Art et al.—Antidote. by Artetal.

Antidote

Curating Collections / 01 An Art et al. publication Curated by Michael Camakaris in collaboration with Anne Pontégnie, curator, Cranford Collection Cover: Alice Neel Pink and Blue Hydrangeas 1967 (detail) Courtesy Cranford Collection

Antidote

CURATING COLLECTIONS

To collect contemporary art is an engagement with our times that would have no meaning if it was not shared. Recent times have taught us to look beyond the established towards new territories full of inspiration, ideas and beauty. We are honored to have been asked by Art et al. for a collaboration. Cranford is thrilled to have Michael Camakaris offer an artist’s perspective on the collection as we are convinced he will renew our gaze on what we think we already know.

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Anne Pontégnie Curator, Cranford Collection

CURATING COLLECTIONS

Foreword

LISA SLOMINSKI

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Art et al. emerged, in part response to, and certainly amid the circumstances of COVID-19. The notions of virtual and international collaborations were at the forefront of our ideas. As we formed ways to foster remote working relationships, the launch for Art et al. became a testing ground. An experimental project that I put forward was Curating Collections – having an artist from a supported studio virtually curate a renowned collection. Without set expectations, we set-off with Michael Camakaris from Arts Project Australia and Cranford Collection, one of Britain’s most significant private collections of contemporary art. Following Michael’s introduction to the collection from founder Muriel Salem and curator Anne Pontégnie, he spent time selecting from hundreds of artworks and shaping his ideas for Antidote. Nature emerges in Alice Neel’s painted hydrangeas, figuration populates with the forms of Rebecca Warren and human connection in Gary Hume’s Young Mother and Child. Abstract works like Carol Rama’s Composizione, provide moments to reflect, while the sculpture by Ugo Rondinone makes us smile with humor and playfulness. Abundant throughout is tactility, from the woven fabric of Louise Bourgeois to Lynda Benglis’ Sparkle Knot. In Antidote, Michael poignantly reminds us of what we are longing for. With collaboration at the core of Art et al., we are constantly thinking about the act of exchanging ideas and how significant this can be. As part of Curating Collections, a thoughtful discussion between Michael and Anne followed his selection for Antidote. With Anne’s extensive knowledge of the collection, she posed intriguing connections for Michael to ponder. Michael reflected on his purely digital experience, in contrast to Anne’s intimate familiarity with the artworks. The result was a personal and universal reflection that resonated with me. I am grateful to have been an observer of their compelling and meaningful dialogue. Listening and learning – I left not only with a deeper understanding of Antidote, but their exchange itself was an invigorating remedy for these ongoing unprecedented times.

CURATING COLLECTIONS

Antidote

MICHAEL CAMAKARIS

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The year 2020 was for most of us a challenging time. The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t discriminate. It touched all four corners of the globe. As someone coming from Melbourne, it was the ground zero for Australia, having one of the toughest lockdowns in the world. As an artist used to travelling three times a week to a shared studio, as well as engaging in my many other interests, eight months of isolation was a real shock to the system on so many levels. It challenged me across all my senses. My friends instantly evaporated, becoming mere pixels on a two dimensional screen. They were there, but in a way not there. The outside world, with all her dynamics was dead. No human touch, sun’s warmth or cool breeze on skin, or crunch of leaves underfoot, all were now long gone. So when I was given the great opportunity to curate work from the Cranford Collection towards the end of 2020, I decided to respond to it on a purely emotional level. I looked for work that gave me some sort of respite to the times I had recently lived through. An antidote if you will! I was drawn to different works for different reasons… colours that burst out with energy, given the sensory deprivation we had endured, subject matter that showed human warmth and connectedness, given the social isolation we went through, and the natural world, which we craved. I chose tactile, low tech three-dimensional works, given the flat world and overdose of the digital screen we lived through; as well as works that displayed humour as this brought a warm smile to my face, given the disheartening time it has been. I hope that others who view this exhibition find it as much of an antidote to what we are all going through as I did in selecting these works!

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Human Warmth & Connectedness

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Ugo Rondinone sunrise. west. october 2004 Cast aluminum 72 × 98 × 32 cm © Ugo Rondinone Courtesy the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels

CURATING COLLECTIONS

Roe Etheridge Gisele on the Phone 2013 C-print 116 × 88 cm © Roe Ethridge

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Rebecca Warren Fascia, 2009 Bronze on painted MDF plinth 142 × 29 × 51 cm © Rebecca Warren Courtesy Maureen Paley, Galerie Max Hetzler and Matthew Marks Gallery

CURATING COLLECTIONS

Sophie von Hellermann Cloud Cuckooland 2006 Acrylic on canvas 211 × 270.5 cm

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Ken Price Lazo 2006 Fired and painted clay 47 × 53 × 36 cm © Estate of Ken Price Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery

CURATING COLLECTIONS

Gabriel Orozco Pi + 3 2002 Terracotta 15 × 36 cm Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris

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Gary Hume Young Mother and Child 2001 Gloss paint on aluminium 153 × 122 cm

CURATING COLLECTIONS

Louise Bourgeois Untitled 2003 Watercolour, ink and pencil on paper 61 × 81.3 cm Photo: Christopher Burke © The Easton Foundation/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

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Lynda Benglis Sparkle Knot X 1972 Acrylic, glitter, fabric, wire, plaster 140.9 × 38.1 × 21.5 cm

CURATING COLLECTIONS

The Natural World

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Robert Mapplethorpe Flower 1984 Gelatin silver print on board 48.9 × 38.5 cm

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Alice Neel Pink and Blue Hydrangeas 1967 Oil on canvas 106.7 × 101.6 cm

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Lynda Benglis Shaman III 2013 Glazed ceramic 40.6 × 35.6 × 30.5 cm

CURATING COLLECTIONS

Rebecca Warren Poincaré, 2006 Hand-painted mixed media 7.2 × 7 × 6 cm © Rebecca Warren Courtesy Maureen Paley, Galerie Max Hetzler and Matthew Marks Gallery

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Francis Uprichard Set of Five Urns 2003 Found ceramic pots and modelling material Various dimensions

CURATING COLLECTIONS

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Peter Wächtler Untitled (octopus) 2014 Clay, plaster, watercolour with glass plinth 20.32 × 45.72 × 45.72 cm

CURATING COLLECTIONS

Colours

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Walter Price Eulena’s Song 2016 Acrylic on wood panel 20.5 × 15.5 cm Courtesy the artist

CURATING COLLECTIONS

Kai Althoff Untitled 2010 Oil and varnish on fabric 99.1 × 82.6 cm

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Raymond Pettibon No Title (I have toed) 2006 Pen and ink on paper 127 × 96.5 cm © Raymond Pettibon, courtesy Sadie Coles HQ, London

CURATING COLLECTIONS

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Carol Rama Composizione 1956 Masonite, pigments, rubber, crystals 35 × 50 cm / 55 × 80 cm framed

CURATING COLLECTIONS

Acknowledgments © Art et al. 2021 Curating Collections. Produced by the Art et al. founding partners. CRANFORD COLLECTION

Established by Muriel and Freddy Salem in 1999, Cranford Collection is now among the largest private art collections in Europe, comprising over seven hundred works from the 1960s to the present. MICHAEL CAMAKARIS

Michael Camakaris is an artist and arts professional based in Melbourne, Australia, having developed his multi-disciplinary studio practice at Arts Project Australia since 2010.

ART ET AL.

Art et al. is an inclusive, curated international art platform that commissions and presents collaborations between artists from supported studios, artist peers and arts professionals. We elevate diverse voices and creative practices. Art et al. was conceived and developed by Sim Luttin and Arts Project Australia, Slominski Projects and Jennifer Lauren Gallery in partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts. The project and platform are funded through arts funding from the Australia Council, DFAT through their Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grants Program (ACDGP) and the Aesop Foundation. Art et al. would like to thank Curating Collections / 01 contributors Michael Camakaris, Muriel Salem and Anne Pontégnie for their passion, insights and international collaboration on this project, and to Amy Berg, Cranford’s collections manager. Thanks also to our project and funding partners with special thanks to Katrina Schwarz and the Australia Council for the Arts.

Curating Collections / 01 Partner: Cranford Collection, cranfordarts.org Curator: Michael Camakaris, artist, Arts Project Australia Collaborator: Anne Pontégnie, curator, Cranford Collection — Design: Liz Cox, studiomono.co Copyediting & proofreading: Lisa Slominski, Sim Luttin & Anne Pontégnie First published: Digital open edition — Images © the artists and estate 2021. Text © the authors, Art et al., and founding partners. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors. No material, whether written or photographic, may be reproduced without the permission of the artists, authors, Art et al. and the founding partners. Every effort has been made to ensure that any text and images in this publication have been reproduced with the permission of the artists or the appropriate authorities, wherever it is possible.

SUPPORTED BY

ANTIDOTE

Antidote Curator, Michael Camakaris, Courtesy Leonard Joel

Installation Images: All images courtesy of Cranford Collection, London Page 2: Photography by Manolo Yllera Page 4: Photography by Mark Griffiths (top) Photography by Nick Dehadray and Zoe Salt (bottom) Page 6: Photography by Manolo Yllera 33

artetal.org Curating Collections / 01 —

CURATING COLLECTIONS

Cranford Collection Michael Camakaris