The Easel

27th June 2017

Why does contemporary art make for wildly popular blockbusters?

Judith Dobrzynski | Aeon | 18th June 2017

A lament about the ubiquity of contemporary art shows. With few exceptions, crowds don’t show up for exhibitions of art not made in the last few few decades. Sponsors are thus reluctant to support such events. “[D]irectors struggle to make ‘old art’ seem ‘relevant’, whatever that means, but contemporary art gets a pass on that score because it is made in the present. We become, in short, less sophisticated.”

Tracing Seismic Culture from its Highs to its Lows

Brandon Sward | Newcity | 6th June 2017

Reviewers seem flummoxed by Murakami. He doesn’t see a difference between high and low art. Fine – but given the multiple assistants, his manga characters and the slick marketing, is he serious? “[The show is] more like watching someone capitalize on whatever happens to resonate… are we all moving toward a world wherein there is no difference between avant-garde and kitsch?” An excellent video (7.5 min) is here and more images here.

13th June 2017

Paul Carey-Kent Writes on Ding Yi at Timothy Taylor Gallery

Paul Carey-Kent | ABCRIT | 4th June 2017

Ding Yi never liked China’s trendy political pop art. Instead he started making abstract paintings using just “x” and “+” marks. But that doesn’t mean they could be robotically generated. “There’s an emotional element to it. And that’s vital. A painting is a flat object, hung on a wall in silence – it has to offer the viewer something they can’t get enough off, that they can’t be finished with.”  An excellent commentary by the artist is here

10 art spectacles not to miss at Documenta 14 in Kassel

Charmaine Li | The Spaces | 9th June 2017

Documenta is a prestigious five yearly art event held in Kassel, Germany. This year for the first time an additional venue, Athens, has been used. The Athens part of the event received a muted reception. Being well funded, the Kassel show is huge and diverse – even disjointed according to one critic. Coverage of the opening press conference with the curators is here.

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