Art Chicago
NEXT Art Fair

2008 NEXT Talk Shop

"The Lower Ninth Ward Meets the Soul of the Art World: Contemporary Art, New Orleans and Community"
Friday, April 25, 10 a.m.
The Merchandise Mart Conference Center, 2nd Floor

  • » Mark Bradford is an artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. His mixed media paintings, photographs and videos have been exhibited widely throughout the United States and abroad. His work is owned by numerous institutions, public and private collections.
  • » Dan Cameron is Director of U.S. Biennial, Inc, which is producing Prospect.1 New Orleans, and Director of Visual Arts for Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans. Dan additionally worked as Senior Curator of the New Museum for ten years, and organized biennials in Istanbul and Taipei.

"The Art of Buying Art"
Friday, April 25, 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
NEXT Talk Shop, 7th Floor

A panel that takes the title of Collector and philanthropist’s Paige West’ recent book, The Art of Buying Art: An Insider’s Guide to Collecting Contemporary Art (Harper-Collins) to discuss topics such as “Why Collect Art,” “What to Collect,” and “Living with Art.”

Moderator: Heather Darcy Bhandari

Panelists:

  • » Paige West
  • » Scott Miller
  • » Brook Kling
  • » Andrew Leslie
  • » Kavi Gupta
  • » Julie Rodrigues Widholm

"Value System: What Gives Art Value?"
Friday, April 25, 1 p.m.
The Merchandise Mart Conference Center, 2nd Floor

Inquiring minds want to know what gives art value in today’s market. A collector, an economist, a curator and an art lawyer discuss the ways in which criticism, exhibitions, sales and other relevant aspects impact and form the "value system" of contemporary art today.

Moderator: Amy Goldrich LL.M., New York collector and lawyer whose practice focuses on the contemporary art world, where her clients include U.S. and international artists, galleries, collectors, arts organizations and others.

Panelists:

  • » Jeffrey Grove, Wieland Family Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art, High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia.
  • » Toby Devan Lewis, philanthropist, art collector, author and curator. For more than 20 years curated and amassed a collection of art works by emerging artists for the Progressive Corporation.
  • » Michael Moses, cofounder of artasanasset.com, and co-developer of the Mei Moses® Family of Fine Art Indices

"The Next Wave: MFA Production and the Future of Art"
Friday, April 25, 1 p.m.
NEXT Talk Shop on the 7th Floor

New Insight is an exciting opportunity for young artists to meet, present their work, and talk about contemporary art issues. Join this town meeting-style discussion with the graduate students who were selected to participate in this unprecedented exhibit.

Moderators:

  • » Judith Kirshner, Dean of the College of Architecture and the Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago
  • » Lisa Wainwright, Interim Dean of Faculty and Dean of Graduate Studies, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

"Behind the Scenes: Curators on Curating"
Friday, April 25, 4 p.m.
NEXT Talk Shop on the 7th Floor

Curators from a range of museums discuss both their personal and their respective institutional processes of curating contemporary art exhibitions today, each focusing their attention on one particular large-scale exhibition.

Moderator: Dominic Molon, Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago.

Panelists:

  • » Romi Crawford, Curator and Director of Education and Public Programs The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York.
  • » Merrill Falkenberg, Curator of Art at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.
  • » Claire Tancons, Associate Curator, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans and Associate Curator for PROSPECT.1.
  • » Joan Young, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art and Manager of Curatorial Affairs.

"The Center Does Not Hold: Regionalism and Centralism in the Global Art World"
Friday, April 25, 6-7 p.m.
NEXT Talk Shop on the 7th Floor

A conversation about Globalism and the limits of the Art Market

Moderator: Deven Golden

Panelists:

  • » Nicholas Frank
  • » Julie Rodrigues Widholm
  • » Georg Elben

"Ink: Art Criticism and Writing"
Saturday, April 26, 10 a.m.
The Merchandise Mart Conference Center, 2nd Floor

Ink is comprised of a panel of influential individuals in art publishing and art criticism who will address the state of the field and the role/significance of the art critic today. While the number of art publications continues to grow and the internet becomes more pervasive around the world, the written word continues to play a pivotal role in the discussion of contemporary art. From scholarly writings, creative writing and criticism, how have the past five years changed for art critics, writers and artists via words and images? What ground has been covered? What gaps remain? What new issues have emerged within this field?

Moderator: Christian Viveros-Fauné, writer, curator, ex-art dealer and one of the creative directors of NEXT and VOLTANY.

  • » David Pagel, Los Angeles-based art critic who writes regularly for the Los Angeles Times. He is an Assistant Professor of Art Theory and History at Claremont Graduate University and is an adjunct curator at the Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston.
  • » Michael Famighetti, Managing Editor for Aperture Magazine.
  • » Paul Laster, editor, independent curator, and artist. He is Editor of Artkrush.com, Art + Photography Editor at Boldtype.com, and a Contributing Editor to the print magazine ArtAsiaPacific.
  • » Jori Finkel, an art reporter based in LA, where she regularly covers contemporary art for the New York Times. She also writes, features and reviews for Art in America, ArtNews and Art + Auction Magazine where she was senior editor for six years.

"Patronage and Contemporary Art"
Saturday, April 26, 1 p.m.
The Merchandise Mart Conference Center, 2nd Floor

Taking the idea of "patronage" within the current contemporary art context as a point of departure the panel, "Patronage and Contemporary Art", draws on the collector’s perspective to explore the collector/artist dynamic and broad concepts of support. It focuses on five international collectors who have maintained a strong relationship of support and dialogue from the beginning of particular artists' careers to the present. Participating panelists will speak on their collecting practices and philosophies as well as their interests in particular artists. They will discuss the significance of creating relationships with artists, the range of ways they provide support, as well as the impact that this exchange has had on their collecting experiences.

  • » Mark Coetzee, director of the Rubell Family Collection in Miami since 2000. Recently he curated exhibitions at MASS MoCA and Site Sante Fe. The Rubell Family Collection is considered one of the most important collections of contemporary art.
  • » Nancy Delman Portnoy, long-time collector, museum trustee and art project consultant. She has been involved as a patron helping to promote young artists and galleries for over thirty years.
  • » Wangechi Mutu, multi media artist creates hybrids that illustrate marks left by the process described in post colonial theory. Mutu who was born and raised in Kenya produces totems of power formed strategically from broken-off pieces of culture.
  • » Jerome Stern, trustee of the New Museum of Contemporary Art, member of the Acquisition Committee of The Studio Museum in Harlem, member of the Photography Committee of the Guggenheim Museum and member of the Board of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

"Working Together on the Perfect Blend of Art and Architecture: A Conversation between David Adjaye and Cydney Payton"
Saturday, April 26, 3 p.m.
NEXT Talk Shop on the 7th Floor

  • » David Adjaye, Principal Director of Adjaye Associates, is recognized as one of the leading architects of his generation in the UK and world. Adjaye’s list of projects extends from private homes to prominent public buildings.
  • » Cydney Payton is the Director and Chief Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.

AXA Art Insurance and The Chicago Conservation Center presents:
"Collectors Forum"
Saturday, April 26, 3:30 p.m.
The Merchandise Mart Conference Center, 2nd Floor

An in-depth panel discussion regarding the maintenance, long-term preservation, security and coverage for private collections presented through three different sectors of the art world

  • » Heather Becker, Chief Executive Officer of The Chicago Conservation Center.
  • » Jennifer Draffen, Director of Collection and Exhibition Services of the Museum of Contemporary Art.
  • » Christiane Fischer, Chief Executive Officer of AXA Art Insurance Corporation.

"Reflections on Art, Institutions and Individuals: A Conversation between an Artist and Museum Director"
Sunday, April 27, 10 a.m.
The Merchandise Mart Conference Center, 2nd Floor

  • » Holly Block, Executive Director of the Bronx Museum of Art in New York.
  • » Tania Bruguera, interdisciplinary political and behavior artist and Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago, Department of Visual Arts.

International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) presents:
"Passion & Strategy: Collecting Prints Today"
Sunday, April 27th, 3:00 pm.
The Merchandise Mart Conference Center, 2nd Floor

A panel of experts offer an insider’s perspective on looking at prints and editions. They’ll discuss what they’ve bought and why, and offer helpful advice for collectors new to the medium as well as experienced connoisseurs.

Panelists:

  • » Mark Pascale, Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings, Art Institute of Chicago
  • » Betsy Senior of Senior & Shopmaker Gallery
  • » Diane Villani, art dealer and publisher