Social media as a marketing tool for artists with Kenya Tay; Jadé Fadojutimi sets new record sale at Chrisities’ 21st Century Evening Sale; The upcoming Venice Biennale
Being an artist and building a sustainable art career are distinct challenges that artists seldom face in the art industry. Ghanaian-Dutch photographer and filmmaker Kenya Tay is visualizing what is most important to her process as she uses social media as a tool to find her community. She talks us through how she navigates social media while creating work she cares deeply about.
“First, I got rid of my fear of looking stupid and unprofessional, to put it crudely. This is something that stifled me for many years. I was so deep in the Instagram “everything is perfect” aesthetic that I forgot what creating looked like. Creating can be messy; it is trial and error, but that is where the magic happens. There is no right or wrong way of doing things, as long as you are happy with your process and finished work.”
Printmaking is a long-standing practice that encourages inclusivity and accessibility within the art world. In the democratization of the art world, printmaking remains notable for its ability to level the seemingly impenetrable price points of the contemporary art market. This is an affordable option for new collectors looking to engage with and support an artist’s work.
Our latest offering, “Printmaking: Young Contemporary Printmakers You Should Know,” is a brief introduction to what printmaking is and the Nigerian printmakers you should check out and possibly collect.
Frieze will sponsor John Akomfrah’s British Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale
Frieze sets a new record as the first art fair to sponsor a national pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. Partnering with the British Council, Frieze will support the British Pavilion next year. They will be funding British-Ghanaian filmmaker John Akomfrah’s solo presentation, which is on view from April 20 through November 24, 2024. Frieze will also be promoting the exhibition online via social media.
ArtNet writes that, “The move reflects the commercial art world’s growing interest in partnering with non-profit cultural organizations, while acknowledging the vital influence these institutions have within the art ecosystem at large. These offers are, no doubt, often welcome in the wake of successive cuts in public spending.”
Artist Spotlight: Jadé Fadojutimi
Jadé Fadojutimi (1993) is a British-Nigerian artist. Using the canvas as a sounding board, she grapples with memories of everyday experiences, both good and bad. Fadojutimi examines how her sense of self is constructed so that her paintings communicate forms of feelings that are impossible to convey through language. In her interrogation of identity and how it informs and is informed by one's surroundings, Fadojutimi is fascinated by the ways in which we adorn ourselves with clothes and accessories in order to construct a sense of self.
This November, at the Chrisities’ 21st Century Evening Sale, Jadé Fadojutimi’s A Thistle Throb set a record sale of $1,683,500.
“Thistle Throb by British painter Jadé Fadojutimi is a monumental and dazzling cornucopia of purple hues that recalls the deployment of this elusive colour by Claude Monet, Gustav Klimt, and Helen Frankenthaler, something recently celebrated by Artforum in declaring that Fadojutimi “was giving Monet waterlilies” with her use of swirling, floral forms (K. Sutton, “Your Place or Mine? Kate Sutton around Amsterdam and London Art Weekends,” Artforum, June 8, 2023).”
Fadojutimi poetically observes, “When I change, the work changes. We hold each other up. I think the biggest difference I notice is in myself. Having conversations around my work means I have been having more conversations around myself” (J. Fadojutimi, quoted in T. Moldan, “Jadé Fadojutimi: ‘When I change, the work changes,’” Ocula, November 24, 2021). A Thistle Throb is above all the impetus for a conversation.”
Fadojutimi’s art can be found in at least 11 museum collections, at Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, CA and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles, CA among others.
On view:
In House: A duo exhibition of works from Bamidele Awoyemi and Adia Wahid, organized by and for Studio Voltaire’s community of studio artists and cultural tenants. (November 10 - January 14, 2024)
Parallel Passages: Kokopelli Gallery announces a group show of works from Victoria Makinde, Ronke Komos, Okedoyin Luli, Imomoh Asemokah, Ayela-Uwangue Nosawema, Eghosa Raymond, Babatunde Affiko. (November 26 - December 30, 2023).
The Place I Am: Stephen Friedman Gallery presents a group show celebrating its gallery artists and the breadth of the program. (November 24 - December 24, 2023).
