Turner Prize 2013 announced

Laire Prouvost, Turner Prize 2013 winner

It was announced on channel 4 last night, live from Londonderry, that French artist Laure Prouvost (b.1978) is this year's Turner Prize winner. Her winning piece Wantee, inspired by a cup of tea, weaves together art history and fiction in video form, taking viewers in search of her fictional grandfather - weird! She describes it as "a conversation about this idea of reality and fiction," intentionally presenting work designed to confuse as she believes misunderstanding makes us use our imagination more.

Beating humorous artist David Shrigley, performance artist Tino Sehgal and painter Lynette Yiadom-Boakye to the £25,000 prize, the latter of which I was gunning for as a painter hasn't won for years.  

Previous winners you may have heard of include Damien Hurst and Anthony Gormley.

Candy

Candy brings together the Visual Candy series by Damien Hirst (b.1965) and the candy spill work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957-1996). The exhibition reveals the differing ways in which both artists explored the idea of candy during the 1990's. The spacious gallery is bursting at the seams with colour, projected from both the paintings on the walls and the individually wrapped, multi-coloured cellophane sweets on the floor.  

Gonzales-Torres's candies surround the galleries central column forming a glittering circular carpet. The work encourages the viewer to interact with it, as a viewer you are allowed to touch, take and eat the candy resulting in the works continuous state of flux. During the private view children were writing their names in sweets on the floor, one guest took it a step too far though, throwing herself into Untitled, 1992, a pile of candy in the corner, before being swiftly escorted out of the building. Gonzales-Torres said his candy spills were about letting go, refusing to make a static form just as life itself is constantly changing.

Untitled, 1992, Gonzales-Torres

Hirst's Visual Candy paintings, created between 1993 and 1995, were made in response to a critic who had slated his Spot Paintings as 'just visual candy.' Hirst's paintings such as Some Fun, 1993 and Dippy Dappy Dabby, 1993, question the idea that aesthetically pleasing art is insignificant.

Dippy Dappy Dabby, 1993, Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst and his bling chain

At first glance the paintings appear totally abstract though on closer inspection they are in fact depictions of medicinal pills, stylised representations of the psychological effects of mood-enhancing drugs. Hirst once said, 'in every painting there is a subliminal; sense of unease'; what with his paintings vibrant colours creating a feeling of surface optimism it is hard to pick up on the underlying darkness, the low that follows a high. 

The exhibition is open at Blain Southern until 30 November 2013 if you fancy some sweets!

Friezzzzze

Appropriately named given the onset of this cold weather, Frieze London and Frieze Masters, located within walking distance of each other in Regents Park, open tomorrow and continue until Sunday. 

Frieze London is one of the only fairs focusing solely on contemporary art and living artists, mainly post year 2000. The fair is divided into three sections with most galleries located in the 'Main Gallery' section, the others can be found in 'Focus' and 'Frame'. All galleries in Focus have solo shows or curated projects and have only been open since 2001, the works of which have never been exhibited at an art fair before. Frame is dedicated to solo artist presentations by galleries that have been in existence for less than eight years and present a regular programme of exhibitions.

Only in it's second year, Frieze Masters displays work made before year 2000, providing an interesting old and new art comparison. The fair is divided into two sections, again most exhibitors can be viewed in the 'Main Gallery' while 'Spotlight' is for those with solo 20th-century artist presentations.

This years Frieze Sculpture Park is it's largest to date, incorporating works from both fairs by some of the most acclaimed contemporary sculptors, alongside historical pieces dating back to the medieval period. Sculptures by Joan Miro, Helen Chadwick, Judy Chicago, Rachel Whiteread, plus many more are on display.

The Art Newspaper is also producing daily papers at both fairs so be sure to pick up a copy if you manage to pop down.

Time Out Takeover

Make sure to pick up an issue of Time Out this Tuesday as I'm in it! To celebrate the anniversary of Time Out becoming a free magazine, the edition published on September Tuesday 24th is being compiled by it's readers - one of which is me.

Genesis

Knowing Sebastiao Salgado's exhibition 'Genesis' was closing at The Natural History Museum on September 8th, I raced down there the Saturday before last to see it - most unlike me on such a sunny day!

Sebastiao Salgado is a documentary photographer who has explored the displacement and alienation of communities from their natural environments and traditional ways of life as industrialisation has spread. Integral to his work has been his observation of the relationship between humans and our planet.

With Genesis however, Salgado focuses on the natural world for the first time, inviting us to reflect on our own lifestyles and the impact we have on the planets natural resources. This is something that is at the heart of the Natural History Museum's work which has 300 scientists working on projects around the world to improve our understanding of the Earth's diversity in the hope that they can enable and inspire better care of our planet. The photographs document environments that have great scientific importance as well as aesthetic appeal, showing off our planets diversity, something for which we are all responsible.

The exhibition is the culmination of 8 years of travel around the world photographing its remaining pristine environments. 

Most of Salgado's previous work has focused on people, labour and migration though here he has chosen to work with wilderness, plants, animals and people. The reason being he grew up on a big farm in a part of Brazil that used to be more than 60% rainforest though in the early 1990's, when he and his wife Lélia decided to move back, only 0.3% of it remained. Since then they have planted a forest which now has almost 2 million trees. 

Genesis is Salgado's way of presenting the planet in his language, 'Photography.' The exhibition is divided up into 5 sections, Africa (my favourite), Planet south, Amazonia and Pantanal, Northen Spaces and Sanctuaries. Most of which depict extremely unforgiving and inhospitable environments, focusing on traditional lifestyles that enable their inhabitants survival. Salgado wanted to experience living with people with real links to nature, illustrated through his photos of tribes in rain forests and the Nenets in Siberia. We and the natural world are so closely tied together though the majority of us live in cities completely cut off from it, managing to do it more harm than good, something Salgado is desperate for people to become more aware of.

Keep your eyes peeled...

John William Waterhouse, The Lady of Shalott, 1888

As part of 'Art Everywhere,' 57 masterpieces have been selected through a public vote to appear on 22,000 billboards, bus stops and other sites as part of a nationwide open-air art exhibition. Paintings by artists such as David Hockney and Lucien Freud will be on display across the country between 12-25 August.

The founder Richard Reed said 90% of the population are likely to see the posters saying, "if we can't get the average guy in the street to go into a gallery, maybe we can get the art from the gallery into the street." A billboard is democratic and for everyone though is usually just there to sell things. The aim of this project is primarily for the posters to get noticed and to bring a smile to peoples faces, people don't have to buy anything just look.

'The Lady of Shalott' by Victorian artist John William Waterhouse was the most popular choice in the online vote with works by Francis Bacon, John Singer Sargent, Lucien Freud, JMW Turner and LS Lowry making the top 10.

Lucian Freud, Man's head, Self Portrait, 1963

In order for Art Everywhere to happen the advertising industry has donated poster sites, with other costs being met by The Tate, The Art Fund and a public funding campaign. So far the campaign has raised £133,000 of its £200,000 target.

See how many you can spot over the next couple of weeks. Feel free to keep me posted (forgive the pun) by writing a comment in the comments section below this post.

Here is one I spotted in Sainsbury's car park this morning...

Sir Henry Raeburn, Revd Robert Walker
Skating on Duddingston Loch, 1795

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, Sou Fujimoto, 2013

With the recent heat wave, many of you may have already spotted the latest Serpentine Gallery Pavilion while picnicking in Hyde park. A couple of weeks ago, after a short stint on one of the Serpentines pedalos, I stopped off to have a look. 

The temporary structure is designed by the Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, the 13th (and at 41 the youngest) architect to do so. The annual Pavilion commission is one of the worlds most ambitious architectural programmes - after seeing the 12 previous designs online I really wish I had seen more of them in the flesh, there has been quite a range of funky looking structures!

Sou Fujimoto is becoming well known for his light and delicate structures and is widely acknowledged as one of the worlds most up and coming architects. Mainly inspired by organic structures his signature buildings seem to inhabit a space between nature and artificiality, re-inventing our relationship with the built environment.

The light and airy construction occupies around 350 square metres of lawn in front of the gallery. Comprised of layers of 20mm steel poles a kind of lattice is created, giving it a lightweight and semi-transparent appearance that allows it to blend like a cloud into the landscape. Mr Fujimoto wanted it to be a multi-purpose and social space, this is clearly demonstrated by the Fortum and Mason cafe situated inside, encouraging visitors to go in and interact with the space. I highly recommend a glass of rosé upon it on a summers afternoon.

The pavilion will be there for the next three months.

Big Blue Bird

Hahn/Cock, Katharina Fritsch, 2013

This morning Boris Johnson unveiled a giant 15ft blue cockerel entitled 'Hahn/Cock' by German artist Katharina Fritsch - the latest sculpture to take roost on Trafalgar square's forth plinth for the next 18 months. The forth plinth was originally intended to hold an equestrian statue of William IV but due to insufficient funds remained bare for over 150 years. In 1999 the decision was made that it would be used for the temporary display of artworks.

My colleague went down to watch the unveiling this morning, reporting Boris to have been careful to avoid the English half of the sculptures title. He concluded his speech with a dig at David Cameron saying in the future googling the sculptures name would lead to computer meltdown after the prime minister called for greater internet censorship earlier in the week. Jon Snow, broadcaster and member of the fourth plinth commissioning group, said he admired the cockerel's distinguished flurry of tail feathers which point towards the National Gallery. 

The sculpture symbolises regeneration and strength though has been criticised for it's gallic reference, placed right next to Nelson's Column. Boris was having none of it hailing the suitability of it's colour after the birth of our Royal Prince!

Last night I happened to be cycling past so took a photo of him all lit up...

Leonardo Drew

Leonardo Drew, b. 1961

Having started work at The Art Newspaper I have been very bad at taking advantage of the invitations to private views we receive. Last week I finally managed to go on a bit of a team bonding trip to the Leonardo Drew exhibition at Vigo Gallery, the second solo show of wall-based sculptures by the Brooklyn based artist. 

Drew is known for his reflective and abstract sculptural installations which incorporate natural and man-made materials such as fabricated wood, tree branches, roots, paper, raw cotton, rust, random found objects and mud. The resulting effect is exceedingly tactile while the combination of the man-made and natural creates a feeling of them working in both harmony and opposition, battling against each other while simultaneously coming together.

Some of his installations, not on show in this exhibition, are composed solely of urban debris, collected by people who live on the street for $50 per bag. Drew re-examines and re-invents the objects and materials he uses, often loading his work with multiple African American historical, cultural and social connotations. His work draws on the cyclical and transient nature of life - decay and resurrection playing a central and recurring role throughout his work.

All works illustrated above were made this year and are composed of found wood. If you like what you see and are feeling flush, prices range from around £35,000 up to £95,000. 

The exhibition runs until July 26th 2013

Preview

Marcel Storr, Untitled, 1973

Very excitingly this month I got the chance to write my first preview for The Art Newspaper's July/August issue. The 'Alternative Guide to the Universe' is on at The Hayward Gallery until August 26th - here is a link to it...

The Art Newspaper - 'The Hayward goes Wayward'

Tune in for my September preview on the RA's 'Australia' exhibition which should be a little longer. 

Frieze New York

Frieze New York returns this week for a second time, opening its doors yesterday on Randall's Island Park in Manhattan where it will remain open to the public until Monday. The Fair features over 180 of the worlds most exciting contemporary art galleries from 33 different countries. Additionally there is a 'Focus and Frame' section in which emerging galleries (galleries less than 10 years old) are exhibiting. TAN also has it's own office at the Fair where several of our London and NY team are frantically producing a daily paper, keeping visitors up to date with the goings on.

The Fair is housed in a unique bespoke structure overlooking the East River, designed by SO - IL architects. Located adjacent to the fair is The Sculpture Park where works by both established and emerging artists can be seen, one that cannot be missed standing at 80 feet high is Paul McCarthy's inflatable Balloon Dog... 

Paul McCarthy - Balloon Dog, 2013

All change

Having tried for the last 10 months to break into the world of art restoration and conservation, as time has ticked past it has become more and more apparent that it is quite literally impossible unless you can afford to do a 3 year course followed by several years of apprenticeships - plus the big and final problem of there being very little work out there at the end of all of this. Not that I want to sound like I'm giving up but my determination to beat the system began to waver over Christmas when my father and I had a stern talk.

This very blog got me thinking about arts writing after making the decision that my chosen career path  wasn't really feasible right now. So, back to the drawing board...

After a few months of job hunting I am now working at The Art Newspaper. Founded in 1990, the monthly investigative newspaper is for people serious about art, it covers everything going on within the art world on a global scale. With offices and sister publications in New York, Turin, Paris, Athens, Moscow, and as of this month Beijing. It covers everything - news, exhibitions, fairs, museums, art market, conservation, interviews with artists and collectors and more. Reporting on old, new, commercial and non-commercial - seeking to know and show where the power lies in art. 

The Art Newspaper or 'TAN' for those in the know, is a campaigning newspaper, regularly publishing breaking news that gets taken up by the daily papers. One journalist went undercover to met tomb-robbers in Italy and find out the economics of the trade in illicit antiquities, another into Nablus to discover the truth about damage caused by Israeli troops to the ancient buildings. During the first war against Saddam Hussein TAN disclosed how many of Iraq's major archeological sites were close to bombing targets and published maps. It has also lobbied Italian politics over the threat posed by climate change to Venice.

Fear not, I shall continue to blog and certainly am in the right place to do so - never will I be at a loss for new material for it!

Next time you're at St Pancras, make sure you look up...

'Cloud: Meteoros' suspended high above St Pancreas International 

A giant 15 metre cloud installation was unveiled today at St Pancras station. The work was created by husband and wife Lucy and Jorge Orta and can be seen floating in the stations iconic architectural roof space above commuters bustling through the station's Grand Terrace. 

'Cloud: Meteoros' is the first artwork in a series of 'Terrace Wires' pieces commissioned by HS1 Ltd for the space which was home to the Olympic rings last summer. A variety of metal figures dance on top of the clouds making viewers stop to try and work out what they are doing.  

Meteoros has a double meaning - 'in the midst of/lofty/hanging/suspended' while also referring to 'an atmospheric phenomenon, a cloud.' The result is a suspended meeting place, an intermediary between two worlds, reality and the imaginary, heaven and earth, lightness and gravity. 

The installation will be in place until the end of 2013 so next time you're passing through, make sure you remember to stop and look up - without missing your train!

Louvre shuts due to strike over pickpockets

The infamous Pyramide du Louvre in the main courtyard

The Louvre, one of the world's most visited museums, didn't open yesterday because of a protest by staff over pickpockets. Two hundred staff took part in a strike as they said thieves were targeting employees and tourists. The museum's management said it had already asked for more assistance from police to deal with the problem.

Pickpocketing has been an ongoing problem for sometime which has grown increasingly worse over the last year. Staff have reported many more aggressive gangs, many including children, visiting. Officials have been unable to say when the museum will re-open.

I will make sure to pack my trusty bum-bag next time I visit!

Rijksmuseum's Grand Opening

The Rijksmuseum is re-opening next Saturday after a massive 10 year, €375 million (£318 million,) overhaul. The Dutch state museums renovations were delayed by flooding, asbeston and a dispute over access for cyclists, 'What could go wrong, did go wrong' said museum director Wim Pijbes. In the end the renovations took double the expected time, not surprisingly costing millions over the predicted budget.

What on earth could take that long and cost so much? If you compare the external look of the building to 10 years ago it looks very much the same. The 19th century building's red brick exterior has in fact been left in tact and it is the inside central courtyard that has been transformed to allow natural light to flood in from the 5 storey high glass ceiling - thus creating a bright heart at the museum's centre. This is the main gallery space which showcases works from the Dutch Golden Age by artists such as Rembrant, Jan Steen and Frans Hals. The Old Masters look spectacular, framed against intricately decorated ceilings and pillars which have been painstakingly recreated after being painted over in the post-war years.

The building houses thousands of other Dutch cultural and artistic artefacts though it is Rembrant's masterpiece, 'The Night Watch,' which is given pride of place, a gigantic Baroque painting of 17th century city guards teeming with drama and movement - the only work to be hung in its original place. 

Journalists take photos as dignitaries pose in front of
Rembrant'smasterpiece during a press preview  

In the halls flanking the grand gallery the decoration is more modern. British artist Richard Wright, a former Turner Prize winner, has covered the ceilings with almost 50,000 stars, hand painted in a swirling constellation.  

The museum houses more than a million objects across 80 galleries. Material used to be displayed in categories with a gallery devoted to glass, another to porcelain etc... these are now mixed together, presented to show visitors the story of art from the Middle Ages up to the 20th century. In doing this it illustrates the cross pollination between decorative and visual art, showing off interesting influences and striking juxtapositions.

The museum expects annual visits to nearly double to 2 million after the renovation. 

If your ever over that way it's definitely worth a visit!