Ocula Conversation Bani Abidi: ‘What you see in my films is what I know’ A group of voices accompanies me in the exhibition. They are singing words I cannot comprehend, yet the warm tunes are familiar: folk songs, love songs, songs of longing. There are letters, too. They speak of the quotidian details of a soldier's life: the hardness of the war, sending money to the family, and longing for familiar landscapes, food,...
Ocula Report Aichi to Okayama: Art in Japan Looks to the Future 11 Oct 2019 : Stephanie Bailey for Ocula There has been a flurry of triennial and biennial art activity in Japan this year. The Aichi Triennale opened in Nagoya this August, sparking a national debate about the shutting down of a display of formerly censored works—the result of public backlash against a burnt image of Emperor Hirohito and a statue commemorating the women forced into...
Ocula Insight | Video Hans Hartung and Art Informel at Mazzoleni London (1 October 2019-18 January 2020) presents key works by the French-German painter while highlighting his connection with artists active in Paris during the 50s and 60s. In this video, writer and historian Alan Montgomery discusses Hartung's practice and its legacy.Born in Leipzig in 1904, Hans...
Ocula Photolog JingArt 2019 31 May 2019 'JINGART is committed to combining the dynamic culture of Beijing with the international art market, in the hope of building a diverse and inclusive platform for local and international exhibitors. This year, exhibitors present works ranging from modern and contemporary art, design, furniture, decorative art, and many more.' –JINGART, Press...
Ocula Photolog Frieze New York 2019 6 May 2019 'Building on Frieze's history as a platform for discovery and challenging the traditional art fair format, the eighth edition introduces new curators and collaborations with leading museum directors; including two exhibitions exploring virtual reality and the significance of self-taught artists, and two new sections celebrating Latin American art...
Ocula Report Art Basel in Hong Kong 2019: A Post-mortem 6 Apr 2019 : Diana d’Arenberg for Ocula Although Art Basel in Hong Kong is the youngest of the Art Basel fairs, and a relative newcomer to the international art fair circuit, it has now become a major attraction for collectors and galleries from around the world. The seventh edition of Art Basel in Hong Kong saw thousands of art courtesans and benefactors kick off the week with a string...
Ocula Report Taipei Dangdai: Art Fair as Ecosystem 25 Jan 2019 : Stephanie Bailey for Ocula There was a great connection between the first edition of Taipei Dangdai (18–20 January 2019), staged on the 4th floor of the Nangang Exhibition Center, and the 11th Taipei Biennial, Post Nature—A Museum as an Ecosystem (17 November 2018–10 March 2019). Installed at the fair's entrance was John Yuyi's live tree, I Tree to Call You (2018),...
Ocula Report Taipei Dangdai Lowdown: Shows to See 11 Jan 2019 : Tessa Moldan for Ocula Founded by the same team behind Art HK—Magnus Renfrew, Tim Etchells, Angus Montgomery, and Will Ramsay—Taipei Dangdai, opens to the public after much anticipation on 18 January 2019 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center. Running until 20 January, the fair will feature 90 galleries from around the world, including David Zwirner, Esther...
Ocula Report Art Taipei 2018: In Flux 10 Nov 2018 : Diana d’Arenberg for Ocula 'There is nothing more boring than the story of decline,' a journalist remarked at an art criticism panel I attended the evening before making the trip to see Art Taipei (26–29 October 2018). As I attended the opening night of Asia's oldest art fair, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, those words rang in my head. Wandering up and down...
Ocula Report Shows to See in Taipei: The Lowdown 25 Oct 2018 : Tessa Moldan for Ocula With the 11th Taipei Biennial (17 November 2018–10 March 2019) and Art Taipei (26–29 October 2018) taking place this autumn, Tessa Moldan gives a rundown of what exhibitions to see at galleries, art spaces and museums across the island nation's capital.Ma Paisui: Trips of LifeAsia Art Center Taipei II, 93 Lequn 2nd Rd, Zhongshan District25...
Ocula Report Sanyu: An Introduction to a Modern Master 11 May 2018 : Stephanie Bailey for Ocula Sanyu's Still Life of Flowering and Fruit Plant with a Green Ground, an oil on masonite panel dated between 1950 and 1965, presents a plant brimming with aspirations of wealth, or in the artist's case, memories of it. Painted against a rich olive backdrop, Chinese symbols of good fortune, from peaches to pomegranates, grow from branches amid green...
