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CNN
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
This artist just spray painted a public square in Switzerland
Thousands of artists are being featured at hundreds of galleries as Art Basel opens its doors in the Swiss city this week. But before visitors even enter the art fair, they will cross a large public square sprayed with white and magenta paint — an artwork by Katharina Grosse. The German artist is known for using spray paint to transform spaces, from an abandoned property in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans to a condemned structure in the Rockaways, New York. Her massive, in-situ paintings have been commissioned by contemporary art museums like MoMA PS1 in New York and the Centre Pompidou-Metz in Paris. In Basel, her work covers the Messeplatz, and the structures — from a fountain to benches and bins — it contains. 'Even the clock will get painted a little bit,' she told CNN in early June, before she started painting, referring to the huge timepiece on the facade of one of the exhibition halls. That required some logistical preparation, like emptying the fountain and covering it with an anti-graffiti coating so the paint can be washed away later, explained Natalia Grabowska, of the Serpentine Gallery in London, who curated the work. The square measures several thousand square meters, or about the size of a soccer field, said Grabowska. She added that Grosse is someone who can 'work at scale and really transform spaces.' Grosse says that the sheer size of the work, her largest to date in an outdoor setting, was a challenge for her. 'For me, it's an amazing possibility to develop my work further and test my thinking and painting,' she said. Although the artist created models of the work beforehand, she said that things always change on site as she responds to the situation on the ground. 'I have a lot of different surfaces. I have distances to bridge. I have to make it work and be vivid but coherent,' she said. The fact that her 'whole painting has to be invented on site' means that it might be 'the youngest work at the fair,' Grosse added. That made it particularly interesting to watch her paint, said Grabowska. 'She works very intuitively with her body and sees where it takes her,' she said. 'She walks back and forth — it is a bit like unscripted choreography, a bit of a dance.' Grosse's work might also be the shortest lived at the fair. After seven days, the paint will be peeled and pressure-washed away. 'I think it's the shortest lifespan of a piece I've done outdoors,' said Grosse. 'There's a beauty that it appears for a minute, and it's only in your memories and the pictures we've taken and the way we talk about it.' Still, she hopes that for a few days, it can help transport visitors. 'It's almost like a poetic space that's slipped under your familiar existence,' she said. 'Her work is so powerful that you get immersed in it instantly,' said Grabowska. 'You can't ignore it.' Grosse also hopes that her work will help people reconsider what forms painting can take, as they enter one of the world's most important art fairs. It 'doesn't have to be like a pancake on a wall,' she said.
CNN
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
This artist just spray painted a public square in Switzerland
Thousands of artists are being featured at hundreds of galleries as Art Basel opens its doors in the Swiss city this week. But before visitors even enter the art fair, they will cross a large public square sprayed with white and magenta paint — an artwork by Katharina Grosse. The German artist is known for using spray paint to transform spaces, from an abandoned property in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans to a condemned structure in the Rockaways, New York. Her massive, in-situ paintings have been commissioned by contemporary art museums like MoMA PS1 in New York and the Centre Pompidou-Metz in Paris. In Basel, her work covers the Messeplatz, and the structures — from a fountain to benches and bins — it contains. 'Even the clock will get painted a little bit,' she told CNN in early June, before she started painting, referring to the huge timepiece on the facade of one of the exhibition halls. That required some logistical preparation, like emptying the fountain and covering it with an anti-graffiti coating so the paint can be washed away later, explained Natalia Grabowska, of the Serpentine Gallery in London, who curated the work. The square measures several thousand square meters, or about the size of a soccer field, said Grabowska. She added that Grosse is someone who can 'work at scale and really transform spaces.' Grosse says that the sheer size of the work, her largest to date in an outdoor setting, was a challenge for her. 'For me, it's an amazing possibility to develop my work further and test my thinking and painting,' she said. Although the artist created models of the work beforehand, she said that things always change on site as she responds to the situation on the ground. 'I have a lot of different surfaces. I have distances to bridge. I have to make it work and be vivid but coherent,' she said. The fact that her 'whole painting has to be invented on site' means that it might be 'the youngest work at the fair,' Grosse added. That made it particularly interesting to watch her paint, said Grabowska. 'She works very intuitively with her body and sees where it takes her,' she said. 'She walks back and forth — it is a bit like unscripted choreography, a bit of a dance.' Grosse's work might also be the shortest lived at the fair. After seven days, the paint will be peeled and pressure-washed away. 'I think it's the shortest lifespan of a piece I've done outdoors,' said Grosse. 'There's a beauty that it appears for a minute, and it's only in your memories and the pictures we've taken and the way we talk about it.' Still, she hopes that for a few days, it can help transport visitors. 'It's almost like a poetic space that's slipped under your familiar existence,' she said. 'Her work is so powerful that you get immersed in it instantly,' said Grabowska. 'You can't ignore it.' Grosse also hopes that her work will help people reconsider what forms painting can take, as they enter one of the world's most important art fairs. It 'doesn't have to be like a pancake on a wall,' she said.
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Joyous MoMA PS1 Gala Honors Artist Kara Walker And Philanthropist Emily Wei Rales, Raising Over $1.8 Million Amid National Threat To The Arts
Artist Kara Walker, Emily Rales, director and cofounder of Glenstone, are honored at MoMA PS1 Gala ... More 2025 As our nation's beloved arts institutions and organizations confront potential gargantuan cuts to federal funding, the enduring bond between artists and philanthropists is more crucial than ever. Scaling back the diversity and accessibility of arts programs erodes the quality of life for every American, as art is necessary for evoking emotion in the collective human journey to attain empathy. A chic crowd – many flaunting the fluidly and flamboyance that is at risk along with vital arts funding – gathered beneath a tent in the MoMA PS1 courtyard to illuminate a blustery evening by honoring New York-based artist Kara Walker and Emily Wei Rales, director and co-founder of Glenstone, a free museum located just outside Washington, D.C. in Potomac, Maryland. Artists, collectors, philanthropists, and art world luminaries came together to celebrate at the MoMA PS1 2025 Annual Gala and to raise more than $1.8 million. 'This year's honorees, Emily Wei Rales and Kara Walker, are deeply aligned with MoMA PS1's mission, whose work amplifying art and artists resonates within New York and around the world,' said MoMA PS1's Agnes Gund Director Connie Butler. 'It's a privilege to celebrate their distinct and lasting influence on the artistic landscape.' MoMA PS1's Agnes Gund Directo Connie Butler, artist Kara Walker, and investor Robert Soros at MoMA ... More PS1 Gala 2025 Revelers took cover under a sweeping fabric installation by New York-based painter, multi-media installation artist, and sculptor Eric N. Mack, and enjoyed an inventive vegetarian, pescatarian, and vegan menu by chef, artist, and social activist Omar Tate, renowned for his singular embrace and interpretation of Black culinary traditions. The festivities kicked into high gear, as strangers became fast friends on the dance floor, connected by their commitment to the arts, during an after party conceived by New York-based artist, musician, and producer DonChristian Jones. A live performance by Demi and The Band and vinyl sets by Ms. Carrie Stacks and Persona La Ave elevated the mood. MoMA PS1 Gala 2025 in the courtyard featuring a sweeping fabric installation by artist Eric N. Mack As the inaugural Adobe Creative Resident at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Manhattan, their recent exhibition DonChristian Jones: The Sumptuous Discovery of Gotham a Go-Go (January 30, 2025—April 28, 2025) presented an installation inspired by their Bed-Stuy studio, home to Public Assistants (PA, est. 2020), a safe space for queer and trans people of color to skill-share, create, and cultivate joy. Their inquiry spills into MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens, where Jones has created a clandestine study that imagines a portal into their 'double life' over the past 15 years, teaching and painting by day and rapping and performing at night. Jones marries design elements inspired by film noir, Blaxploitation films, the Harlem Renaissance, and contemporary Ballroom culture. Last night's after-party offered an inclusive and welcoming environment, where folks flopped on an array of comfy sofas to take a break from dancing. 'I grew up in a strange situation where I was around working artists all the time, and artists who are working without glory or compensation and working for the sake of making that art and those people are all around us all the time. And being in the city that has arts organizations like PS1 is a real privilege, but I do think, especially with the time that we're living in, with the arts being defunded, we also need to think a little bit about the places like what used to be Nexus (a grassroots artists' cooperative that has grown into Atlanta Contemporary, one of the southeast's leading contemporary art centers), which was like a mini PS1 in an old schoolhouse, and those communities that are underserved, and those artists who could use a lift up and would love to be standing here,' Walker told gala guests. Walker, whose work honestly and bravely examines race, gender, sexuality, and violence through silhouetted figures, is a towering figure in the art world who exemplifies the ethos of MoMA PS1. By amplifying art and artists at the intersection of urgent contemporaneous social, cultural, and political concerns, MoMA PS1 invites visitors to inquire, learn, and engage in public debate for more than four decades. Founded in 1976, a nineteenth-century public schoolhouse was transformed into the city's seminal alternative art space, and became affiliated with MoMA in 2000. PS1 became a member of New York City's Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) in 1982. DonChristian Jones at MoMA PS1 Gala 2025 after party Though her abundant support of the arts speaks loudly, Wei Rales acknowledged last night that she shuns the spotlight. 'I like my work to be invisible. The gifting that Glenstone does is typically behind the scenes. We do it quietly,' said Wei Rales. 'This is a very strange place for me to be up here standing in front of you at a podium. And if you were to talk to my team at Glenstone, you would hear from them that my approach to my work is that we do everything possible to execute an artist's vision, to make it a reality, we create the conditions, the ideal conditions for the public to experience that artwork, and then we get out of the way. If we've done our job well, you will not perceive that we've even been there, the staff, the people who make the exhibitions, the incredible team that we cultivate at Glenstone.' Nobody was invisible last night, thanks to the shared spirit of keeping art relevant, ensuring that artists are championed, and all Americans have a space at the canvas. LaToya Ruby Frazier, visual artist working in photography, video and performance, at the MoMA PS1 ... More Gala 2025
New York Times
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
An Artist Subverting Propaganda Through Large-Scale Sculptures
Born in Lisbon and raised in Luanda, Angola, the interdisciplinary artist Sandra Poulson makes sculptures and installations that untangle the ongoing effects of neocolonialism. Poulson studied fashion design in Portugal and Britain, and originally considered herself a fashion 'practitioner,' as she puts it. Now the artist — who was born in 1995, 20 years after Angolan independence — incorporates bright, monochromatic garments as well as concrete, soap, dust and wood into her works, carefully sourcing materials that are connected to everyday life in the country. This week, her first museum exhibition will open at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens, featuring a new installation of appropriated furniture and wood that alludes to the circulation of raw goods between Angola, the Netherlands and the rest of the world. Here, she discusses three artworks that are meaningful to her. The first work that inspired her The first time I saw this piece was in an 'Artist Rooms' exhibition at Tate Modern in 2016, when I first moved to London. It's probably the first fabric-based work I'd seen that I didn't consider textile art. I knew it was sculpture, and the seriousness it commanded was something I aspired to. At the time, I was making drawings and mixed-media work, and I was being trained to master fabric at London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins. Seeing ['Legs' and other fabric pieces in that exhibition], I realized that making a sculpture didn't necessarily mean I had to work with plaster, steel or wood. This was revolutionary for me. A work she returns to again and again The Angolan artist Nástio Mosquito's performance and video art has a humor that comes naturally to a society dealing with its own ghosts. [The Angolan civil war, fought between Communist and anti-Communist groups, lasted from the country's independence in 1975 until 2002.] 'Demo da Cracía' is satire and social commentary, and I can recognize even the smallest [Angolan pop-cultural] references in the video. That feeling of immediate recognition has stayed with me, [as has the artist's] ability to speak about very serious subjects in an accessible way. A new work of her own that she's excited about I bought this headboard from a couple of U.S. diplomats in the Netherlands who told me it was a solid wood American bed. As soon as I got to the studio and started drilling into it, I realized it was made of veneered plywood, chipboard and MDF [medium-density fiberboard] produced in China. It was hollow! I felt ripped off. This unsolid headboard seemed like the perfect [backdrop] for the European Union logo, the same logo that's on propagandistic merchandise, like stickers and polo shirts, that are widely distributed in Cabinda, a coastal Angolan territory. In 1956, an American company discovered oil off the shore of Cabinda and, until 1975, Portugal sold that oil to fund the prevention of Angolan independence. I'm interested in how the European Union's symbolic presence [in this former colony] relates to its true economic interests. This interview has been edited and condensed.
