CoBo Social has published my interview with Indonesian artist and member of MES56 Jim Allen Abel, also known as Jimbo. I interviewed him in Singapore during Art Stage 2017 and he shared about his background and art practice.
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When all your favourite things come together, you can’t help writing about them. In the case of this interview with the great video art and new media pioneer Krisna Murti, which has been just published by CoBo, these things are contemporary art, Indonesia and martial arts.
Here is the link to the interview
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On December 6 I took part in a panel discussion with artist Myriam Laplante and art critic Gabriele Perretta about the work “Il Cantico dei Cantici” (Ha Shir Ha Shirim Shelì) by artist Isabella Tirelli, which was screened at the MACRO, the Contemporary Art Museum of Rome.
Isabella Tirelli is a multimedia artist working with painting, sculpture, performance and video. Her art deals with spirituality and is rich in symbolism and references to alchemy. The work she screened at MACRO is a free adaptation of the Song of Songs from the Bible (a short trailer is available here). The video was realized in the span of four years and composed by more than 1200 digital paintings.
In the discussion I talked of Isabella Tirelli’s work in an international framework. I traced the artistic lineage of “Il Cantico dei Cantici”, and compared it to the oeuvre of artists such as Australian Bindi Cole and Marco Brambilla (the author of Kanye West’s “Power” video). Here are some pictures from the discussion.
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Hong-Kong based webmagazine and collector’s platform CoBo has just published my latest article called “Being a collector as a lifestyle choice: Interview with Georgina Adam”.
Writer and journalist Georgina Adam is the author of “Big Bucks: The Explosion of the Art Market in the 21st Century”, an important book which does exactly what is says on the tin: retracing the history and the main players of the art market as we see and experience it today.
We talk about what are the consequences of this market explosion for collectors, the ’80s as the decade in which everything changed and more.
Here is the link to the interview
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Middle East Monitor has just published my article about Syrian artist Randa Maddah, whose work has recently been presented in the exhibition “A Hair Tie” at Gallery One in Ramallah, Palestine.
Here’s the link to the article
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Since I have started writing about contemporary art for magazine – around 2007 – I have collected a number of interviews. Some have been published straight away, others have been used later on as sources for articles or in books. Then there are all the others that have never been published, and are part of my personal archive, informing every word I write.
Every now and then, I decide to pull an interview out of the archive, like this one with Richard Streitmatter-Tran, who I have met and interviewed first in Paris at the Palais de Tokyo, then in Rome, where he was attending a sculpture workshop. The new art magazine I’m collaborating with, D/Railed by Deianira Tolema, was the perfect home for the piece.
Here’s the link to the interview
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Escape, the Sunday magazine of the Times of Malta, has just published my interview to the Green Root Lab, an artistic collective of two, devoted to environmental activism through contemporary art.
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The webmagazine/platform Cobo has just published my piece entitled “Three Indonesian Artists Between National History and Personal Memories”, featuring work by FX Harsono, Jompet Kuswidananto and Boedi Widjaja, plus a mention to an iconic piece by Dita Gambiro and Rifqi Sukma. As always, I have decided to mix artists that are staples of Indonesian contemporary art (such as Harsono and Jompet) with others that might not be household names yet!
For the rest, I’m in a blessed phase of working (almost) uninterruptedly on the third draft of my book on contemporary art in Singapore. When you concentrate on one single thing, ideas are connecting and synapses are snapping like never before! Writing this book is a great learning process for me and gives me the chance to expand on ideas I explored in my book on Indonesian art, seeing how these have evolved over time, with my experiences and chats with artists. But I’m digressing; below the link to the article on Indonesian artists and memory!
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“Actually, this is a really good idea”, said my dentist throwing his blood-drenched gloves in the bin. He had just pulled out my wisdom tooth, making me more sore and more wise – pain is supposed to be the highway to wisdom after all, isn’t it? The dentist wholeheartedly approved of my habitual taking July and August away from my Rome life. That time wouldn’t be exactly “off”. I would in fact catch up on project that need breadth and space, dedicate to articles that I never have time to pitch, books that I never have the peace of mind to sit and read. Most importantly, I’d refine what I have learned in the previous months.
My interview with the wonderful Singaporean artist Amanda Heng has just been published on the new webmagazine D_Railed.
Amanda Heng’s work has been seminal in the development of Singaporean contemporary art and resonate with art viewers from all walks of life. Along with her production she greatly contributed to the growth of the Southeast Asian scene and the cultural discourse in the region by setting up initiatives and groups.
Interviewing Amanda Heng was a blast. She is a strong, inspiring figure and yet gentle and friendly. In the original hour and a half long recording of the interview we talk about many different topics. In this piece though I have decided to focus mainly on her perspective on Singaporean culture and the local art scene. I thought this was the best solution for someone who isn’t familiar with the context in which the artist operates.
The interview is part of my reportage on Singapore contemporary art, and part of the foundation for a book on the same topic I’m currently working on.
A few words on the magazine; D_Railed has been just founded by colleague and friend Deianira Tolema, a talented writer working between New York and Naples. I greatly admire her determination in realizing everything she put her mind to do and I’m honoured to be part of her team from the start!
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Hong-Kong webmagazine Cobo has just published my interview with Indonesian artist Sri Astari Rasjid. Astari’s art is a great take on Javanese traditions and is highly empowering, a true elevation of the gutsy girl and the strong woman. I have admired the artist for a long time and it was great to get to talk with her.
Here is the link to the interview
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Culture360, the webmagazine of the Asia-Europe Foundation has just published my interview to Ilaria Benini, editor of the Asia series of Turin’s publishing house ADD Editore. In the interview we discuss how ADD Editore is bridging Italy and Asia via literature.
Here is the link to the interview
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