THE AFRO FUTURIST MANIFESTO: BLACKNESS REIMAGINED GLITTERS AT THE EUROPEAN CULTURAL CENTRE'S PERSONAL STRUCTURES
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Blackness Reimagined named in "Eight of the Best Collateral Events at the 59th Venice Biennale"
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P. Andrews-Keenan
It’s a toss-up on what you notice first upon entering The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined, the magnificent Murano glass chandelier illuminating the galley or the black walls. But then, the art! The art catches your eye, and everything, even the room shifts.
M. Scott Johnson’s sculptures of Black folk hero High John de Conqueror (2009) set upon black plinths, grounds the space with the permanence of his materials; Tawny Chatmon’s gold-leafed portraits and frames literally added to the glow of the space, giving us a 21st century reimagining of renaissance art; You are compelled by the vibrancy of Arvie Smith’s Preach It (2021), inspired by ancient mythology, yet telling a uniquely modern Black story; Felandus Thames delivers a message that could have come from the future – “More than life interested me so that I dare to knock at the door of the cosmos,” and burnt into hairbrushes no less; The gaze of the subject in Delita Martin’s work, Visionary (2021) was rendered in shades of blue I’m certain can only be seen from outside the atmosphere. In my head I heard, ‘he’s got the whole world in his hands’; In contrast, Larry Cook’s photograph ‘On the Other Side of Landscape Series #9 (2021), proffered a barren but hopeful landscape, a prison yard freed of prisoners; Baltimore native Monica Ikegwushowcased her mastery of color in the piece We Outside (2021) while allowing us to glimpse the inner lives of Black millennials. Morel Doucet’s work After All that, We Still Stand (Where Black Lives, Look Blue #3) (2022) injected that despite adversity, hope springs eternal.
Right - Work by Felandus Thames.
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59th Venice Biennale Recap
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WOMEN ARTISTS RULE AT 59TH INTERNATIONAL OLYMPICS OF ART
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By P. Andrews-Keenan
'Venice, said feminist Erica Jong, is the city of mirrors, the city of mirages, at once solid and liquid, at once air and stone.” The Fear of Flying author would have relished in that, in this amorphous city, during the 59thInternational Art Exhibition, nine of every 10 artists exhibiting is a woman. Italian Cecilia Alemani, the director and chief curator of New York’s High Line Art is the first woman to ever curate the Biennale which has been held since 1895.
Under the theme The Milk of Dreams (IL Latte Dei Sogni) 213 artists from 58 countries were featured; 180 are participating for the first time in the International Exhibition. 1433 works and objects are on display and 80 new projects were conceived specifically for the Biennale de Arte. “The Milk of Dreams takes its title from a book by Leonora Carrington (1917–2011) Alemani stated – “In which the Surrealist artist describes a magical world where life is constantly re-envisioned through the prism of the imagination. It is a world where everyone can change, be transformed, become something or someone else.”
Pictured above: Cecilia Alemani, the director and chief curator of New York’s High Line Art and the first woman to ever curate the Biennale
Lots of info when you click the link so please forgive errors and politely let us know about them. We’ll make it right.
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by Vee L. Harrison
During the first press conference for the 59th Annual Art Biennale, I walked in with inner-city Chicago girl energy, ready to show off my thirteen years of journalism to a room best described as a melting pot. Reporters from various parts of the world were in the room. I entered the press conference, and the main subject, Cecilia Alemani, this year’s curator of the Biennale, was speaking Italian – the language that I had only just begun to learn on my Babbel app two weeks prior to my journey to Venice.
The press conference staff distributed translation equipment, allowing me to tune in and transcribe the press conference in English. And folks in the room could probably see my relief.
This one instance probably set the tone for the rest of my time in Venice. A time of uncertainty, and walking into blind moments, often learning what was next. Like water buses, which became my primary transportation for 10 days in Venice. I often felt myself looking for an Uber, a faster way to get from point A to point B, but I realized after just a few days, I was on Venice’s time, not Vee’s time. And in Venice, you aren’t getting anywhere fast.
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Millennials Blazing New Trails at Venice Biennale
Simone Woods, Contributor
Destinee Ross Sutton of ROSS-SUTTON Gallery (left) is a visionary curator known for the ground-breaking exhibition series “Black Voices”. Sutton's eye for identifying talent caught the interest of Christie’s Auction House leading to Ross-Sutton curating the exhibition “Say it Loud,” dedicated to the amplification and celebration of Black artists’ work, narratives and voices. All proceeds from the sale directly benefited the artists and their representatives and a portion of the proceeds went toward funding BLACK ARTIST COLLECTIVE, a foundation founded by Ross-Sutton to help promote and support young and emerging African and LGTBQ+ artists of color.
Khari Turner creates delicate pieces of art that bring together the past, present, and future, Turner’s art combines water from different waterways within the U.S., and he mixes acrylic, oil, ink, charcoal, wood and sand to create unique works of art that are deeply steeped in Black American heritage.
Bottom work by Turner.
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In-Person and Virtual!
The goal of the 57th Street Art Fair is to provide a venue for creators of quality fine art and fine craft to meet with the art-buying public. Whether you are looking for glass, jewelry, leather, photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture, digital arts, wood, ceramics or fiber — you are sure to find something special at this one-of-a-kind event.
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Thanks to Pigment's team here in Chicago Phyliss, Nalani and Allison for holding it down alongside our partner The Kulture Museum.
New Years Reunion by Ariana Vaeth
Oil on canvas
36" x 60"
2020
$4,000
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We Came, We Saw, We Conquered
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Pigment International’s work now shifts to producing a special issue of our Pigment Magazine to highlight the groundbreaking 59th Venice Biennale de Arte 2022. With nine of every 10 artists represented being female it is a historic event that deserves proper documentation. Join us by advertising or making a donation.
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5400 S Hyde Park Blvd., Chicago, IL 60615
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