Time doesn’t wait, it flies, it escapes and it marches forward. 2012, though it was wonderful, is already in the past. It’s all about what happens from this moment forward (although, so good was it, that this seminal year will invariably inform how 2013 is going to be received).
It is, whatever one may deduce from 2012’s activities, certainly going to be another interesting and captivating period of business in the art world, with plenty of surprises thrown in.
From people to events, here are just a few interesting things to be aware of in the year ahead.
The emerging talent
Emre Huner has a lot of ideas motivating his artistic impulses, but key themes include technology, the way industry has and continues to progress and society’s de facto state being one that feels perpetually at risk. Sombre but captivating, the young artist has a show at Rodeo Gallery in Istanbul in March.
The German born artist Cornelia Bates says that her work is inspired simply by everyday observations: “I point out small things that touch me and create works that combine simplicity with a sense of humour.” A lot of it is funny for sure, but very moving all the same.
Isabel Lewis is an extremely talented and creative individual whose background is atypical. Trained as a dancer, with a background in literary criticism to boot, the Brooklyn artist is an experimentative artist who fuses many mediums and practices to deliver an eclectic body of work.
The shows to see
Steve McQueen is fast becoming known as one of Hollywood’s most stylish, thought-provoking and original filmmakers but let us not forget that he is also one of the most gifted contemporary artists of his generation. An exhibition starting in March at Schaulager delivers a sweeping retrospective of his work.
There are some artists that are impossible to tire of, and Édouard Manet is one such person. The Frenchman is the subject of a new show at the Royal Academy of Arts from late January. Entitled Portraying Life, the exhibition looks at the maestro’s timeless portraits.
LS Lowry gets a major reinterpretation at Tate Britain in June, courtesy of art historians T.J. Clark and Anne M. Wagner. What is revealed is that the artist was inspired, in part, by nineteenth century French art, which helped to create a poetic style, part realist, part impressionist and wholly magnificent.
How high can you go?
You can break records to your hearts content, but there reaches a point, albeit temporarily, where the price paid for a work of art reaches a state of being that is unmatchable.
With 2012 being the year of outstanding sales, where paintings and drawings realised prices unheard of, 2013 will either go one of two ways: One, the value of art sold at auction will rise into uncharted territory, or two, stay steady, as calm and reserve returns. It genuinely is hard to gauge.
New additions to the calendar
As is reflective of the confidence in art, more and more fairs are being added to an already busy calendar, and in no way is it detrimental to the environment. Everyone is attempting to add a new narrative.
Some of the expos to look out for include the revitalised Art HK, which is now known as Art Basel Hong Kong, a name that pretty much oozes power, poise and ambition; Art13 London, a fair that aims to make a name for itself with its inaugural show; and the expansion of the Affordable Art Fair in Asia, which launches in March.
Cadogan Tate has extensive experience in shipping fine art all over the world.