Investigating contemporary art curation the Hanging offence series has interviewed a number of gallerists, large and small, from around the globe. Despite the broad democratisation of art curation enabled by digital media it has meant that published biographies and mission statements are amended, cleaned up, sanctified, audience-targetted, retailored and whitewashed.
As a result art curator history is in dangerous of losing the flavour of it’s transient nature. Hanging offence is an effort to capture curators on the rise and/or on the wane.
There is an honesty to saying ‘this is what we’re doing now, it may change, but for now this is us’ that we should applaud. Below are a list of curators and gallerist that had the balls the say ‘this is what is’
Theatrical declarations and curated authenticity. Galerie Da-End: The mystery and the multidisciplinary
Examining substantiality by (seemingly) avoiding the conceptual – curator Lily Brooke answers Trebuchet’s questions
Dr Jo Melvin, Director of The Estate of Barry Flanagan expounds on curation, controversy and the responsibilities of maintaining an artist’s legacy.
Building bridges between Middle Eastern and Western cultures by showing what they have in common rather than what divides them. Sophia Contemporary Gallery interview
Artistic and Strategic Director Bjorn Geldhof answers Trebuchet’s questions about YARAT art space and his intentions there.
I think it is often necessary for art and literature to touch on subjects that can be difficult. If people in arts don’t do it, who will?
I hope to see things that perhaps others neglect, so if everyone’s momentarily interested in an artist I will look elsewhere.
More and more people will only buy with their ears and not their eyes. Therefore we must work very hard to educate people about artists and the importance of art in culture and society
Woodrow Kernohan, Curator of Ireland’s Venice Biennal Exhibition talks to Trebuchet
For me, a controversial work is unconventional, contradicts traditional methods of interpretation and provokes a reaction.
Putting design in the space as art and treating them with equal love and attention. NOW Gallery’s Jemima Burrill interviewed.
Art objects do not have “magical healing” properties either. They cannot make people feel better or worse; informed or misinformed. That is wishful thinking.
Without controversy there would be no discussion. Without discussion there would be no mental growth, no change. Therefore it is crucial. Erarta, Zurich. Interview
The market attracts more and more accessory and opportunist professions that blur the definition of what art is.
‘We don’t exhibit artworks – we showcase artists.’ Hay Hill Gallery’s Sarah Jones talks to Trebuchet
What do you dislike most about art?
That it can get away with it…!
I dislike the notion that you have to be an expert to enjoy art. We all have eyes, a mind and a soul.
‘We intend to make Arebyte a space dedicated to research and the practice of New Media and Performance arts.’ Nimrod Vardi talks to Trebuchet
There is nothing better than entering an artist’s studio and just knowing that by collaborating with this person something amazing can be created
I’m not a fan of the notion that art is some unholy nexus of the fashion/marketing/money/sex industries. Art is about Life.
‘I often see hesitation in trusting the professionalism of the art business.’ Independent curator Giulia Demichelis answers Trebuchet’s questions
‘maybe it is time to start thinking about new ways of talking about how art operates and how we define quality’
Classic, limited edition printed photography in an age where most people have cameras in almost every electronic device they own
It’s a travesty that political society, for the most part, doesn’t value artistic thinking and exploration as it should. This civilisation will be poorer in all ways as a result.
‘our aesthetic is bold, bright, high impact works with an emphasis on the skill or craft of creating works of art’
I want this gallery to see through the golden cage of the absolute to the highest realms of freedom and possibility.
‘communications between gallerists, artists and the viewers can become misunderstood: rudeness, anxieties and insecurities are a lethal cocktail’
‘I’m not sure there is such a thing as an artistic controversy, but there have certainly been many controversies surrounding art’ Ruth Garde, curator, talks to Trebuchet about Michaelangelo, Bernini and contemporaty artists such as Omer Fast.
‘although much of the popular appeal of contemporary art is in its ability to provoke, we need to be mindful of the media, politicians and governments in relation to the arts’ Erarta Galleries’ Beth Morrow
Not being able to have a physical gallery space has been challenging. But it in a way it is good, as it forces us to always look for projects that we wouldn’t otherwise and some pretty cool collaborations have come out of it
There is sometimes a tendency to overwrite, overanalyse, overcomplicate and over-theorize art. This might be an English thing, I’m not sure about that. Hanging Offence : Karin Janssen Project Space
I think it’s very hard to be controversial any more, it’s just become irrelevant and usually any one trying to do this with their work is doing it to get noticed, which usually, in my opinion, makes for dull work.
Hard to say why I did, but I ended up in London and discovered art as a new language to talk about everything I was discovering. It was scary and exciting and still is.
‘I am often attracted to art that is so challenging it feels as though it has hit me in the gut leaving me speechless and tangled in thoughts’
‘Instead of Catholicism or religion, now we are programmed by the corporations’ . Artists Meg Cranston and John Baldessari talk to Trebuchet’s own artist in residence – Nicola Anthony
Controversy assumes that what artists are producing really matters. Otherwise, all it is is marketing or publicity.
I got involved with the art world in the beginning just so that I could give the women artists from the Gulf, who were under-represented at the time, a chance to show their works and to have a bigger voice in the wider world.
Arts Canteen is a new UK-based arts venture that explores intercultural artistic relationships between the Middle East and the UK. Trebuchet meets Kelvin De Veth, curator and link-maker.
Certain elements of the Art World feel the need to exclude others by making them feel unworthy of enjoying it. Great art will never require smoke and mirrors to achieve its deserved attention.
Opportunities are immense, they are global and with a little bit more planning and strategizing, a bit more knowledge, information and know-how when it comes down to how to navigate the art system, artists can become the next big thing.
We work on the premise that the gallery should always operate with increasing momentum, growing in step with the careers and aims of the artists we work with
Controversial ideas are often the more important and interesting ones. But no, controversy is a byproduct, not the end point.
‘The UK is far behind the USA and France in the photography market and needs to catch up.’
It is not an annex of The Wapping Project, it is a separate entity informed by all of the wild things I have done over the years at The Wapping Project.
A successful and well-established commercial space that is known for it’s unpretentious, welcoming environment that evokes familiarity within visitors and erases any notions of elitism commonly attached to the white cube gallery
‘We are always looking for new ideas and artists to show. There is no point in us doing what the big galleries do’. Transition Gallery’s Cathy Lomax talks to Trebuchet
Trebuchet: What do you dislike most about art?
Charlotte Jansen: Pretentiousness.
Hanging offence :
Hanging Offence : Sophia Contemporary Gallery
Hanging Offence : Jo Melvin (Director of the estate of Barry Flanagan)
Hanging Offence : Bjorn Geldhof (YARAT)
Hanging Offence : Kristin Hjellegjerde
Hanging Offence : Viktor Wynd [Museum of Curiosities]
Hanging Offence : von Bartha
Great Things – Rebecca Pelly-Fry, Griffin Gallery [Interview]
Hanging Offence : Woodrow Kernohan
Hanging Offence : Ronchini Gallery
Hanging Offence : NOW Gallery
Dealing With Women in Art
Ruin Lust : Tate Britain
Hanging Offence : Parallax Art Fair
Hanging Offence : Erarta Zurich
Chinese New Year Art Show
Hanging Offence : David Roberts Art Foundation
Hanging Offence : Hay Hill Gallery
Hanging Offence : Large Glass
Hanging Offence : Fiumano Fine Art
Hanging Offence : Arebyte Gallery
Hanging Offence : Vitrine, Bermondsey Street
Hanging Offence : Rebecca Hossack Gallery
Hanging Offence : Giulia Demichelis
Hanging Offence : Vitrine
Hanging Offence : Proud Galleries
Hanging Offence : Jerwood Charitable Foundation
Hanging Offence : Scream
In Defence of Art
Hanging Offence : The Residence Gallery
Hanging Offence : Charlie Dutton Gallery
Hanging Offence : Ruth Garde
Hanging Offence : Erarta Galleries
Hanging Offence : Jester Jacques
Hanging Offence : Karin Janssen Project Space
Hanging Offence : Galleries Goldstein
Hanging Offence : Fishbar
Hanging Offence: GV Art
Meg Cranston & John Baldessari [Interview]
Hanging Offence : James Hyman Gallery
Hanging Offence : Lahd Gallery
Becoming Picasso : Courtauld Gallery
Hanging Offence: Arts Canteen
Hanging Offence: Degree Art
Hanging Offence: Debut Contemporary
Hanging Offence: Breese Little
Hanging Offence: TJ Boulting Gallery
Hanging Offence: Little Black Gallery
Hanging Offence: Wapping Project Bankside
Hanging Offence: Heartbeat Gallery
Henrik Schrat, IMT Gallery: Interview
Hanging Offence: Transition Gallery
Hanging Offence: Charlotte Jansen [Art]
Rashid Rana: NAE at Hyson Green
Yayoi Kusama: An Explosion of Stickers
The Other Art Fair
Creative Journey: How to Curate Abroad
‘Dear Curator’: Exhibition Do’s and Don’ts with Sara Raza
Forget the Art World in the Oubliette Art House
Above the line: Stuart Semple
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Image: Agrippa by Turner
