r/ContemporaryArt

I apologise if this post isn’t allowed, thought I’d give it a try…I guess I’m looking for a bit of solidarity or understanding from others who’ve been in a similar situation.

Im being kicked out of my studio building next year as it has new owners and they’re turning it into office space. It’s already starting to happen, but they’re allowing us to stay while they transition, I’m essentially renting a space inside a building site right now.

Where I live there is less and less provision for art studio spaces, and my work is 3D / installation based so I can’t work small scale. Alternative places are just non existent at the moment.

I’ve been getting a HUGE amount of anxiety around losing my space lately. I feel like it’s affecting my self esteem and identity- like if I don’t have my space to practice in, like I’ve had since graduating art school over a decade ago, then I’m not an artist any more. I know this sounds a bit crazy. Can anyone relate? Did anyone lose their studio for a while and still make it work? How did you fix your mindset?

Hey. I’m an artist and curator from London. I’m thinking about taking a little trip out to Venice for the pre opening / opening - mostly just as an opportunity to network.

I’ve got some strong connections but not enough to fully rely on getting me in everywhere. I’m pretty good at meeting people and blagging my way around art circles though anyway.

Has anyone had any experience attending the Venice opening week/end in this capacity? Was it worth going?

Thanks !

I want to feel inspired 😭

I'm noticing a lot of younger artists speak very differently about their work and contextualize it in a very specific manner. It also seems we're losing a lot of the characters of the art world, and they're being replaced with adept wordsmiths that speak almost like they're at an hr department for a major company.

Who the artist is, seems to simultaneously be extemely important (identity) while also being completely unimportant (death of the artist, no big art world personas). Someone even like tracy emin is a throwback to another age.

Theres also what appears to me to be a very safe approach and framing. The easiest of this often involves centering an identity as paramount "as a (insert racial identity, sexual orientation or gender) artist I..." ) but the work itself lacks anything trsnsgressice. Ironically those who claim to be pushing the boundaries seem to also be reinforcing the same tropes of the last two decades.

And then of course. There's the rich kids. Which also often lends itself to safe, and lazy work. But also who have a career mindset. They're not living in NYC in a boat in order to make work. They're doing so to network. Bienniales have this same corporate feel.

In a sense it's similar to all the Coachella videos that have come out recently. Basically showing the evolution of the festival from a ragtag sound system and bands willing to play for cheap. It became this corporate sponsored nightmare with exorbitant prices. Transgression here, is replaced with insanely high production sets and visuals.

Anyway. I don't know what did it. If it's social media ruining eveything, or younger generations being scared to take any chances because being cringe is the ultimate sin, and eveything may be filmed and last forever on the internet.

Sounds like a disaster

Repetition builds recognition, but it can also flatten a work if it becomes too predictable. There’s a point where a motif stops generating tension and starts feeling automatic.

The challenge seems to be maintaining a consistent visual language while introducing enough variation to keep the work alive, without losing coherence.

How do you approach that balance in contemporary practice?

I don’t get modern art kinda sucks ass

This is not an artistic style.

Syntropic Realism is a structural framework for interpreting perception through visual systems.

Instead of representing scenes, each image functions as a system — where objects act as variables and composition defines a readable state.

The image is not an endpoint.

It is an interface.

As an artist, how long are typical studio visits for you? Do you serve stinks or snacks? I love having people come over: other artists / advisors / galleries. But having hosted at least 10 and not been to any, I’m flying blind a little. I don’t care about doing whatever everyone else does, but I am interested to hear..

La terrasse d’une auberge de jeunesse et pas n’importe laquelle : celle la plus concept de la ville. Se trouvent ainsi, assis bien droit à une table en hêtre longue de dix mètres, deux beaux gosses italiens, vestes en cuire brunes, moustaches bien taillées et les sourcils froncés pour signifier que eux ils sont sérieux. J’observe sur leur ordinateurs de nombreux stickers, moyen facile d’exprimer sa personnalité en publique, de dire je suis ceci ou cela. Les leurs m’ont permis de comprendre qu’il s’agissait probablement de fan de design graphique, en tout cas ils avaient les mêmes. Je sais pas si j’assumais d’avoir les mêmes stickers qu’un-e ami-e à moi. C’est un peu comme si j’avais la même personnalité que la personne assis à côté de moi. Bref, encore une façon de performer en public.

Quand les italiens roulent en ville, leur conduite ne change pas, c’est même pire. Si tu ne traverses pas assez vite, ils accélèrent juste pour te mettre un petit coup de pression. Au calme.

Quand les italiens marchent dans les rues de la ville, leurs habits sont noires, bien coupés, des trenchs ou du Dior. Parfois ils mettent du gris et des fois ils se permettent même de mettre des jeans et non le pantalon haute couture que n’importe quel touriste affabulé par la mode milanaise rêverait de mettre.

Une expérience de mode barbante, des codes vestimentaires symptomatiques de l’époque et un goût avéré pour le café cher.

Milan est devenue un reflet du néolibéralisme lattant et fortuné d’Europe centrale : politesse, regard vides et concept store à tout vas. Certains quartiers ont été éviscérés de leurs classe populaire : la Nona deviendra la sirène de Starbuck et la Dolce Vita subsistera à travers un magasin de meubles ultra-design charmant comme la rétine trouble d’un conservateur d’art contemporain.

Gigi Jolly

I’m a Philadelphian who’s been in NYC for the past two years in an MFA program. As I finish up, I’m probably going to head back. I just can’t afford New York, at least not in a way where I can have the time and resources to pursue my practice. Whenever I tell this to my mentors or NY artists in general, they encourage me to stay. But the Kline essay in October has articulated perfectly everything I’ve tried to explain to them. With that in mind, what would you need to happen to make a go of it in a city like Philly? Partially because that’s my home and partly because it’s the city Kline mentioned, but what would you need to happen there or in any other cheaper secondary city to make it attractive?

Edit: To clarify, I’m not asking if yall think I should go back to Philadelphia. I’m asking, as somebody who is and is interested in working to build up and support my community, what that kind of infrastructure would need to look like in order to be a viable alternative. Feel free to give me something pragmatic or something fantastical. Even shoot me down if you can explain why you think it can’t work and what is lacking. But the essay, as I read it, was a challenge to image a new way, and I’m interested in picking the collective hive mind.

I’m studying at a well-known art school, honestly, I feel like I’m underperforming and wasting this opportunity. I make very few pieces a year because I get stuck trying to make everything “good”, and start overthinking about ideas. I want to build a better work ethic, experiment, and produce more.

How do you actually stay consistent and get work done every day? I struggle a lot with planning compositions.

I don’t get why - he literally made a coherent point about not understanding modern art and then got negative comments. What’s the issue with not getting something?

Went to the Sharpe Walentas open studios reception last night after being out of the country for a residency for a couple years and was shocked at the small new studios. As someone who did the program nearly a decade ago, I can’t imagine making the work that I was able to make in the program in the new spaces. My favorite thing about SW was its generous studio spaces.

I talked to a few of the artists, and they said they hadn’t been told of the move either, and showed up to move in and were disappointed by the sizes.

Does anyone know what happened? Is Two Trees no longer subsidizing the space for the program? (throwaway to not out myself)

The recent post for gallery represented artists made me wonder about this. Keeping studio time a priority while also teaching, being on committees, mentoring grads, etc. on top of other usual life stuff is a challenge. Curious how much time other teachers out there are able to get into their studios every week.

I am looking for MFA (or similar) programs in Europe that are off the beaten path, taught in english, and will give me a lot of freedom with my practice while pushing me critically and aesthetically. I have a background in jewelry making and sculpture, but I'm looking to move more into painting, so an interdisciplinary program is preferable. I am hoping to pay as little as possible, but I'm from the US, so pretty much anything in Europe seems cheap to me. Some of the schools I have already researched are: Sandberg Instituut, HGK Basel, KABK (The Hague), and Staedelschule in Frankfurt.

Any additions to this list would be super helpful. I am also curious about long term residencies or experimental art schools/ programs that don't result in an mfa. If you have gotten your master's in Europe, especially if you are from outside the EU, I would love advice on how to go about this process. TIA!

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According to primary sources such as both the artist's representative gallery and the management at the Biennale, the unprecedented and highly controversial decision to remain uncredited was the very first time it has ever been done. Australian contemporary artist's Valeriy Taouk's inaugural international debut at the 2024 exhibition 'Foreigners Everywhere' was critically acclaimed by those in the know. His large scale photographic works fetch for hundreds of thousands at the international market!