January : London, London Art Fair, I made an amazing discovery there, a gem, the work of Kate MccGwire . By far, the most interesting artist of the whole fair. Kate's work is complex, full of poetry with a dash of morbid romanticism, sophisticated and simple at the same time. There is a natural beauty in her work.
March : Maastricht, TEFAF is such a great fair! To have old art and new art, old masters and living artists under the same roof, is unique. Wandering around in the streets of Maastricht, we discovered Sandra Stevens's Gallery . Not only is the space a blessing for artists to present their work, but Sandra is so welcoming, so passionate about art and caring for the emerging artists she supports. We spent the whole evening, until very late, talking about artists, art... if only all gallerists were like her...
April : NY, Guggenheim, "I want to believe" Cai Guo-Qiang. I had an "artistic choc". I spent 3 hours in the Museum and only left because I had to. Wow! That was an incredible exhibition. Retrospectives in general are such a tribute to an artist's work, such a unique way to discover his/her universe, to fully experience the complexity of the work, its depth ... but this particular retrospective was stunning, really the most compelling exhibition I saw this year. The Guggenheim paid a great tribute to Cai Guo-Qiang. His work is so diverse, his creative "palette" so wide and far-fetched. When so many artists, so many contemporary Chinese artists in particular, keep repeating themselves over and over, copying each other (have a look at the Saatchi gallery exhibition on Chinese artists, and you'll understand what I mean ...) Cai Guo-Qiang ventures into unknown territories, working with various media. He is an ARTIST, a sculptor, a performer, a painter... His work is beyond his culture, even though Asian influence is there, no doubt. There is something universal, new, funny, so contemporary and full of cultural references, so creative ... After discovering his art you know that you've experienced something unique which cannot be forgotten.
June : Basel, Art Basel, welcome to the mecca of contemporary art! I was "high" with the Art. So many things to see, so many artists, why on earth do we only have 24 hours in a day!
I did not like everything for sure, but it was nice, great, as exciting as going to a party where you are going to meet long time friends. I looked for my old time favorites... Ernesto Neto, Gary Hill, Giuseppe Penone,
I discovered new ones such as John Gerrard with his virtual sculptures...
Basel was a feast and the Patty Smith concert organised by the Cartier Foundation in a Church was the final surreal fireworks.
Paris, Monumenta Richard Serra@Grand Palais, I had high expectations when going to the Grand Palais to discover Richard Serra's Monumenta exhibition. The year before I had been transported by Anselm Kieffer's Monumenta exhibition. To be honest, when I first saw Serra's work, I could not believe it : That's it? That's all?
And then, slowly, I got into it.
First, I walked around the impressive, almost threatening, steel plates. Then, I realised that what was at first glance merely steel plates behind each other, was a much more subtle, thoughtful installation. Each angle allowed a different view point. I then watched the documentary where Serra explained why, how, he made this exhibition and why he called it Promenade. Overall, it was a perfect example of how important it is with contemporary art, to understand, to make the effort, to go beyond the first impressions. Moreover, there is a philosophical dimension to Serra's work. It is a study on perception, how wrong and misleading a first impression can be, how essential it is to delve further and deeper.
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