While every Professional Practice and New York City Seminar class consists either of discussion, gallery visits, guest lectures, or biennial and art fair tours, this Thursday’s guests were particularly notable. In Jane Farver’s Professional Practice class, Veronique Ansorge, the associate director of the infamous David Zwirner gallery came to the AAP space to discuss how a world-renowned commercial gallery conducts its exhibits. She spoke about her past in Germany studying economics and consulting before searching for opportunities in the art world and serving as David Zwirner’s personal assistant. While the principal portion of her work today revolves around supporting the 40 living artists who are represented by Zwirner gallery through studio visits and scheduling of shows to accommodate their individual careers and working habits, she says her background in business is just as essential as her growing knowledge of contemporary art. The tasks of balancing commercially viable shows with more conceptual works as well as considering the needs of art collectors in accordance with the goals of artists rely on both sides of her expertise. Her lecture began the day with a new understanding of the many careers associated with the art world.
Next, all of the BFA students jumped on the L train to Brooklyn to meet with acclaimed artists Miguel Luciano and Letha Wilson. Seemingly opposites in their critical approaches and artistic practices, meeting with both of them and touring each of their studios provided great insight into these artists’ diverse ranges of approach and concern. Miguel Luciano utilizes community engagement and social practice as his principal media, and then builds sculptures, interventions, and community art projects off of his concerns. Frequently commissioned by arts organizations such as the smART Program, the Bronx Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and even the State Department, his work reaches outside of museums into the communities it addresses. Through his kite project in Nairobi, his Piragua cart in Brooklyn, and various other vending machines, kiddie rides, and even paintings, he remains rooted in the topics and issues he chooses to cover.
Letha Wilson takes a much more formal approach to art making. Her beautiful work walks the line between photography and sculpture and has opened up two previously pigeonholed artistic mediums to new associations and critical readings. Wilson showed us her work and discussing her processes of traveling to remote natural environments to take photographs, and then printing and altering the photos using concrete and the existing architecture of galleries. She also spoke about her journey to success, and the pitfalls and discoveries she has made along the way. As aspiring artists coming into the art world, this kind of candid insight is essential. From applying to Skowhegan residency multiple times to taking time off just to work and develop her practice by traveling independently, it seems that the most enduring keys to success among all of the guest lecturers were determination, hard work, and a little bit of luck.
