Carla Shen in her Brooklyn home. Photo by Ariel Rissman.

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The beauty of the art world resides in the encounters we make. Carla Shen is undeniably one of the most inspiring women in New York’s art world today. From <a href="https://www.instagram.com/carlapshen/?hl=en" rel="noopener" target="_blank">her colorful (instagram) profile</a> to her unbeatable eye for spotting talents, and ahead of the Brooklyn Museum&#8217;s much anticipated 200th anniversary, we chatted with Carla about her long-standing passion for the arts and for art patronage, stemming from her late mother’s love of ceramics to her own dedication to supporting the careers of up and coming artists. 
Carla, it’s a pleasure to connect again. You grew up surrounded by the art that your parents collected, and later on in life, you started collecting on your own. What has your collecting journey been like? 
I must have inherited the collecting bug from my parents. Growing up, I watched them build a few different art collections, first a collection of Chinese ceramics, followed by a collection of Pop art limited edition prints, and later their collection took a new direction, with a focus on American modernist paintings from the early 20th century. I was included on most of their art visits growing up, and took part in their art discussions and adventures. It was inspiring to observe them become increasingly focused on and passionate about researching, seeing and acquiring artworks, which eventually led them to build a cohesive collection. This hobby brought them so much joy, and that sense of joy left an indelible mark on me. 
It wasn&#8217;t until my husband, my daughter and I moved into our new home in Brooklyn that we started to collect seriously on our own. I had recently joined the board of the Brooklyn Museum, and had the opportunity to build friendships with the curators and my fellow board members, many of whom had wonderful art collections, which undeniably served as inspiration and role models to me. When I joined the Brooklyn Museum Contemporary Art Committee a couple years after that, I was introduced to many New York City-based artists; I began visiting artist studios and galleries on a regular basis. Slowly, I developed an eye for the kind of art I liked, and that is how I started buying works from emerging artists, usually from those I had met in person. At the early stage of my collecting journey, I didn&#8217;t really have an overarching theme or focus &#8211; I just wanted to acquire artworks that I fell in love with, and instinctively knew that I wanted to live with.
Beyond collecting, you’re equally committed to art patronage, which is crucial to the healthy state of the art world, centering your passion around the artists rather than the market. Your late mother, a ceramicist herself, was involved with the Brooklyn Museum for decades (we wish we had met her!). Now that you are a board member of the Museum, how do you aim to have a positive impact? 
I don’t know that I personally have had much of an impact on the Brooklyn Museum, but collectively, the Board has been crucial in helping the Museum’s director Anne Pasternak and her amazing team follow their bold vision for the Museum. I love how the Museum connects and uplifts the various communities in Brooklyn (and beyond). It relates the past to the present in exciting exhibitions, and it doesn’t shy away from serious or difficult discussions or shows. The Board is always working to help Anne and her team find the resources and support for the inspiring programs and exhibitions the Museum presents. I suppose one of the things I am most proud of as a board member is sitting on the search committee for the new director of the Brooklyn Museum in 2014/2015, and helping recruit Anne Pasternak. I am so glad we made that decision!
Anne Pasternak is definitely one of the most inspiring women in the art world! Aside from the Brooklyn Museum, you’re also actively involved with another great organization, the <a href="https://www.green-wood.com/art/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Green-Wood Cemetery</a> and their artist-in-residence program. The Green-Wood Cemetery is known for its dynamic programming in the visual and performing arts. Tell us more about that! 
I&#8217;ve been on the board of Green-Wood cemetery for about 17 years, and I am proud to have been part of the team behind the artist-in-residence program there with Harry Weil, Green-Wood&#8217;s phenomenal Vice President of Education and Public Programs at Green-Wood. The Green-Wood artist residency provides one artist in the visual and/or performing arts with a studio space and honorarium (some materials and a stipend) to create a site-specific installation or performance at the Cemetery. The residency is open to emerging artists living and working in New York City and ends with an exhibition of their work. Three artists have gone through the program so far, and they each had really incredible work come out of the residency.

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Now entering your personal collection, how do you typically choose the artists whose works you wish to acquire? 
The very first artwork I acquired was a large collage of sketches by the NY-based Cuban-American artist Ruben Toledo. They were all painted scenes of New York City that my husband and I acquired by using a good part of our wedding gift funds. To this day, it still has a prominent spot in our living room. Fast forward to today, my most recent acquisitions were two paintings by Olivia Jia, who had a stunning installation with Margot Samel Gallery at Independent NY back in May. I became obsessed with her beautiful, detailed and delicate paintings of objects that she considers self-portraits. I bought a small one for myself, and one that I plan to gift to the Brooklyn Museum. But I never really set out to have a theme for my collection. 
For years, I just acquired work I fell in love with, but I guess there were some common threads: most of the works I bought were by emerging artists, mostly female and NYC-based (although definitely not exclusively), and predominantly figurative painting, with a few accents of fiber art and ceramics mixed in. Since 2020, I also turned my focus towards collecting works by Asian American and Asian diasporic artists. In fact, I am helping the Brooklyn Museum build its collection of works by contemporary Asian female artists, and I have recently made promised gifts of paintings by Sasha Gordon and Susan Chen. 
Any dream acquisition? 
Any Martin Wong painting.

Sasha Gordon, My Friends Will Be Me, 2022. A promised gift to the Brooklyn Museum by Carla Shen. Courtesy of Jeffrey Deitch Gallery.

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Susan Chen, Chinatown Block Watch, 2022. A promised gift to the Brooklyn Museum by Carla Shen. Courtesy of Jeffrey Deitch Gallery.

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Susan Chen Chinatown BW

Do you get to live with all the artworks you’ve acquired? 
I live with as many works that I own as possible &#8211; which means my empty wall space is quickly disappearing, and the number of salon walls in my house is increasing. But I’m also always happy to accept loan requests. I love the idea that more people will be able to see the works from our collection, and if the loan helps round out an exhibition or puts an artist&#8217;s other work into context, that&#8217;s obviously great too! At the moment, we have seven works on loan: a Mickalene Thomas painting that will be on tour for over a year and a half, a Katherine Bradford painting, a Curtis Talwst Santiago miniature, a Maia Cruz Palileo sculpture, a Hangama Amiri textile that has been touring for the past year and a half, and the Sasha Gordon and Susan Chen paintings I was mentioning earlier that will be part of the Brooklyn Museum&#8217;s re-installation of its American galleries opening this fall. 
 
With your focus on collecting work by AAPI artists, are there particular artists you have your eye on or hope to collect?
There are so many artists I am excited about! To name a few &#8211; I have several small works by Melissa Joseph and a small painting by Anna Park, but I would love to have larger works by both of them. I&#8217;ve been so impressed with the direction their work has taken in the past few years. I also have a sculpture by Dominique Fung, but would love to own one of her gorgeous paintings. Also, since I am donating the Sasha Gordon painting I have to the Brooklyn Museum, I really would love to acquire one of her paintings for myself.
A few years ago, I got involved with the <a href="https://thehereandthere.co/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Here and There Collective (THAT)</a>, a not-for-profit that uplifts, connects, and supports arts practitioners from the Asian diaspora. It&#8217;s been a wonderful way to meet and learn about exciting up-and-coming artists, and also get to know other collectors and curators. The Collective also has an artists-in-residence program for emerging AAPI artists. I love how THAT has created such a strong sense of community and mutual support in the art world and I’m proud of what they’ve built. 
The Here and There Collective has been of newcube&#8217;s close allies since 2020. We are very fond of everything they’ve built since 2020. They launched a little after newcube, during the pandemic at a time when the art world shifted to the digital realm in a drastic way and many great new platforms appeared in the art world landscape. How do you feel about this new digital era in the art world?
The pandemic totally changed the way I buy art. Pre-pandemic, I would rarely buy art sight unseen, but post-pandemic, I find myself buying artworks from a pdf or online about a third of the time. Other than newcube, I also look at Artsy, and I always browse through the online viewing rooms of the art fairs. I&#8217;m most likely to buy a work from one of the smaller art fairs and their online platforms, like NADA, <a href="https://futurefairs.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Future Fairs</a> or Spring Break.

Carla Shen's Brooklyn home. Photo by Ariel Rissman.

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At newcube, we work with seasoned collectors who have been acquiring works for decades, but we also advise young collectors who look up to more seasoned collectors like yourself and who are just starting. We give them genuine advice and guide them in the best way we can. What advice would you give to a collector or an art lover who is just starting to collect art? 
I would tell them to take their time before diving in and spending any money on art. See and learn as much as you can &#8211; go to galleries, look at art online, attend art fairs, talk to other collectors, gallerists, curators or advisors. It takes a while to find what speaks to you, develop an eye and figure out what you ultimately want to collect. If possible, join a group or council for collectors. Many museums have collector committees or councils with different focuses and as you know, I co-chair the Brooklyn Museum Contemporary Art Committee. Through these committees, you can find a community of collectors with similar interests and visit artist studios and galleries together. You are exposed to different parts of the art world, you engage in great conversations, and it&#8217;s a great way to hone in on what types of art you are drawn to. There are also some great independent groups &#8211; like <a href="http://www.newcube.art" rel="noopener" target="_blank">newcube or </a><a href="https://www.rococoartadvisory.com/clubrococo" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Club Rococo</a> for instance &#8211; where you can attend events, talks and artist studio visits, and meet other like-minded collectors and artists to learn more about the art world. 
 
There are hundreds of advisors to collectors out there, and unfortunately very few advisors to artists. At newcube, a big part of what we are dedicated to is supporting, guiding and advising up and coming artists. What are the top 3 pieces of advice you would give to up-and-coming artists today? 
Maintain a strong presence on social media that highlights your work and have a professional looking and up-to-date website. Get out of your studio, go to openings. You never know whom you might meet. Try to find and build community with other artists, find “your people” to share resources, ideas and advice with.
That is really precious advice! With the fall quickly approaching, are there any exhibitions you are looking forward to? 
I&#8217;m most excited about the Brooklyn Museum&#8217;s 200th anniversary that we will be celebrating this fall. There will be lots of events and festivities, and some fabulous exhibitions, such as the Brooklyn Artists Exhibition, the largest group show of Brooklyn artists in the Museum&#8217;s history! It&#8217;s such a great way to celebrate the diversity and talent in Brooklyn and kick off the Museum&#8217;s anniversary. The exhibition will open on October 4th. I also cannot wait to see the transformative re-installation of the Museum&#8217;s American Art galleries, which will look at the American art collection through a Black feminist and BIPOC lens. 
I&#8217;m hoping to make it to LA soon, just to catch <a href="https://www.thebroad.org/art/special-exhibitions/mickalene-thomas-all-about-love" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mickalene Thomas&#8217;s solo exhibition All About Love, at the Broad</a>. This is her first major international tour, and I&#8217;m so happy and honored to have loaned a work to the show. 
Thank you, Carla. We cannot wait for the fall season to pick up again in the art world and we’re excited to come see you at the Brooklyn Museum’s opening in October. We wish you the best of luck with the rest of your collecting journey and we’re really excited to see how it will evolve over the next few years!

As part of our Women in the Arts series and ahead of the Brooklyn Museum's 200th anniversary, we step into the colorful world - and home - of Brooklyn collector, patron and philanthropist Carla Shen. 

WOMEN IN THE ARTS: Step Inside Collector Carla Shen's Colorful Home

WOMEN IN THE ARTS: Step Inside Collector Carla Shen's Colorful Home - newcube.

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Jeanne Masel of Art for A Change, photographed by Weston Wells

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Jeanne Masel of Art for A Change photographed by Weston Wells

At newcube, we are strong believers that women in the art world should support each other. This is why we follow the path of inspiring women in the art world and it comes with no surprise that we came across Jeanne Masel, ART FOR CHANGE and her art collection. A few weeks ago, as New York was getting ready for a busy month of art fairs and auctions, we met with Jeanne, we talked about the many hats she wears, the values ART FOR CHANGE and newcube share, and we exchanged about our mutual passion for art, artists and community. 

WOMEN IN THE ARTS: Jeanne Masel, A Game Changer in the Art World

newcube met with Jeanne Masel, founder of ART FOR CHANGE, to talk about the many hats she wears in the art world.

WOMEN IN THE ARTS: Jeanne Masel, A Game Changer in the Art World - newcube.

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Kenneth Montague, Portrait by Wade Hudson 2021 headshot, courtesy of the artist and Dr
Kenneth Montague, Wedge Collection, Toronto

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Our founders at newcube first met Dr. Kenneth Montague and the team behind the Wedge Collection in 2021 as we were working closely with Canadian-Jamaican artist Shantel Miller. A Toronto-based dentist and the founder of the Wedge Curatorial Projects, Dr. Kenneth Montague speaks to newcube about his inspiration to begin collecting, his focus on Black artists and in particular Canadian-African artists, and his legacy as a Black collector looking to provide further public access to art. With a collection that includes works by 
Barkley L. Hendricks, Jordan Casteel, Renee Cox, Hank Willis Thomas, Jamel Shabbazz, Derrick Adams to name a few, The Wedge Collection is one of the most inspiring privately owned art collections in Canada. 
Hi Dr. Montague. A pleasure to be in touch with you. Let&#8217;s start at the beginning of your journey in the art world. How did you you come to enter the contemporary art world? What made you want to start collecting, and what was the first artwork you acquired?
Thanks for having me. My name is Kenneth Montague, I&#8217;m a dentist in Toronto, an art collector and the Director of the non-profit organization Wedge Curatorial Projects<a href="https://www.wedgecuratorialprojects.org/history-mandate" rel="noopener" target="_blank"></a>. I was born in Windsor Ontario, which is the southernmost Canadian city—directly across the border from Detroit, Michigan. My parents were immigrants from Jamaica and had three children. We grew up going to art exhibitions in Windsor and Detroit. The Detroit Institute of Arts is the place where I first saw an artwork that spoke to me on a personal level. This was the photograph Couple in Raccoon Coats by the Harlem Renaissance photographer James Van Der Zee. It was a very sophisticated portrait of an elegant couple in the Harlem Renaissance era in the 1930s. It really spoke to me about the beauty of Black life. I think that the love of that particular work never left me. Many years later when I was a dentist and could finally afford it, I acquired the work. It became part of an exhibition that I held in my home, which was a wedge-shaped space in an old knitting factory in Toronto, a space I then called the Wedge Gallery.

James Van Der Zee, Couple in Raccoon Coats, 1932. Image courtesy of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, NY and Dr Kenneth Montague, The Wedge Collection, Toronto

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James Van Der Zee, Couple in Raccoon Coats, 1932, Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY and Dr Kenneth Montague � The Wedge Collection, Toronto

A few years fast forward, you collection now includes over 400 works and focuses on exploring African Diasporic culture, the Black life and identity, and contemporary art. What is the legacy you want your collection to have?
There was a distinct under-representation of Black subjects in photography and in figurative painting when I started collecting and historically. I remember taking a history of art course at the University of Toronto when I was in dental school. It started with Greek civilization and early Roman artworks. There was nothing about the continent of Africa. It was very important to me, on a personal level, to showcase works that reflected my own family and community. It became a very personal project and a labor of love to acquire these images that would tell stories about my own culture, Black history and Black achievement. In a very organic way, it became a collection of images that spoke to each other. From there it evolved into other media beyond photography; such as painting, sculpture, video art and even design pieces.
The Wedge Collection legacy has always been about public access. Right from the start, the collection has been open to lending work. The idea is to promote the artists that exist in the collection and support their evolution. The Wedge Collection has always been about supporting the artists that exist within it. This is done via lending works to major exhibitions and allowing the collection to be re-examined through various curatorial projects, an example being the current touring exhibition from Aperture, entitled <a href="https://aperture.org/exhibitions/as-we-rise-photography-from-the-black-atlantic/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic</a>. The exhibition includes 108 works including one video and it focuses on Black photography within the collection from the Atlantic region and encourages the viewer to observe these works through the lenses of community, identity and power. The exhibition is currently stopping in Halifax, at the <a href="https://artgallery.dal.ca/sites/default/files/press_release_-_as_we_rise.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Dalhousie Art Gallery</a>, where it will be showing until early May 2024. 
Along with that touring exhibition is the <a href="https://aperture.org/books/as-we-rise-photography-from-the-black-atlantic/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Aperture photobook</a> that was its inspiration, as well as a vinyl record in which the music is inspired by the Black Atlantic. 
Another Wedge Collection exhibition recently closed at MOCA Toronto entitled <a href="https://moca.ca/exhibitions/the-wedge-collection-2023/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Dancing in the Light</a>. That show was co-curated by Kate Wong and Farida Abu-Bakare; some time ago, they both visited my home and recognized the importance of books and music as inspirations for my collection. They included some of my favorite novels and records which were available to the public within the exhibition in the form of a research table. These interventions made this show one of my favorites.

As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic, Cover image, Aperture 2021. Image courtesy
of Dr Kenneth Montague, The Wedge Collection, Toronto

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As We Rise: Sounds from the Black Atlantic, LP cover image, Aperture 2023. Image courtesy of
Dr Kenneth Montague, The Wedge Collection, Toronto

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Your collection originally began as the Wedge Gallery and has grown to include Wedge Curatorial Projects. Can you tell us what you enjoy about private and public art experiences? The recent exhibitions in Canada seem to be really significant in bringing light to artists that may have never been an institutional settings. We&#8217;d love to understand more about those exhibitions. 
Firstly, the gallery in my home was a very intimate place to showcase and see public art. The public viewing of art in a private home is not a very common thing. It wasn&#8217;t sustainable, and after a decade or so I had to move the gallery out of the house because it became popular and there were too many people going through my home. It was definitely a great place to start in terms of thinking about images of family and community in a setting like one&#8217;s own residence. It changed the context and made the works special in a way that would not have been possible in a major gallery or public institution.
The idea was to bring less celebrated artists into the same conversation as established artists. In the world that I lived in as a Black collector of Black artists’ work, there were so many stories that hadn’t been told. It became an important mission to balance these artists who needed exposure with the artists who already were being celebrated. When I started most of the arts community only knew about artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat. There were so few Black artists being celebrated. Today it’s become ubiquitous, particularly with Black figurative painters and portrait photographers. I&#8217;ve seen a lot of change in the thirty years that I&#8217;ve been doing this kind of work. It&#8217;s very gratifying but, also a part of me thinks, what took so long?
We couldn&#8217;t agree more. With a similar goal and hope in mind, newcube was born out of this idea of bringing into light the works of artists who have historically been under-represented, or mis-represented, if represented at all. And we&#8217;re happy that through newcube, we&#8217;ve come to meet like-minded collectors and curators who are working diligently towards making a long lasting change in the art world. You&#8217;re a perfect example of a collector with such a mission. Has your collection or choice of artists changed in the past few years?
I started with photography, in particular portraiture, and that changed as I realized that in painting you could tell the same stories. Also, there was only one of a kind in the world, which gave the work a specialness. Later I realized that there are ways of storytelling that work better in a motion picture format, like video work instead of straight photography.
I started with photography because that was the art form of my era but it really is an evolution. I was born in the 1960s, but really came into my own as a collector in the 1980s and 1990s when photography was the newest form of contemporary art being celebrated. Perhaps if I was coming into the fold today as a younger collector, I might think more about digital processes and performance art and other things that weren&#8217;t really a major part of the story of art when I was coming up. However, the collection has changed and broadened over the years as my vocabulary in the art world expanded. I think it&#8217;s very clear that the Wedge Collection will continue to expand and evolve as my interests and experience in the art world grow.

As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic, Installation view at Dalhousie Art Gallery,
Halifax, 2024. Image courtesy of Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax

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On that note, what has been your most recent acquisition, and what is your dream acquisition that you may have not attained just yet? Do you have any artists on your radar at the moment?
The most recent acquisition would be a large-scale photograph from the Accra, Ghana-based photographer Carlos Idun-Tawiah. The work was featured on the cover of Aperture magazine in their ACCRA issue. He is a photographer that fits into the mold of what the curator and writer Antwaun Sargent calls &#8220;The New Black Vanguard&#8221;. Idun-Tawiah does a lot of fashion work, but his photography is informed by his own identity and background. It hints at the things that he as the artist finds particularly important. A sense of community and a kind of dialogue between the photographer and the subject is very evident in the intimacy of his photography.
A dream acquisition might be work by the Afro-Portuguese photographer and installation artist Mónica de Miranda. She is an amazing visual storyteller, and I find her art practice’s evolution to be quite interesting as she creates work from her experience as a second-generation Black artist in Europe. She explores various colonial histories that mirror the stories that I can relate to as a second-generation Black Canadian. There is a parallel of cultural references that I find compelling in her work.
There are many artists on my radar at any given moment. Currently, I&#8217;m concentrating on the dynamic emerging Black art scene here in Canada. I have been following the art collective <a href="https://www.instagram.com/baucollective/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Black Artists Union</a> (BAU)—including artists such as Aaron Jones, Timothy Yanick Hunter, Oreka James, among many others. They are now inspiring a new generation of Toronto-based Black artists who are doing experimental work that I find very fascinating.

Timothy Yanick Hunter, Untitled (Loop 1), Voile fabric print, 156” x 21.6”, 2021. Image courtesy
of the artist, Cooper Cole Gallery and Dr Kenneth Montague, The Wedge Collection, Toronto

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Timothy Yanick Hunter, Untitled (Loop 1), Voile fabric print, 156” x 21.6”, 2021, Image courtesy of the artist, Cooper Cole Gallery and Dr Kenneth Montague � The Wedge Collection, Toronto

We&#8217;re proud to have contributed to the growth of your collection, when we placed one of Shantel Miller&#8217;s best works in your collection back in 2021. The work entitled <a href="https://www.newcube.art/artwork/khanya" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Khanya</a> was recently included in the MOCA exhibition in Toronto. Both newcube and Shantel were so thrilled to follow the journey of this work, and to see again after all these years. How do you typically find and research the artists that you add to your collection?
Shantel&#8217;s work really appealed to me when I first discovered her, first and foremost because of her technical brilliance. Sometimes I&#8217;m attracted to work that I find challenging in its production. She&#8217;s an exquisite social observer and her ability to translate the finest details about her subjects is a pleasure in aesthetics that is less about concept than realization. I am continually impressed with Shantel’s evolution as a painter and love the fact that she focuses on friends and family as subjects. This gives the work a certain personal touch and palpable intimacy.
I discovered Shantel in a show that was curated by Emilie Croning, a young curator in Toronto who did a group show that featured some of her work about four or five years ago. Following this Shantel gave a talk with Jorian Charlton, another artist in the Wedge Collection. The talk was part of the programming around the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) exhibition <a href="https://ago.ca/exhibitions/mickalene-thomas-femmes-noires" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mickalene Thomas: Femmes Noires</a>. From there she was on my radar and the work from newcube became something that I wanted to spend a longer time with, so it entered the Wedge Collection.
Generally, I find works in art journals that I subscribe to, art fairs and openings that I attend, and most commonly through recommendations by artists that already exist in my collection.

Oreka James, Untitled (detail), Oil paint, oil stick and acrylic gouache on unstretched canvas, 2017. Image courtesy of the artist and Dr Kenneth Montague, The Wedge Collection,
Toronto

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Oreka James, Untitled (detail), 2017

Any future projects you can share with us?
As the Executive Director of Wedge Curatorial Projects, I’m always thinking about how to bring the local and the global together. It&#8217;s been a mantra of the organization and the next logical step. After many years of programming exhibitions and workshops around both Toronto-based and international artists, we have decided to create an annual lecture series entitled The Wedge Lecture. It will feature an international guest in conversation with a local one. These conversations should resonate with our Toronto audiences because they will recognize the connections in art movements happening both here and abroad.
We hope to be back in Toronto soon and to follow more of your journey in the art world, through exhibitions, lectures and other related events. Thank you, Dr. Montague for your time and generosity, it&#8217;s been an honor knowing you and getting to learn more about your dedicated passion for the arts. We wish you and the entire team at the Wedge Collection all the best!

Dancing in the Light from The Wedge Collection, Installation view at Museum Of Contemporary
Art, Toronto, 2023. Image courtesy of Dr Kenneth Montague, The Wedge Collection, Toronto,
Photos By Laura Findlay

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newcube spoke with Dr. Kenneth Montague about the under-representation of Black subjects in modern and contemporary art. Discover more about the Wedge Collection and the Wedge Curatorial Projects, and its legacy in the art world. 

Dr. Kenneth Montague: on Art Collecting & Building Legacy in the Art World

We spoke with Dr. Kenneth Montague about the under-representation of Black subjects in modern and contemporary art. Read more.

Dr. Kenneth Montague: on Art Collecting & Building Legacy in the Art World - newcube.

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Hiroshi Sugimoto, Enoura Observatory in Odawara, Japan. Issey Miyake seamless knit dress. Photo by Keiichiro Nakajima.

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Pari, we have been following your trajectory in the art world through your online presence with your creative and insightful content for a few years now. We are delighted to chat with you and learn more about how you operate in the visual art world. Tell us how you first got involved with the art world? 
I entered the art world through a serendipitous encounter with a Helen Frankenthaler painting. I had spent a day in Chelsea attempting to take a headshot for what I thought at the time would be the website for my new interior design firm. This encounter with a monumental Frankenthaler painting, the juxtaposition of color, texture and feelings marked a miraculous detour from the official path or narrative gained from my education in architecture. The website then transmuted into a visual and sensory universe, where to this day I document and fuse contemporary art, design and fashion that I find special. It has become a platform for discovery. 
This shift is fascinating and seems so natural. Can you best describe yourself in a few words? 
Determined, curious, innately optimistic, intuitive. 
We would add “filled with positivity”! Your background in architecture, fashion and design clearly influenced your current role in the art world. And you have achieved a balanced combination of these elements in your visual world. 
Architecture school instilled in me a rigor for research and analysis. Essentially, it sharpened my ability to dig deep and to be expansive in my approach to understanding the cultural, social, environmental and historical aspects that may inform an artist’s visual language. While my initial work (in interior architecture and furniture design) had an inherent utilitarian function, I found myself drawn to a more open-ended artistic field. Fashion and the potential it gives to assume every guise you desire, the fusion of this with architecture, painting, sculpture into one singular poetic vision is my garden of eden. My hope is that reappropriating art in the context of fashion could provide an alternate way of viewing and engaging with the work, a rewilding in our ways of seeing and interpreting. 
Over the years, you have collaborated with galleries, artists, and also fairs like the Art Collaboration Kyoto (which was breathtakingly beautiful!). Which other projects are dear to your heart? 
My collaboration with the <a href="https://a-c-k.jp/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Art Collaboration Kyoto</a> fair took me to Japan for the first time &#8211; a forever dream of mine. Everything is done with such care and craft in Japanese culture. The ACK fair conveyed the essence of this and prompted the question: what should Art express today? There is value in connecting the most distant cultures and starting a dialogue that goes beyond stereotypes. For me it was an apt moment to reflect on how I can enrich this chapter in our existence through the universal language of art.
My project with Art Collaboration Kyoto brought me to the artist Hiroshi Sugimoto’s life’s work embedded in nature in the Kataura district of Odawara, <a href="https://www.odawara-af.com/en/enoura/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Enoura Observatory</a>. Perched on the Hakone Mountains, peppered with tangerine trees overlooking the Sagami Bay are Sugimoto’s trove of monuments with structures aligned to frame the sun’s movement throughout the seasons. Set in a place poised to be a future relic, I paired my surroundings with an Issey Miyake<a href="https://www.isseymiyake.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"></a> satsuma base hued knit where the front and the back are knitted in different directions giving me a twisted shape with fin-like flaps. Almost as if a fish had evolved to develop deformities. 
These projects, sites and practices grounded in ancient habits were used to predict and imagine the future. A formative (and my first) Pari Dust collaboration was with the <a href="https://www.gold.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">World Gold Council</a>. I traveled to India iced in jewels of fairytale beauty for an editorial celebrating artisanal gold craftsmanship enshrined in Indian culture. The richness of sensory experiences and the infusion of natural phenomena into life processes and world views was perception shifting for me. This initial collaboration sparked a series of collaborations with fine jewelry houses such as <a href="https://hemmerle.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hemmerle</a>, <a href="https://www.cartier.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Cartier</a>, <a href="https://www.vancleefarpels.com/us/en/home.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Van Cleef &#038; Arpels</a> and a sustained interest in pairing jewelry as sculpture, alive in its materiality, with contemporary art.
Working directly with artists allows serendipitous magic to occur. My partnership with <a href="https://www.laprairie.com/en-int/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">La Prairie</a> for the launch of their Platinum Rare Night Elixir (the most transformative skincare product I’ve ever used) led me to collaborate with the artist <a href="https://www.instagram.com/seanagavin/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Seana Gavin</a> whose surrealist hand-cut collage work I felt would be a dream for the project. I shot custom Pari Dust imagery styling myself in a galactic fashion as well as capturing still life product shots which Seana then incorporated into a series of 3 unique collages, Triptych for Reinvention.

Candida Höfer, Neues Museum Berlin, Christian & Yasmin Hemmerle Residence; Hemmerle earrings with woven pearls and
pave set diamonds, Hemmerle Harmony bangle in nut wood, Ottolinger tie dye.

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These projects are so mesmerizing. They are filled with creativity, elegance and spark so much inspiration in each of us. Your love for art is beyond the traditional art canons since it really merges several mediums, almost like a contemporary Gesamtkunstwerk as it was historically referred to. Do you also collect art?
I do, I collect art and design pieces. I am a creature of my environment and being surrounded by what I love enhances every element of my existence. The work I’ve collected thus far is architectural in nature and minimalistic. I love Brazilian modernism, I have a special chair by Sergio Rodrigues, some Eileen Gray pieces. My wishlist is long! 
An extension of my creature environment is the launch of a new installation-based store concept fusing art, fashion and design. A physical space that myself and a dear friend will open in East London this spring! The initial iteration will be curated by Francesca Gavin and the space will be reimagined under a curatorial theme each season. 
Thank you for sharing this news with us! We cannot wait to see it in London! Excited for your project ahead! You also take part in curatorial projects. Can you tell us a little more about those projects? 
The desire and the need to share the beauty of my Iranian heritage, the humanity of its people led to my first independently curated exhibition in December of 2022 with the Iranian multidisciplinary artist <a href="https://www.instagram.com/leila.seyedzadeh/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Leila Seyedzadeh</a>. Her work conceptualizes imaginary landscapes suspended in a state of placelessness. Under the Same Sky came together in a dire moment which has been ongoing as the Iranian people pursue freedom from an oppressive theocratic regime. Leila’s textile installation, displayed beneath a skylight in Brooklyn and shown alongside a livestream projection of the sky in Tehran, created an opening for viewers to enter a state of connectivity between New York and Tehran. A focus of my curatorial practice is to reimagine approaches to transcultural dynamics that continue to shape our contemporary moment. 
On the horizon is an exhibition between Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmian and Frank Stella that myself and curator Leyla Fakhr have been developing for some time. It is in many ways the culmination of my work thus far; to create a harmonious connection between two distinct cultures, to highlight the universal language of art and friendship which transcends essentialist binaries. Monir and Frank were dear friends! I’m thrilled to share more on this soon!

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Installation of 9 Elements, 2004, James Cohan. Area braided crystal top, hot short. Photo by Logan Jackson.

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As you know, at newcube, we focus on championing emerging artists globally while offering a more conventional advisory service to global collectors. And your unconventional creativity and strength in digital content is admirable. Would you give any tips to artists who wish to enter the art world in a creative and innovative way like you did? 
Lean into what gives you an emotional reaction. Ask yourself how you can add value in a space that you love and believe in. Support your friends, your community and do it with veracity. Gather with them, make something together, let it catalyze you. Cherish and seek mentors you admire. I believe that the future is in the collective, where the true power lies. 
Thank you so much Pari for your sharing about your passion and these wonderful projects. Literally speaking to you sparks our creativity and this contribution to the creative world is very valuable. See you soon in London!

Leila Seyedzadeh, Under the Same Sky, 2022;
Pairi Daeza ghalamkar top & skirt. Photo by Matin Zad.

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Pari Ehsan's world is filled with positivity. An architecture and furniture design graduate with a passion for art and fashion, Pari Ehsan is now an influential content creator and creative director. Bibi and Claire, the founders of newcube, chatted with Pari and learned more about the many projects she's involved with. 

Where Art, Design And Fashion Meet: The Curious Universe of Pari Ehsan

Pari Ehsan entered the art world through an encounter with painting. Discover how her world fuses architecture, fashion and design.

Where Art, Design And Fashion Meet: The Curious Universe of Pari Ehsan - newcube.

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Collector and art patron Pamela Hornik with San Francisco's Institute Of Contemporary Art's Executive Director Ali Gass

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The art world feels somewhat small, and when we see a collector who is truly passionate, dedicated and generous, we recognize them. It wouldn’t take long for anyone in conversation with Pamela Hornik to feel that she is a truly passionate collector who truly cares about artists and who truly wishes to support those making it work in the art world. After a virtual meet and greet with Pamela, our founders Bibi and Claire spent some IRL time with her in London, during the busy Frieze week. We didn’t make it to tea time &#8211; Pamela doesn’t drink tea &#8211; but we had a sunny morning coffee meetup during which we chatted about art, dogs and the state of the (art) world. It was a fun and inspiring meet up, at a time where the world seems to be going mad! 
Pamela, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to enter the art world?
My art journey started when my fourth of four kids finally headed off to elementary school. I had been a stay at home mom before that, but I was ready for something to engage my mind outside of the home. This led me to start volunteering at <a href="https://museum.stanford.edu/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center</a>. I would spend a day or two a week volunteering at the Cantor. My husband David, my kids, and I had always spent a lot of our time in museums, but the Cantor gave me the opportunity to really fall in love with art. As I spent more time there, I also began spending more time at museums and galleries and meeting artists at open studios. I couldn’t get enough art. And that remains the case to this day.
What made you want to start collecting and what was the first artwork you acquired?
My husband David and I just sort of fell into it. We loved art and spent a huge amount of time looking at it. One day it struck us that you could actually buy it and put it on your own walls. The idea of surrounding ourselves with art seemed exciting and inevitable. The more art we put on our walls, the more our empty walls felt … well, empty. The first art that my husband and I bought together was the work of a fantastic Stanford professor named Kevin Bean. My kids took lessons at a wonderful space called the Community School of Music and Art where they would have periodic art shows. They showed Kevin Bean’s work and my husband and I simply fell in love with it. We ended up buying a couple of artworks in that show and we’ve never looked back since.
What was the last artwork you acquired and what would your dream acquisition be?
Like all dreams, it varies by the night. There are so many amazing artists whose work I would love to add to our collection. My husband and I were just discussing the Chinese artist Chen Fei at Perrotin, whose work we saw several years ago, but we were unable to acquire then. We continue to think about how fantastic that work is. We have a similar reaction every time we see a work by Oscar Yi Hou. Or Salman Toor. Or Sasha Gordon. And I will always wish I had more paintings by Chantal Joffe, who I got to finally meet this summer in Venice, but I forgot to even take a selfie with her!
And then, one of our last acquisitions was a work by Chase Hall, with a whale in it. I would have preferred a dog, obviously.

Pamela Hornik with artworks by Aubrey Levinthal and Timothy Lai

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Pamela Hornik, with her dogs at the Some Dogs exhibition, at Four One Nine, San Francisco

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Pamela Hornik, her dogs and her portrait by Amir H. Fallah

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Is there a specific focus that leads to your selection of artists and artworks in your collection?
No. And yes. But mostly no.
My husband and I acquire work that inspires us. We fall in love with work and think how amazing it would be to live with it… And if we can afford it… And if the gallery will sell it to us&#8230; Then we happily buy the work and marvel at it. We tend to acquire contemporary figurative art that reflects the wonderful, diverse world in which we live. As a result, we have artworks by and of an incredibly diverse group of people. We tend to be a little impetuous about how we collect. We see a work. We look at each other and say “wow.” And then we buy it. We are driven by emotion and joy really. We love work that makes us feel something. And we really love work that makes us feel joy above all. 
Ok, now to the yes part. A part of our collection does have a focus. I am perhaps even more obsessed with my dogs than I am with my art! And when dogs and art come together, I definitely feel joy. As a result, I have many paintings that include dogs in it. I don’t have a lot of works that only depict dogs. Some. But not a lot. But, I do have many artworks of people with dogs. And it makes me so happy! A selection of that crazy dog art will be in a show at the <a href="https://www.greenff.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Green Family Foundation</a> in Dallas in February 2024. It should be such a fun show.
How do you find and research the artists that you add to your collection?
Because I am obsessed with art and artists, I spend all day, every day looking at art. Some days it is in art museums. Other days it is in galleries. But every day it is on Instagram. I have built an incredible community of artists, gallerists, curators, and collectors on Instagram. I guess to see what they are creating, what they are showing, what they are curating, and what they are collecting. I look at a crazy amount of art every day. And it honestly never gets boring.

Pamela Hornik at the Some Dogs exhibition, Four One Nine, San Francisco

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As you know, at newcube, our mission is to support and champion up and coming artists in a way that allows them to grow while protecting them from the dangers of the art industry. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the “ultra-contemporary” artists and how the market has shaped around them in recent years. How do you feel one can best support up and coming artists?
I love supporting up and coming artists. New artists create such exciting work. And there are always fresh perspectives — there are always amazingly talented new artists appearing on the art scene. I think the best way you can support ultra-contemporary artists is to actually… support them. Buy their work. Share their work. Introduce them to your fanatical art friends. Introduce them to your gallerist friends and your curator friends. And be sure to tell them how much you love their work. Being an artist is so hard! I’m not sure how much one person loving their work will empower them to keep going. But you should know that you are having an impact on someone’s life.
As an art collector who supports emerging and mid-career artists with such generosity and genuine passion, you are also actively engaged in supporting institutions such as the <a href="https://www.icasf.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Institute of Contemporary Art</a> in San Francisco of which you are a founding member. Can you tell us more about your ways of selecting and supporting institutions and perhaps the challenges you may have faced in that process.
I really fell into the Cantor at Stanford. It was my backyard. And that’s how I started to volunteer there as you now know. I have sat at the front desk of the Cantor for fifteen years now. The Cantor is a free museum, so student groups come to the Cantor at all times. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a group of students having their first experience at an art museum and really coming alive. And the Anderson Collection next door is the same. There is this unimaginably beautiful art just sitting there waiting to be seen and all you have to do is to show up and walk in.
I guess I just love free museums. I want people to be able to come in and enjoy art no matter who they are. And I want to support institutions that have art that reflects the lived experiences of whoever comes into the museum. That’s how I got involved with the <a href="https://www.icasf.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Institute of Contemporary Art</a>, San Francisco. The founding and executive director, Ali Gass, shared my passion for free museums full of art that connected with the broader community in which they were located. So I sat down with Ali and asked how I could help to get the ICA off the ground. And ever since, it has been so much fun to see San Franciscans of all ages, races, orientations, and identities, come in to see themselves reflected in the incredible art we show on the walls.
newcube works closely with a new generation of collectors looking to support artists as well as institutions. What would your advice be to them as they engage with the art world?
Don’t let the art world intimidate you. It is just art. And art is amazing. Love what you love. Love who you love. And help them create the work that gets you excited. Above all else, spend time with the people and institutions that bring you energy.

Pamela Hornik and daughter Darrow Hornik attend Some Dogs, at Four One Nine, San Francisco, April 2023. Photo credit Jessica Monroy for Drew Altizer Photography.  

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You mentioned that the exhibition “Some Dogs&#8221; will be traveling to the Green Family Foundation in February 2024. We can’t wait to see it. We’d love to hear more about this passion project of yours and any other projects you have going on or perhaps dream projects you’d love to get involved with.
The “Some Dogs” exhibition has certainly been a passion project. It started out as a birthday present to myself — I rented a gallery space in San Francisco, the <a href="https://www.fouronenine.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Four One Nine</a>, and showed 65 works of “dog art.” The Four One Nine is a creative oasis for gathering and creating in the SoMa district. We had nearly a thousand people come see the exhibition and it was so much fun to see the joy on the faces of these art &#8211; or dog &#8211; lovers of all ages. I could not be more excited to take “Some Dogs” to Dallas. And this show will have several newly added artworks that were not shown in San Francisco, which will be great.
I may or may not be working on a book about artists’ studio dogs. It’s maybe a little early to be talking about that, but I guess I’m excited about projects at the intersection of art and dogs. If we could wrap in my kids, it would be a combination of my three favorite things.
Reflecting back and looking ahead, any thoughts or predictions for the art world in the next 5 years? 
I don’t think I’m much of an art prognosticator. I am quite certain that there will be a lot of amazing art created. And there will be a bunch of amazing new artists emerging. And me? I will still be sitting at the front desk of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford.
Last question for you, from newcube’s artists, who would be your few favorite ones? And are there particular artworks you’d pick for your personal collection? 
I’m not one to pick favorites, but I really enjoy Baoying Huang, Reihaneh Hosseini (in particular <a href="https://www.newcube.art/artwork/three-women" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Three Women</a>) and Katayoun Vaziri&#8217;s works (I really liked <a href="https://www.newcube.art/artwork/memories-of-a-bourgeoisie-friend-tribute-to-kiki-smith" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tribute to Kiki Smith</a>). If any of your amazing artists create art with dogs, I’ll always be excited to see it!
Thank you so much for your time Pamela, for sharing with us more about your fun and inspiring journey and for allowing us to enter your wonderful world filled with art, dogs and passion! See you in Dallas in February, if not before!

Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe's portrait of Pamela Hornik and her dog Teddy

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The founders of newcube, Bibi and Claire, had the pleasure to chat with art patron and collector extraordinaire, Pamela Hornik. They talked about art, dogs and the current state of the (art) world. 

The Wonderful World of Art Patron and Collector Pamela Hornik 

Bibi and Claire, newcube's founders, had the pleasure to chat with art patron and collector extraordinaire, Pamela Hornik. Read more here.

The Wonderful World of Art Patron and Collector Pamela Hornik - newcube.

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Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Felix LA 2022. Photo by Zack Whitford.

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Every year, the art scene is seemingly bombarded with vast, international art fairs. These events have transformed much for the art market over the past 50 years. It’s hard to know where to look.
Recommended to us by artists, collectors, curators and friends, some of our suggested annual art fairs include:
<a href="https://felixfair.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Felix Art Fair, Los Angeles</a> 
Since 2018, Felix has become a favorite destination for artists, curators, dealers, galleries and of course collectors. An art fair created with the intention to foster intimate experiences that prioritize conversation, collaboration, and community, Felix Art Fair is hosted in the rooms of the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, adding to the excitement that surrounds the LA art fair week. 
<a href="https://zsonamaco.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ZONA MACO, Mexico City</a> 
Established in 2002 by Zélika García, Zona Maco boasts the largest art fair platform in Latin America. It holds four annual events at Centro Citibanamex in Mexico City, bringing together prominent and emerging national and international art galleries.
<a href="https://tokyogendai.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tokyo Gendai, Yokohama</a> 
A brand new fair launched in July 2023. With participation from 73 esteemed galleries originating from Japan, the broader Asia-Pacific region, and across the globe, the fair introduced a fresh platform for artistic exploration. And everyone’s still talking about it! We are impatiently waiting for its second edition.

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<a href="https://www.1-54.com/marrakech/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">1-54 Marrakech</a> 
Debuting in 2018 and returning in February 2024, 1-54 Marrakech has solidified its position as the premier international art fair exclusively dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. While we wait for the Marrakech edition in February 2024, we can embrace what 1-54 has to offer in London this fall, during Frieze week. 
<a href="https://sydneycontemporary.com.au/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sydney Contemporary </a> 
The largest and most diverse assembly of contemporary art galleries in Australasia is the Sydney Contemporary fair.

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<a href="https://www.tefaf.com/fairs/tefaf-maastricht" rel="noopener" target="_blank">TEFAF Maastricht</a> 
Hosting an ensemble of over 260 esteemed dealers from around 20 countries, TEFAF Maastricht serves as a grand exhibition showcasing the finest artworks currently available from traditional areas of antiques to modern and contemporary art, photography, jewelery, 20th-century design, and works on paper.
<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/hong-kong?lang=en" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Art Basel Hong Kong</a> 
Spotlighting galleries hailing from Asia and beyond, Art Basel Hong Kong presents a comprehensive view of the Asia-Pacific&#8217;s artistic diversity while also embracing global perspectives through the lens of Modern and contemporary creations.
<a href="https://taipeidangdai.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Taipei Dangdai</a> 
Taipei Dangdai is a prominent component of major international art fairs that emphasize the Asia Pacific region. This collective initiative, including India Art Fair, Sydney Contemporary, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai, the forthcoming ART SG, and Tokyo Gendai, emanates from the collaboration of three leading art fair organisers led by Sandy Angus, Tim Etchells, and Magnus Renfrew.

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And still to come this year (very soon!)
<a href="https://www.frieze.com/fairs/frieze-london" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Frieze London and Frieze Masters</a> 
Preview Days: Wednesday, October 11–Thursday, October 12 
General Admission Days: Friday, October 13–Sunday, October 15
<a href="https://parisplus.artbasel.com/tickets?gclid=Cj0KCQjwmvSoBhDOARIsAK6aV7jAZgAvC2XNPQ91EhpV6yWnmWz9luMmmbA6_e2b0_IsCngQKhIyf4QaAo9SEALw_wcB" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Paris+ by Art Basel</a> 
Preview Day: Wednesday, October 18 
General Admission Days: Thursday, October 19–Sunday, October 22
<a href="https://www.artissima.art/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Artissima, Turin</a> 
Preview Day: Thursday, November 2 
General Admission Days: Friday, November 3–Sunday, November 5
<a href="https://www.artcologne.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Art Cologne</a> 
Preview Day: Thursday, November 16 
General Admission Days: Friday, November 17–Sunday, November 19
<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/miami-beach?lang=en" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Art Basel Miami</a> 
Preview Days: Tuesday, December 5–Wednesday, December 6 
General Admission Days: Thursday, December 7–Saturday, December 9
We hope to catch you at one of these upcoming art fairs! Until then, safe travels and don&#8217;t forget to enjoy the art!

The Covid era is definitely over. Collectors, curators, art patrons and artists are now back on full travel mode, flying from one destination to another to attend as many art fairs as one possibly can. Check out our list of unmissable art fairs! 

Unmissable Art Fairs

The art world is now back on frantic traveling mode from one art fair to another. Check out our unmissable art fair list!

Unmissable Art Fairs - newcube.

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“I create the world, and painting is the tool for it.”
Artist Arang Choi possesses a remarkable ability to bridge the gap between tangible and the intangible. She draws us to an intricate realm where mysteries, emotions and dreams converge. 
Having recently graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, her career has been marked by incredible milestones, including her first solo exhibition, Three Moons, held at the <a href="https://elektrohalle-rhomberg.net/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Elektrohalle Rhomberg</a> in Salzburg, this year, as well as her participation in various group exhibitions like The Blue, The Pink, The Immaterial, The Void at the Austrian Cultural Forum in London and Common Room at <a href="https://www.hilger.at/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Galerie Hilger Next</a> in Vienna.

Arang Choi, Emulb Selfportrait 3, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. 

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Choi’s artistic journey so far is a testament to perseverance, marked by both challenges and immense triumphs. As with many early career artists, her recent graduation took place within the midst of the global pandemic, adding a layer to her narrative and resilience. 
This resilience is demonstrated in the relentlessness of her process, describing how she tries to draw and sketch at all possible moments to get all the ideas out of her head. Choi&#8217;s creative process is an intricate dance between inspiration and execution. Her prolific sketches serve as the gateway to her imaginative universe, capturing fleeting ideas before they take form. She then flips through these works, and chooses one that fits both her canvas and mood before beginning painting. Choi paints in silence in her studio, so she can hear the sound of the brush on canvas. Silence is an essential companion, in her words “a kind of white noise for [her].” Her studio practice is a sacred ritual, involving moments of contemplation and sketches that serve as bridges to her canvas.

Arang Choi, Parallel, 2023. Private Collection, New York. Courtesy of the artist & newcube. 

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Many of her figures sit against a dark, mysterious background, inviting contemplation of what lies beneath the surface. She describes this space as possibilities. Works become visual puzzles, urging viewers to sit with the piece, to figure out what is lurking there. 
Discussing inspirations, Choi referenced artists such as Henri Rousseau, Leonora Carrington, Nicole Eisenman and Marc Chagall, among many others. She describes how mostly all her inspiration comes from nature &#8211; mostly plants and animals as well as &#8220;their strange and extreme moments.&#8221; Her fascination with rare and peculiar flora and fauna serves as a testimony to her insatiable curiosity and thirst for the unconventional.
Surrealism, with its emphasis on the subconscious and the dreamlike, is a seemingly fitting vessel for Choi’s work. Though she employs the term &#8220;surrealism&#8221; to describe her practice, her introspective responses during the interview unveils another layer of her artistic philosophy. The merging of reality and the abstract within her works reflects a journey into the depths of the human psyche, and a desire to genuinely connect with her audience.

Arang Choi, Fluid Organism series 1, 2022. Courtesy of the artist & newcube. 

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Arang Choi, Fluid Organism series 1, 2022 (in situ). Courtesy of the artist & newcube. 

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&#8220;My works are like my dream stage.&#8221; 
Emotionally, all works invite viewers to explore their own feelings and interpretations, creating a diverse tapestry of emotional reactions. &#8220;All emotions play a role according to one&#8217;s own experience&#8221;, she states. Arang Choi’s commitment to allowing viewers the freedom to interpret her work through their unique perspectives underscores her respect for individuality. She describes her fascination with how “different we are and [how we] can interpret.”
Her approach to titling works is both intuitive and pragmatic, as she doesn’t enjoy titling a piece. She tells me how she doesn’t appreciate “[summing] up all the possibilities of fantasy in one sentence,” not wanting to impose limitations to understanding of her works, emphasising her commitment to connecting with her audience organically.

Arang Choi, Emulb am Feuerwerk, 2020. Courtesy of the artist & newcube. 

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Tranquility base (Modern Ruin with Red, Blue and Yellow) - 120

Arang Choi’s connection with her works is both personal and profound. They are externalisations of her inner worlds with each brushstroke encapsulating a fragment of her soul, breathing life into her art and transcending the boundaries between artist and artwork. Choi’s dream project would be to make an installation, one born from a vivid dream and desire to create a powerful experience, a tapestry of objects, colors, and sensations that leave an indelible mark on her creative consciousness.

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Curator Mollie Barnes dives into the fantastical world of Vienna-based artist Arang Choi whose works guide us through through an intricate realm where mysteries, emotions and dreams converge. 


Surrealism, secrets and souls: an interview with Arang Choi

Curator Mollie Barnes dives into the fantastical world of Vienna-based artist Arang Choi. Discover and read more.

Surrealism, secrets and souls: an interview with Arang Choi - newcube.

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