Glacial Exposure
Recommended article from the current issue of Aesthetica.

In the midst of a white snowscape, Joël Tettamanti (b. 1977) finds moments of captivating colour. While travelling across Greenland, he discovered objects and buildings which had managed to escape the thick layers of snow engulfing the region. The primary coloured houses associated with the Northern Hemisphere stand out against the washed-out streets, and even the most mundane objects become almost mystical half-disguised in the frosty weather. Tettamanti studied graphic design and photography at the Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne and in 2009 he returned to the institution to teach. He has also has journeyed across the world, documenting images of inhabited scenery, visiting places such as Togo, Kuwait, Japan, Azerbaijan and India (in addition to Greenland). He has recently released a new monograph, Works 2001-2019, showcasing his unique perspective of the world and his skill in encapsulating the character of a place. The following photographs were taken in Greenland from 2004 to 2012. www.tettamanti.ch.

Issue 62: December/January - Out Now

This issue of Aesthetica focuses on the idea of the unconventional. It’s a celebration of practitioners who are experimenting in their field by working in interdisciplinary ways and introducing concepts from other areas of art and design into their work. We take a look at Anne Collier’s show at MCA Chicago and how she is critiquing commercial photography. Frank Gehry’s surreal architecture is explored in a major retrospective. The nature of lighting design is discussed in Lightopia. Artist Reiner Ruthenbeck contemplates the geometric form at London’s Serpentine Galleries. Photographers Emily Shur and Joël Tettamanti explore location, while Todd Hido captures light in an atmospheric way. The rising stars of Swedish photography are surveyed, and we also present an overview of Guy Bourdin’s fashion photography. Eugenio Recuenco uses narrative devices to create dramatic images. Bryn Higgins’s film Electricity tells an affecting story of self-discovery. Also, there is an opportunity for you to watch films from this year’s Aesthetica Short Film Festival. The last words go to Julie Cockburn who is using found photography in new and exciting ways.

1. Aesthetica Gift Subscription

Aesthetica combines dynamic content with stunning visual features and is an essential resource for readers looking to keep up-to-date with contemporary art and culture. An Aesthetica subscription will make the perfect gift this Christmas, specially wrapped with a personalised message for just £18.95.

In the Special Extended Edition for December / January, we look at major exhibitions across the globe from MCA Chicago’s solo show by Anne Collier to Frank Gehry’s architecture at Centre Pompidou. Our stunning image features include the fashion photography of Guy Bourdin at Somerset House and we offer exclusive access to view a selection of films from this year’s BAFTA Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival.

12 month subscribers will receive:

• Six issues in print covering the latest news in contemporary art internationally
• Stunning photographic features to inspire creative practice
• Compelling, critical reviews and insightful interviews
• Essential guide to the most highly recommended exhibitions
• Coverage of ground-breaking independent films and music releases

CLICK HERE to take advantage of this fantastic Christmas offer and treat your friends and family to 12 months of Aesthetica direct to their door.

OFFER ENDS TUESDAY 16 DECEMBER

2. Aesthetica Creative Writing Anthology Available to Preorder Now

The Aesthetica Creative Writing Anthology is a celebration of outstanding poetry and short fiction, which promises to stimulate, intrigue and inspire you long after reading. Comprising of the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2014 winners and finalists, this compelling collection of work unites established and emerging literary talent from across the world. Covering a broad range of themes, this anthology invites you to explore the different facets of contemporary life, resonating on many levels. This is a collection you can return to over and over again, which will ignite your passion for new writing.

To preorder your copy for just £7.95, visit www.aestheticamagazine.com/shop

3. ASFF Call for Submissions Opens December

Having firmly established itself as one of the most exciting site-specific cinema experiences in the UK, the Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) promises to return bigger than ever in 2015 following the overwhelming success of this year’s edition in November. The four-day event transformed 15 of the most historic and iconic places in York into pop-up cinemas, screening the best in independent film from across the world.

This year, Best Animation and overall Festival Winner prizes went to Alan Holly’s beautifully hand-drawn film Coda. BAFTA-nominated director Michael Pearce took home the prize for Best Thriller with his sensational film, Keeping Up with the Joneses starring Maxine Peake (Silk, Shameless)and Adeel Akhtar (Four Lions, The Dictator) while the characterful The Wolf, the Ship and the Little Green Bag by Kathryn MacCorgarry Gray stole the heart of the viewers to win the People’s Choice Award.

The ASFF team are looking for new films for 2015 and are particularly keen to showcase emerging talent alongside established filmmakers. Not only will finalists have the chance to present their film to a range of industry insiders and thousands of festival attendees, there are cash prizes up for grabs and the opportunity to appear in a number of other UK festivals with the ASFF guest programme tour. In previous years films have toured to Bath Film Festival, The Hepworth Wakefield, Underwire in London and various other locations across the UK and abroad. Films of any genre are accepted and full details of the entry process can be found at www.asff.co.uk.

4. 30% off Tickets to London Art Fair

London Art Fair is the UK’s premier Modern British and contemporary art Fair. The 27th edition of the Fair brings together over 100 carefully selected galleries from the UK and overseas, with two curated sections, Art Projects and Photo50, running alongside the main Fair.

On Thursday 22 January the Fair stays open until 9pm, providing visitors with the opportunity to enjoy evening performances, talks, film screenings and complimentary drinks served by Peroni Nastro Azzurro.

To take advantage of the offer, please book by 19 December and quote LAF800. The advanced ticket price is £14, with the code £10. On the door tickets will be £20 each.

Book Now at www.londonartfair.co.uk/aesthetica

London Art Fair, 21 - 25 January 2015, Business Design Centre, London, N1

1. World Wide Women: Ritual

The Cob Gallery, London
18 - 21 December

World Wide Women’s forthcoming exhibition Ritual at The Cob Gallery is curated by New York gallerist Andi Potamkin. The collective has chosen to explore the theme of ritual: an homage to that which is lost but not forgotten, a prayer to that which is desired but not realised. Ritual promises to answer endless questions and offers escape from an unfulfilled reality.

The photographs, videos, and works on paper in this exhibition tell the story of a woman longing for that which has gone, and craving that which has not yet arrived. A ritual requires physical imitation, but does not arise out of it. Ritual is arranged in a spectrum of colour and emotion, representing the different stages of a ritual: memory, sacrifice, reverence, and longing. The show takes the observer through this journey, giving access to the wholly personal act of ritual as experienced by each of the artists: one in which the active body is not alone, but joined by an unnamed force.

In keeping with the experiential focus of Ritual, the exhibition will open with an evening of multisensory events. Visitors will be immersed in an array of scents and sounds as essence, film and even live musical performance occupy the gallery space. Short films will include Sandy Toes by Budapest-based artist Maximilla Lukacs and A Story of Ophelia by Anouska Beckwith, while young British singer-songwriter Flo Morrissey will play the evening out with a short acoustic set.

www.worldwidewomencollective.com

Image credit:
Head To Head, Claudia Legge

2. Larry Sultan: Here and Home

LACMA, Los Angeles
Until 22 March

Larry Sultan: Here and Home is the first retrospective of California photographer Larry Sultan (1946–2009). The exhibition includes more than 200 photographs ranging from Sultan's conceptual and collaborative works of the 1970s to his solo works in the decades following. Sultan never stopped challenging the conventions of photographic documentation, exploring themes of family, home, and façade throughout his career. Five major bodies of work are represented including: Evidence (1977); Swimmers (1978-81); Pictures from Home (1982-92); The Valley (1998-2003) and Homeland (2006-2009). The show is augmented by a "study hall," with documentation and ephemera providing a glimpse of Sultan’s modes of inquiry as an artist and a teacher.

Between 1993 and 2009, Sultan took on over 160 editorial assignments for the New York Times, Details, Vanity Fair, and W magazine, among others. Sultan’s artistic and commercial practices influenced each other significantly: An assignment for Maxim magazine inspired The Valley and heralded his use of artificial light. Scouting, staging, and directing dramas – all part of editorial assignments – ultimately became part of his working method in Homeland.

Homeland is seen as Sultan's most overtly landscape-based body of work. It is also the final series by the artist. Photographed in the coastal area of the San Francisco Bay, where Sultan lived since the 1970s, this series highlights the buffers between public and private space found on the edges of suburbia. Posing day labourers in familial situations – under a tree, manoeuvring equipment, taking dishes to a potluck – Sultan explores the definitions of home and the longing to create it.

www.lacma.org

Image credit:
Larry Sultan, Business Page, 1985. From the series Pictures From Home.Chromogenic print. Image: 30 x 40 in (76.2 x 101.6 cm). © Estate of Larry Sultan. Photo courtesy of Larry Sultan.

3. The Art of Our Time: Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Collections

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Until 25 January

The Art of Our Time: Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Collections celebrates 20 years of partnership between the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. This exhibition, which echoes the museum’s inaugural presentation in 1997, reveals how the collections of the Guggenheim constellation of museums have grown and flourished over the years.

Following a loose chronology, the exhibition reveals the historical configuration of the collections and synergies that have emerged among them. The show begins at the dawn of the 20th century, a time marked by the triumph of avant-garde movements that, armed with utopian ideals and ambitions for political change, challenged the rich figurative legacy of Western art and advocated new approaches that looked beyond mere aesthetic concerns. This section also features two significant and independent monographic groups of sculptures from the Bilbao Collection – one dedicated to Jorge Oteiza and the other to Eduardo Chillida.

Most of the second floor is given over to large-format works, such as a mural by Sol LeWitt created specifically for the gallery in which it is shown and works by Anselm Kiefer presented in the gallery for which they were acquired. The first floor, devoted to the most recent creations, reflects the Guggenheim’s engagement with new centers of contemporary artistic production around the world. Complementing these works are the site-specific pieces in galleries 101 and 104, commissioned in keeping with one of the museum’s fundamental acquisition policies: Jenny Holzer’s Installation for Bilbao and Richard Serra’s sculptural group The Matter of Time.

www.guggenheim-bilbao.es

Image Credit:
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #831 (Geometric Forms), 1997. Acrylic on wall. Site-specific dimensions. Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa.

Artists’ Directory

The Aesthetica Artists’ Directory is a global network of artists engaging with the professional art world. In print, online and in digital, we have created a forum for discussion and interactivity where artists, galleries, collectors, critics, curators and enthusiasts can meet and discover the best in emerging art from around the world.

View the Artists' Directory at www.aestheticamagazine.com/directory
or for information visit www.aestheticamagazine.com/about-the-directory

Aesthetica Christmas Gift Guide

With the start of advent it is time to write those Christmas lists and get shopping. We’ve curated a selection of goodies for a variety of tastes from independent businesses, high-end fashion houses and cultural institutions. From candles to trainers, books to skirts, we’ve got it covered. Read on to find out more about each of our top products.

1. Christmas Gift Subscription to Aesthetica
The perfect gift for those who are passionate about contemporary art and culture, Aesthetic keeps readers up-to-date with the latest developments in the UK and worldwide. In the Special Extended Edition for December/January, we look at major exhibitions across the globe, the stunning images of established and emerging photographers and the pioneering work of filmmakers. Twelve months of content kick starts with exclusive online access to innovative films selected from the Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2014. www.aestheticamagazine.com

2. Emily Sutton Tote Bag
The largest solo exhibition to date by illustrator Emily Sutton takes over Yorkshire Sculpture Park Centre throughout winter 2014. Incorporating a love of pattern and detail, Sutton has taken inspiration from the historic buildings and follies at YSP, along with her recent travels in Europe. In conjunction with the exhibition, the YSP shop will sell a stunning range of products
based on Sutton’s art, including a Tote Bag, made from 100% cotton. www.ysp.co.uk

3. Winter Classic Candle
Combining luxurious style with substance, the candles of Nathalie Bond Organics are 100% natural and are made with a blend of natural wax and pure essential oils. The Winter Classic Candle contains sweet orange, cloves, cinnamon and pine, exuding a timeless, Christmas scent. If you are looking for something slightly different, the company also produce a range of soaps, body lotions and hand balms. Created by a husband and wife duo, the products are all individually handcrafted and branded in South Yorkshire. www.nathaliebond.com

4. Comme des Garçons Play Green Eau de Toilett
Scented with mint nanah, lime, juniper berry, basil, jasmine, lentisk, abelmoschus, vetiver and cedar, Play Green Eau de Toilett is a breath of fresh air. Part of the limited edition Play Parfum series, which comprises three new scents, inspired by the colours of the Comme des Garcons Play “heart” logos, the Green edition is a fresh, citrus scent, with clean, natural tones. The perfume is available to purchase from Dover Street Market, alongside a collection of Comme des Garçons clothes, shoes and accessories. www.doverstreetmarket.com

5. Personalised Alphabet Notebook
Quirky Gift Library has created a tactile hard-backed notebook featuring a letter and colour of your choosing and the name of the recipient. This bright alphabet themed notebook is a brilliant gift for those who love design. It also has a useful moleskine-style elasticated black band and inside there are 96 pages of ruled pages that are thick enough to write on both sides. Both functional and aesthetically pleasing, the notebooks are available at www.notonthehighstreet.com

6. Elias Redstone: Shooting Space
Since its earliest form, photography has been the single most powerful and accessible way to access architecture and the built environment. Phaidon’s Shooting Space brings together for the first time, an international collection of respected and innovative photographers through the prism of architecture, covering subject matter that ranges from the CCTV Tower by OMA in Beijing to the abandoned industrial grandeur of Detroit. Organised thematically and truly global in scope, the book is the perfect gift for those interested in design. uk.phaidon.com

7. The Jane Paper Planes Skirt
New clothing label BOB by Dawn O’Porter and fashion illustrator Karen Mabon have teamed up to design a unique collection of skirts. The Jane Paper Planes Skirt is beautifully decorated with lollies, Wotsits and the contents of a school pencil case, making it a trip down memory lane for anyone who wants to be nostalgic about their school days. Synonymous for her passion and knowledge of vintage fashion, O’Porter has produced a range of stylish dresses and separates, all drawing on iconic aesthetics from throughout the decades. www.bobbydop.com

8. Friends of the Royal Academy Membership
With an exciting year of exhibitions ahead, a Friends of the Royal Academy membership is the perfect gift for all art lovers this Christmas. The 2015 exhibition programme will launch with the blockbuster Rubens and his Legacy: Van Dyck to Cézanne, an exploration of the artistic legacy of Peter Paul Rubens. Members enjoy unlimited free entry to exhibitions at the gallery for a year, besides free access to the Keeper’s House, invites to private Friends previews, a free subscription to the RA Magazine and more. www.royalacademy.org.uk

9. New Balance Trainers
Whether it is a new shoe you are looking for, a fresh scent, or the latest piece from a selection of acclaimed fashion designers, Dover Street Market is the answer. This pair of New Balance trainers will make the perfect gift for any style-conscious individual. A classic, clean and simple runner, the CM1600MK is decked out in a signature NB colourway. Part of the Barbershop Pack, this iteration is inspired by the colours found on the barbershop pole. www.doverstreetmarket.com

10. Margaret Ashman: Lifted III
Abbey Walk Gallery offers their customers a chance to purchase an investment this Christmas. Presenting an outstanding series of artworks from various practitioners, the gallery has something for every taste. Margaret Ashman is an experienced printmaker specialising in photo etching. She trained at the Universities of Hertfordshire and Brighton and is also an Oxford graduate. Lifted III is part of the series Small Border Crossings, a collaborative project with artist Wuon-Gean Ho as model and photographer Paul Weaver. www.abbeywalkgallery.com

Read more articles on our blog:
www.aestheticamagazine.com/blog