Visual Art
The Big List: the visual arts in 2023
In 2021 we had a pandemic. In 2022 we were back. And in 2023, perhaps we forgot.
The level of burnout this year has been intense, as arts programming has been delivered at double time, and with a feverish push to get the last of the backlogs cleared.
In terms of the themes that percolated to the top of visual arts programming, expanded textiles (note Julia Gutman won the 2023 Archibald Prize with a textile portrait), Pacific arts, AI and performance in the gallery space repeatedly popped up. The art market felt a little leaner, costs were on the rise, and generally there was not a lot of money around. And while that has not, as yet, tipped over into a dull hysteria, there is a sense that the sector is feeling a little cautious heading into 2024.
Read more: https://www.artshub.com.au/news/news/the-big-list-the-visual-arts-in-2023-2689271/
On a recent visit to Nottingham, I finally felt I understood the meaning of ‘light-touch’ retrofit. I was there to visit Primary, a visual arts charity located in a Grade ll-listed Victorian former school in the inner-city neighbourhood of Radford. For more than a decade Pricegore has painstakingly supported Primary, resulting in a first phase of nuanced building works to meet a varied brief. A relocated entry sequence with a new front door and skilful reworking of the playground into a community garden are both modest and transformative.
An art exhibition that uses dogs as the inspiration has gone on show.
The collection at the 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in Scunthorpe features international artists, designers, illustrators and photographers who use the animal as their subject matter.
Janine Parrish, who came up with the idea for the exhibition called A Dog’s Life, said: “There are lots of contemporary artists out there doing dog-themed artwork.”
Ali Akbar PN’s ongoing exhibition – The Salts of Many Seas at the Emami Art is an amalgamation of paintings, digital prints, sculptures, visuals and more. Inspired by his surroundings while growing up and residing in the coastal neighbourhoods, the exhibition has an impact of life around the coasts. We speak to the artist to know more.
Excerpts:
What themes have you explored in your latest exhibition?
I’m exploring the heritage and the cultural structures through my visual art practice. They mostly focus on the coastal regions of Kerala and Gujarat, where I’m currently based. I adopt a visual-oriented approach that explores people or places and heritages which is not addressed or represented enough or neglected. I explore myths, oral narratives, songs, and popular terminologies of social and power dynamics and incorporate them into my work.
