Art Radar Asia

Flash Reward: Love South Korean contemporary art? Museum and gallery guide giveaway

Posted on February 22, 2012

READER PRIZE FLASH REWARD

Win your very own copy of Museums & Galleries: Displaying Korea’s Past and Future, published by Seoul Selection in collaboration with the Korea Foundation. This new guide has an entire chapter dedicated to the country’s top art institutions.

Museums & Galleries: Displaying Korea’s Past and Future

According to a review of the publication by the The Korea Herald, published in December of 2011,

The chapter [on major art institutions] intelligently delves into how the emergence of these galleries is deeply linked to Korea’s modernisation and industrialisation which took place in the last fifty years.

We have one copy of Museums & Galleries: Displaying Korea’s Past and Future to give away for our January/February 2012 Flash Reward. All you have to do is leave your answer to the question below in the comment section of this post, or leave a message with your answer on our Facebook page or Twitter account. We will draw the winning name randomly on Wednesday 29 February 2012 and the winner will be contacted by email shortly after.

The question: What South Korean public institution or gallery showing contemporary Asian art do you most enjoy visiting? (You can just name the institution, but if you want to, feel free to tell us why, too. And if you cannot think of just one, name a few!)

So, leave a comment below or head to Art Radar on Facebook or Twitter and leave your answer there. Winning is as easy as that!

MoMA collects numerous drawings by Hajra Waheed

Posted on February 22, 2012

INDIAN CANADIAN COLLAGE ARTIST ACQUISITION

Pieces from rising artist Hajra Waheed’s “Antranik Anouchian Passport Portrait Drawing series” were recently acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. In the series, the artist reflects on experiences had while growing up on a Saudi Arabian oil compound.

Hajra Waheed, 'Antranik Anouchian Passport Portrait Drawing series (Women with Headscarves)', 2010, pencil drawing on paper. Image courtesy Green Cardamom.

Waheed was inspired by passport photos taken by Armenian photographer Antranik Anouchian between 1935 to 1970. As she explains in an artist statement,

As a result of living in Saudi Arabia, a country that forbid any use of public photographic/video documentation, the only images permissible were that of the passport photo. As a woman, I was only able to leave the city and travel within the country with written permission from my father and the accompaniment of an Iqama or in-country passport. Consequently, the passport photo not only identified me but came to represent the opportunity to exist as a somewhat free individual.

In total, there are 198 drawings in the series, 99 men and 99 women.

Hajra Waheed, 'Antranik Anouchian Passport Portrait Drawing series (Men in Uniforms)', 2010, pencil drawing on paper. Image courtesy Green Cardamom.

Hajra Waheed was born in Calgary, Canada to Muslim-Indian parents, but she grew up in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, within the gated headquarters of Saudi Aramco, a state-owned oil corporation. As the largest oil exporter in the world, Saudi Aramco controls around a quarter of the world’s oil supply, and as a result, the community was subject to stringent access regulations.

Waheed’s work comments on the disjoints that arise within this kind of living situation, and she also examines the complex dynamics of power and privilege that still pervade cross-cultural encounters in the globalising world. Waheed’s practice, however, is more personal than political, and her assemblages of found notes and stationery, architectural schematics and cyphers of her own design read like an intimate journal.

Hajra Waheed, 'Scrapbook page 12', 2010-11, mixed media. Part of the exhibition "The Scrapbook Project". Image courtesy Green Cardamom.

“The Scrapbook Project“, a solo exhibition of Hajra Waheed’s most recent work and the artists first in the UK, will be on display at Green Cardamom in London until 9 March 2012. Her artwork can also be seen in a Green Cardamom-organised group exhibition called “Lines of Control: Partition as a Productive Space“, on at Cornell University’s Johnson Museum of Art until 1 April 2012.

PR/KN

Related Topics: collage, drawing, pencil, globalisation of art, acquisitions

Post-disaster reflections in Japan-Australia art exhibition “Alternating Currents” – December 2011 – another exhibition that examines Asian cross-cultural engagement
Words in Art: How Indian-born painter Sujata Bajaj uses Sanskrit on canvas – December 2011 – a different collage method by a contemporary Indian artist
Young Indian artists struggle under veteran legacy – November 2011 – Indian artists face challenges in integrating into the art market
2 Indian photographers shortlisted for Canada’s 2011 Grange Prize – September 2011 – Indian artists recognised by a major international prize, to be decided by public vote
MOMA acquires Israeli artist Guy Ben-Ner video Moby Dick – April 2009 – another major acquisition for MoMA’s increasingly comprehensive contemporary Asian art collection

Subscribe to Art Radar for more acquisitions of art by major museums

Posted in Acquisitions, Canadian, Drawing, Emerging artists, Globalisation of art, Hajra Waheed, Pencil | Tagged Antranik Anouchian, Antranik Anouchian Passport Portrait Drawing series, Armenian photographers, Armenian photography, art acquisitions, Canada, collage, collage art, contemporary collage, Cornell University, cross-cultural exchange, Dhahran, Drawing, Global art, Globalisation, globalisation art, globalisation of art, Green Cardamom, Hajra Waheed, Hammad Nasar, identity, Identity art, illustration, Indian Canadian, Johnson Museum of Art, Lines of Control: Partition as a Productive Space, Men in Uniforms, MOMA, museum acquisition, museum acquisitions, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Modern Art New York, Oil production, passport photographs, Patrick Rhine, pencil on paper, picture feast, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco, The Scrapbook Project, Women with Headscarves | Leave a comment

Kazakhstani art festival ArtBatFest calls for public arts submissions

Posted on February 22, 2012

ART FESTIVAL CENTRAL ASIA

The third edition of ArtBatFest is set to run in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from 25 to 27 May 2012. The theme of this year’s festival is “2012: The Beginning of the World”, and the organisers of the event are calling for artists who are experienced in creating art for public spaces.

Logo of the 2012 ArtBatFest. Image courtesy ArtBatFest.

From the PDF download on the ArtBatFest website,

The 1st Contemporary Art Festival ArtBatFest was organised in 2010 by a local initiative group of artists and businessmen. In 2011, the festival achieved international scale. The Festival’s direction – Public Art – includes such categories as installations (site-specific art), paintings and graphics, photo and video art, theatre, performance, various music styles. In 2011, the initiative group created the public association Eurasian Cultural Alliance, which will be an official organiser of future ArtBatFest Festivals.

Potential participants: artists, artistic projects from all around the world.

What: open air events: installations, contemporary visual and performing arts, music concerts, etc.

Where: parks, squares, pedestrian streets in Almaty.

When: opening of the Festival will take place May 25 – 27, 2012.

Installations will be placed all over the city between 25 May to 25 June, 2012.

[The Festival] will select participants from all around the world, and underwrites production expenses of installations, as well as accommodation and meals for the participants. Participants should send us an application and their works/projects.

For installations [the event] offers two options for participation:

participants provide the festival with the installation’s production specifications (distant participation).

participants arrive in Almaty and make installations by themselves.

Please find an application form, terms of participation and installation production requirements on the website of the festival.

PR/KN

Related Topics: art festivals, Kazakhstani art, public art

Curators announced for Central Asian Pavillion, 54th Venice Biennial – October 2010 – how the curators of the 2010 biennale presented Central Asian contemporary art
Curator Rosa Maria Falvo on emerging Central Asian art scene – interview – December 2009 – an interview with an eminent curator and critic of Central Asian art
East of Nowhere, important exhibition of rare post Soviet Central Asian art in Italy, 2009 – September 2009 – Central Asian artists explore their roots in the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse
Art from Kazakhstan will take your breath away – video – April 2009 – link to a video about the Kazakhstani contemporary art scene
Central Asian art joins mainstream market – December 2008 – an early look into a still nascent art world

Subscribe to Art Radar for more on contemporary art festivals in Central Asia

Posted in Almaty, Festivals, Kazakhstan, Public art | Tagged Almaty, art festivals, ArtBatFest, call for artists, Central Asia, Central Asian contemporary art, Eurasian Cultural Alliance, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstani artists, Patrick Rhine, public art | Leave a comment

ART HK repositions ASIA ONE section for 2012, now “heart” of fair

Posted on February 22, 2012

CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR HONG KONG

With the repositioning of its ASIA ONE section into the centre of the fair for 2012, ART HK, now led by MCH Group, the owners of leading international fair Art Basel, is attempting to assert its “unique” position as the “only world class art fair to have a 50/50 balance of Asian and Western participation”.

From the press release,

ART HK 12 will also see the return of ASIA ONE, a section which debuted at the fair in 2011. Forty-nine galleries from across Asia will exhibit a solo presentation by an artist of Asian origin. ASIA ONE offers an international platform to Asian artists and their galleries and provides a unique opportunity for visitors to experience a diverse view of the Asian art scene. In keeping with the Fair’s encouragement of cross-cultural exchange, ART HK recently announced the repositioning of ASIA ONE into the heart of the fair.

In the same release, ART HK 12 also announced their 266-strong gallery list. Top participants from Asia include,

Long March Space and The Pace Gallery from Beijing; Vitamin Creative Space from Guangzhou; Ben Brown Fine Arts and Hanart TZ Gallery from Hong Kong; Nature Morte / Bose Pacia from New Delhi; Kukje Gallery from Seoul; Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery from Sydney; Eslite Gallery from Taipei and SCAI THE BATHHOUSE from Tokyo. New additions include de Sarthe Gallery from Hong Kong, Gallery Koyanangi from Japan and three galleries from Mumbai: Chemould Prescott Road, Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke and Volte.

Click here to view the complete list of galleries attending ART HK 12 (PDF download).

PR/KN

Related Topics: art fairs, Hong Kong art venues, Asia expands

Hong Kong Contemporary: Hotel art fair to piggyback ART HK 12 – February 2012 – a second contemporary art fair to run in tandem with ART HK 12
What art fairs will contemporary galleries be heading to in 2011 – July 2011 – different galleries consider their increasing art fair options
Art Basel takeover of ART HK: What did dealers at ART HK 11 say? – June 2011 – gallerists weigh in on the new ownership of ART HK
ART HK 11 top topics media round-up: Ai Weiwei, Gao Weigang, ASIA ONE and gallery sales – June 2011 – the most talked-about issues of ART HK 11
ART HK 11 Hong Kong art fair: Gallery sales – ART FUTURES and ASIA ONE sections – June 2011 – gallerists respond to new additions to the ART HK format

Subscribe to Art Radar for more on contemporary art fairs in Asia

Posted in Asia expands, Fairs, Galleries, Hong Kong, Promoting art | Tagged Acquavella Galleries, Annely Juda Fine Art, Art Basel, art fairs, ART FUTURES, Art HK, ART HK 12, ART HK press release, Asia expands, ASIA ONE, Asian art fairs, Asian art galleries, Asian contemporary art fairs, Ben Brown Fine Art, Bose Pacia, business of art, Chemould Prescott Road, contemporary art fairs, cross-cultural exchange, Eslite Gallery, Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Gallery Koyanangi, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong art events, Hong Kong art fair, Hong Kong art venues, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, Hong Kong International Art Fair, Kukje Gallery, Long March Space, MCH Group, Nature Morte, Patrick Rhine, Promoting art, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sarthe Gallery, Scai The Bathhouse, selling contemporary art, The Pace Gallery, Vitamin Creative Space, Volte | Leave a comment

Museums in the age of the mega-collector: Can public institutions compete? – WSJ Blogs

Posted on February 22, 2012

PRIVATE COLLECTION FOUNDATIONS ART PRIZES MARKET

In January 2012, The Wall Street Journal interviewed Siu Li Tan, an assistant director and curator for the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), who talked about the importance of private collectors and their unique role in shaping the Asian art community.

Sheba Chhacchi, 'Winged Pilgrims II', 2006, mixed media. Part of "The Collectors Show: Chimera" exhibition of contemporary Asian art at the Singapore Art Museum. The exhibition will end on 25 March 2012.

From The Wall Street Journal,

I [Siu Li Tan] have been watching with interest the recent mushrooming of private museums and art foundations across Asia. Some of these have been established with very clear aims and ambitions in mind: Besides serving as an exhibition platform for new art forms, these private museums or foundations are also committed to nurturing an appreciation and understanding of contemporary art with their education and outreach initiatives.

At the same time, however, a number of other private museums exist purely to house their founders’ expansive collections, and are not exactly accessible to the public. This is where an institution like SAM can play a role in bringing together, in a single venue, important or interesting works of art drawn from these private collections.

It remains to be seen how this recent trend of private museums develops in this region, for it has enormous potential to shape the contemporary art scene, given the lack of public art institutions with the means and/or inclination to exhibit contemporary art. I can’t help but think about the FACE (Foundation of Arts for a Contemporary Europe) model, where an alliance of art foundations established by private collectors organises exhibitions which draw on works from their collections and which travel around the different country venues. Imagine what a similar model could do for contemporary art in Asia.

Tan goes on to comment that museums are largely priced out of contemporary art acquisitions, which greatly affects institutions in Asian countries where art philanthropy and donation are less common. However, collectors are adapting to this non-traditional situation and are finding ways to provide access to their collections and their wealth. In China, leading contemporary art collector Uli Sigg founded the Chinese Contemporary Art Awards to provide stronger institutional support for contemporary artists in the country, and Art Radar also noted the increase in private museums in Asia as part of our contemporary Asian art trends series.

PR/KN

Related Topics: collectors, museum collections, museums

New private contemporary art museum for Dubai – December 2011 – a new museum housing the collection of arts patron Ramin Salsali
What motivates billionaire collector Victor Pinchuk? The Art Newspaper – November 2011 – how one Ukrainian mogul has created a private collection empire
Provocative agenda at huge Australian collector-owned museum – November 2011 – David Walsh’s private museum goes for eccentricity over familiarity
Which museums are collecting Chinese contemporary art? New database just revealed – November 2009 – an online resource from the AW Asia gallery to track museum acquisitions of contemporary Chinese art
Singapore Museum Guide – November 2009 – a run-down of museums in Singapore and what they exhibit

Subscribe to Art Radar for more on collectors of contemporary Asian art