In the series Darkened Cities by French photographer Thierry Cohen, two impossibilities are presented to us: That we might see the night sky in such detail from our grand kingdoms of light is the initial response. In the lower half of the picture a ‘darker’ and equally improbable scenario: that entire cities might ever stand totally unilluminated at night, more soulless than lifeless. These are pictures of beauty and of… Read More >
Yue Minjun’s first big solo show in Europe at Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris, is for all intents a Western debut, but goes far beyond an introduction to this accomplished Chinese artist. Instead, running for four months through fall 2012 to spring 2013, the show is a major retrospective. For the first time his main works are shown in one place, so the visual force – the evolution of his work since the 1990s, and the differentiated aesthetics – are presented in one single time and place. Read More—
A casual gallery-goer could be forgiven, perhaps, for passing it by without much thought. Surrounded by what looks like nondescript warehouses, the building lies in a small knot of streets behind the greasy spoons and cornershops of Bethnal Green Road. Beside the dove-grey door a buzzer with discreet capitals reads ‘MAUREEN PALEY’. Like many (but by no means all) private galleries, the former light factory is a quiet, esoteric space. And yet this almost unnoticable outpost, located in what not very long ago was a commercial backwater of the British capital, wields formidable clout over the art world—
In this information-flooded world, an abundance of output and omnipresence through media are often deemed important staples in maintaining and building the awareness of any artistic endeavour. However, for reasons soon to be apparent, the work of Korean photographer Won Seong Won has had a more tidal presence—
