, the Mayor of Tirana. Daniel Birnbaum wrote in Artforum in 2004 that Sala “is an expert in creating mesmerizing forms of repetition that produce strange states of mind, but he never goes so far as to cause pain.”

Inspired by Artinfo http://ht.ly/8qZp9 image source http://ow.ly/8tPHX

Rotten system in hands of political lobbies (October 28th)

Paolo Baratta the 72 year old Italian former banker and Chairman of the Venice Biennale art exhibition has been informed his position will cease at the conclusion of this year. Baratta is deeply involved with the Italian cultural sector, sitting on several institutional and organizational boards. His successor Giulio Malgara a businessman has little experience with the arts will assume the role from the 1^st January 1012, and is seen by some as a political appointment. The Mayor of Venice Giorgio Orsoni released a statement stating, “I am convinced that Giulio Malgara is an unsuitable person to carry out the role of chairman of the Venice Biennale and that it would be a mistake to confirm him in this position. It would interrupt a vital and fruitful process that needs to be seen through to the end.”

Inspired by Anna Somers Cocks http://ow.ly/6YFZP image source Starkwhite http://ow.ly/6YG7K

Everything is shrouded in a big black cloud (October 23rd)

Zwelethu Mthethwa the 51 year old South African artist photographer nominated to include his work in the prestigious Venice Biennale art exhibition, has withdrawn outraged and alleging transparency issues within the organizing group. Monna Mokoena a South African gallery owner who had initiated the South African return to the Biennale following non participation since 1995, has been appointed the commissioner by the government. Mokoena selected the curator and two of his own artists to exhibit, and as a token selected two others including Mthethwa while delaying them access to information and financial budgets. Malcolm Payne a former Dean of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town who had exhibited at the last South African participation in the 1995 Biennale, criticised Mokoena appointment as “A handout … What happened then is happening now”.

Inspired by Matthew Blackman http://ow.ly/6Si7M image source myglobalhustle http://ow.ly/6SiIj

Give the building a bit of an edge (September 8th)

Tracey Karima Emin the 48 year old UK artist of the YBA grouping (Young British Artists), Venice Biennale representative and Turner Prize nominee, has installed a neon artwork at Number 10 Downing Street after being invited to create a work by PM David Cameron. The neon artwork installed outside the Terracotta Room, on the first floor of the prime minister’s official residence, is a sign that reads “More Passion” has been donated by Emin to the UK government’s art collection. Emin a supporter of the current Conservative Party under David Cameron, came to fame at the Charles Saatchi’s Sensation exhibition with her 1997 piece ‘Everyone I have ever slept with 1963-1995’. The Terracotta Room is generally used for hospitality purposes, is visible when climbing the Number 10’s main staircase.

Inspired by Jill Lawless http://ow.ly/6fhLn image source Piers Allardyce http://ow.ly/6fhUb

Claudio Bravo the Chilean hyperrealist painter passed away at the age of 74 years at his home in Taroudant, Morocco due to heart and epilepsy attacks. Bravo is considered one of the most prestigious Chilean painters renowned for his mastership of light, constantly seeking the best lighting locations for his paintings, with a work ethic to match his skill for hyperrealist creations. Bravo represented Chile in the 2007 Venice Biennale with his work exhibited at the Museo Diocesano. At the age of 19 he danced professionally with the Compañía de Ballet de Chile, and by his early 20’s had established himself as a society portraitist, painting many prominent political and social figures. However he earned his name as ‘the master of light’ primarily for his depiction of objects and shapes.

Inspired by William Grimes ow.ly/5hdQD image source riadzany.blogspot ow.ly/5he1i

Alchemist of colours leaves unique body (June 13th)

Adapting Pop Art’s notion of mass media imagery into a context of the contemporary digital age, the work draws on a myriad points of reference. Utilizing fractured images to provide an allusion to the digital noise pounding away daily into our sub consciousness.  The work diverges from the traditional Pop Art notion of a pronounced repetition of a consumer icon, instead this work focuses on the deluge of contemporary digital content. The compilation of the fragmented imagery is vividly distractive, not unlike cable surfing or a jaunt through Times Square.
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