An expansion project at Hollis Taggart will nearly double the size of the Chelsea gallery’s first floor exhibition space, a move the dealer describes as “a vote of confidence” in the New York neighbourhood even as more galleries migrate downtown to Tribeca.

The space is scheduled to open to the public 7 September—coinciding with Armory Week in New York—and will largely be used to display work from the gallery’s historic division, Taggart says, and allow the gallery to run two shows at once or larger, more ambitious exhibitions. The project adds 698 sq. ft to an existing 887 sq. ft of exhibition space, according to the gallery.

The inaugural display will feature work by artists including Ralph Iwamoto, the late 20th-century Japanese American Surrealist painter who was largely overlooked during his life (Hollis Taggart began representing the artist’s estate in February), Dusti Bongé, Sheila Isham, Irene Monat Stern and Michael (Corinne Michelle) West. The initial hang will also include a presentation of six drawings by Jackson Pollock dating from the early 1950s. According to the gallery, the sketches are from a notepad that sat beside the telephone at the Long Island home Pollock shared with his wife and fellow artist Lee Krasner.

Taggart, who has occupied space at 521 West 26th Street for nine years since relocating from the Upper East Side in 2015, says he’d always “fantasised” about expanding into other sections of the Chelsea building near the High Line. The space next-door—previously home to the Loretta Howard Gallery—had been leased out by a series of tenants over the years. When it became available most recently, Taggart says he approached the landlord and worked out a deal to open up the space into his gallery.

The first floor expansion follows an earlier extension last October, when the gallery took over space on the second floor of the building at 521 West 26th Street. Taggart says that despite the rush of galleries decamping to Tribeca for larger spaces and lower rents, he preferred to invest in the gallery’s presence in Chelsea.

“It is a vote of confidence for the Chelsea gallery district. I’m confident that Chelsea is here to stay,” Taggart says, adding that the gallery’s mega-dealer neighbours like David Zwirner, Pace and Gagosian all own their Chelsea properties and are likely “planted for the long-term”.

Amid concerns that the art market is slowing down after tepid spring and summer sales in New York and London, Taggart says he’s comfortable expanding when his colleagues may be doing the opposite and trying to cut expenditures in case of a market correction.

“I’ve always been a contrarian,” Taggart says. “It’s kind of going against the concerns in the art market right now for me to actually be expanding, but I think that’s just the time to do it.”

There are less than two weeks until the winner of this year’s Searchlight competition will be announced. The judges selected the Top 100 artists, who were revealed on Aug. 2. The Top 10 artists will also be announced from that list on Aug. 15.

From there, these industry experts will determine who is Canada’s next breakthrough musical act, and select the artists who will be the four secondary winners for outstanding Indigenous artist, outstanding country artist, top teen, and the songwriting prize. 

So, who are the music industry professionals evaluating this year’s contenders? Read on to get to know Andrés Mendoza, Amanda Rheaume, Justin Gray and Karla Moy before seeing who they select to win CBC Music’s Searchlight on Tuesday, Aug. 22, at 8 a.m. ET.

Andrés Mendoza

Andrés Mendoza began his music career in 1991 when he became an artist manager, promoter and agent with Antara Productions, a Montreal-based Latin Music company he co-founded with Edgardo Linares. His subsequent roles have included label executive, content developer and sponsorship leader.

He also created Cuto, a music marketing and strategy consultancy. His resumé also includes working at Virgin/EMI Music Canada, Ent! Marketing, Harbourfront Centre and he’s been a jury member for the Canada Council for the Arts, FACTOR and Ontario Creates, as well as a counselor at AMP Camp (now Indigenous Music Camp) and co-producer of live events at the AfroCubanismo Festival.

Currently, Mendoza leads the team responsible for brand strategy at the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), working on marketing, communications, creative, digital, social and partnerships for the Juno Awards, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Allan Slaight Juno Master Class and year-round CARAS initiatives.

In addition to amplifying and celebrating Juno nominees and winners, Mendoza has worked with many artists over the years including Alex Cuba, Coldplay, Janet Jackson, Corinne Bailey Rae and more. 

Amanda Rheaume

Amanda Rheaume is a Juno-nominated Métis singer and songwriter who makes guitar-driven ballads steeped in resilience. As the director of operations for the International Indigenous Music Summit, a coordinator for the development of a National Indigenous Music Office and co-founder of Ishkōdé Records, she is constantly striving to build community and support Indigenous musicians in the industry.

As an artist, Rheaume has released five albums and received recognition for her work including a Juno nomination and a Canadian Folk Music Award for Indigenous songwriter of the year. Her latest album, The Spaces Between, was released in 2022 and saw Rheaume unpack themes of identity, colonialism and culture.

Justin Gray

Justin Gray is a Canadian-born, L.A.-based songwriter, producer and composer who has had a career spanning more than 20 years in the music and entertainment industries. He is the founder and CEO of music tech startup MDIIO, as well as co-founder of the music publishing and talent management venture Anti Gravity E.

Through his artist collaborations, Gray has accumulated more than eight billion global streams and has worked with stars including Mariah Carey, John Legend, Avril Lavigne and Glen Campbell. His work includes multiple viral hits and global No. 1 songs with artists such as NCT 127, SuperM, Chris Lee and more.

Gray’s music and projects have appeared in trailers and on the scores of films and television shows including Toy Story 4, Hocus Pocus 2, Grey’s Anatomy, The L Word and more. He also co-composed the score and created music for the 2023 film Spinning Gold, and is currently writing, producing and composing the original motion picture soundtrack for Verona with Evan Bogart.

Karla Moy

As the founder of HustleGRL, Karla Moy’s passions sit at the intersection of music, design and web development. Her work includes credits with artists including Drake, Eminem, Dvsn, Hit-Boy, Mac Miller and even Lil Wayne — she designed the cover art for several of his mixtapes, including No Ceilings and Sorry 4 the Wait. 

As a DJ, Moy has performed sets at major nightclubs as well as corporate events and large-scale venues. She works within the music industry to foster the development of emerging artists, and currently sits on the board of directors for the Remix Project. She also serves on the juries of the non-profits FACTOR Canada, the Polaris Music Prize and the Prism Prize.

It was just over a month ago at Sotheby’s London that the already slim 17-lot sale of ultra-contemporary art, known as “The Now,” became even slimmer when it was revealed on the day of the auction that three lots, all paintings by sought-after female artists, had been withdrawn.

These included works by Louise Bonnet, Hilary Pecis, and Emily Mae Smith, with a cumulative estimate range of £440,000 to £660,000 ($560,000 to 840,000). After the sale, observers buzzed about the gap in lots. One said they were “great paintings,” while others spoke of market jitters, and another said they belonged to an Asian collector. After all, the respective markets for all three artists have been on a tear in recent years, with auction results far exceeding estimates.

One collector’s name came up repeatedly, Ding Yixiao a contemporary art collector who goes by “Xiao” and who founded the Xiao Museum of Contemporary Art in Rizhao, in China’s Shandong province. His Instagram feed is packed with images of buzzed-about contemporary names including the aforementioned artists as well as numerous pieces by Javier Calleja, KAWS, Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, and Ed Ruscha.

When Artnet News finally connected with Xiao, he confirmed that the three artworks are his, writing in an Instagram direct message, that he had withdrawn them pre-sale because the market is “bad now” and adding that he still owns them, adding “Well, These are my works, I can do whatever I want to do,” in response to Artnet’s queries about the withdrawals. The Pecis and the Bonnet appear in his previous Instagram posts.

Sotheby’s declined to comment citing client confidentiality.

Just two years ago, it was Xiao himself who was behind the current record auction price of an Emily Mae Smith painting, Broom Life (2014) that sold for HK$12.4 million ($1.6 million) at Phillips Hong Kong in June 2021, smashing the high estimate of HK$600,000 ($78,000).

Artnet News identified him at the time as “an extremely private deep-pocketed Shanghai-based collector who’s aggressively building a collection fit for a private museum, regardless of the cost.”

According to the report: “Xiao wanted the piece so badly that, a day before the sale, he posted a now-deleted Instagram of Broom Life with the caption: ‘Plz don’t fight with me tmr for this EMS. We are in LOVE,’ followed by three crying-laughing-squinting emojis.” The Smith painting still appears in several of his Instagram posts including one that read “Welcome to home” posted shortly after the auction.

However, along with Xiao’s confidence in the market for Emily Mae Smith, his relationship with Phillips auction house has also taken a turn for the worse. Phillips declined to comment citing client confidentiality, but sources said Xiao’s business dealings with the house have become so problematic that he is now banned from doing business with the auction house altogether. Friday (August 4) marked a deadline for Xiao to make a payment towards an outstanding balance he allegedly owes Phillips, and sources familiar with the situation confirmed that the payment was not made on time.

Xiao confirmed some of the details but had a different story to tell. “I banned [sic] from Phillip because I’m suing them. They took my works for sale and never paid me money after the sale,” he told Artnet News via direct message. “I will never do business with Phillips again.”

In early May, his attorney wrote letters to Phillips Hong Kong demanding hammer proceeds from sales of seven artworks, one of which failed to sell in an auction and was sold privately and the remainder of which were sold across two auctions. The attorney said that legal proceedings would commence within seven days if the funds were not paid.

A source familiar with the situation said that no legal proceedings have been brought against Phillips by Xiao to date, and that Xiao still owes a sum that exceeds the money he claims he is owed, which is roughly $300,000.

Emily Mae Smith, Broom Life.(2014) Image courtesy Phillips and Poly Auction.

Further, the Xiao Museum is closed until the end of August citing maintenance, according to the museum’s official WeChat account.

Xiao told Artnet that the museum will re-open, and that the next show will be in November. He said the closure is due to an ongoing tax fraud investigation, that he is a victim of a related “scam,” and that he is cooperating with the investigation. He also said he still plans to open another space, which sources said had been slated for Shanghai.

After fielding some questions via direct message, Xiao stopped communicating with Artnet News for this story and referred us to a former associate of the museum. That person declined further comment.

Meanwhile, Xiao’s difficulties with business partners may be spreading. While several art dealers and shippers told Artnet News that they have transacted business and art deals with Xiao without any trouble, more recently sources reported requesting invoices that then went unpaid. One dealer canceled a planned sale after repeated delays, while another that had completed a transaction was unable to arrange for shipment of the work to China and was ultimately told by an advisor that Xiao was “indisposed” until further notice. Another source acted as a proxy for Xiao at an auction, only to find themselves on the hook when he allegedly refused to pay for an artwork that was won on his behalf.

To be sure, many sources in the Chinese-speaking art world that Artnet News spoke with were tight-lipped on the topic of Xiao. Some refused to comment or declined to acknowledge that they knew him.

Still, as Artnet News’ investigation progressed, more dealers and other art professionals who had transacted with Xiao surfaced. Another dealer said they had been warned not to do business with him, while a third dealer was concerned how Xiao’s reputation may impact that of fellow Chinese art collectors and private museums.

“Chinese collectors and private museums are not like that,” the third dealer said.

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Evan Puschak of Nerdwriter brings us another dose of art history as he explains a profound shift in Western painting traditions. The insightful “Bruegel: Birth Of A New Genre” video explains how many works made prior to the 16th century dealt with religious and mythic themes or were portraits of the elite, all commissioned by the church or wealthy patrons. Protestant reforms in the church, political revolution, and a rise in the merchant class shifted the economic makeup, culture, and values, and as generally happens, art reflected this change. Painters like Pieter Bruegel The Edler began to render scenes and people that better captured this reality, focusing on the daily lives of regular people.

You also might enjoy Pushack’s lesson on realistic impressionism. (via Kottke)

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article A Brief Lesson Explains the Art Historical Shift to Painting Everyday People appeared first on Colossal.

High sales figures for artworks are driving solid investment returns for UHNWs, according to new data from Knight Frank.

The property consultancy’s Luxury Investment Index, which tracked a weighted basket of 10 luxury goods over the 12 months running up to the end of June 2023, was driven by growth in the art market. The art portion of the basket saw growth of 30 per cent.

Other luxury goods saw more modest increases, with watches and jewellery each growing by 10 per cent in value, and investments in cars and wine both rising by five per cent. Only rare whisky investments fell in the index, by 4 per cent, while investments in furniture remained flat, neither increasing or decreasing in value.

Overall, the luxury goods basket grew by seven per cent, providing ‘credible’ returns for UHNWs, the firm said.

Gains were higher than the FTSE 100 equities index, which rose by five per cent, and house prices in prime central London, which grew by only one per cent.

According to the property group, the Luxury Investments Index ‘is arguably the most comprehensive guide to the performance of luxury investments available’.

Art market activity was measured by consultancy Art Market Research (AMR)‘s All Art index, which records auction prices each month. While strong for the 12-month period, auction results from this spring suggest that growth in the market may have peaked, according to AMR’s Sebastian Duthy.

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‘The auction season’s spring sales are the first measure of market confidence and recent results suggest growth is already starting to slow,’ Duthy said.

Wider growth in the art market

While growth in the art market topped the luxury leaderboard, the findings reflected the wider post-pandemic recovery in the art market – rather than just robust sales, according to Duthy.

According to the property consultancy’s Luxury Investments report, there is a strong association between interest in luxury collectibles, the art market and the world of property, with UHNWs eager to style their homes with vibrant art collections.

‘We love to curate art for our clients. Many will see interior design as an opportunity to start afresh and reimagine the way they emotionally connect to their surroundings,’ Richard Angel, of design firm Angel O’Donnell, said. ‘Art plays an inspiring role in that transformation.’

‘Art enlivens a space, whether it’s adding colour, texture, movement, drama, humour or all the above.’

[See also: Global art market sales reach $67.8 billion, new study shows]

Wavering demand for some luxury collectibles

Other evidence from the investment index also points to falling interest in luxury investments. While the car market grew by five per cent over the year measured, it has fallen by seven per cent so far this year – reflecting a high degree of variability over the period.

‘The performance of classic cars has been mixed,’ said Dietrich Hatlapa of Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI), which measures the performance of 50 investment-grade cars to put together its HAGI Top Index.

‘After a strong performance in 2022, when the value of the most investable classic cars rose by 25%, this year has seen the market slip into reverse gear due to macro-economic factors,’ he added.

Purchases of rare whisky bottles, which have been the strongest performer over the past 10 years in the Knight Frank index, were the only luxury asset class to see a fall, of four per cent. The results were compiled for Knight Frank by Rare Whisky 101, an intelligence and insight firm which tracks interest in fine whiskies.

‘Bottles of rare whisky have had a far more sedate time from a performance perspective over the past three years,’ said Rare Whisky 101’s Andy Simpson of industry consultant Simpson Reserved.

‘Higher value (over £5,000) bottles have re-traced recently due to a myriad of geo-political, social and economic reasons. Certain brands have still performed well, while the market leader (from a sheer volume of market perspective), Macallan, has seen particularly punishing losses with its index re-tracing almost 12% over the past twelve months,’ he concluded.

Nuzzling against each other, moseying along, or convening with a group of forest friends, Diana Parkhouse’s papier-mâché personalities capture her passion for nature and love for animals. Based in Nottingham, the Australian artist is especially connected to the U.K. region, depicting its common woodland wildlife, such as foxes, hares, and badgers.

Swathed in words, each charming creature is formed using upcycled book pages and papier-mâché techniques. Increasingly aware of her impact on the environment, Parkhouse turned to found materials in an effort to render all of her sculptures biodegradable and repurpose as much as she could.

The artist has always enjoyed crafting miniature creations, and though small in stature, each figure presents a compelling and endearing nature. “Small things have always brought me great joy, I don’t know why,” she tells Colossal.

My father took me to an estate auction once when I was about 8 years old…There was a box with a miniature tea set in it which I’d admired as we looked about the lots before the auction started. He of course bid on it and won it for me…I remember spending an entire summer making tiny plasticine pies!

Make sure to visit Parkhouse’s website and Instagram for more forest friends and news about updates to her shop.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Papier-Mâché Critters Traipse and Trot in Delighful Sculptures by Diana Parkhouse appeared first on Colossal.

The Forks Market is home to some new art, but its location is a bit unusual.

With the addition of a new washroom at the Forks Market, a decision was made to feature the artwork of local artists in the space.

“Beautiful, accessible spaces are key to the success of any gathering place, and nothing brings a space to life more than the work of artists,” said Sara Stasiuk, Chief Executive Officer, The Forks North Portage. “We needed more functional washrooms on the second floor of The Market and saw this as an opportunity to bring more public art to The Forks in a surprising way. It’s an honour to house the work of local talent in our new accessible art washrooms.”

Five local artists were chosen to share their work, including Erin Ahl, whose work is featured as wallpaper in the stalls. Jazz Aline, a multidisciplinary artist, has her work featured in the new family washroom. Lyrics from two local musicians and songwriters, Adrina Turenne and Alpha Toshineza, are on the walls in the open public space by the sinks. Meanwhile, Kiana Jade created a custom wallpaper for the space.  

The new washrooms, located on the second floor of The Forks Market, feature four enclosed universal stalls, a common sink area and a family washroom. 

In her series Highness, Delphine Diallo’s regal subjects don elaborate masks, headdresses, and jewelry. Captured in both color and black-and-white, the women are portrayed as timeless and noble, wearing body paint, jewelry, and attire that draw on mythology and spiritual symbols to explore what the photographer calls the “divine female body.”

Highness developed from an earlier project focused on presenting family members and friends as goddesses. As the series expanded, Diallo recognized the importance of connecting to her subjects and empowering them in the process, emphasizing deep conversations and building long-term relationships with her sitters.

In a practice spanning sculpture, design, photography, collages, and music, Diallo finds inspiration in collaboration and learning from others. Highness features intricate hair pieces made by Joanne Petit-Frère, including a towering form evocative of Nefertiti’s tapered blue headdress. Composed of numerous braids, Petit-Frère’s creations envelop the face or curl around beads, complemented by metalwork by L’Enchanteur.

Diallo recently released a new book titled Divine, published by Hat and Beard Press, and if you’re in London, you can see her work at Somerset House through September 24 as part of the group exhibition Black Venus. Find more work on the artist’s website and Instagram.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Delphine Diallo Crafts Divinely Elegant Portraits of Black Women in ‘Highness’ appeared first on Colossal.