When Art Goes Rougue

When Art Goes Rogue

Art curator and founder of Gone Rogue, Kim Shaylor, explains why she’s shaking up the art world for the better.

Gone Rogue collaborates with interior designers, architects and private clients to curate art collections to suit their space and desires. Supporting both established and emerging artists, Kim and her team work with clients to get their art seen and enjoyed worldwide.

How did you become involved in the art world?

It all began with a background in print and then a business venture called The House of Artists with an artist called Ben Allen. We created large wall murals in spaces and worked with lots of different artists. I discovered that not only were many artists struggling to be seen, but that they had huge amounts of work that was lying around in storage or in their studios, never seeing the light of day. It made me realise that there must be more spaces to show art than galleries, and maybe other ways of doing it. I thought I would give it a go and see what happened!

Explain what Gone Rogue does?

After realising that there are way more talented artists than there are galleries to show their work, I realised that there was a huge opportunity to find spaces to show them and make a difference to those environments. It’s a win-win: the hotels get to showcase new art to their guests and visitors, and the artist gets to showcase their art to a constantly changing audience. The idea started with Hotel ME London about four years ago and from there it has grown and we now have curated art shows in Barcelona, Ibiza, Dubai and have lots more lined up this year. Last year Todd Lamming joined me on this Gone Rogue journey and we are planning on shaking things up and helping artists that are underrepresented to be seen.

What have been your highlights so far?

The highlights aren’t necessarily the huge success moments like the recent collaboration with McLaren and Nat Bowen. Of course they are going to be the important moments for the business and are a massive highlight but it’s not always those that stick. It can be the connection between a buyer and a piece of art and witnessing how they see that artwork and what it means to them. Some people have such a strong connection to art that they simply can’t walk away from it. Other highlights are doing ‘rogue’ things like showing Sophie Tea at Pikes which we organised in two days whilst I was there on a family holiday. I like to do things that organically happen and try not to force things too much – they are always the best experiences. Recently, an artist named Saki produced a whole collection of work for a show we exhibited at ME London; the journey that she went on producing it was super emotional and personal and being a part of that for both myself and Todd was a real privilege and something we will cherish for a long time.

What do you have coming up?

Recently we have had shows at ME London called Queen of Arts. It’s a group show with some incredible artists: Kristjana Williams, Heath Kane, Dan Pearce and Hannah Nijstan, and a Nat Bowen show at ME Dubai. Plus we have some amazing things lined up in Barcelona and some pop-ups over the summer.

Do you have any recommendations away from Gone Rogue?

Of course! There are so many great shows and the more you see, the more you understand what you love and what moves you. The Other Art Fair is always a good one as you get to see such a range of artists there. Lauren Baker has a new solo show at 99 projects called Ten Days of Silence in May which will be amazing. Hauswirth in Somerset is a stunning art gallery that is well worth a visit. But also just walking around the streets of London is an incredible free art show. The streets of Shoreditch, for example, are surrounded by spaces celebrating local artists and paying them to display street art, which is awesome.

How has the art world coped with the pandemic?

It’s been good and bad. I would say for curators and galleries, obviously bad as everything has been closed, but for a lot of artists it’s been a real opportunity to stop, think and pivot their style and adapt to a new way of selling and growth. I know a lot of artists that have taken the time to get confident with social media and engage with their buyers directly, and it has been a great time for them. Things are definitely getting back to normal. We have now had two shows without any restrictions, one at Mondrian Shoreditch and one at ME London, and it felt soooo good! People just want to be back out and share space with other humans. Why is art so important to humans?

Art has so many different levels. People’s reasons for buying art can be as simple as it fits into a certain space, but most of the time people really connect with a piece of art and they want to be inspired by it daily or reminded of a certain emotion when they look at it. From an artist point of view, of course this is their everything – often the only way they can envisage living a healthy, happy life is by creating art. So many artists I work with don’t even really enjoy the selling and marketing aspect, which is why I love to come in and help with that part of their journey. They would be happiest just creating new artworks.

Do you have a favourite work of art you keep coming back to?

This is a really tough one to answer because I have bought many artworks for many reasons. I have an amazing piece by Bonnie and Clyde called Everybody Loves The Sunshine that reminds me of an amazing time of my life when I lived in L.A. Another piece called Norms by Gerry Buxton, I like for the same reason. I have a large collection of Ben Allen’s work, and love to try and collect a piece from all artists that I work with. I have a pair of custom painted Nikes from Nat Bowen that I will treasure. What is next for the art world?

The art world is about to or is already going through one of the biggest transformations for a long time. With the aftermath of Covid and the evergrowing world of digital art and NFTs, it is getting a major shake up. For us personally it’s a great thing. We celebrate disruption and changing the direction that it has been going in for a long time. It’s time to celebrate art from all walks of life, all kinds of backgrounds, self taught or trained, and to move forward into the world of art in any type of media. We are only here once so let’s use art as a universal language, to unite us and share ideas. I love the idea of someone buying a piece of physical artwork that can also be used in their home in their meta verse. How cool is that! It’s a way of expressing yourself in the real world and in your digital world.

www.gonerogueldn.com

The art world is gearing up for big changes, Gone Rogue will help facilitate and fuel positive change