Some might say it's philistinism to put artists in competition with each other. But it's been a fact of life since as far back as the Renaissance
Richard Wright's art was better than his competitors', according to the judges who gave him the Turner prize in 2009. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian
Why do critics insist on comparing one artist with another? More to the point – why do I do it so obsessively? I have just published a review of two artists showing at this year's Edinburgh festival. Although Martin Creed and Richard Wright are both showing in the same city at its most crowded cultural season, that does not make them competitors – surely? Well, that's how I see them. My article today sets up a rivalry, and seems to assume that to love Wright as I do, it is necessary to disparage Creed.
The objection is obvious: I've imported a competition where there was none intended. In fact I learned to see art in this way from the Renaissance artists and writers who founded criticism five centuries ago. Giorgio Vasari in his Lives of the Artists (1550) rarely praises an artist except comparatively – to be good, in his book, is to be better than someone else. Nor was this competitive mania confined to Vasari or to Florence, where they were endlessly having standoffs. In Venice, in the Library of St Mark's , you can see ceiling paintings done by rivals fighting to establish themselves. Their efforts were judged by Titian himself, who awarded a gold chain to Paolo Veronese.
But enough art history for today. There is a very modern reason to make these brutal comparisons. To put it simply, there is no other way to criticise art – unless you believe in an absolute cultural standard. If you believe there is only one "correct" way to make art, or only one true style (a timeless classicism), then of course criticism is easy. You simply praise or condemn artists according to their fidelity to the norm.
Only about one in a hundred people today believe in such a norm, and they are kidding themselves. Art is so multifarious, so ceaselessly changing. We need critical standards that are contingent and temporal, rather than timeless and absolute. The only way to find these is by comparison, to say "this is better than that". In trying to explain why, you just might discover your deepest beliefs about art – the stance you want to adopt on an unsteady log on the rapids of time.
Australian visual artist Ben Thomas opens Chroma, his first UK exhibition, this week at theprintspace. Ameena Rojee speaks to him for their weekly guest post to find out more about his hypnotic and unusual style, and what it is about the urban landscape that draws him in.
Ben’s exhibition takes place this week, launching Thursday 14th April from 7.30pm with a private view at theprintspace Gallery. The event is open invite, so please feel free to come along! The exhibition will continue until May 2nd, Mon-Fri, 9am-7pm. More information here. Hi Ben. What’s your story? How did you get involved in the creative industry?I started out in life shooting a lot of video, mostly for local bands in Adelaide. I really loved it, and I knew pretty much there and then that I wanted to spend my time working in the creative industry. Those few early years led me to studying multimedia and 3D animation at college. From there it took a little while to really figure out what I wanted to do, and it was around 2007 that I picked up an SLR for the first time! And that's where it all really started. Can you tell us about your typical working day?I'm pretty lucky in that most days are different. Typically, my days are split between shooting, post-production, then all of the business admin stuff that you need to nail if you want to keep shooting. I'm big on getting a roll on, so I'll usually spend at least a few hours working on one task before moving on to the next.
You have an incredible aesthetic in your work that regularly stumps viewers in regards to how it was achieved. I know you won’t reveal your trick, and I won’t ask you - however, can you tell us how you came to discover your unusual style? Oh thanks! I spent a long time fine-tuning Chroma. I had spent a long time shooting Cityshrinker and was really keen to do something completely different and fresh. There was a whole heap of experimentation - over a year - before I landed on something that I was happy with showing. I remember hitting it while shooting Bondi Beach in January of 2015; it was a real mix of excitement and relief to land on it, and I've really enjoyed experimenting further with it since. What is it about the urban landscape that attracts you?I really love studying the scale of cities, how people interact with them and how design and architecture have influenced their development. No two cities are the same, and almost all are transforming before our eyes. Personally, the way I look at urban spaces has changed dramatically over time too; what I saw through the camera 5 years ago is drastically different to what I see now. That in itself has been really interesting.
You’ve had a pretty successful photographic career so far - can you tell us of one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced? And on the other hand, tell us about one of your high points? Without a doubt the process of re-inventing myself after working on Cityshrinker for around 7 years was the biggest challenge I've faced so far. I had a great time shooting the series but in retrospect I spent too long working on it. I was pigeon-holed as a tilt shift photographer and started to not enjoy shooting as much as I once had. I took a break for over a year to reassess what I wanted to do, and to start developing some new work. Being able to come up for air after that process was a real thrill.
One of my high points was being invited to spend two months in residency with the Villa Lena Foundation. It was an amazing time with some amazing people where I felt as though things were really starting to click into place.
What’s next for you? Have you got any new projects in the works?I’m in Europe now to show my new series Chroma for the first time in London (details here). I'm really excited to be working with you guys at theprintspace to produce the show. I'm also shooting some more work which will end up being set as Chroma II here in Europe and through the USA over the next month. Finally, what inspires you?Seeing Andreas Gursky's work for the first time set into motion a real desire to explore photography more seriously. For me, he is the master of scale and technical execution. Over the past few years my major inspiration has been Jeffery Smart, a painter from the same hometown as me (Adelaide, Australia). His use of colour and perspective is impeccable - something that I really admire.
This year was a strong one for female artists, and next year it appears that it might be even better. In 2016, all of the solo shows at SculptureCenter in Queens, New York, will be by women. We're also looking forward to Catherine Opie's "Portraits and Landscapes" at Lehmann Maupin gallery in New York in January, and "Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947 – 2016" in March at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel in Los Angeles.
Below, we've found 20 emerging female artists who we'll also be tracking in 2016.
Martine Syms. Image: via www.kcet.org.
1. Martine SymsLos Angeles-based artist Martine Syms works across publishing, video, and performance. She runs the site Dominica, and was a participant in the 2015 New Museum Triennial in New York. Syms's current project NITE LIFE will be on view at Locust Projects in Miami until the end of the year.
2. Meriem BennaniMoroccan-born and New York-based artist Meriem Bennani creates films and animated Instagrams that are playfully surreal. She currently has a solo show "Gradual Kingdom" at Signal in Brooklyn and work in the Jewish Museum's "Unorthodox" exhibition.
Touching the Art banner. Image: Courtesy of Ovation.
3. Casey Jane EllisonYou may know Los Angeles-based arty comedian Casey Jane Ellison from her webseries ‘Touching the Art,' and her newest endeavor, The Right & Left Brains of Casey Jane's. Performance artist and comedian Ellison has brought her unique brand of art world critique to Frieze New York and exhibited at the New Museum's Triennial and NADA in Miami Beach this year.
Chloe Wise in her studio. Photo: Courtesy of the artist/Adam Levett.
4. Chloe WiseThe Canadian-born, New York-based artist Chloe Wise paints, sculpts, and creates video art. Her first solo show at Montreal's Division Gallery displayed faux baked goods as accessories. She currently has a show at Hudson, New York gallery space Retrospective.
Alexia Niedzielski, Jeanette Hayes Photo: Neil Rasmus/BFA
5. Jeanette HayesNew York-based Hayes is a painter that blends the art historical with internet culture. She has collaborated with Opening Ceremony and Proenza Schouler and published a booklet for Purple Fashion's issue 24.
Kameelah Rasheed. Photo: Courtesy of Al Jazeera.
6. Kameelah Janan RasheedConceptual artist and writer Kameelah Janan Rasheed received Triple Canopy's 2015 NYPL Labs Commission for her project, which "focuses on printed matter, sermons, and religious iconography produced in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries within black religious movements in the United States." Look for Rasheed's two upcoming exhibitions in New York in 2016.
Kenya (Robinson). Photo: Courtesy of the artist, Illya Szilak, 2015.
7. Kenya (Robinson)A winner of the 2015 Emerging Artist Grant from the Rema Hort Mann Foundation, the multimedia artist and writer's practice includes performance and sculpture that addresses social issues: privilege and consumerism. (Robinson)'s most recent performance, Kenya eats a (big) cracker, took place this past weekend at Hunter College in New York.
Sara Magenheimer. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
8. Sara MagenheimerSara Magenheimer is a New York-based artist who works across video, painting, collage, and sculpture. Her piece Slow Zoom Long Pause (2015) premiered at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center in October, and she recently published a print edition with Marginal Editions. She is preparing for a solo show at COR&P in Columbus, Ohio that will open in the new year.
9. Nathlie ProvostyBrooklyn-based visual artist and writer Nathlie Provosty exhibited her work at Jablonka Maruani Mercier Gallery Project Space in Belgium this past April and participated in the Untitled Art Fair during Miami Art Week. Next year, she will have solo shows at Nathalie Karg Gallery in New York and Bischoff Projects in Frankfurt, Germany.
Pamela Council, Flo Jo World Record Nails (2012). Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
10. Pamela CouncilWorking within sculpture, textiles, print-based media and performance, artist Pamela Council's projects explore style and culture. The New York- and New England-based artist was part of the Studio Museum Harlem's "Salon Style" exhibition this past summer with her work, Flo Jo World Record Nails (2012). Her work will be on view in Philadelphia next year in the exhibition I found god in myself.
Andrea McGinty, Spiritual Awakening Tailgate Party (2015).Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
11. Andrea McGintyNew York-based McGinty is an artist and writer whose solo exhibition Spiritual Awakening Tailgate Party opened last month at High Tide Gallery in Philadelphia. Her book, God, I Don't Even Know Your Name was published last year by Paul Chan's press, Badlands Unlimited.
Molly Crabapple. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
12. Molly CrabappleThe New York-based comic artist's visual journalism centers around political upheaval worldwide. Crabapple's illustrated memoir Drawing Blood (HarperCollins, 2015) was released this month. She has a show of large-scale paintings on the horizon at Postmasters Gallery in 2016.
Motoko Fukuyama. Photo: Courtesy of Love in Progress.
13. Motoko FukuyamaBrooklyn-based filmmaker Motoko Fukuyama is also a recipient of the Rema Hort Mann Foundation's Emerging Artists Grant this year. The artist is interested in unearthing visual narratives from otherwise overlooked sources. This month, she collaborates with musician Chuck Bettis for Silver Process at The Stone in NYC.
Maria Taniguchi. Photo: Courtesy of the Hugo Boss Asia Art Award.
15. Maria TaniguchiThe winner of this year's Hugo Boss Asia Art Award, Manila-based artist Maria Taniguchi's practice explores the social, political, and economic structures of the Philippines. Her work spans sculpture, painting, and film. Taniguchi is an exhibiting artist in the 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art(APT8) currently on view at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art.
Doreen Garner, still from The Observatory (2014). Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
16. Doreen GarnerArtist Doreen Garner's practice magnificently combines sculpture with performance, as demonstrated in her piece The Gross Clinic at the Chrysler Museum of Art this past August. The Brooklyn-based artist has an upcoming residency at Dustin Yellin's Pioneer Works space in Brooklyn in 2016.
Caroline Woolard. Photo: Courtesy of Avia Moore/Queens Museum.
17. Caroline WoolardArtist Caroline Woolard's practice combines art, architecture, urbanism, and political economy. She was a recipient of the Queens Museum inaugural studio program residency in 2013, and has co-founded the resource-sharing sites OurGoods.org and TradeSchool.coop, and BFAMFAPhD.com. Woolard's work will be included in the upcoming exhibition Discomfort:Experiments Furniture, Function and Form at the Hunterdon Art Museum.
Avery K. Singer. Photo: Courtesy of Plutonian Pictures.
18. Avery K. SingerAs one of our millennial artists to watch, artist Avery K. Singer's paintings have been recently shown in Basel, Turin, and Los Angeles. The New York-based artist has had several solo shows in Europe over the last couple of years.
Emily Weiner. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
19. Emily WeinerA co-director of the Soloway gallery in Brooklyn, the painter recently completed a residency at the American Academy in Rome. In 2016, expect to see Weiner exhibiting at The Willows, her artist-run space and NYC apartment-show staple.
Deanna Havas, Cosmic Barista (2015). Photo: Courtesy of the artist/Swiss Institute.
20. Deanna HavasThe New York-based artist and writer's project Cosmic Barista (2015) ran during the launch of Hans Ulrich Obrist's recent launch of Ways of Curating at the Swiss Institute. She also had a residency at Marbriers 4 in Geneva this year.
That gender imbalances continue to plague the art world in 2016 is a matter of fact. However, to employ an old adage, Rome wasn't built in a day—and we'd be remiss to overlook progress when we see it. As the New York Times puts it, women in the arts today are "(finally) getting their turn."
Among living female artists in particular, a special tier have reached new heights in art-market recognition. The last four years alone saw new names elevated to the top of auctions, which is a small, but formidable group.
Out of the top 2000 artworks sold at auction from 1985 onward by living artists, see which women made it in the ever-growing club.
Cady Noland, Bluewald (1989). Photo: Courtesy of artnet.
1. Cady NolandCady Noland, who previously led the pack with her 2011 Sotheby's sale of Oozewald, reclaimed her seat at the throne with a 2015 sale of Bluewald at Christie's New York. As the most expensive lot sold by a living female artist to date, Bluewald was snagged in May of 2015 for a cool $9,797,000.
Yayoi Kusama, White No. 28 (1960). Photo: Courtesy of artnet.
2. Yayoi KusamaNot to be outpaced, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who currently ranks as the most expensive living female artist on aggregate, takes a firm second place with the sale of White No. 28 at a 2014 Christie's New York, which won a handsome $7,109,000.
Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #30 (1979). Photo: Courtesy of artnet.
3. Cindy ShermanThe art world's queen of disguise Cindy Sherman joins Noland and Kusama in the top three with a 2014 sale of Untitled Film Stills which were produced in the mid to late '70s. The photos caught the eye of a collector during a Christie's auction, and the premium paid closes in on $7 million.
Marlene Dumas, The Visitor (1995). Photo: Courtesy of artnet.
4. Marlene DumasSouth African artist Marlene Dumas claims fourth place with a Sotheby's sale of her 1995 painting The Visitor, which fetched nearly $6.5 million in 2008. For a closer look at Dumas's work, the artist's 1994 The Painter is currently on view at the Met Breuer.
Bridget Riley, Chant 2 (1967). Photo: Courtesy of artnet.
5. Bridget RileyOptical illusions are Bridget Riley's specialty, and the most expensive of them all is a 1967 painting titled Chant 2. The English artist saw this canvas sold at a Sotheby's auction in 2008 for a little over $5 million.
Rosemarie Trockel, Untitled (in 2 parts) (1985-88). Photo: Courtesy of artnet.
6. Rosemarie TrockelRosemarie Trockel makes the list with her 1988 Untitled (in 2 parts), which sold at Sotheby's in 2014 for close to $5 million. Trockel's work, which typically tackles arbitrary distinctions between craft and fine art (among other equally gendered differences), serves as much-needed counterweights to Germany's male-dominated art scene.
Julie Mehretu, Retopistics: A Renegade Excavation (2001). Photo: Courtesy of artnet.
7. Julie MehretuEthiopian-born artist Julie Mehretu has seen several of her canvases sold for high sums at auction, but the highest peak among them belongs to a 2013 sale of her painting Retopistics. That year, the work sold at Christie's for a little over $4,6 million.
Tracey Emin, My Bed (1998). Photo: Courtesy of Tate.
8. Tracey EminAs an object of art historical and socio-political value, Tracey Emin's 1998 sculpture installation, My Bed, raked in $4,365,678 in 2014 at Christie's. The English artist, who recently made headlines for committing to a stone in matrimony, has long-served as a rebel-rouser of the finest variety.
Jenny Saville, Plan (1993). Photo: Courtesy of artnet.
9. Jenny SavilleWhen it comes to figurative painting, English painter Jenny Saville comes as quickly to mind as Lucien Freud. It comes as no surprise, then, that Saville settles into the top ten with one of her portraits. Plan, a canvas painted in 1993, took home $3,491,681 at a Christie's auction in 2014.
Vija Celmins, Burning Plane (1965). Photo: Courtesy of artnet.
10. Vija CelminsVija Celmins's photo-realistic paintings have won the favor of many a collector. In 2005, the late real estate developer Edward R. Broida donated 17 pieces by the artist to the MoMA that was cumulatively valued at $50 million. Less than a decade later in 2014, Celmins's Burning Plane took home just under $3.5 million at Sotheby's.
Chen Xi, 被记忆"系列作品 (Works by memory) (2006-10). Photo: Courtesy of artnet.
11. Chen XiAccording to the artnet Price Database, Chinese artist Chen Xi works have sold at auction in the $50,000 range. But with the 2011 sale of her work 被记忆"系列作品 (Works by memory), Xi takes a seat at our roundup. The piece, which sold at Holly International Auction, took home $3,267,045.
Tauba Auerbach, Untitled (Fold) (2011). Photo: Courtesy of artnet.
12. Tauba AuerbachAs the youngest member of our lineup, Tauba Auerbach, who was born in 1981, has already seen a number of her works sold for millions at auction. The highest price paid for her work was transacted at a Phillips auction in 2014 for $2,285,000, which won the collector Untitled (Fold), a painting done in 2010.
Beatriz Milhazes, Meu Limão, (2000). Photo: Courtesy of artnet.
13. Beatriz MilhazesBeatriz Milhazes's playful canvases conjure up brilliant storms of Brazilian cultural imagery and modernist references, and they've caught the attention of big collectors in recent years. Her painting, Meu Limão, took home $2,098,500 in a 2012 Sotheby's auction. Two years later, her painting Palmolive sold at Christie's for $1,685,000.
Paula Rego, The cadet and his sister (1998). Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby's.
14. Paula Rego2015 was a good year for Portugese artist Paula Rego, who saw two of her paintings, which resemble storybook illustrations, fetch high sums at Sotheby's auction in June: The cadet and his sister took home nearly $1.8 million while Looking out was claimed at a little over $1.5 million.
