The other day, I came across a delightful tweet alerting me to the existence of the “Older Artists Group” on Facebook. As the name suggests, it’s a place for older artists to share artwork. The community is warm and encouraging, with a range of skill levels. A trend is men painting their wives. Oddly, the trend doesn’t go both ways—I rarely see women painting their husbands.
Along with the paintings, artists share stories of their loved ones. People in the comments commiserate, offer condolences, and offer technical advice. I don’t really have a point to any of this, except I think it’s very sweet.
Here’s a quote from one of the artists to inspire you a little today:
“During my life I always wanted to paint, but I was always to much a perfectionist. I finally found my way when I turned 72. I stopped being so hard on my self and I started sketching then came watercolor. Now I'm living my best life with art. We are never to old to begin something new. Take a leap of faith, you may be surprised what you are truly capable of.”
And here’s a list of my personal favourite “Older Artists,” most of whom are nonagenarians or centenarians:
Alex Katz
Lois Dodd
Gerhard Richter
Richard Mayhew
Lots of art news today! So keep scrolling.
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Art News—Art News—Art News
“Sotheby’s, the auction house owned by telecom billionaire Patrick Drahi, plans to borrow about $500 million through bonds backed by personal loans made to art collectors.” The loan is secured by art and other collectibles. This will make Sotheby’s the first public company to get an asset-backed loan.
A gecko called Starry Night: a newly discovered gecko has been named in honour of Van Gogh and its nocturnal speckled appearance. It’s scientific name is Cnemaspis vangoghi.
AI is being used to watch people in museums, track their movements, record data, and count visitors. I actually don’t mind this use of AI, but I will keep an eye on its use and future implementations.
An art technician at a German museum has been fired after hanging his art in their modern and contemporary wing—where it hung for an entire day before it was found. Something that could NOT happen with AI cameras…
I’ll be hosting an art fair tour at Plural in Montreal this Saturday at 3 PM! The theme is “First Look,” we’ll be looking at artists showing at the fair for the first time and talking about collecting emerging artists.
It was cloudy for most of the eclipse in Toronto, and yet the effect was still magical. Here are two excellent essays on solar eclipses: Totality: The Color of Eclipse by Anne Carson and Total Eclipse by Annie Dillard.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared an article about a man suing a museum for a “women’s only” installation. A court has ruled that it is discriminatory, meaning that the Ladies Lounge must stop excluding men within 28 days. I’m not surprised, a similar verdict was made in NYC when men were allowed in the women’s only co-working space The Wing. It could be argued that the decision was the end of the space….
Expo Chicago is happening this weekend, the first iteration of the fair under new ownership (Frieze). Barely Fair—a micro art fair—is also taking place. I have my eyes on Fin Simonetti’s booth and Bea Fremderman’s work. A big yes for small-scale sculptures.
Three Chicago recommendations: a custom cocktail at Milk Bar (skip the menu and tell the bartender what you like), Amitrage Alehouse, and Kasama.
Latest Art Forecast Posts:
Upcoming: The Price of Art (paywalled)
April 6: Dallas Art Fair Round-up
April 4: Author of Happy Hour, Marlowe Granados, On Collecting