Joanna Kamm, the director of Basel’s well-regarded Liste fair for emerging art, has expressed her dissatisfaction with Swiss customs officials who conducted a routine paperwork check on exhibitors during the fair’s VIP opening. Kamm described the incident as “incredible” and noted that it occurred in the first hour of the preview, causing concern among attendees. Kamm emphasized the frustration felt by galleries that had traveled from various parts of the world to participate in the fair. The Swiss Federal Office for Customs and Border Security stated that the action was taken to scrutinize customs formalities for foreign exhibitors and was carried out by uniformed specialists for security and prevention purposes. Nigel Dunkley, an exhibitor and director of London’s Union Pacific gallery, expressed his dissatisfaction with the timing of the check, particularly considering that the fair is open for an entire week. Despite the interruption, Dunkley reported strong sales, including all the paintings by Jin Han Lee from Korea and Will Thompson from the UK, as well as ceramic light fittings by Soshiro Matsubara from Japan. Dunkley highlighted the significance of the fair for the gallery’s cash flow, especially with plans to open a second space in Bloomsbury later in the year.
The digital edition of Liste, which allows exhibitors to showcase one artist from their physical exhibition, will continue until June 25.
We Buy Gold, a roving alternative exhibition space, has returned in physical form after a five-year hiatus. This time, the exhibition will take place across two neighboring galleries, Jack Shainman and Nicola Vassell, in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. Joeonna Bellorado-Samuels, the founder of We Buy Gold, initially started the show in an abandoned store in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy area in 2017. The exhibition focuses on art that challenges systems of power and this year’s theme is “slippage,” exploring concepts of space, time, and language. Bellorado-Samuels plans to present a curated show featuring 10 artists, including well-known names like Kerry James Marshall and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, as well as emerging talents such as writer and artist Renee Gladman. Bellorado-Samuels explained that the project aims to highlight the intersection of aspiration and desperation and is particularly interested in showcasing artists from minority backgrounds. The collaboration between the galleries in a highly competitive art world is seen as a breakthrough.
Fashion designer Paul Smith is auctioning a Banksy artwork titled “Congestion Charge” at Bonhams in London on June 29. The piece, created in 2004, criticizes the fee for vehicles entering London’s city center and is part of Banksy’s Vandalised Oils series, in which he stencils motifs onto classical paintings sourced from flea markets. Smith acquired the work from Banksy’s pop-up Santa’s Ghetto concept store in the same year it was made. The estimate for the artwork ranges from £1.2 million to £1.8 million. Banksy, who remains popular in the art market, recently announced his first official exhibition in 14 years at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art.
Stuart Lochhead, a London sculpture specialist, is offering a collection of five bronze statuettes created from models by Florentine Renaissance artist Giambologna. The group, previously owned by a late US collector, is being sold as a whole for approximately $7 million. These bronze pieces, which often served as models for full-scale sculptures, are considered artworks in themselves. They were displayed in the homes of the wealthy, including the influential Medici family in Florence, and were also given as diplomatic gifts to other noble families. Lochhead stated that the collection has attracted specialist collectors, some of whom pair the bronzes with contemporary and modern paintings. The models in the collection are all attributed to Giambologna but were cast by other artists from two different generations. The earliest piece, made during Giambologna’s lifetime under his direction, is a striking portrayal of the Roman god Mars from around 1580. The collection is on view during London Art Week.
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