Author Archives for Felicidad

Op-Ed: I Grew Up Behind the Iron Curtain. Isolating Russia’s Art and Artists Will Not Help Us Achieve Peace

Published by Leave your thoughts <p>In this Op-Ed, András Szántó reflects: “It’s easy to preach the virtues of globalism when borders are open. It requires courage and determination to keep contacts alive when there are risks involved. Let us hope this anachronistic descent into war will soon pass, and there yet may be a hopeful turn in geopolitical relations. If not, however, we need to revisit the playbook of cultural engagement in times of sustained conflict. We cannot cancel our way out of this crisis.”.</p>

Introducing the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge

Published by Leave your thoughts <p>Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, has announced the inaugural the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge, a new initiative celebrating both tradition and innovation. This biennial design project will invite three emerging design visionaries to create unique works inspired by the ethos of Rolls-Royce, as symbolized by the Spirit of Ecstasy, the sculptural figurine that adorns the bonnet of every Rolls-Royce motor car. Through the project, Rolls-Royce seeks to discover new and emerging talents in the design world and take them on an exciting journey.</p>

Sondra Perry: Lineage for a Phantom Zone at Fondation Beyeler

Published by Leave your thoughts <p>Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme presents the inaugural artwork created for the Dream Commission by moving image artist Sondra Perry. On public view for the first time from February 13 through March 13, 2022 at Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland, Lineage for a Phantom Zone is a new immersive artwork which explores themes of lineage, memory and longing, using dreams as a space for reconfiguring history.</p>

Taking a more introspective look: Cecilia Alemani in conversation with András Szántó

Published by Leave your thoughts <p>Ahead of the opening of the 2022 Venice Biennale, András Szántó spoke with the curator Cecilia Alemani, via Zoom, about the ideas and process behind the exhibition and how it relates to our moment. Alemani anticipates that this edition will be remembered “as the Covid Biennale, the women Biennale, and hopefully the fun Biennale of rebirth and togetherness, after so many months of being apart.”.</p>

The body gets lost in the gesture: Rita Ackermann in conversation with András Szántó

Published by Leave your thoughts <p>Some 30 years after they first met, painter Rita Ackermann and András Szántó reconvened in 2021 for an interview for ArtAsiaPacific Magazine and the Burger Collection, reflecting on Ackermann’s trajectory as an artist. Their conversation touches upon the experience of emigration, the influences of classical training, the evolution of Ackermann’s large-scale expressionist paintings, and connections between the artist’s personal biography and public role.</p>

Barabási Creates First Network Visualization of NFT Market

Published by Leave your thoughts <p>In a guest essay for The New York Times (May 7, 2021), Albert Lászlo Barabási published a series of network visualizations based on the Super Rare NFT platform. The images reveal the extreme concentration of the NFT market at this early stage of its development, and they offer an opportunity for reflection on the evolving systems of art. This is a perfect moment for a network scientist who cares about art. The data on the blockchain is there for all to see and analyze. The results are not only stunning, but they offer a window into sociological, commercial, and ultimately aesthetic processes that we have never before attempted to grasp with data-driven empiricism.</p>

Fifth Audemars Piguet Art Commission, by Phoebe Hui

Published by Leave your thoughts <p>The fifth Audemars Piguet Art Commission, by Hong Kong artist Phoebe Hui, has been unveiled at the Tai Kwun Center in Hong Kong, ahead of Art Basel, with Ying Kwok serving as guest curator. Responding to the commission’s theme of complexity and precision, the installation is titled The Moon is Leaving Us, because the Moon is slowly drifting away from the Earth. Its main part is an assembly of 48 screens which move in unison. Moving in front of each screen is a fragmentary image of the moon. Elsewhere in the space, a drawing robot, Selena, reconstructs the side of the moon we cannot see. Following the previous four commissions, Hui’s work demonstrates how art can help us negotiate the mysteries of the universe.</p>

Rolls-Royce Dream Commission Short-form Works Announced

Published by Leave your thoughts <p>On February 26, 2021, Muse, the Rolls-Royce art programme, in partnership with Serpentine Galleries and Fondation Beyeler, announced the four new moving image works created by the nominees for the Rolls Royce Muse Dream Commission: Sondra Perry, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, Martine Syms, and Zhou Tao. A single artist will be announced as the winner of the Dream Commission next month and invited to develop their concept. The long-form commission will debut later this year.</p>

The Future of the Museum: 28 Dialogues review by Stefan Kobel in Handelsblatt

Published by Leave your thoughts <p>Stefan Kobel from Handelsblatt has published a review of the András Szántó’s new book, The Future of the Museum: 28 Dialogues. In it, Kobel writes, “The volume is a treasure trove of analyses, food for thought and models for the future. In addition, the respective introductions of the interviewees and their narratives from their own world of experience and biography make for exciting reading.”</p>

“How Should a Museum Reopen in a Post-COVID World?” Included in Artnet News list of 22 favorite articles of 2020

Published by Leave your thoughts <p>Artnet News has rounded up their 22 favorite articles of 2020. Out of nearly 2,800 articles published, among them was, “How Should a Museum Reopen in a Post-COVID World?” by András Szántó and Adrian Ellis. The article, published in May 2020, contains a detailed guide on reopening museums safely. “Each museum has to find its own tailored solution within common frameworks, and in its own time. What all of them share is the need to work through a bewilderingly complex array of operational and policy considerations.” Interviews with museum directors Mary Ceruti, Adam Levine, and Franklin Sirmans accompany the article. </p>