Justin O’Shea. (Photo: Courtesy Justin O’Shea, via Business of Fashion)…
Going Solo
After leaving Brioni in the fall, fashion designer Justin O’Shea is launching his own menswear brand, SSS World Corp. The line, which has the support of Berlin-based magazine and clothing company 032c, will launch during this June’s Paris Men’s week. “You take what Demna [Gvasalia’s] doing at Vetements—they’re doing whatever they want and they’ve now paved the way because they stayed on their own trajectory,” said O’Shea. “That [attitude] is lacking in menswear compared to womenswear and that’s where I found my relevance.”
[Business of Fashion]
The Fridericianum in Kassel, Germany, where the Documenta fair is based. (Photo: Wikimedia)…
Twin Cities
Documenta 14 will open this Saturday in Athens and Kassel, Germany—the first time the event has been held in two cities. Artistic director Adam Szymczyk cited Greece’s austerity measures as the inspiration for the change. “One of the reasons to work in Athens in parallel to Kassel is precisely to make the exhibition in a place where you can see how problematic things are at the moment, and how much worse they may soon become—though not, naturally, to simply induce passive spectatorship,” he said.
[Artforum]
Okwui Enwezor embraces Theaster Gates at the Rebuild Foundation’s Build/Rebuild benefit in 2015. (Photo: Kelly Taub/BFA.com, Courtesy of Rebuild Foundation)…
Enwezor Exalted
Nigerian-born curator Okwui Enwezor has won this year’s International Folkwang Prize, which comes with a $26,700 award. Enwezor is known for directing Munich’s Haus der Kunst, as well as curating Documenta 11 in 2002 and the Venice Biennale in 2015. “His greatest achievement in contemporary art has been to raise a global awareness of art beyond the Euro-American canon,” said Ulrich Blank, the associate chairman of the institution behind the annual award.
[Artnet]
The Arsenale in Venice, one of the sites where the Tunisian art performance will take place. (Photo: Wikimedia)…
Tunisia Trenchant
For its first Venice Biennale pavilion in almost 50 years, Tunisia is hosting an immigration-themed project. The installation involves Tunisian nationals, who will give visitors “travel documents” at three sites around the city. “The Tunisian pavilion is forgoing the cloak of nationalism in favor of a more global and humanistic narrative. “What is fascinating is that this is the only place and time where people can move freely from nation to nation,” said the initiative’s organizer, Lina Lazaar. “Aspirant migrants—individuals aiming to seek out better circumstances—will man the pavilion.”
[The Art Newspaper]
Global gallery Hauser & Wirth is now representing artist Lorna Simpson, whose work often deals with issues of race and identity. “[Simpson’s] rigor, her passion, and her incredible sensitivity produce not only extraordinary art but also an invitation to engage in a dialogue about identity that we are eager to share,” said Hauser & Wirth partner Marc Payot.
[Artnews]
