When I was in Rome I took a class on modern art taught by an independent curator named Shara Wasserman. The class wasn’t really about modern art; it was so much more. We did cover the artists from the end of the futurist period, past arte povera and up to present day. We took our first field trip to the Galleria Nazionale dell’Arte Moderna (GNAM). GNAM was one of the most poorly laid out museums that I have ever visited. The lighting appeared to have been designed by an office manager, with evenly dispersed rows of spotlights that paid no attention to the art on the walls. The Klimt piece was awkwardly hung in a dark corner while the lights drew your eye to the floor.
But back to the class. Shara Wasserman provided the window and a flashlight into Rome’s contemporary art world. She was a champion of the local talent and was very much appreciated because Italy is not a hospitable place to be an artist unless you are a 400 year old zombie. Most of the talented artists moved to New York or at least to Berlin and London. The artists who stayed in Italy had to compete with centuries old marble antiquities that littered the Centro Storico. They were largely ignored by the millions of visitors who lined up for hours to gaze at the Vatican’s collections of classic art.
In 2007 Zaha Hadid had yet to complete the MAXXI (Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo) so the MACRO (Museo D’Arte Contemporanea Roma) was my only vehicle to view anything recent until I crossed paths with Shara. My favorite part of the class was when we would hop on a bus and travel to a studio or art enclave to visit an artist. We also were invited to the foreign academies to meet the fellows’ residents; I often pondered the stark differences between Rome’s struggling local artists and the sponsored visiting artists who lived in the fabulous academy grounds.
My second favorite part of the class was when Shara led discussions on the art market. I would sit in awe listening to the artists in the class debate the roles of gallerists, curators, artists and patrons. Everyone had a differing opinion about money and the avant-garde. Twenty years and millions of dollars later were the Young British Artists still transgressive?
I remember listening to Shara talk to us about a Venetian artist. Upon a second look at his painting I saw things that I had missed- how his brush strokes were fluid like water in a lagoon and the soft reflection of a purple hued sunset upon the objects. I wish that I could meet a Shara Wasserman in Hong Kong. This weekend as I visited ART HK 11 I thought about how much I would have liked to have my own art Sherpa to steer me through the labyrinth of compelling, inspiring and titillating works and enrich me with the back stories and biographies.
But back to the class. Shara Wasserman provided the window and a flashlight into Rome’s contemporary art world. She was a champion of the local talent and was very much appreciated because Italy is not a hospitable place to be an artist unless you are a 400 year old zombie. Most of the talented artists moved to New York or at least to Berlin and London. The artists who stayed in Italy had to compete with centuries old marble antiquities that littered the Centro Storico. They were largely ignored by the millions of visitors who lined up for hours to gaze at the Vatican’s collections of classic art.
In 2007 Zaha Hadid had yet to complete the MAXXI (Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo) so the MACRO (Museo D’Arte Contemporanea Roma) was my only vehicle to view anything recent until I crossed paths with Shara. My favorite part of the class was when we would hop on a bus and travel to a studio or art enclave to visit an artist. We also were invited to the foreign academies to meet the fellows’ residents; I often pondered the stark differences between Rome’s struggling local artists and the sponsored visiting artists who lived in the fabulous academy grounds.
My second favorite part of the class was when Shara led discussions on the art market. I would sit in awe listening to the artists in the class debate the roles of gallerists, curators, artists and patrons. Everyone had a differing opinion about money and the avant-garde. Twenty years and millions of dollars later were the Young British Artists still transgressive?
I remember listening to Shara talk to us about a Venetian artist. Upon a second look at his painting I saw things that I had missed- how his brush strokes were fluid like water in a lagoon and the soft reflection of a purple hued sunset upon the objects. I wish that I could meet a Shara Wasserman in Hong Kong. This weekend as I visited ART HK 11 I thought about how much I would have liked to have my own art Sherpa to steer me through the labyrinth of compelling, inspiring and titillating works and enrich me with the back stories and biographies.
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