ARTEFACT x MOONARIJ I A CELEBRATION OF COLOR, LIGHT, AND PATTERN IN CONTEMPORARY GLASSMAKING

Private Preview: November 14, 2024 | 6 – 8 p.m.

On View: November 15 – December 20, 2024

October 24, 2024 (Berlin, Germany) – ARTEFACT Gallery is pleased to present the first solo exhibition of Berlin-based design brand MOONARIJ. On view from November 15 - December 20, 2024, a curated selection of limited-edition glass vases and vessels celebrates contemporary design and heritage craft. Intertwining a kaleidoscope of colors in bold radiant hues, each piece embodies an intricate sense of joy through elegant patterns of transparency and reflection. Designed in Berlin and hand-blown at a local manufacturer in Dresden, Moonarij’s objects honor the glassblowing traditions of the region and the mastery of glassmaking. For its upcoming presentation, Moonarij will present Zigzag, its newest collection launched in September 2024, alongside previous collections, including Oona, Narij, and Oona Babies.

Moonarij’s collections imprint the art of contemporary craftsmanship onto the ancient perception and utility of vessels. An homage to the heritage and artistry of glass-making, exceptional mastery is employed through two distinct processes where two artisans intricately shape each vase into life. Pulled canes are meticulously cut and laid out into the zigzag design. Subsequently folded on a glass bulb, the cane is blown and shaped into a statement vase. By crafting small batches of handblown glass vases, each piece is one of a kind. Their finely crafted forms and patterns have a haptic presence, channeling the luminosity of glass and the skill of accomplished craftsmen. Experimentation with different techniques, such as overlapping and crossovers crucial to drifts and swirls, is imperative to Moonarij’s aesthetic language. The intuitively shaped objects possess a sophisticated and understated elegance in both pattern and form – each piece is signed and numbered.

ARTEFACT Gallery is honored to present Moonarij’s first solo show – reflecting its mission to engage in a continuous conversation of contemporary art, collectible design, and craftsmanship. Celebrating the distinct voices of both emerging and established artists and designers, Artefact’s commitment to fostering a dynamic creative community is embodied by the rich variety of the gallery’s programming, alternating between exhibitions solely dedicated to art or design and those that seamlessly blend both disciplines.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

ARTEFACT X MOONARIJ will be on view at Artefact from November 15 – December 20, 2024.

The vases are available for purchase via Artefact Gallery and MOONARIJ.

Address:

Artefact
Geisbergstraße 12,
10777 Berlin
Germany

Opening Times:

Monday – Friday | 10 – 6 p.m. and by appointment.

About MOONARIJ:
Moonarij is a Berlin-based, female-founded design brand focused on handcrafted vases. Captivated by the art of glass blowing, Johanna Wichelhaus teamed up with renowned glass artists in 2021 to develop first iterations of her sketches of striped bud vases. The designs evolved into the brand‘s first collections – the Oona, released in 2022, and the Narij, followed by the Large Bucket, Oona Baby, and Zigzag collection. Voluminous in shape, iridescent in color, and meticulously crafted, hand-blown, and hand-sculpted, Moonarij vases stand out as mesmerizing objects of beauty.

www.moonarij.com | @moonarij_objects

About Artefact Gallery:
Artefact is a Berlin-based gallery and project space presenting contemporary art and collectible design. We are dedicated to fostering a dynamic and inclusive community by supporting both emerging and established artists and designers in articulating their unique perspectives. Our collaborators are entrusted with unrestricted creativity, with the freedom to explore, experiment, and express themselves without limitations.
artefact.berlin | @artefactgallery.berlin

Previous exhibitions include:
‘A Family Affair’ by contemporary Berlin-based artists Anna Virnich, David Prytz, and Winfried Virnich.
‘Blushing out of Blue’ by Berlin-based Brazilian-born artist Caterina Renaux Hering.
‘Transparency, Form and Color’ featuring contemporary Berlin-based artist Nadine Schemmann and mid-century glassware attributed to glass artist Albin Schaedel.

Image Credits:

1. Moonarij, Oona Vases, 2023. Photography by Peter Langer. Courtesy of Peter Langer and Moonarij.2024
2. Moonarij, New Yellow 3, 2024. Photography by Peter Langer. Courtesy of Peter Langer and Moonarij. 2024
3. Moonarij, Oona Vases, 2024. Photography by Peter Langer. Courtesy of Peter Langer and Moonarij. 2024
4. Moonarij, Large Bucket Grand Amethyst 3, 2024. Photography by Peter Langer. Courtesy of Peter Langer and Moonarij. 2024

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GEORG DOKOUPIL UNVEILS ‘VENETIAN BUBBLES 2.5’ AT OSTHAUS MUSEUM IN HAGEN | WINNER OF THE KARL ERNST OSTHAUS PRIZE

Extending through the museum’s two largest rooms, the exhibition presents an insightful exploration of Dokoupil’s oeuvre, reflecting a liberated body of work that reimagines traditional mediums and
defies artistic categorization.

On View: November 30, 2024 – February 23, 2025

October 23, 2024 (Hagen, Germany) – As the winner of the 2024 Karl Ernst Osthaus Prize, a distinguished German cultural award granted biennially to visual artists, Georg Dokoupil is invited to present his solo exhibition ‘Venetian Bubbles 2.5,’ at the Osthaus Museum in Hagen, Germany, as part of the honor associated with this accolade. Curated by Reiner Opoku, the exhibition is set across the Neue Galerie and the Zentrale Halle, two of the largest spaces in the museum, featuring the artist’s first-ever large sculptural works in glass, nine large-scale paintings, a series of works on paper, and 20 small-sized bubble canvas. On view from November 30, 2024 – February 23, 2025, this contemporary intervention reflects the artist’s longstanding exploration of new materials and techniques, and innovative approaches to glassmaking with freedom, play, and humor, while capturing the ephemerality of existence.

A key figure in the Neue Wilde movement in Germany and known for his unconventional experimentations in the global art scene, Georg Dokoupil has never been confined to a specific genre or style. Instead, he transcends traditional practices, using unusual materials such as whip marks, candle soot, or fruit, and soap bubbles, demonstrating a multiplicity of approaches to painting and a body of work that defies categorization.

In ‘Venetian Bubbles 2.5’ Dokoupil presents nine large-scale paintings (ranging from 200 x 400 centimeters) depicting colored soap bubbles. Since the late 1970s, the artist has been exploring the subtleties of his technique, mixing soap-lye with pigments, and blowing bubbles onto a canvas coated with paint, guiding their burst to leave intricate organic imprints. These unpredictable patterns evoke a sense of spontaneity that challenges the control of the artist and the notion of permanence often found in the painting practice. Dokoupil simultaneously reflects on deeper themes of the human condition – the breath used to conceive the bubbles, evokes the fugacity of existence, while their imprints on the canvas reveal textures of the ephemeral. Presenting an insightful exploration of the artist’s body of work, the small-scale paintings displayed in the Zentrale Halle reveal the intricate layers and dynamic movements within Dokoupil’s enduring fascination with bubbles and foam.

The Neue Galerie hosts the complete series of works presented in ‘Venetian Bubbles’ – Dokoupil’s exhibition at Museo Correr in Venice earlier this year. Among the pieces, the artist’s new glass sculptures are an extension of his renowned Soap Bubble Paintings – their temporal element is now expressed in a three-dimensional space, narrowing the distance between the viewers and the subtleties of his practice. Seven metal bottle racks (80 – 200 centimeters tall) are adorned with glass bubbles of various bright hues. The artist names them ‘Homemade Venetian Bubbles’ honoring their national origin from various manufacturers and master craftsmen in crystal glass from the Bohemia region in the Czech Republic. Instructing the glassmakers to explore new creative dynamics in the sculptural process, the artist disrupts established techniques and the expectations associated with craftsmanship. The glass bubbles hanging on female-shaped bottle racks bring forth a striking juxtaposition between fragility and strength, underscoring recurring existential themes of transience and permanence in Dokoupil’s oeuvre. Captured and conserved at the peak of their existence, the bubble sculptures uncover layers of complexity and nuance in their form, texture, and spatial presence, inherent in the artist’s practice.

Among the highlights of the exhibition are the ‘Open Bubbles Condensation Cubes,’ a nod to Dokoupil’s former teacher Hans Haake’s ‘Condensation Cube’ (1963/68), which encapsulates glass bubbles within a box filled with condensed water. The work embodies Dokoupil’s approach of incorporating the environment and viewer into the art itself, mimicking a living system within the artwork.

‘Venetian Bubbles 2.5’  is an evolution of Georg Dokoupil’s multifaceted artistic practice – As delicate bubbles are transformed into timeless expressions of artistic ingenuity, Dokoupil's new works reflect his enduring pursuit of innovation, challenging the boundaries of artistic mediums through themes of impermanence and transcendence.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

‘Venetian Bubbles 2.5’ will be on view at the Osthaus Museum in Hagen from November 30, 2024 – February 23, 2025.

Press Tour:
November 29, 2024 | 11 A.M.

Address:
Museumspl. 1
58095 Hagen
Germany

Opening Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday | 12 P.M - 6 P.M.
Closed on Mondays

About Georg Dokoupil:
Georg Dokoupil’s main subject is painting. He refuses to be subordinated to a personal style, attitude, or conventional artistic approach. Instead, he operates in a free and not assignable manner right from the beginning of his career in the early 1980s. The artist’s open and experimental spirit creates a wide range of visual worlds through unconventional technical inventions: he puts color on canvas with a whip or with car tires, he creates candle paintings using soot or bound pigments into soap bubbles, only to have them burst on his canvases. The artist is fixing the ephemeral within his pictorial inventions. Georg Dokoupil oeuvre today contains over 60 series and far more than 100 devised techniques or styles.

Dokoupil was born in Krnov, former Czechoslovakia, in 1954. After the invasion of the Soviet army in Prague in 1968, he fled with his family to Germany. From 1976 to 1978, Dokoupil studied fine arts in Cologne, Frankfurt am Main and in New York at The Cooper Union with the conceptual artist Hans Haacke. Dokoupil was founding- member of the German artist groups Mülheimer Freiheit and Junge Wilde, which arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The group was associated with the legendary art dealer Paul Maenz who organized Dokoupil’s first solo exhibition in Cologne in 1982. In their shared studio in Cologne on a street named Mülheimer Freiheit, the Junge Wilde sought to explore a contemporary expression for their art by using a neo-expressive, figurative style of intensely colorful painting with traditional subjects and by overriding the intellectual, reduced formal language of Minimal and Conceptual Art. Dokoupil also taught as a guest professor at the Academy of Fine Arts of Düsseldorf from 1983 to 1984 and in Madrid during 1989.

Dokoupil developed a less wild, rather unusual working method and soon found his own radical subjective way with individual considerations. With his “book painting” shown at documenta 7 in Kassel in 1982, Dokoupil widely attracted the attention of the art world. Since then – besides the early group exhibitions with the Mülheimer Freiheit – Dokoupil’s work has been seen in numerous one-man shows in galleries, museums and at other cultural sites worldwide.

Dokoupil lives and works between Berlin, Prag, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Las Palmas.

About Reiner Opoku:
Reiner Opoku is a Berlin based art consultant and international art agent. He has curated numerous international art exhibitions since the early 1980s and is representing a variety of renowned contemporary artists. Reiner Opoku serves as an advisor and initiator for aligning artists and the creative world with institutions, galleries, and brands by creating collaboration platforms, publications and commissioned works.

Image Credits:

1. Georg Dokoupil, Blau-Gold, 2024
, Soap-lye and pigments on canvas, 245 x 400 cm. Courtesy of ©Studio Dokoupil.
2. Georg Dokoupil’s ‘Homemade Venetian Bubbles’, 2024, Metal structure and glass, Courtesy of Office Reiner Opoku ©Studio Dokoupil.

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LAGOSPHOTO FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2025 BIENNIAL EDITION | UNVEILING HIDDEN FORMS OF CONFINEMENT THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY

Presented by the African Artists’ Foundation, this bi-annual transition reaffirms the festival’s commitment to actively nurture and support the artistic community, presenting and educating about photography as a tool for restorative discourse on historical and contemporary issues.

October 21, 2024 (Lagos, Nigeria) – Building on its successful geographical expansion to Benin in 2023, LagosPhoto Festival — an international photography event hosted by Lagos-based art hub African Artists' Foundation (AAF) — inaugurates a new biennial format. This shift reflects a commitment to creating a more impactful and inclusive experience, supporting its artistic community through workshops, seminars and educational platforms to develop their work. Scheduled for 2025, the festival's 15th edition and inaugural run as a biennial, will host exhibitions, workshops, large-scale installations, and panel talks around the theme ‘Incarceration’, unveiling photographic works that unravel the many layers of confinement and prompt a critical reflection on the visible and invisible forces that limit human freedom and expression in today’s world.

Exploring various dimensions of incarceration, the theme will uncover the commonly understood physical imprisonment as well as the pernicious complexities of intellectual, psychological, and social confinement. As Azu Nwagbogu, Artistic Director, explains: “While traditional notions of imprisonment conjure images of cells and sentences, this theme explores the less obvious forms of captivity that pervade contemporary society.” In the digital age, society is further confined by the panopticon monitoring influence of social media and its constant surveillance which shapes perceptions, attitudes and new social norms. From intellectual entrapment in outdated beliefs, to the incarceration of identity through labels and narratives, and isolating architectural and national boundaries, the edition will feature artists whose visual narratives defy these repressions offering a powerful reflection on present realities while imagining bold visions of a liberated future.

Committed to giving space to young and new curatorial voices, the curatorial team will consist of curators living across Africa. Announced later this year during the pedagogical programming, the team will have the opportunity to both collaborate and work independently under Nwagbogu’s guidance, shaping the vision and narrative of the biennial.

In anticipation of its inaugural biennial, LagosPhoto Festival announces an open call for artists working with lens- based media to submit their portfolios to participate in a series of workshops and curatorial mentorship sessions in November and December 2024. The programming will focus on the biennial’s theme, aiming to equip participants with the skills and insights needed to create compelling works on this critical topic. Among the participants, the festival will commission five artists to develop original pieces specifically for the 15th edition and its theme.

Launched in 2010, LagosPhoto is an international photography festival presented Nigeria. In a month-long festival, events include exhibitions, workshops, artist presentations, discussions, and large-scale outdoor prints displayed throughout the city with the aim of reclaiming public spaces and engaging the general public with multifaceted stories of Africa. LagosPhoto aims to establish a community for contemporary photography which unites local and international artists through images that encapsulate individual experiences and identities from across all of Africa. As the festival transitions into a biennial, it reaffirms its commitment to actively nurture and support the artistic community, presenting and educating about photography as a tool for restorative discourse on historical and contemporary issues.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

About African Artists’ Foundation (AAF):

African Artists ’Foundation (AAF), founded in 2007 in Lagos, Nigeria, is a decentralized, multivalent, metamorphic art space that embraces community values and experimental artistic principles. AAF supports boundary-breaking artistic ideas and promotes social justice issues, ecology, and community initiatives by empowering creative expression. The foundation fosters a deeper understanding and appreciation of contemporary art, design, and culture through residencies, workshops, exhibitions, and educational programs. I https://africanartists.org/

About LagosPhoto Festival:

Launched in 2010, LagosPhoto is the first international arts festival of photography in Nigeria. The festival includes exhibitions, workshops, artist presentations, discussions, and large-scale outdoor prints displayed throughout Lagos. LagosPhoto aims to establish a community for contemporary photography, uniting local and international artists through images that encapsulate individual experiences and identities from across Africa. The festival educates about photography as it explores historical and contemporary issues, shares cultural practices, and promotes social programs. I https://www.lagosphotofestival.com/

The 2025 edition of the LagosPhoto Festival is supported by:

Image Credits:

1. Amina Kadous from the series White Gold, 2020 - ongoing. Courtesy of Amina Kadous and LagosPhoto Festival.
2. LagosPhoto Biennale – Open Call. Courtesy of LagosPhoto and African Artists’ Foundation.

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GALERIE SCENE OUVERTE ANNOUNCES ITS PARTICIPATION AT THE SECOND EDITION OF DESIGN MIAMI PARIS

Each piece reflects the artists' and designers' pursuit of material metamorphosis, creating objects that evoke both tactile intrigue and visual poetry.

Preview Day: Tuesday, October 15, 2024
On View: October 16 – 20, 2024

October 2, 2024 (Paris, France) – Galerie SCENE OUVERTE is pleased to announce its participation in the second edition of Design Miami/Paris, taking place from October 15 - 20, 2024, at the historic L'Hôtel de Maisons, located at 51 rue de l'Université. Dedicated to showcasing visionary creators who redefine the boundaries of artisanal innovation, the gallery will exhibit works by 14 international artists and designers. Presenting bold explorations of materiality and form, each work embodies a multisensory experience that merges aesthetic sophistication with masterful craftsmanship.

The presentation will feature an eclectic array of seating, tables, mirrors, vases, and decorative objects that transcend the ordinary through a transformative approach to materials. From wood, ceramic, and glass to sandstone, marble, clay, and silk, the selection represents a fluid interaction between innovation and tradition, unveiling new dimensions of material potential.

Inspired by organic forms and the comforting embrace of home, Parisa Bazargani's Cuddle chair embodies the seamless fusion of form and function. Through meticulous upholstery and savoir-faire, the chair transforms into an inviting design that harmonizes elegance and comfort. In a celebration of nature’s delicate intricacies, Célia Bertrand’s light fixture, Flore, marries porcelain craftsmanship with an ethereal quality, as seen in part at the newly opened restaurant L’Abysse in Monte-Carlo, designed by the founder of Galerie SCENE OUVERTE Laurence Bonnel.

At the heart of the exhibition lies a profound exploration of poetic forms, exemplified by Belgian design duo KRJST Studio. Their Wait for Her chair reflects a deep engagement with textile art, weaving together landscapes of imagination through complex threads. This piece, rooted in a dialogue between classical and contemporary influences, merges traditional weaving with advanced technologies to produce a new interpretation of tapestry.

In contrast, Don Cameron’s Oblique Coffee Table, crafted from black Spanish clay, draws inspiration from architectural theory, echoing Claude Parent’s influential oblique function, embracing sloped forms and unconventional angles. Hervé Langlais’ Carpatre III, a marble masterpiece, similarly engages architectural discourse, paying homage to the artistic legacies of Brancusi, Eduardo Chillida, and Carlo Scarpa.

Presented as Design at Large/, Studio BISKT will unveil Bench #1, bridging industrial processes and artisanal mastery. Crafted from enameled sandstone with a steel structure, the piece dissolves boundaries between art and design, embodying the studio's philosophy of pushing functional and aesthetic limits. Their series of vases, rendered in the same material, will be showcased alongside the bench, further exemplifying their innovative approach. This presentation also inaugurates the new addition of Studio BISKT the Young Scene Ouverte gallery program – a dedicated section of the gallery supporting young, promising artists and designers in their artistic development and creative vision.

The presentation will also highlight the talents of Silver Sentimenti, Alissa Volchkova, and Rinke Joosten, whose vibrant blown-glass vessels will be displayed alongside minimalist ceramic sculptures by Rino Claessens and Francisco Aniorte’s exquisitely crafted table series.

Coinciding with Design Miami Paris, Galerie Scene Ouverte will inaugurate its new exhibition space in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés with the solo show ‘Prométhée’ by prolific architecture and design studio RoWin’Atelier.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Fair Information
L’hôtel de Maisons
51 rue de l’Université, 75007 Paris, France

Preview Day: Tuesday, October 15
Members Preview/ 11am – 3pm
Collectors Preview/ 3pm – 8pm

Public Show Days:
Wednesday, October 16/ 11am – 7pm
Thursday, October 17/ 11am – 7pm
Friday, October 18/ 11am – 7pm
Saturday, October 19/ 11am – 7pm
Sunday, October 20/ 11am – 4pm

About Galerie SCENE OUVERTE:

Galerie SCENE OUVERTE, newly located at 13 rue Bonaparte, Saint Germain des Prés in Paris, embodies the alliance between contemporary creativity and artisanal excellence.  Here, beauty, craftsmanship and the sensations generated by materials converge to create a singular collection of art furniture and ceramics, available as one-off pieces, or very limited editions.

The young designers and ceramists represented by the gallery share a vision that transcends the simple functionality of objects. Their intrinsic creative energy, fueled by in-depth research into materials and know-how, makes them part of a History of the Decorative Arts. In this way, each work becomes the unique story of an era, a total vision of creation.

Our commitment extends beyond each individual creation, embracing the defense of the work of some thirty designers.  Accompanying artists on their creative journey becomes a passionate mission, as does introducing buyers to the essence and uniqueness of each object. At Galerie SCENE OUVERTE, each piece emerges as the fruit of a symbiosis between designers and craftsmen, or directly from the artist's hand. The gesture takes on meaning.  Each creation, imbued with a palpable uniqueness and undeniable sensitivity, becomes the witness to a rich collaboration at the heart of the Decorative Arts. Passed down from generation to generation, it carries the artistic heritage and creative spirit that define the soul of the gallery. http://galerie-sceneouverte.com/

Image Credits:

1. KRJST Studio, Waiting for her, 2024. Photography by Wearecontents.
2. Celia Bertrand, Flore. 2024. Photography by Vincent Amar.
3. Rinke Joosten, Momentum #016, 2024. Courtesy of the artist.
4. Don Cameron, Coffee Table Oblique. Courtesy of the artist.
5. 5. Studio BISKT, Magara and Balik Collection, Photography by Silvia Cappellari
6. 6. Studio BISKT, Magara and Balik Collection, Photography by Silvia Cappellari.

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1897 GALLERY INAUGURATES NEW NOMADIC EXHIBITION PROGRAM WITH ‘FREEDOM IN MULTITUDES’ | A CROSS-CULTURAL DIALOGUE ON BLACK IDENTITY

Featuring artists whose works redefine self-perception, the exhibition challenges monolithic representations of identity by showcasing the depth and richness of Black identity through explorations of heritage, materialism, fluidity, mythology, and form.

On View: October 5 – 14, 2024

September 23, 2024 (London, UK) – Creative agency 1897 launches the 1897 Gallery with ‘Freedom in Multitudes’. In a profound interrogation of identity, the African Diaspora, and the enduring legacies of colonialism, the exhibition will bring together nine artists living across Japan, Nigeria, England, and the US whose works unveil the complex nuances of self-perception, transcending external expectations and societal limitations. Exhibited collectively for the first time, works on paper, sculptures, installations, paintings and photographic works will be on view at 32 Connaught Street in London, from October 5 – October 14, 2024.

Initiated by 1897 founder Sosa Omorogbe, the 1897 Gallery empowers the expansion of an unexpected, manifold conversation on the legacy of colonialism and its impact on modern identity. Marking the first show of a series of exhibitions that will be presented in 2025, ‘Freedom in Multitudes’ transcends 1897 Gallery’s curatorial concept inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois's theory of double consciousness, which he describes as “always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others.” In conversation with Du Bois, the exhibition investigates the feeling of always looking at oneself through one’s own eyes – a single-consciousness, where one’s self-image is formed of the knowledge and perception of what lies within, not as a factor of an existence as “other”. Moving beyond traditional figuration of bodies, the featuring artists recognize the complex amalgam that is a human being, unifying rather than fragmenting its nuances through visual representations that reflect the freedom and fluidity of existing across multitudes.

A common way to understand the multitudes within is by using one’s heritage as a lens to examine the present and forecast the future. Exhibiting collage works for the first time, artist Anne Adams navigates her identity as a sum of past, present and future, interrogating hybridity and reflecting on the nuances of identity within a post-colonial, post-human and post-feminist framework. Lineage and heritage also play a key role In Nola Ayoola’s work, paying homage to traditional African craftsmanship practices, uncommon in contemporary fine art. Ayoola’s works document the human experience using organza and cotton to form multidimensional, layered works that depict the threads of one’s life weaving into one interlocked, unified whole. For artists Afeez Onakoya and Ousmane Bâ, traversing the scope of one’s identities takes place through the manipulation of traditional figuration. Bâ’s influences span his existence as a Fulani Senegalese-Guinean living and working in Japan. Employing Nihonga, a traditional Japanese painting technique, Bâ’s figures resemble sculptures in motion, coming to life against a backdrop of washi paper collage. Like Bâ, Onakoya employs traditional methods to achieve unconventional results. His mastery of charcoal and figuration transcends established boundaries to create dynamic compositions of contorted, kinetic bodies – visual poems of bodies existing in a liminal space.

Rich in both materiality and concept, the artworks serve as vessels that explore the boundaries between the individual and collective experience, offering layered insights into the complexities of the Black and African existence in the modern world. 1897 Gallery enables a nomadic, fluid space where cross-cultural narratives can unfold with depth and nuance and claim cultural influence in an interconnected global landscape.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

‘Freedom in Multitudes’ will be on view from October 5 - October 14, 2024, at CassildART in London.

Opening Weekend:

Address:
32 Connaught Street, Connaught Village,
London W2 2AF
United Kingdom

Opening Reception:
Saturday 5 October, 5 - 8 p.m.

Opening Hours:
Monday to Sunday | 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Additional Program:

Sunday 6 October

Artist workshop with Nola Ayoola | | 1 – 4 p.m.
Panel talk with three Black women gallerists moderated by 1897 founder Sosa Omorogbe | 5 – 7 p.m.

Saturday 12 October
Curator-led tours | 2 – 3:30 p.m.

Sunday 13 October
Curator-led tours | 2 – 3:30 p.m.
Artist talk with Uthman Wahaab, Sola Olulode, and Roisin Jone | 4 – 6 p.m.

About 1897:
1897 is a creative agency that focuses on amplifying Black and African Art through collaboration and meaningful discourse. Our mission is to act as a global connector, building an international community dedicated to celebrating and advancing Black and African art across the diaspora. With "collaboration" at the epicenter of our approach, we are committed to curating diverse programmes in alliance with art professionals and practitioners around the world. Our programmes will showcase works by artists across all mediums and experience levels. By placing a varied cohort of artists in conversation with each other, we shall explore the breadth and complexity of the Black and African experience. Through immersive, multi-sensory experiences, 1897 engages with the myriad possibilities of seeing and experiencing art.1897 seeks to explore common threads of heritage, identity, memory, and consciousness. The agency operates across 2 departments: The 1897 Gallery and the 1897 Advisory.

The 1897 Gallery is a contemporary gallery specializing in Black and African art. The Gallery adopts a nomadic exhibition format aimed at connecting international audiences with artists throughout Africa and its diaspora, thus fostering global community-building. The 1897 Gallery bridges the gap between global emerging artists and masters of Contemporary and Modern Art, exploring the Black and African experience across distance and time.

The 1897 Advisory offers bespoke advisory services to our clients, with an eye towards building valuable collections. We advise on art of all media from every sector of the art market-from new and emerging to established and blue-chip artists.

About the Founder:

Sosa Omorogbe is a multidisciplinary arts practitioner, working as a curator, advisor, gallerist, and creative consultant. Community, culture and heritage are the pillars of Sosa’s curatorial practice, which is dedicated to the exploration of contemporary Black identity. Her practice emphasizes the importance of preserving memory and tracing heritage as the foundation of forging intentional futures. Her exhibitions aim to foster cross-cultural collaboration and community-building. Sosa currently serves as Founder & CEO of 1897, a creative agency dedicated to amplifying Black and African Art through collaboration and meaningful discourse. The agency’s mission is to act as a global connector, building an international community dedicated to celebrating and advancing Black and African art across the diaspora. Prior to founding 1897, she co-founded SABO Art, a leading art advisory and curatorial firm. She began her career in the arts handling fair programming as well as VIP and Collector relations at ART X Lagos, West Africa’s premier international art fair. Following this, she proceeded to work with institutions within the African arts ecosystem, including The Ben Enwonwu Foundation and Yinka Shonibare CBE’s Guest Artist Space (G.A.S) Foundation. Sosa’s expertise also extends to classical African art with a focus on the ‘Benin Bronzes’, on which she has conducted in-depth research. Outside of art, Sosa’s professional experience includes Corporate Finance, focusing on Investment Banking. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in New York and a Certificate in Art History and Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London.

Image Credits:

1. Ousmane Bâ, Throne, 2024 Japanese mineral pigment on washi paper on wood panels, 70 x 100 cm. Courtesy of 1897.
2. Anne Adams, Radical Bearer II, 2024, Collage assemblage on archival paper, ink, watercolor and gouache, 46 x 61 cm. Courtesy of 1897.
3. Amanda Shingirai Mushate, Zvinokosheswa - Valuables, 2023 Oil on canvas 100 x 120 cm
4. Uthman Wahaab, Wild Flower Obsession, 2024, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 81 x 77 cm. Courtesy of 1897.

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AFRICAN ARTISTS’ FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES THE FOURTH EDITION OF ‘DIG WHERE YOU STAND’ IN BENIN | EXPLORING THE REGENERATIVE POWER OF ART

Building on successful collaborations with Benin through LagosPhoto Festival 2023 and the Benin Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia 2024, the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) deepens artistic exchange in the country, reflecting on contemporary Identities in Africa And Its Diaspora.

On View: September 27 – December 1, 2024

September 19, 2024 (Ouidah and Cotonou, Republic of Benin) – Following the successful third iteration of traveling exhibition ‘Dig Where You Stand: From Coast to Coast’ in Portugal, the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), a non-profit organization and art space based in Lagos, Nigeria, announces its upcoming edition in Benin. Taking place at the Fondation Zinsou Musée, Ouidah, and Les Ateliers Coffi, Cotonou, from September 27 – December 1, 2024, the programming will feature roundtables, workshops and exhibitions focusing on how art can aid in the understanding the collective self. Curated by photographer Delali Ayivi with curatorial advisory from AAF founder Azu Nwagbogu, the exhibitions will showcase over 50 artworks including paintings, photographic works, and installations, by 22 returning and new participating artists.

Creativity and imagination are essential cornerstones of society, enabling us to envision futures and drive progress. Yet, West Africans have historically been denied the opportunity to fully harness their own history and culture to shape their evolution. In response, this edition of ‘Dig Where You Stand’ is dedicated to showcasing art as a powerful tool for crafting new, restorative narratives. Presenting artists whose practices embody a contemporary, self-directed vision of Africa's culture, the artists reconnect with their roots through their unique experiences and histories. Taking place in various cultural spaces in Ouidah and Cotonou, the exhibition will showcase artworks by returning artists from previous editions including Zanele Muholi, and Joana Choumali, as well as new participating artists, such as Beninese artists Charbel Coffi and Roméo Mivekannin and American multimedia artist Bayeté Ross Smith.

Emphasizing the importance of community-centered spaces, the programming will include workshops and roundtables with local and international thinkers, transcending societal boundaries, class divisions, and geographical borders. Examining relations towards nature, religion, (geo-)politics, socio-economics, and time, and how these are linked to the creation of culture and identity, discourse will be centered in exploring homegrown identities from the African continent.

‘Dig Where You Stand’ was conceived as more than just an exhibition. It was the beginning of a cultural experiment and movement to explore the role of art in shifting the decolonial paradigm away from Western museums towards a location-specific, solution-oriented approach. Emphasizing on travel, migration and (dis)placement, artists and local communities examine the economies of the colonial systems that have historically marginalized vulnerable communities and find new methodologies in the art world, creating a toolkit for commencing regenerative economic processes. ‘Dig Where You Stand’ will continue its journey to other locations across Africa, from Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, to Dakar, Senegal, tentatively in 2025.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

‘Dig Where You Stand’ will be on view from September 27 – December 1, 2024.

For more details about Satellite Venues in Ouidah and Cotonou, please follow African Artists’ Foundation on social media or visit www.africanartists.org

Opening Weekend:

Addresses:

Les Ateliers Coffi
Cotonou Fidjrosse 01BP7774,
Cotonou, Benin

Fondation Zinsou Musée
936P+J44,
Ouidah, Benin

Fondation Zinsou-Le LAB
936P+J44,
Ouidah, Benin

Opening Times:
Monday | 2 – 6 p.m.
Tuesday – Saturday | 11 – 7 p.m.

Participating Artists:
Bayeté Ross Smith, Bruno et Brice ZOUNTOUNNOU, Caleb Kwarteng Prah, Charbel Coffi, Dodji Efoui, Enar de Dios Rodríguez, Enrique Ramírez, Joana Choumali, Kapwani Kiwanga, Kwami Da Costa, Louis Oke-Agbo, MAR+VIN, Natalia Lassalle-Morillo, Nedia Were, DJ Orlando, Oroko Radio, Renzo Martens and CATPC, Roméo Mivekannin, Salù Iwadi Studio, Silvia Rosi, Victor Ehikhamenor and Zanele Muholi.

About Delali Ayivi:
Delali Ayivi is a photographer whose works have been published by the likes of Vogue and Dazed Magazine.
Delali was named one of the Dazed 100 Talents and was honored by the British Fashion Council, as one of 2023’s NEW WAVE Creatives.
Delali began her photography journey by capturing images of friends and family in Germany, Togo, and Malawi. Her discovery of the work of her great-great-grandfather, Alex A. Acolatse—one of the first Togolese photographers—motivated her to focus on documenting fashion. In 2019, Delali and her friend Malaika Nabillah collaborated to create Togo Yeye, a project that works to document and inspire the creative community in Togo and its diaspora.

About AAF:
African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) founded in 2007, Lagos, Nigeria, is a decentralized, multivalent, metamorphic art space that embraces community values, experimental artistic principles in supporting boundary-breaking and artistic ideas. Over the years, AAF has evolved beyond the limiting shell of a non-profit, to embody an art space that is responsive, attuned to social justice issues, ecology, freedom, community initiatives by empowering creative expression.

AAF is dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of contemporary art, design, and culture through residencies, workshops, innovative exhibitions, and educational programs. We aim to further challenge and inspire our community, unearth and develop more talents while also promoting inclusiveness. Our goal is to be a dynamic and interactive space that sparks meaningful dialogue and encourages critical thinking, celebrates community programs and ultimately to become a change-maker through the power of art.

The fourth edition of ‘Dig Where You Stand’ is supported by:

Image Credits:

1. MAR+Vin, Symbiosis. 2021. Courtesy of MAR+Vin and Galerie Gomis.
2. Zanele Muholi, Aphelile X, 2020. Courtesy of the artist and African Artists’ Foundation.
3. Silvia Rosi, ABC VLISCO 1, 2022. Courtesy of the Artist and African Artists’ Foundation.

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Galerie Scene Ouverte Inaugurates its Exhibition Space with the New Handcrafted Collection by RoWin’Atelier

The solo show ‘Prométhée’ explores the raw, unpredictable aesthetics of materials shaped by fire. The series reflects the gallery’s commitment to creatives who push the boundaries of authentic artisanal innovation.

On View: October 11 - November 23, 2024

September 17, 2024 (Paris, France) – Galerie SCENE OUVERTE inaugurates its new location in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, with the solo exhibition ‘Prométhée’ by prolific architecture and design studio RoWin’Atelier. As a metaphor of the myth of Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire from Olympus and gave it to humanity, the exhibition is centered on fire, and its unfettered influence on materiality. Unveiling an immense universe of aesthetic possibilities, the exhibition features tables, lamps and vases from a diverse range of materials, all adorned by the flame. On view from October 11 – November 23, 2024, ‘Prométhée’ marks a new phase in the duo’s oeuvre, as they transcend their design-centric roots to explore the realm of craftsmanship, bringing to life a collection that reflects their commitment to unparalleled authenticity and artisanal excellence.

Founded by French architects Hervé Winkler and Frédéric Rochette, RoWin'Atelier has established a reputation for its seamless fusion of architecture and design. Rhythm, structure, and virtuosity, combined with a rich tapestry of visual references, including 20th-century decorative arts and archeological artefacts, are at the core of the duo’s visual language. In ‘Prométhée’, RoWin’Atelier reveals a bold new chapter in its evolution – for the first time, Winkler and Rochette venture into the practice of craft. Immersed in a deep exploration of materiality, the duo becomes fascinated with the transformative effects of fire and heat on various materials, including ceramic, lava stone, bronze, copper, lead crystal, glass paste, and obsidian, leading to the production of a limited series of one-of- a-kind furniture and decorative pieces.

One of the most compelling dimensions of the exhibition is RoWin'Atelier’s groundbreaking exploration of glazing. For the first time, the studio develops their own glaze, collaborating with master ceramists to refine their approach. This process leads them to explore the delicate balance of chemistry and kiln temperatures, unveiling the complexities of crystallization and texture in their final pieces. For the series of eight MYMU BIG tables, the duo replicates similar glazed effects seen in ceramic on lava stone, a material not typically associated with such finishes, revealing a mesmerizing crystallization on the tables’ surfaces. For the French duo, the unpredictable motifs produced by the fire and heat embody the pieces’ authenticity, making each design rare and inimitable.

Among the highlights, the exhibition features a new series of three vases titled OLPE in kiln molded lead crystal with a glass paste technique, in addition to a table made entirely from lead crystal glass titled MYMU SMALL, which took over 250 hours of production. Mimicking rock crystal, the table is both visually striking and a testament to RoWin’Atelier’s commitment to innovation through material exploration.

The studio’s approach to design reflects the very essence of Galerie SCENE OUVERTE’s philosophy – showcasing pieces that transcend the simple functionality of objects. Fueled by knowledge and know- how, each work is an embodiment of authentic contemporary creativity and artisanal brilliance. While RoWin'Atelier embrace technology for certain aspects of their process — using VR to achieve intricate details or AI as a supportive creative tool — they uphold the role and importance of human intellect, artisanal mastery, and creative innovation in the production of works that are unique and inherently irreproducible. Their approach stands in contrast to the growing trend of using AI more akin to 'mixing', ultimately copying from the works of contemporary creators and masters of the past. The studio expands: “In creation, whether physical or immaterial, the essence lies in the emergence of an idea and the process of bringing it to life. Education, culture, the thinking mind, the hand that draws, the hand that sculpts—all these elements matter, even if in absolute terms, what must endure is the poetry that resonates with those who observe it.”

RoWin’Atelier’s LILI pair of tables lamp, developed by L'ARC (Atelier de Recherche et de Création) the inner House of the Mobilier National, and now part of the “National treasure”, will be on view at Galerie Scene Ouverte throughout the exhibition.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

‘Prométhée’ by RoWin’Atelier is on view at the Galerie SCENE OUVERTE from October 11 – November 23, 2024.

Address:
Galerie SCENE OUVERTE 13 rue Bonaparte
75006, Paris
France

Opening Times:
Monday | 2 – 6 p.m.
Tuesday – Saturday | 11 – 7 p.m.

About Galerie SCENE OUVERTE:

Galerie SCENE OUVERTE, newly located at 13 rue Bonaparte, Saint Germain des Prés in Paris, embodies the alliance between contemporary creativity and artisanal excellence. Here, beauty, craftsmanship and the sensations generated by materials converge to create a singular collection of art furniture and ceramics, available as one-off pieces, or very limited editions.

The young designers and ceramists represented by the gallery share a vision that transcends the simple functionality of objects. Their intrinsic creative energy, fueled by in-depth research into materials and know- how, makes them part of a History of the Decorative Arts. In this way, each work becomes the unique story of an era, a total vision of creation.

Our commitment extends beyond each individual creation, embracing the defense of the work of some thirty designers. Accompanying artists on their creative journey becomes a passionate mission, as does introducing buyers to the essence and uniqueness of each object. At Galerie SCENE OUVERTE, each piece emerges as the fruit of a symbiosis between designers and craftsmen, or directly from the artist's hand. The gesture takes on meaning. Each creation, imbued with a palpable uniqueness and undeniable sensitivity, becomes the witness to a rich collaboration at the heart of the Decorative Arts. Passed down from generation to generation, it carries the artistic heritage and creative spirit that define the soul of the gallery. http://galerie-sceneouverte.com/

About RoWin’Atelier:

Lulled by a childhood sensitive to culture and creativity, Hervé Winkler and Frédéric Rochette are two French architects, whose association gave birth to RoWin’Atelier in 2011. As teenagers, they decided to study architecture at the Val de Seine School of Architecture, combined with interior architecture/design training for Hervé and at the Paris la Villette School of Architecture for Frédéric. In parallel to the architectural projects, RoWin’Atelier develops furniture pieces in limited series. Their taste and knowledge for architecture, but also for decorative arts, painting and sculpture of the 20th and 21st century are the sources of inspiration for their work. Very attached to exceptional materials, Hervé and Frédéric work in collaboration with craftsmen to promote artisanal know-how. A line runs through the practice of the two partners, a clear and recognizable line, the elegance of contrasting materials in simple and balanced forms. The material is both a silhouette and a volume in space. These two personalities come together to create pieces with a demand for finishes and different degrees of reading. Rhythm, presence, visibility and virtuosity characterize their sculptural works. http://www.rowin-atelier.com/

Image Credits:

1. OLPE vase by RoWin'Atelier, 2024. Photography by Paul Hennebelle. Courtesy of Galerie Scene Ouverte.
2. NONE lamp by RoWin'Atelier, 2021. Photography by Paul Hennebelle. Courtesy of Galerie Scene Ouverte.
3, 4, 5 and 6. PILE series by RoWin'Atelier, 2024. Photography by Paul Hennebelle. Courtesy of Galerie Scene Ouverte.
7. COOD Lamp by RoWin’Atelier, 2021. Photography by Paul Hennebelle. Courtesy of Galerie Scene Ouverte.
8. Close up of MYMU Table by RoWin’ Atelier, 2021. Photography by Alexandra Mocanu. Courtesy of RoWin’Atelier.

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BERLIN-BASED DESIGN BRAND MOONARIJ UNVEILS THE ‘ZIGZAG’ COLLECTION – NEW LIMITED EDITION HANDCRAFTED GLASS VASES

September 30, 2024 (Berlin, Germany) – Artisanal brand Moonarij unveils ‘Zigzag,’ a new limited collection of handcrafted glass vases and vessels that capture the vibrancy of tessellated patterns. Intertwining a kaleidoscope of colors in bold radiant hues of orange and red, sky blue, calming green, and striking purple, each vase embodies an intricate sense of joy through elegant patterns of transparency and reflection. The dynamic interaction between the zigzag motif and the material incites an illusion of movement that emanates through the space. Designed in Berlin and hand-blown at a local manufacturer in Dresden, honoring the glassblowing traditions of the region, the collection is available from September 2024 through Moonarij and Marsano in Berlin.

Moonarij’s collections imprint the art of contemporary craftsmanship onto the ancient perception and utility of vessels. An homage to the heritage and artistry of glass-making, exceptional mastery is employed through two distinct processes where two artisans intricately shape each vase into life. Pulled canes are meticulously cut and laid out into the zigzag design. Subsequently folded on a glass bulb, the cane is blown and shaped into a statement vase. By crafting small batches of handblown glass vases, each piece is one of a kind. Their finely crafted forms and patterns have a haptic presence that channel the luminosity of glass and the skill of accomplished craftsmen. Experimentation with different techniques, such as overlapping and crossovers crucial to drifts and swirls, is imperative to Moonarij’s aesthetic language. The zigzag reclaims the tactile qualities of fabric translating it into the fluid, transparent nature of glass. By adapting an idea typically associated with textiles into glass work, sharpness and fluidity seamlessly coexist.

As in the previous collections – Oona, Narij and The Buckets – the new Zigzag collection infuses the luminosity and transparency of glass with the radiance of color. The intuitively shaped objects possess a sophisticated and understated elegance in both pattern and form - each piece is signed and numbered. Founder Johanna Wichelhaus expands: “I love to play with the glass cane and experiment with different forms and shapes. My vases always appear to be in motion, as they reflect the circulation and fluidity of the glass. The pattern of the Zigzag collection seems stricter, which is in stark contrast to the movement of the material.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Zigzag Collection is currently available at moonarij.com and Marsano Berlin. Each object in the collection: 25 x 16 cm, 1.8 kg.

Note: Each vase is handcrafted individually – dimensions may vary minimally.

ABOUT MOONARIJ:

Moonarij is a Berlin-based, female-founded design brand focused on handcrafted vases. Captivated by the art of glass blowing, Johanna Wichelhaus teamed up with renowned glass artists in 2021 to develop first iterations of her sketches of striped bud vases. The designs evolved into the brand‘s first collections – the Oona, released in 2022, and the Narij, followed by the Large Bucket, Oona Baby and Zigzag collection. Voluminous in shape, iridescent in color and meticulously crafted, hand-blown and hand-sculpted Moonarij vases stand out as mesmerizing objects of beauty.

www.moonarij.com

Instagram: @moonarij_objects

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Image Credits:

1. Zigzag Collection by Moonarij, 2024. Photography by Mathilde Karrèr. Courtesy of Moonarij.
2. Making of Oona Vases, 2024. Courtesy of Moonarij and Franziska von Steglin.
3. Zigzag Collection by Moonarij, 2024. Photography by Mathilde Karrèr. Courtesy of Moonarij.
4. Zigzag Collection by Moonarij, 2024. Photography by Mathilde Karrèr. Courtesy of Moonarij.
5. Zigzag 5, Zigzag 4 and Zigzag 1, 2024. Photography by Nick Ash. Courtesy of Moonarij.

ARTIST HEINZ MACK UNVEILS A SERIES OF PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN CERAMIC WORKS AT THE INDEPENDENT 20TH CENTURY ART FAIR IN NEW YORK CITY

The ceramic pieces are an embodiment of Mack’s lifelong commitment to light, while showcasing the artist’s masterful play with materiality and perception.

Preview Day: September 5, 2024 | Invitation Only
On View: September 6 – 8, 2024
Casa Cipriani | 10 South Street, New York, NY 10004

August 28, 2024 (New York City, United States) – Heinz Mack, renowned German artist and sculptor of light, is set to unveil a series of 30 ceramic sculptures and reliefs for the first time in the United States, at the Independent 20th Century Fair at Casa Cipriani in New York City, from September 5 – 8, 2024. Presented by Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art with the MACK FOUNDATION, the solo presentation is a testament to the artist’s unwavering dedication to exploring the boundless possibilities of light and its ability to infuse endless motion into the static nature of materials. For over seven decades, Mack has been making paintings and sculptures that harness the intrinsic essence of light.

As a pioneering figure of the German postwar ZERO movement – led by Heinz Mack, Günther Uecker and Otto Piene – the artist revolutionized the concepts of color, space, and motion. His diverse body of work features paintings, large-scale sculptures made of aluminum, stainless steel, acrylic glass and natural stone, revealing an intricate interaction between light, movement and the environment. In the 1990’s Mack’s practice extends to ceramics, further enhancing his lifelong fascination with luminosity, now woven into the process of molding clay with fire and beaming through the designs’ textured surfaces. The freedom of a moldable medium, and the myriads of possibilities to transform the surface of each piece, shapes a new sculptural language.

Paying attention to the surfaces, as light refracts, reflects, inhales and exhales, just like in his renowned light reliefs referring to his pivotal ZERO-era works in polished aluminum, each piece has a distinctive character. The artist’s appreciation for gold, silver, platinum, white or deep black paint, but also very clear, intense monochrome colors, mirrors his exploration of light and color in his painting practice. Mack’s ceramic sculptures can give a sense of temporal vertigo. Elemental and futuristic, they reflect the present within the medium of an ancient practice. Attracted to the longevity of ceramics, Mack expands, “ceramics are not only among the oldest artifacts known to mankind but have also survived for thousands of years without showing the slightest trace of patina. Perhaps in old age the artist has a deeper, unconscious interest in objects that can become very old with dignity.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The solo exhibition by Heinz Mack will be presented by Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art with the MACK FOUNDATION at the Independent 20th Century Art Fair in New York City. 

Fair Dates:
September 5 – 8, 2024

Fair Hours:
September 5, 2024: 11 AM – 8 PM (By Invitation)
September 6, 2024: 11 AM – 7 PM
September 7, 2024: 11 AM – 7 PM
September 8, 2024: 11 AM – 6 PM

About Heinz Mack:

Heinz Mack’s central artistic theme is light. His abstract sculptures and paintings serve as media for this interest. In the 1950s Heinz Mack developed his own language of light and color and is regarded as a leading representative of kinetic art. “Light is crucial to my art. As far as light is concerned, I want to go to the limits of what is possible.” Heinz Mack's complete oeuvre is extraordinarily versatile: sculptures made of various materials, light steles, light rotors, light reliefs, and light cubes. His oeuvre also includes paintings, drawings, ink works, pastels, prints, photography, and bibliophilic works as well as the design of public squares, church rooms, stage sets, and mosaics.

About MACK FOUNDATION:

The MACK FOUNDATION, a non-profit organization founded by Heinz Mack in 2024 and will be launched in autumn, is dedicated to the collection, exhibition and preservation of Heinz Mack’s art and archive. The Foundation holds a substantial collection of artworks, covering all groups of works from his artistic oeuvre. It also preserves an extensive archive of original documents, notes and publications on the artist’s life and work. The objectives of the Foundation include promoting public knowledge, awareness, and appreciation of the work. The preservation of the artistic legacy through the continuous development, maintenance and extension of the collection and archive. The promotion of scholarly work and its publications, whether in the field of art history or in related fields, which show connections to Heinz Mack’s work, interests, and intentions. The enhancement of communication and cooperation with museums, collections, and comparable institutions as well as the promotion of exhibitions and publications.

About Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art:

Beck & Eggeling has made a diverse contribution to cultural life for 30 years. A consistent, high-quality program with impressionist, expressionist, classical and postwar modernist works has allowed Beck & Eggeling to establish itself as one of the leading galleries in the international art market.

At the same time, the gallery is committed to international contemporary art. Beck & Eggeling is currently staging exciting exhibitions at three extraordinary venues in Düsseldorf and Vienna. Furthermore, the gallery is represented at prestigious art fairs worldwide with this differentiated and ambitious offering.

With well over 100 publications from their in-house art publishers, Beck & Eggeling facilitates new knowledge and enriches their exhibitions with their own texts as well as scholarly articles about art by prominent authors. Driven by curiosity and a love of art, Ute Eggeling and Michael Beck also carry out large-scale international projects outside their gallery space.

Image Credits:

1. Heinz Mack, Ohne Titel, 2020; 42 x 10 x 10 cm, Ceramic. Courtesy of Heinz Mack Studio.
2. Heinz Mack, Ohne Titel, 1997; 39.5 x 15 cm, ceramic. Courtesy of Heinz Mack Studio.
3. Heinz Mack, Ohne Titel, 2020; 86.5 x 19.5 x 15.5 cm, Ceramic. Courtesy of Heinz Mack Studio.
4. Heinz Mack, Ohne Titel, 2017; 31 x 30 x 30 cm, Ceramic. Courtesy of Heinz Mack Studio.
5. Heinz Mack, Ohne Titel, 2016; 49 x 38.5 x 4 cm, Relief / Ceramic. Courtesy of Heinz Mack Studio.
6. Heinz Mack, Ohne Titel, 2016; 49 x 40 x 4 cm, Relief / Ceramic. Courtesy of Heinz Mack Studio.

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AFRICAN ARTISTS’ FOUNDATION PRESENTS ‘IF HIVES COULD DANCE IN COLORS,’ THE SOLO EXHIBITION OF NIGERIAN ARTIST KINGSLEY AYOGU

Nigerian artist Kingsley Ayogu’s solo show in Lagos, Nigeria, explores themes of release, freedom, identity, and visibility through a vibrant series of mixed media artworks.

On View: August 24 – September 21, 2024

August 22, 2024 (Lagos, Nigeria) – Lagos-based African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), in collaboration with SOTO Gallery, is proud to announce ‘If Hives Could Dance in Colors’, a solo exhibition by renowned Nigerian artist Kingsley Ayogu, curated by Princess Ayoola. Opening on August 24, 2024, at the SOTO Gallery Space in Lagos, this exhibition marks a pivotal moment in Kingsley’s artistic evolution. Known for his meticulous hyper-realistic portraits, Kingsley now embarks on a journey beyond technical mastery, embracing new materials and techniques to explore themes of release, freedom, and self-expression.

In ‘If Hives Could Dance in Colors’, Kingsley draws inspiration from the metaphor of the hive—an emblem of order and industriousness that also signifies confinement. This series bursts open the hive, revealing a vibrant dance of colors and textures that symbolize the artist’s liberation from convention. Through the introduction of sponges, nets, and layered textures, Kingsley’s work challenges viewers to engage more deeply, moving beyond passive observation to a participatory experience that resonates with the themes of love, care, and visibility.

Kingsley Ayogu (b. 1994) is a Nigerian artist from Enugu, Nigeria. He studied at Enugu State College of Education, where he earned a National Certificate in Education in Fine and Applied Art Education in 2017. Moving to Lagos later that year, he began his professional art career, quickly gaining recognition within the contemporary art sphere for his hyper-realistic portraits, primarily in oil paint.

At the crux of Ayogu’s work is a rewriting of the history of Africa that includes its sons and daughters in the diaspora and the collective ideas that connect these multifarious histories to an awakening of a renewed consciousness. Recently, Ayogu has been experimenting with nets in what he calls the Harmonization of Painting, creating a "feel-good" sensation that celebrates identity, fragility, and resilience. His work has been featured in significant exhibitions, including Dig Where You Stand, and he was a finalist for the ART X Lagos Prize in 2022. Ayogu lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

‘If Hives Could Dance in Colors’, curated by Princess Ayoola, will be on view at the SOTO Gallery Space, Lagos, from August 24 – September 21, 2024.

EXHIBITION DETAILS:

Grand Opening: August 24, 2024 SOTO Gallery Space, Lagos | 4:00 p.m.

Venue: SOTO Gallery Space, Lagos, Nigeria
On View: August to September 2024
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Address: 10 Omo Osagie St, Ikoyi, Lagos 106104, Lagos, Nigeria

ABOUT AFRICAN ARTISTS’ FOUNDATION (AAF):

African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), founded in 2007 in Lagos, Nigeria, is a decentralized, multivalent, metamorphic art space that embraces community values and experimental artistic principles. AAF is dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of contemporary art, design, and culture through residencies, workshops, innovative exhibitions, and educational programs.

ABOUT SOTO GALLERY:

SOTO Gallery is a contemporary art space in Lagos, Nigeria, dedicated to showcasing innovative and boundary-pushing artworks. The gallery aims to foster artistic expression and cultural dialogue by providing a platform for emerging and established artists to exhibit their work.

Image Credits:

1. If the Ubendy Could Bend. Courtesy of the African Artists’ Foundation and SOTO Gallery.

2. Kingsley Ayogu. Courtesy of the African Artists’ Foundation and SOTO Gallery.

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GALERIE SCENE OUVERTE DESIGNS L’ABYSSE MONTE CARLO | A TACTILE AND UPLIFTING EXPLORATION OF MATERIALS AND CONTEMPORARY CRAFT

Gallery founder Laurence Bonnel concept brings together design pieces that merge Japanese influences with bold material exploration, creating a stimulating space for an exalted culinary experience.

July 18, 2024 (Paris, France and Monte-Carlo, Monaco) – Paris-based art and design gallery Galerie SCENE OUVERTE curates the interior for L’Abysse Monte Carlo in Monaco, the newly opened restaurant of Hôtel Hermitage. Created in collaboration with architecture and design studio RoWin’ Atelier, gallery founder Laurence Bonnel unveils the space as a timeless universe of tactile exploration and perpetual movement, reflecting the profound culinary experience of Michelin starred chef Yannick Alléno and renowned sushi connoisseur Yasunari Okazaki. Blurring the lines between art and design, Bonnel adorns the restaurant with works by artists Célia Bertrand, Wiliam Coggin, Silver Sentimenti, and Caroline Désile, creating a sanctuary of serenity and wander.

L’Abysse Monte Carlo brings together forty years of gastronomic expertise to extract the flavors of marine life from the Mediterranean Sea. Blending French cuisine with Japanese culinary traditions, the menu unfolds with power and lightness, unveiling an umami of texture and taste that honors local ingredients. Transcending this concept into decor, Bonnel and architecture duo RoWin’ Atelier, create an environment where the mind can revel into an exalted culinary experience. The varied textures and combined materials, such as wood, marble, travertine, velvet and ceramics, incite a sense exploration, while the lines, sometimes soft and curving, sometimes strong and rigorous, balance their richness with grace and fluidity.

RoWin’ Atelier, Bonnel’s main collaborator, sets the scene with a large indigo carpet inspired by the archipelagos of the Seto Inland Sea in Japan. The indigo dye ‘Ao’ blue, traditionally produced on the island of Shikoku near the Seto Sea, is used in blue Japanese prints known as ‘Aizuri-e’, meaning ‘images printed in blue’, the technique most known in the artistic practice of renowned artist Hokusai. Japanese influences are also found in the ten chairs surrounding the bar table by Antwerp-based manufacturer Heerenhuis. The seatings’ back, for example, is inspired by the traditional Japanese gates named ‘Tori’, while the wooden frame is inspired by the ‘Kigumi’ technique – the craft of jointing wood without nails or metal fittings, allowing repetitive assembling and disassembling. In the rest of the room, 24 curved armchairs by award-winning Swedish furniture brand Scandinavian brand Fogia, accompany the bar seating with a similar pink tone.

Engaging in a constant dialogue with contemporary art and design, Bonnel brings together four artists whose practices push the boundaries of materiality through bold experimentation and dedicated craftmanship. Artist Célia Bertrand unveils an interplay of curves and rhythms inspired by plant life, adding an uplifting, perpetual movement to the space. Her two light fixtures nearly two meters long, titled ‘Flore’ illuminate the dining bar, as white gold plays with reflections and translucent raw porcelain lets light through the cracks and reliefs, creating a play of living shadows through the material. William Coggins’ ‘Coral Wall’ installations in white ceramic embrace the seating area. Spread across the walls over fifteen square meters, fluid forms emerge from a coarse surface, evoking the movement of the ocean, its sand dunes, and coral reefs. Coggins’ installation marks the boundless union between Japanese cuisine and the sea. Complementing the Japanese influences inhabiting the room, artist Caroline Désile’s four sculptures from her series ‘Série Origami’ unveil an encounter between the structural forms in the ancestral Japanese art of folding, and the artist’s reflections on the ephemerality of existence, emulated through the flow of light and shadow on raw material. Inspired by the architectural elements of the space as a whole and Bonnel’s color palette, two ceramic pieces 70 centimeters tall by artist Silver Sentimenti, echo the spatial forms of the room, with embroided leather in tones that harmonize with the design concept as an ensemble.

Laurence Bonnel creates large-scale installations of sculptures for public spaces and private properties. The deeply rooted desire to share her creative vision transcends into Galerie Scene Ouverte, epitomizing the union of contemporary creativity and artisanal excellence. Featuring a plethora of artists, the gallery’s focus is firm on work which transcends mere functionality and rather becomes an element of narrative and vision of its distinct era. The gallery recently inaugurated its new location in Paris and will host its first-ever solo exhibition in October 2024.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

L’Abysse Monte Carlo

Sq. Beaumarchais, 98000

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Opening Times:
Monday – Sunday: 7 – 10 p.m.

ABOUT GALERIE SCENE OUVERTE:

Galerie SCENE OUVERTE, newly located at 13 rue Bonaparte, Saint Germain des Prés in Paris, embodies the alliance between contemporary creativity and artisanal excellence. Here, beauty, craftsmanship and the sensations generated by materials converge to create a singular collection of art furniture and ceramics, available as one-off pieces, or very limited editions.

The young designers and ceramists represented by the gallery share a vision that transcends the simple functionality of objects. Their intrinsic creative energy, fueled by in-depth research into materials and know-how, makes them part of a History of the Decorative Arts. In this way, each work becomes the unique story of an era, a total vision of creation.

Our commitment extends beyond each individual creation, embracing the defense of the work of some thirty designers. Accompanying artists on their creative journey becomes a passionate mission, as does introducing buyers to the essence and uniqueness of each object. At Galerie SCENE OUVERTE, each piece emerges as the fruit of a symbiosis between designers and craftsmen, or directly from the artist's hand. The gesture takes on meaning. Each creation, imbued with a palpable uniqueness and undeniable sensitivity, becomes the witness to a rich collaboration at the heart of the Decorative Arts. Passed down from generation to generation, it carries the artistic heritage and creative spirit that define the soul of the gallery. http://galerie-sceneouverte.com/

Image Credit:

Image 1 – 4: L’Abysse Monte Carlo in Monaco, 2024. Photography by Sebastien Veronese. Courtesy of Galerie Scene Ouverte

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LE SIRENUSE’S SWIMMING POOL IS A WORK OF ART BY NICOLAS PARTY

Swiss artist Nicolas Party’s swimming pool mosaic is the latest addition to the site-specific ‘Artists at Le Sirenuse’ collection of Amalfi Coast hotel Le Sirenuse.

June 3, 2024 (Positano, Italy) – Based at Le Sirenuse, an iconic family-run luxury hotel in the Italian coast town of Positano, the Artists at Le Sirenuse program presents its most ambitious commission to date: a makeover of the hotel’s iconic pool by one of today’s most dynamic and talked-about contemporary artistic talents, Nicolas Party.

Working in mosaics for the first time, Swiss artist Party has created an exuberant play of overlapping and interlocking organic forms that distils the view of sea and mountains from Le Sirenuse’s poolside terrace into a joyous, billowing aquascape that shifts and dances underwater. Due to be unveiled in Spring 2024, Party’s work is the eleventh addition to the hotel’s ongoing series of site-specific series of commissions curated by art advisor Silka Rittson-Thomas, which comprises works by Martin Creed, Stanley Whitney, Rita Ackermann, Alex Israel, Matt Connors and Caragh Thuring, among others. 

The project began, Party recalls, in a very natural way, through the “human connection and friendship” of a group of people – Le Sirenuse’s co-owners Antonio and Carla Sersale, Artists at Le Sirenuse curator Rittson-Thomas, Swiss designer Marie Lusa, her gallerist partner Gregor Staiger (Galerie Gregor Staiger), and the artist himself. ‘It was a very family-based, collegial approach, which I found great,’ Party comments. The artist spent a week at Le Sirenuse absorbing the genius loci and talking the project through with the owners of Le Sirenuse, the Sersales, and the curator – who points out that this commission was something of an exception to the rule that has been followed by the hotel’s site-specific art programme ever since its inception in 2015. Rittson-Thomas explains: ‘Generally, when an artist first visits the hotel, they’re pretty much given carte blanche – within reason – on what the work will be and where it will be placed, but in this case, we knew it had to be the pool, and we knew also that the material should be mosaic.’

Antonio Sersale remembers vividly his first encounter with Nicolas Party’s work at a solo show in 2019: ‘I loved the way he was able to create a whole world, I loved the way he combined playfulness with attention to detail. It struck me then that it would be wonderful to ask him to reimagine the swimming pool of Le Sirenuse. When you enter a pool, you are entering another world, a watery realm that becomes even more rich and strange here on the hotel’s terrace, suspended magically between sea and sky.’

As for the choice of the mosaic medium, this had to do with Antonio’s wish to respect the vision of his late father Franco Sersale, a collector and aesthete whose design flair and passion for art and antiques lies behind the elegant ambience of Le Sirenuse as guests experience it today. One of the four Neapolitan siblings who decided to turn their family’s holiday villa into a small hotel back in 1951, Franco transformed Le Sirenuse’s pool, which had been created on the hotel’s panoramic terrace in the mid 1970s. First, in the mid 1980s, he asked Positano- based designer Raimonda Gaetani to add a mermaid mosaic to the small pergola at the eastern end, a work that alluded to the shell grottoes of Italy’s great Baroque villas. Then, in the early 1990s, he had the pool itself entirely relaid in mosaic tiles, with a frieze running around the edge reproducing the border of a Greek-style floor mosaic from the second century BC that had impressed him in Berlin’s Pergamon Museum. ‘So, when we asked Nicolas to create a mosaic for a pool that was starting to show its age,’ comments Antonio, ‘we were really just carrying forward a tradition inaugurated by my father almost forty years ago.’

Back in his New York studio, Party began to ‘walk through a few different ideas.’ Rather than reaching for the decorative motifs or trompe l’oeil still lifes of the Ancient Roman tradition, Party opted for an abstract pattern, explaining that ‘in a hotel that is already pretty perfect, I didn’t want the pool to stand out too much... I wanted it to look like a pool.’ For the same reason, he chose (with a couple of striking exceptions) a blue-green colour palette for the overlapping wave-like shapes that swirl across the pool’s floor and climb its walls. But are they really waves? Party admits that he conceived them as ‘clouds... but obviously clouds reflect in the water and cloud the water, so there's like a kind of connection between those clouds and the water movements.’ In the centre of the pool’s deepest section, he placed a disc made of golden mosaic tiles that, he says, ‘people will think of as the sun, because it’s gold and a circle... so when you jump into the pool, you’re jumping into the sky.’ Party has painted mountainscapes in the past with similarly overlapping forms, and he enjoys the idea that the meld of land, water and sky in these works provokes a kind of fertile confusion in the viewer. ‘It’s very inspired by ancient Chinese landscape painting,’ he reveals, ‘it's very metaphorical and symbolic. Are they mountains? Are they clouds? Or are they like waves or smoke? Are those pink patches glimpses of a forest fire?’

Having created a finished sketch for the pool in his go-to medium, pastel, Party was then faced with the challenge of translating his vision into mosaics. Italy’s leading glass mosaic firm, based near Vicenza, Bisazza was established just five years after Le Sirenuse, in 1956, and like Le Sirenuse, is still owned and run by its founding family. Over the years, the company has worked with a host of leading designers and artists, from Piero Fornasetti to Patricia Urquiola, from Sandro Chia to Hiroshi Sugimoto. They produce mosaic tiles or ‘tesserae’ in a dizzying range of shapes and hues. In the 20mm format, Party had around 200 colours to choose from – far less than the number offered by the pastels he stores in the famous cubby holes that hang on the wall of his studio. Party was keen to be in control of the entire creative process. So, he asked the company to send him their proprietary software, spent a few days learning how to use it, and set about translating his pastel model into a full-scale template for Le Sirenuse’s pool, mosaic tile by mosaic tile. ‘It was really great,’ Party enthuses, ‘because I discovered a totally new way of drawing with software... it was a lot of fun!’

At the Bisazza headquarters near Vicenza, Party’s digital template was reproduced on hundreds of sequentially numbered square sheets, each 15 tiles long and 15 tiles wide. These were then shipped to Positano, where in January 2024, the Fabrizi brothers, Luciano and Marcello, began the painstaking task of laying them. Born in Frosinone, south of Rome, the brothers are today among only a handful of expert Italian mosaicisti. They learned their trade from their father, a builder and tiler who himself carried out several mosaic commissions in the 1960s and 1970s.

Party is, he says, ‘super-excited’ about his contribution to the Artists at Le Sirenuse programme. But the artist also admits to a little pre-inauguration stress because, he says, ‘a lot of the things I make are temporary installations... but this will stay in place, hopefully, for generations to come. So it had better be good!’

NOTES TO EDITORS:

ABOUT ARTISTS AT LE SIRENUSE:

Launched in 2015, the Artists at Le Sirenuse programme is a continuation, in the contemporary field, of the long- standing cultural remit and passion for collection of the famed Amalfi Coast hotel’s owners, the Sersale family. Under the tutelage of Antonio and Carla Sersale, the programme is curated by British art advisor Silka Rittson- Thomas. As of April 2024, eleven leading international artists have been invited to create works that find a place within the hotel’s busy design scheme. For more information on the programme, visit www.sirenuse.it/

ABOUT LE SIRENUSE:

Le Sirenuse opened in 1951, when the Sersale family turned their Amalfi Coast summer house in Positano into a stylish small hotel. Today the 58-room resort is considered an Italian hospitality icon, though it still retains the intimate, cultured atmosphere of a private home. Showcasing the region’s authentic seasonal produce at scenic La Sponda restaurant, informally glamorous bar-bistrot Aldo’s and the chic little Pool Bar, Le Sirenuse also features a refreshingly contemporary Spa designed by architect Gae Aulenti. Assembled over decades by art and antique collector Franco Sersale, the hotel’s elegant décor today dialogues with a growing site-specific contemporary art collection in its communal areas, while the light-filled bedrooms are havens of dolce vita style. Now as in the past, Le Sirenuse is a family affair. Third generation Sersales, Aldo and Francesco, are increasingly involved in the day-to-day running of a hotel that their parents Antonio and Carla began to manage in 1991. Carla currently curates Emporio Sirenuse, the resortwear and lifestyle brand she founded in 2013. For more information, please visit Sirenuse.it/en.

Image Credit:

1. Pool, 2023-2024 by Nicolas Party. Glass mosaic tiles. 18.6x4.65m. Courtesy of the artist & Galerie Gregor Staiger, Zurich_Milan. (C) Nicolas Party. Photography by Brechenmacher & Baumann.

2 + 3. Left. Pool, 2023-2024 by Nicolas Party. Glass mosaic tiles. 18.6x4.65m. Courtesy the artist & Galerie Gregor Staiger, Zurich_Milan. (C) Nicolas Party. Right. Pool, 2023-2024 by Nicolas Party. Glass mosaic tiles. 18.6x4.65m. Courtesy the artist & Galerie Gregor Staiger, Zurich_Milan. (C) Nicolas Party. Photography by Brechenmacher & Baumann.

4 + 5. Left. Pool, 2023-2024 by Nicolas Party. Glass mosaic tiles. 18.6x4.65m. Courtesy the artist & Galerie Gregor Staiger, Zurich_Milan. (C) Nicolas Party Right. Work in Progress_Le Sirenuse x Nicolas Party Pool_Photography by Roberto Salomone.

6. Pool, 2023-2024 by Nicolas Party. Glass mosaic tiles. 18.6x4.65m. Courtesy of the artist & Galerie Gregor Staiger, Zurich_Milan. (C) Nicolas Party. Photography by Brechenmacher & Baumann.

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BELVEDERE HOTEL CELEBRATES 55 YEARS | THE PETITE-GRAND HOTEL, HOME TO THE ORIGINS OF SOCIAL AND ARTISTIC LIFE IN MYKONOS

May 30, 2024 (Mykonos, Greece) – On the barren island of Mykonos, Greece, a rare, lush garden with abundant greenery and pink shades of bougainvillea embrace an iconic residence with a vibrant history. Formerly known as Mansion Stoupa, the private residence of the Campani family quickly became a symbol of opulence. The story of the Belvedere Hotel Mykonos starts in 1969 when the descendant of the Campani family, Sofia Ioannidis and her husband Ilias started renting the mansion as a summer holiday home to renowned personalities suchas Piero Aversa and Thomas Fritsch. The residence became an intimate space for social gatherings of artists and thinkers and gradually evolved into a petite-grand hotel, opening its doors to an international audience to expand on its existingsocialcircle,andnurture itscommunity. A treasured member of The Leading Hotels of the World, Belvedere Hotel is perched atop a scenic hill and offers a seamless blend of seclusion and social vibrancy, preserving the authenticity of its Mykonian roots.

A prestige hospitality experience with a breathtaking, immersive view of Mykonos' picturesque town Chora and the Aegean Sea, the Belvedere is an oasis of wonders. Its evolution from an eclectic summer house to a petite grand hotel begins with Italo-American painter Piero Aversa. He spent several summers at Mansion Stoupa – now part of the expanded Belvedere Hotel. Mesmerized by its atmosphere, the artist attracted a circle of intellectuals, politicians, royals, and creatives to reunite in a sanctuary for both connection and tranquility, which would later become the ethos of the hotel. Iconic figures including Julie Andrews, Hiram Keller, and Princess Soraya of Iran were regular guests at Aversa’s free-spirited gatherings and indulgent Dionysian dinners.

These festivities were revived in the late 1990s, when the Ioannidis family inaugurated the Belvedere White Parties, the first line of events to host eclectic musicians on the island, playing for an esteemed social circle, including Matthew Williamson, Neil Barrett, and Ben de Lisi.

The Ioannidis continue to preserve the residence’s culture of social gatherings by designing spaces to forge new connections. Its main complex features the hotel’s Pool Club, a signature cocktail bar – the Sunken Watermelon Bar, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's first open-air restaurant, Matsuhisa Mykonos, boasting more additions in its proximity, including Hilltop Rooms & Suites and its recently unveiled exclusive pool, The Waterfront Villa & Suites, and Villa Next Door & Suites.

Over the last few decades, the family-owned luxury hotel has offered its guest a unique and captivating experience of indulgence and discovery. Collaborating with Arman Naféei, the renowned tastemaker for sound and ambiance, makes the hotel a prime entertainment hub in Mykonos. His music selection for the hotel is inspired by the sounds of Hans Havenaar, once a beloved resident DJ at the hotel, who for two decades, brought a plethora of grooves to the premises of Belvedere, setting a distinct atmosphere on the island. Following the thread of inspiring cultural collaborations, Belvedere’s pool club is charmed with a site-specific mural by the British artist and designer, Luke Edward Hall. Characterized by bold and colorful aesthetics drawing inspiration from classical art and design, Hall’s designs range from playful and whimsical to sophisticated and elegant, infused with his unique personality and love of storytelling. The mural is an homage to the creative ethos of the hotel, bringing a sense of conviviality to emphasizing the pool area as a place of enjoyment and relaxation, where people gather. Complementing this social experience, the Belvedere offers a new wellness philosophy in the Six Sense Spa, a soothing realm of healing and restoration proposing an intuitive blend of science, homegrown natural ingredients, and body awareness.

Merging consciously with the city’s eminent Cycladic landscape and identity, the Belvedere is sanctuary of authenticity. Its design and decor pay homage to the island’s rich heritage, with whitewashed walls, traditional wooden shutters, and locally crafted furnishings creating a serene and genuine ambiance. This dedication to preserving local culture is evident in every aspect of the hotel, from its architectural details to its culinary offerings, providing a wholesome experience that harkens back the elusive Mykonos feeling.

As the Belvedere Hotel celebrates its 55th anniversary, it continues to uphold its legacy as the origin of Mykonos’ social and artistic life, while preserving the island’s local culture and lifestyle.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Address:

Belvedere Mykonos

School of Fine Arts District, 84600, Mykonos, Greece

Image Credits:

1. Mansion Stoupa in Mykonos, 1990s. Courtesy of Belvedere Hotel Mykonos.
2. Piero Aversa and Hiram Keller, 1970. Courtesy of Belvedere Hotel Mykonos.
3. Sergio Tamer and Roberto Macdonald at the Belvedere Hotel’s White Parties, August 2001. Courtesy of Belvedere Hotel Mykonos.
4. Front View of Belvedere Hotel Mykonos, 2023. Courtesy of Belvedere Hotel Mykonos.

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JIRI GEORG DOKOUPIL PUSHES THE BOUNDARIES OF CRAFT WITH HIS FIRST-EVER LARGE GLASS SCULPTURES IN THE SOLO EXHIBITION ‘VENETIAN BUBBLES’

Introducing new site-specific works at the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Museo Correr Venice, the exhibition marks the evolution of the artist’s renowned Soap Bubble Paintings into three-dimensional form.

Opening Preview: June 21, 2024, 5 p.m.

On View: June 22 – August 18, 2024

May 20, 2024 (Venice, Italy) – Globally acclaimed artist Jiří Georg Dokoupil inaugurates a new phase of his versatile and experimental artistic practice in his upcoming solo exhibition ‘Venetian Bubbles’. Curated by Reiner Opoku and supported by the Association for Art in Public, the exhibition will be on view from June 22 – August 18, 2024, at the Sale Monumentali of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana of Museo Correr in Venice. The artist will unveil eight of his first-ever large sculptural works in glass, seven large-scale paintings, and a series of works on paper. Set in a space adorned by historical Renaissance painters like Veronese, Titian, Tintoretto and Zelotti, this contemporary intervention reflects the artist’s liberated exploration of materials and techniques, revealing new approaches to glassmaking with freedom, play and humor, while capturing the ephemerality of existence.

Dokoupil’s new glass sculptures are an extension of the artist’s renowned Soap Bubble Paintings – their temporal element is now expressed in a three-dimensional space, narrowing the distance between the viewers and the subtleties of his practice. Seven metal bottle racks (80 – 200 centimeters tall) are adorned with glass bubbles of various bright hues. The artist names them ‘Homemade Venetian Bubbles’, honoring their national origin from various manufacturers and master craftsmen in crystal glass from the Bohemia region, Czech Republic. Playfully reframing ordinary objects into an artistic context, Dokoupil challenges traditional ways of utilizing materials, instructing the glassmakers to explore new creative dynamics in the sculptural process, consequently disrupting both the artists' established techniques and the expectations associated with craftsmanship. The glass bubbles hanging on female-shaped bottle racks bring forth a striking juxtaposition between fragility and strength, underscoring recurring existential themes of transience and permanence in Dokoupil’s oeuvre. Captured and conserved at the peak of their existence, the bubble sculptures uncover layers of complexity and nuance in their form, texture, and spatial presence, that are inherent in both the artist’s practice and his reflection on the human condition.

Among the highlights of the exhibition is ‘Open Bubbles Condensation Cube,’ a nod to Dokoupil’s former teacher Hans Haake’s ‘Condensation Cube’ (1963/68), which encapsulates glass bubbles within a box filled with condensed water. The work embodies Dokoupil’s approach of incorporating the environment and viewer into the art itself, mimicking a living system within the artwork.

A key figure in the ‘Neue Wilde’ movement in Germany and known for his unconventional experimentations in the global art scene, Georg Dokoupil has never been confined to a specific genre or style. Instead, he transcends traditional practices, using unusual materials such as whip marks, candle soot, or fruit, and soap bubbles, demonstrating a multiplicity of approaches to painting and a body of work that defies categorization. In ‘Venetian Bubbles,’ Dokoupil presents seven large-scale paintings (ranging from 200 by 400 centimeters) depicting colored soap bubbles. Since the late 1970s, the artist has been exploring the subtleties of his technique, mixing soap-lye with pigments, and blowing bubbles onto a canvas coated with paint, guiding their burst to leave intricate organic imprints. These unpredictable patterns evoke a sense of spontaneity that challenges the control of the artist and the notion of permanence often found in the painting practice. Dokoupil simultaneously reflects on deeper themes of the human condition – the breath used to conceive the bubbles, evokes the fugacity of existence, while their imprints on the canvas reveal textures of the ephemeral.

‘Venetian Bubbles,’ is an evolution of Jiří Georg Dokoupil’s multifaceted artistic practice – a liberated exploration of techniques and materials to express a narrative intertwining the playful with the profound. As delicate bubbles are transformed into timeless expressions of artistic ingenuity, Dokoupil's work reflects his enduring pursuit of innovation, challenging the boundaries of artistic mediums through themes of impermanence and transformation.

Dirk Geuer, this year’s chief curator for all Marciana’s art exhibitions hosted parallel to the Biennale Arte exhibition is bringing with Jiri Georg Dokoupil another international established artist to Venice. “The juxtaposition of Dokoupil’s works of art with Renaissance paintings in such an historically significant location opens a dialogue between new and old masters.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

General Information:
Press Conference: 21 June, 2024, 11 A.M. – 1 P.M.
Opening Preview: 21 June, 2024, 5 P.M.
Sala Sansoviniana of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
Piazza San Marco, 13/a, 30124 Venice

Exhibition:
On view: June 22 – August 18 2024
Sale Monumentali della Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
Access to the exhibition via the Museo Correr
Piazza San Marco n.52 - Ala Napoleonica, I – 30124, Venice

Opening Hours:
Monday – Friday | 10 A.M. - 6 P.M. (last admission at 5 pm)

About Jiří Georg Dokoupil:
Georg Dokoupil’s main subject is painting. He refuses to be subordinated to a personal style, attitude, or conventional artistic approach. Instead, he operates in a free and not assignable manner right from the beginning of his career in the early 1980s. The artist’s open and experimental spirit creates a wide range of visual worlds through unconventional technical inventions: he puts color on canvas with a whip or with car tires, he creates candle paintings using soot or bound pigments into soap bubbles, only to have them burst on his canvases. The artist is fixing the ephemeral within his pictorial inventions. Georg Dokoupil oeuvre today contains over 60 series and far more than 100 devised techniques or styles.

Jiří Dokoupil was born in Krnov, former Czechoslovakia, in 1954. After the invasion of the Soviet army in Prague in 1968, he fled with his family to Germany. From 1976 to 1978, Dokoupil studied fine arts in Cologne, Frankfurt am Main and in New York at The Cooper Union with the conceptual artist Hans Haacke. Dokoupil was founding- member of the German artist groups Mülheimer Freiheit and Junge Wilde, which arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The group was associated with the legendary art dealer Paul Maenz who organized Dokoupil’s first solo exhibition in Cologne in 1982. In their shared studio in Cologne on a street named Mülheimer Freiheit, the Junge Wilde sought to explore a contemporary expression for their art by using a neo-expressive, figurative style of intensely colorful painting with traditional subjects and by overriding the intellectual, reduced formal language of Minimal and Conceptual Art. Dokoupil also taught as a guest professor at the Academy of Fine Arts of Düsseldorf from 1983 to 1984 and in Madrid during 1989.

Dokoupil developed a less wild, rather unusual working method and soon found his own radical subjective way with individual considerations. With his “book painting” shown at documenta 7 in Kassel in 1982, Dokoupil widely attracted the attention of the art world. Since then – besides the early group exhibitions with the Mülheimer Freiheit – Dokoupil’s work has been seen in numerous one-man shows in galleries, museums and at other cultural sites worldwide.

Dokoupil lives and works between Berlin, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Las Palmas.

About Reiner Opoku:
Reiner Opoku is a Berlin based art consultant and international art agent. He has curated numerous international art exhibitions since the early 1980s, and is representing a variety of renowned contemporary artists. Reiner Opoku serves as an advisor and initiator for aligning artists and the creative world with institutions, galleries and brands by creating collaboration platforms, publications and commissioned works.

Image Credits:
1.Jiří Georg Dokoupil, Egun On (Buenos Dias), 2023, 205 x 390 cm. Soap-lye and pigments on canvas. Courtesy of Office Reiner Opoku ©Studio Dokoupil.

2.Jiří Georg Dokoupil’s ‘Homemade Venetian Bubbles’, 2024, Metal structure and glass, Courtesy of Office Reiner Opoku ©Studio Dokoupil.

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NIKA PROJECT SPACE PRESENTS EXHIBITION ‘BEGHOST’ UNVEILING TIMELESS ECHOES TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES OF GEOLOGY AND ART

Sculpting time through the lens of transformation, Nika Neelova’s solo exhibition mirrors the constant flux of material exchanges that define our world by merging chemistry, alchemy, and geology.

Opening Preview: May 16, 2024

On View: May 17- October 5, 2024

May 15, 2024 (Dubai, UAE) – NIKA Project Space presents ‘Beghost,’ a solo exhibition by London-based artist Nika Neelova, on view from May 17 – October 5, 2024. The show will feature sculptures, crafted from various materials including glass, clay, and fossilized shark teeth, offering a speculative view of the ancient marine life that once inhabited Buhais Geology Park and Jebel Buhais, an archaeological site in Al Madam Plain (Sharjah, UAE). Narrating a story of transformation and decay, the new works are placed in direct dialogue with fossils from Nirmal Rajah’s collection, the archaeologist, who in 2015 led an expedition to discover fossils in the Ariyalur district in Tamil Nadu, contributing to the production of the first English documentary focusing on India's remains.

‘Beghost’ traces the history of Sharjah region backwards, endowing the desert with the spirit of water that has long disappeared, but has left its fossilized traces in the geological record, encrypted in the rocks. The artist engages with the vast materiality of the geological history, exploring further how rock erodes into sand and clay, sand with silica becomes glass and clay petrifies upon contact with air, hardening into form. Reflecting these natural sequences, all materials of Neelova’s sculptures are engaged in a constant cycle of metamorphosis, alluding to the never-ending recycling of matter on the planet, merging chemistry, alchemy and geology.

Following the impressions of Neelova’s research trip to the UAE in August 2022 supported through the Residency & Research programme by NIKA Project Space, the artist reflects: ‘This terrain was, in fact, the site of a prehistoric sea that covered most of Arabia until geologically recent times. I imagined the ancient waters buried under the sand dunes, the landscape changing slowly over 93 million years, descending into the blue underworld. Among the layers of sedimented time and these prehistoric rocks, the exhibition conjures the oceanic subconscious of the desert, of the sand dunes haunted by the memory of water, and their watery ancestors.’

The glass medusas’ sculptures titled ‘Medusa series,’ 2023, are crafted from antique chandelier fragments, fused with handblown flame-like glass elements. Inheriting their shapes from fire, the sculptures remind us of the primary purpose of their forebears, the chandeliers, to provide light, and at the same time reflect the transparent qualities of the animal itself. The inverted fragmented tree-like sculpture ‘And their phantoms,’ 2023, holds hundreds of decapitated rose stems made from fossilized shark teeth of extinct species dating over 30 million years, set into hardened clay, thereby bridging the futility and short life span of flowers with the vast temporalities of deep time. The ripple stone piece titled ‘Stones,’ 2023, created by fingerprints left in soft beds of petrified clay, witnesses the moments of interaction between humanity and nature, mimicking the pockmarks on the planet’s skin, a vast network of now dying lakes. Strewn across the upstairs floor of the gallery, the skeletal lemniscate sculptures, ‘Untitled,’ 2021, reference the ouroboros, an ancient symbol of a mythical snake devouring its own tail, representing the eternal cycles of destruction and rebirth. Reminiscent of the remains of prehistoric creatures, the sinuous flowing sculptures are made from reclaimed handrails from several flights of stairs.

Sophie J. Williamson explores in her essay 'Seepages' the concept of decay as a flexible architecture forever reconstructing itself by Reza Negarestani, who explains that all structures, physical or socio-political, are perpetually unraveling, only momentarily appearing whole. ‘Beghost’ mirrors this concept, illustrating the transient nature of reality, where distinctions blur between human and non-human, organic and inorganic, all destined for continual material flux and recycling on Earth, existing between geological cycles, and eroding time scales.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

‘Beghost’ by Nika Neelova will be on view at NIKA Project Space from May 17 – October 5, 2024.

Address:
NIKA Project Space
Al Khayat Avenue, Unit 11, 19th Street Road – Al Quoz 1. First Al Khail Street, Dubai, UAE.

About NIKA Project Space
NIKA Project Space is a UAE-based gallery that fosters the artistic inquiry of emerging and established artists and curators internationally, with a focus on practitioners from the Global South. Founded in 2023 by Veronika Berezina, the gallery serves as a platform for artistic discourse and experimentation and champions the work of female artists and curators. In addition to exhibitions which focus on conceptualization, abstraction, and philosophical inquiry, NIKA Project Space offers a critically engaged programme that emphasizes contemporaneity and dialogue through talks, performances, and educational initiatives. The gallery also hosts a research programme, inviting artists to create impactful new works that implement research-based and experimental creative processes, ultimately facilitating the exploration and portrayal of nuanced societal experiences and historical narratives. Located in Al Khayat Avenue in Dubai’s industrial district Al Quoz, the 250-square-metre NIKA project space is designed by award-winning international practice T.ZED Architects to serve as a catalyst for artistic, cultural, and philosophical inquiry.

The NIKA Project Space Residency & Research programme supports experiments in art, creative practice and interdisciplinary dialogue. It provides a platform for artists to delve into the cultural and social nuances of a chosen region, offering a depth of experience that fosters the exchange of ideas. Launched in 2022, the programme invites artists to create new work using research-based and experimental creative processes, facilitating the exploration and representation of nuanced societal experiences and historical narratives. The programme ranges in length from one week to a month, and fosters connections between the artist and the local community by embedding them within a region’s cultural and social fabric. Through artistic collaboration and exploration, the programme aims to bridge cultural gaps and promote understanding. The artists collaborate with locally based curators, bringing the issues and experiences of the Global South to a worldwide audience. nika-projects.com

About Veronika Berezina:
Veronika Berezina is the founder of NIKA Project Space, a UAE-based gallery that fosters the artistic inquiry of

emerging and established artists and curators. Committed to providing a space for discourse and critical engagement, Berezina opened the doors to NIKA Project Space in Dubai in March 2023 and has since worked in tandem with international practitioners, with a focus on artists and curators from the Global South. Through a considered approach, Berezina is building a rigorous roster of artists and focusing on expanding the gallery’s research programme and publishing arm. Born in St. Petersburg, Berezina formerly held a career as a lawyer. In 2022, she relocated to Dubai to pursue her goal of opening a gallery. NIKA Project Space evolved from over a decade of private collecting and patronage.

About Nika Neelova:
Nika Neelova lives and works in London, where she received her Masters Degree from the Slade School of Art, after graduating with a BA degree from the Royal Art Academy, KABK. Her work has been exhibited in the United Kingdom and internationally, recent solo exhibitions include ‘Very Like a Whale’ at the Santorini Museum in Greece (2023), ‘Thaw’ at Noire Gallery in Turin (2023), ‘One of Many Fragments’ at the New Art Centre, Roche Court (2021), ‘Silt’ at Brighton CCA (2021), CELINE Art Project curated by Hedi Slimane for Celine London (2021), [ъ] [ы] [ь] at Garage MCA (2021), ‘Ever’ at The Tetley, Leeds (2019).
Selected group exhibitions include: ‘(Everything) is not what it seems’ curated by Mara Ambrosic for the Piran Coastal Galleries Museum (2023) & NITJA museum, Oslo (2022), From Birth to Earth, Parafin, London (2023), Frieze Allied Editions (2021); ‘Her Dark Materials’ curated by Philly Adams (2021), Art Newspaper 40th Anniversary project (2021), ‘She Sees the Shadows’ curated by Olivia Leahy and Adam Carr for DRAF & Mostyn

museum, Wales (2018), ‘Seventeen. The Age of Nymphs’ curated by Daria Khan for Mimosa House, London (2017), ‘Theatre of the Absurd’, Green Art Gallery, Dubai (2017).
Nika Neelova was awarded the Kenneth Armitage Young Sculptor Prize, the Land Security Prize Award, the Royal British Society of Sculptors Bursary Award and was the winner of Saatchi New Sensations. In 2017 Neelova attended an alternative study program organised by the Wysing Art Centre in Cambridge. In 2019 she was awarded the Arts Council National Lottery Grant supporting the development of her practice.

Nika Neelova first gained recognition for her large scale sculptures and sculptural installations, depicting complex, imaginary environments that suggest a place or a landscape out of time. She participated in numerous residencies and her work is represented in various public and private collections internationally.

About Nirmal Rajah:
Nirmal Rajah, originally from India and now based in the UAE, is deeply passionate about exploring and educating others about the natural world. Currently serving as the head of education at the Mleiha Archaeological Center in Sharjah, Nirmal has a bachelor's degree in zoology, a master's in biotechnology, and is about to begin his Ph.D. Since 2008, he has dedicated himself to the study of evolutionary biology and paleontology, actively collecting fossils and studying them.

Nirmal's commitment to sharing knowledge extends beyond academia. He has been involved in projects aimed at popularizing paleontology, including contributing to the production of the first English documentary focusing on India's fossils in 2015, aiming to showcase his homeland's rich geological heritage to a wider audience. He has also co-founded a YouTube channel dedicated to discussing natural history, attracting over 123k subscribers.

Apart from scientific publications, he has also authored a book, a prehistoric fiction based on the prehistoric fauna and flora he encountered through fossils in Southern India. It was published by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Nirmal is a member of the Royal Society of Biology, the Indian Society for Evolutionary Biologists, and the Indian Society of Earth Scientists.

Outside of his professional pursuits, Nirmal enjoys exploring geologically significant sites across India, the UAE, and beyond. Additionally, he is a part-time astronomer, often engaging in discussions about the universe with others when he's not discussing Earth's history.

Image Credits:
1.Nika Neelova. Untitled. 2021. Wood. Variable dimensions. Courtesy of The New Art Centre, Roche Court.
2.Nika Neelova. Medusa series, 2023. Handblown glass, reclaimed antique chandelier parts. Variable dimensions. Image courtesy of the artist.
3.Nika Neelova. And their phantoms. Fossilised shark teeth set in clay, expoxy, oil. 2023. Image courtesy of the artist.

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