BEYOND THE CORPOREAL EXISTENCE, IN COLLABORATION WITH GILLIAN JASON GALLERY, OPENS AT ART WORKS GALLERY
Beyond the Corporeal Existence, a presentation in collaboration with Gillian Jason Gallery, opened at Art Works Gallery on 29th May 2025. The presentation showcases works by three women contemporary artists, Jenya Datsko (b. 1991), Megan Baker (b. 1996), and Eleanor Johnson (b. 1994). Exploring themes of the corporeal and beyond, the subtle complexities of both the physical and the intangible are woven into lyrical compositions of transformation and contemplation. Drawing inspiration from Old Masters like Carracci, Rubens, Matteis, and Taraval, Baker and Johnson reimagine and recontextualise these traditions through the female gaze. Datsko’s figurative works offer a contemplative view of the moments in between, encapsulating the emotional strength and fortitude that women possess. Gillian Jason Gallery is a third-generation gallery in London that focuses solely on championing women artists, the first gallery in the UK to do so. Cassi Young, Global Fine Art Director at Art Works, has shared, “we are delighted to collaborate with Gillian Jason Gallery, especially as this presentation marks their first curatorial venture in Singapore, further amplifying our shared mission to support bold female voices across borders.” The presentation is running until 29th June, 2025, at Art Works Gallery in OneHolland.
Megan Baker, As the Ground Awakes, 2024
VENICE BIENNALE 2026 ANNOUNCES CURATOR KOYO KOUOH’S THEME “IN MINOR KEYS”
The theme for the 2026 edition of the Venice Biennale has been announced, following the curatorial direction of the late curator, Koyo Kouoh. “In Minor Keys” draws its inspiration from music, the metaphorical title referencing the melancholy that is often associated with minor keys. Jazz has also been noted as one of the inspirations for the exhibition, partly due to its unpredictable nature. Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, one of the curatorial advisors, has said, “In Minor Keys are sequences of exhilarating journeys that address the sensate and the affective, inviting visitors to marvel, meditate, dream, revel, reflect, and commune in realms where time is not corporate property nor at the mercy of relentlessly accelerated productivity.” The full list of exhibiting artists will be announced next year, but several artists have been announced for the national pavilions by their respective countries. A poem by Kouoh closed the announcement ceremony, “We are all tired. The world is tired, even art itself is tired. We need the radicality of joy. The time has come.”
EUROPEAN-AMERICAN INVESTMENT COMPANY TO BUY ARTNET
Beowolff Capital Management Ltd. has acquired 65% of the shares in the online data company Artnet. The investment company, founded by ex-Goldman Sachs partner Andrew Wolff, already owns a majority stake at Artsy. The company will be taken completely private once the deal is completed. In 1989, Hans Neuendorf founded Artnet and until this deal, the company had been a publicly quoted company on the German stock exchange. The chief investment officer of Beowolff Capital has noted, “Artnet represents a compelling opportunity that aligns perfectly with our goal of building an interconnected art market. The strength of the Artnet brand and scale of its global reach are significant, and we intend to further develop and enhance its value proposition.”
SEBASTIÃO SALGADO, ACCLAIMED BRAZILIAN PHOTOGRAPHER, IS DEAD AT 81
The renowned Brazilian photographer, Sebastião Salgado, has passed away at the age of 81. Celebrated for his powerful images of both humanity and the natural world, Salgado was one of the largest names in photography. His family have announced the cause as leukaemia, with Salgado developing the illness following a bout of malaria contracted during a photography project in Indonesia. Across his career, Salgado worked in more than 120 countries, from the gold mines of Brazil and the people of the Amazon rainforest to the oil-well fires in Kuwait. Throughout his practice, Salgado particularly focused on the plight of workers and migrants, capturing striking scenes of the human condition. Salgado held a deep respect for the people he photographed and when critiqued for glazing over suffering with his strikingly beautiful images, Salgado responded, “Why should the poor world be uglier than the rich world? The light here is the same as there. The dignity here is the same as there.” Salgado has won top photography prizes, including two Leica Oskar Barnack Awards and multiple World Press Photo awards. Salgado’s family have shared in a statement, “through the lens of his camera, Sebastião tirelessly fought for a more just, humane and ecological world. Rich in humanistic content, this work offers a sensitive perspective on the most disadvantaged populations and addresses the environmental issues threatening our planet.”
Sebastião Salgado (1944-2025)
In 1991, Mr. Salgado photographed workers in Kuwait struggling to extinguish oil-well fires set by Saddam Hussein’s troops.
AUSTRALIA’S FIRST NATIONAL CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ART OPENS IN GARIWED FOOTHILLS
The National Centre for Environmental Art will be opening this December in the foothills of Australia’s Gariwerd/ Grampins National Park. The institution will focus solely on environmental art, bringing together curated exhibitions with a larger land area that will include a botanic garden, native grasslands, and site-specific commissions. The inaugural exhibition End & Being has been curated by José Da Silva and will showcase a new body of work by Australian artist Jacobus Capone. One aspect of the exhibition is a documentation of a performance at the Bossons Glacier in France, which coincides with the UN’s 2025 International Year of Glacier Preservation. Pippa Mott, the CEO of the centre, has shared that the institutions will “offer ample space for both playful exploration and deep contemplation.”
Jacobus Capone, End & Being (2025) (still)
PHOTOGRAPHY SEOUL MUSEUM OF ART OPENS
Korea’s first public art museum dedicated exclusively to photography will be opening on May 29 in Chang-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul. The Photography Seoul Museum of Art (PhotoSeMA) will be integral to the advancement of the study of photographic art, leading research, collection, and the preservation of the works. The inaugural exhibitions all follow a central theme, “Obsessive Light,” and present innovation and interpretation to the role of light. The first of the exhibitions is titled The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography, which will shine a spotlight on Korean photographers like Jung Haechang, Lim Suk Je, Lee Hyungrok, Cho Hyundu, and Park Youngsook. Storage Story will include commissioned works by Dongshin Seo, Won Seoung Won, Jihyun Jung, Joo Yongseong, Melmel Chung, and Oh Jooyoung. This exhibition reflects on the construction of the museum and its connection with the surrounding land, as well as the historical changes that the area has witnessed. As for the architecture of the PhotoSeMA, the designs were a collaboration between Jadric Architektur (ZT GmbH) and 1990 Urban Architecture. The gradient of black and grey across the building, combined with the fusion of sharp and fluid lines, represents the way photography captures light and time architecturally.
THEASTER GATES FINALLY GETS A SOLO MUSEUM SHOW IN CHICAGO: ‘IT’S REALLY NICE TO COME HOME’
The Smart Museum at the University of Chicago have announced plans for a major mid-career survey of Theaster Gates, one of Chicago’s most prominent artists. The working title of the survey is “Unto Thee,” and will be Gates’ first solo museum show in Chicago. “Rooted in several core collections of objects,” acquired by the artist during his time as a professor at the university, the exhibition explores the ways in which these objects have influenced Gates’ practice. Smart Museum director Vanjo Malloy has explored Gates’ innovative use of materials, not just in their physicality but also the meaning that they hold. Alongside the survey, Gates’ works will be filling the lobby of the museum, including a large-scale installation piece. Gates shared in an interview with Artnet, “It’s really nice to come home, because in a way, my career started out in the world. I wasn’t really homegrown even though I was already doing more of the social side of my practice at home for years.” The exhibition will open this autumn on September 23rd.
Theaster Gates (b. 1973)
Jordan Tan holds an MA in History of Art from the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art. With a passion for fine art and the art market, Jordan plays a key role at Art Works by researching and interpreting trends across the primary and secondary markets, delivering valuable insights and business intelligence for the fine art department.
