Claudette Johnson has been nominated for this year’s Turner prize for her work, which includes a portrait of the African-American slavery abolitionist Sarah Parker Remond commissioned as part of the Guardian’s award-winning Cotton Capital series.

Pio Abad, Johnson, Jasleen Kaur and Delaine Le Bas will compete for the £25,000 prize, while the nominated artists will each collect £10,000 as the prize returns to Tate Britain for the first time in six years.

Colonialism, migration, nationalism and identity politics are the key themes running through the 40th edition of the Turner prize, which the jury described as showing contemporary British art “is appealing and dynamic as ever”.

Alex Farquharson, the director of Tate Britain and chair of the Turner prize jury, said this year’s nominees were exploring ideas of identity and would be exhibited from 25 September, before the jury’s final choice.

He said: “This year’s shortlisted artists can be broadly characterised as exploring questions of identity, autobiography, community and the self in relation to memory, or history or myth.”

The Turner prize, regarded as one of the art world’s most prestigious awards, is presented to an artist born or working in Britain for an outstanding exhibition or presentation of their work over the previous year.

Abad was nominated for his solo exhibition To Those Sitting in Darkness at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, with the jury commenting on the “precision and elegance” of his work, which takes its title from a Mark Twain poem of a similar name that critiques American imperialism the Philippines, his homeland.

The show also contains references to the Benin Bronzes, after Abad discovered that the punitive expedition of 1897 – during which British troops sacked Benin City and looted thousands of objects, of which about 900 are in the British Museum’ – set off from his home, Woolwich, in south London.

Johnson was nominated for her solo Presence exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery, which the Guardian said “brilliantly questions depictions of non-white figures by such revered painters as Gauguin and Picasso”. She was also recognised for her New York show, Drawn Out, at Ortuzar Projects, which included her Redmond portrait.

She is the latest black female artist who emerged in the Black Art Movement of the 1980s to be recognised by the Turner prize, following in the footsteps of Lubaina Himid (2017 winner) and Veronica Ryan (2022), while Ingrid Pollard and Barbara Walker have both been nominated.

The jury said Johnson had been nominated because of the “renewal of her practice”, after she stopped making work in the 1990s, and the fact she was still “taking risks and trying new forms of practice”.

Kaur’s work in the exhibition Alter Altar, which was shown at Tramway in Glasgow, features sculptures and soundscapes, including a red Ford Escort covered in a huge doily, which references her father’s first car and ideas of migration and belonging in Britain.

Kaur grew up in Glasgow’s Sikh community in Pollokshields, and the jury said the exhibition was a breakout show that was “generous, celebratory, moving and alive to timely issues, speaking imaginatively to how we might live together in a world increasingly marked by nationalism, division and social control”.

Le Bas’s work, shown at the Vienna Secession exhibition, was described as a “response to social and political turmoil” and includes immersive performance art with theatrical costumes and sculptures.

Farquharson said there was a chance the show may travel to Bradford during its City of Culture year, following the precedent set by Coventry, which hosted the awards in 2021, although that was still “to be confirmed”.

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

From W1 Curates’ immersive digital projections to HOFA Gallery’s curated AI artwork showcase, don’t miss out on these stunning events during London’s Digital Art Week.

Digital Art Week is here!

Throughout the week, Londoners will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in digital art across the capital, from prestigious galleries to outdoor spaces, iconic music venues, and over 100 digital billboards.

A multitude of outdoor billboard locations, including Piccadilly Circus, will be transformed for the event, bringing digital art into the public eye and making it accessible to all. In total, works from over 120 leading artists will be showcased.

“We are thrilled to be back in London for Digital Art Week. This year will be the biggest iteration of the movement that we have ever produced. This year we are using the fabric of the city to showcase more than 120 artists across a wide variety of venues and artistic mediums,” says Digital Art Week CEO and founder Shaina Silva. 

With so much happening, here’s a simple guide to some of the events you won’t want to miss:

‘New Beginnings’ at HOFA Gallery

When? – Thursday, 25 April, 6pm-9pm.

Where? – HOFA Gallery, 11 Bruton Street, London, W1J 6PY.

London’s HOFA Gallery, situated on Bruton Street, has curated an exceptional exhibition titled ‘New Beginnings,’ showcasing artists who are at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence into their creative processes.

Among the featured artists in their showcase, titled ‘New Beginnings’, is Niceaunties, a Singapore-based architect and AI artist who draws inspiration from her cultural heritage to explore themes of aging, personal freedom, and everyday life through generative AI and digital art. 

Also included is Sougwen 愫君 Chung, a Chinese-Canadian artist whose piece “MEMORY (Drawing Operations Unit: Generation 2)” made history as the first AI model acquired by London’s V&A museum, as well as digital artist, Agoria, known for his avant-garde BioGenArt.  

W1 Curates immersive galleries

When? – During the whole of Digital Art Week.

Where? – 167 Oxford Street, London, W1D 2JP.

W1 Curates, a public art platform situated in the heart of London’s iconic Oxford Street, is hosting a series of free cutting-edge events during Digital Art Week.

These events will feature some of the world’s leading digital artists, including Beeple and Andrés Reisinger.

Here’s the schedule: 

Six N Five – Tuesday, 23 April, 8pm-9pm. 

GMUNK – Thursday, 25 April 8pm-9pm.

Lost Souls of Saturn – Friday, 26 April, 8pm-9pm.

Ash Thorpe – Friday, 26 April, 8pm-9pm.

Beeple – Saturday, 27 April, 8pm-9pm. 

Andrés Reisinger – Sunday, 28th April, 8pm-9pm. 

Krista Kim presented on Outernet’s four storey LED screen

When? – Friday, 26 April, 9am till late. 

Where? – Charing Cross Rd, London, WC2H 8LH. 

TAEX is presenting Canadian-Korean contemporary artist Krista Kim’s “Continuum” collection, an awe-inspiring visual meditation that will be showcased on Outernet’s four-storey LED screen. 

Kim’s Rothko-inspired artwork, created from LED light photography and cutting-edge software, offers vibrant colourscapes that aim to elevate consciousness and inspire positivity in the digital realm. 

Also, you can look forward to the soothing sounds of electronic group Ligovskoï, whose healing frequency music complements Kim’s mesmerising visuals.

But Kim isn’t the only artist on display at Outernet. You can also catch AMIANGELIKA / Ouchhh (23 April), Zach Lieberman (24 April), Jesse Woolston (25 April), and Sasha Stile (27 April).

‘Daata’ at Shoreditch Arts Club

When? – Thursday, 25 April, 7pm-11pm

Where? – Shoreditch Arts Club, 6 Redchurch Street, London.

If you enjoy cocktails, reggae music and trippy, surreal digital animations then this could be the event for you. 

Shoreditch Arts Club, in collaboration with their long-time moving image partner Daata, is hosting a party to celebrate Digital Art Week. Visitors can expect to experience mesmerising digital artworks on screens, accompanied by the legendary sounds of reggae DJ Manasseh.

The evening will showcase The Rockers Uptown – The Shoreditch Version, a curated playlist of commissioned video animations handpicked by Daata’s founder David Gryn. Featuring works by esteemed artists such as George Barber, Phillip Birch, and many more, this event promises to be an immersive journey into a surreal world of digital art.

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

There’s nothing quite like video game box art that makes you stop and say “wow”. Admittedly, it’s been a while since such a cover caught our eye, but we simply can’t gawk at the newly revealed box art for Metaphor: ReFantazio and not write an article about it.

The upcoming RPG looks to be a stunner in terms of art direction, and the cover gives you a taste of that before you even get started. It features gorgeous character-focused art, and although we still think the name ‘Metaphor: ReFantazio’ is a bit… overwrought, we can’t argue with the logo, which is striking.

NieR: Automata’s Kazuma Koda is credited as Metaphor’s concept artist, so we’re assuming it’s his work that’s decorating this box, but it’s also worth noting that longtime Persona character designer Shigenori Soejima is running the show.

Are you as taken with Metaphor’s box art as we are? Have a quick say in our poll and then make some room on your shelf in the comments section below.

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link