Big Hug Studio

31.7.23

Liste Art Fair Basel 2023: A look back

Liste Art Fair Basel focuses on younger galleries which show emerging talent. This year the fair displayed 88 galleries from 35 countries. Here are some of my favourites. Fares Thabet from Tunisia shows the tropical paradise that reminds him of home. While Emmie Nume from Uganda shows a black figure with strong line work that's deeply intriguing. There is a car door overshadowed by a curtain by Sophie Jung of Switzerland. And there is an abstract work by Ethiopian artist Merikokeb Berhanu. We don't know exactly what we're looking at but we're strongly interested in finding out who it is. Please have a look and see for yourself the talent that's just emerging out of these galleries.

1 Fares Thabet, El Llano Quebrado, 2023, Tunisian

2 Murat Yildiz, Untitled, 2023, Turkish

3 Tada Hengsapkul, Topography, 2023, Thai

4 Monika Emmanuelle Kazi, If you want to see the one, 2022,

5 Juana Anzellini, La Bomba, 2021, Colombian

6 Miguel Cardenes, Isle of Birds, 2023, Colombian

7 Diana Sofia Lozano, Radial Pairing, 2023, American

8 Merikokeb Berhanu, Untitled LXXVII, 2023, Ethiopian

9 Fares Thabet, Untitled, 2023, Tunisian

10 Filip Rybkowski, Great battle of the doves for the last olive branch, 2022, Polish

11 Emmie Nume, Mine, 2021, Ugandan

12 ASMA, Thunbergia Mysorensis Vista, 2023, Ecuadorian Mexican

13 Jessica Sara Wilson, Thursday, 2023, American

14 Sophie Jung, Thrust Stage, 2021 Swiss,

15 Adam Bilardi, Avec toi je suis moi, 2023, French

16 Anna Mari Liivrand,Ornamental Landscape, 2022, Estonian

17 Erin O Keefe, As I am, 2023, American

19 RM, Bizarre Tour, 2021

22.7.23

Hamptons Art Fair 2023 had a lot to brag about

The Hamptons Art Fair is the only international art fair in the region. This year it held 130 galleries and showed over 800 works of art. The art ranged from the well known Amoako Boafo to several Georgian artists that have yet to make a splash. Together it was a whirlwind art fair. I was impressed by its variety. It featured artists I have never heard of and whose work I have only just begun to discover. From Paul Bellaart's sensual photography to Neil Anthony Edwards's A New York Runways' cosmopolitan take on the city that never sleeps I enjoyed looking at all the art as it was refreshing to see. And I hope you will too appreciate it as much as I did. Enjoy.

1 Amoako Boafo, Joy Ade 2, 2018, Ghanaian

2 Paul Bellaart, D'eau, Dutch

3 Diary of a Blonde, Alicia Hobbs, 2022, American

4 Crosswalk, Geoffrey Johnson, American

5 David Hollier, Martin Luther King Jr., American

6 Neil Anthony Edwards, A New York Runway, African American

7 John Mazlish, Missed Connection, American

8 JP Kadzinski, Residence Square, French

10 Affectional Ties, Rom Isichei, Nigerian

11 Alexis Bruchon, La Rue Caulaincourt le Soir, 2022, French

12 Robert Freeman, Connections, American

13 Marcus Pummer, Today 4, Austrian

14 Peter Triantos, Black and White Abstract Portrait no.10, 2021, Canadian

15 Oluwole Omofemi, Untitled, 2023, Nigerian

16 Persimmon in winter, Gela Dumbadze, Georgian

17 Exodus, Kevin Sloan, American

18 Moses Zibor, I am behind you, 2023, Nigerian-Ghanaian

19 Kristin Simmons, Feeling Cray, American

20 Tanner Lawley, Love Spell, American

21 Marissa Robin Abendano, Restless No.3, American

22 Stock Brokers, Stephen Akinnire, Nigerian

23 Orchid and Limes, Pamela Carroll, American

23 Sonata, Dima Antadze, Georgian

24 Yellow Jacket, Kristina Vilenskiy, American

25 Tamaz KH, a hopeful future, Georgian

12.7.23

The wide diversity of the Atlantic World Art Fair 2023

The Atlantic World Art Fair 2023 brought together 12 galleries with close to 300 artworks from the Caribbean, Atlantic Islands and diaspora (artsy). This is the third edition of the fair and from the looks of it it promises to be engaging as it looks forward to the the future with more exhibits. Our first selection is a work by Dele Jegede an American Nigerian artist who rendered a scene from a Black Lives Matter demonstration. We don't know which city we're in but we're gripped by the dramatic stance of the figure before us. She is standing tall and holding her fist which appears enlarged. She is powerful and standing away from the demonstration she proudly announces her identity and message. Black Lives Matter which began as a denouncement of police brutality against African Americans continues today stronger then ever. Its message central to ending the senseless violence we continue to see to this day. Please enjoy this and the other works as they are full of diversity and speak of the great talent that is central to this region and is just waiting to be discovered.

1 Dele Jegede Black Lives Matter, 2021, American Nigerian