Trends / The New Grand Tour
by I interviewed the mysterious Suitman some time ago for the Australian magazine, Riot. Even then it was clear that, with his immaculately pressed suit and crisp white shirts, he was an icon - both stylistically and conceptually. So it’s no surprise to hear about his latest adventure, The New Grand Tour, ‘an episodic art project featuring revolving guest artists with hyphenated cultural and geographical backgrounds. The artists and documentary crew travel together to different parts of the globe and express through art exhibitions the subject matter of the towns and cultures they visit’. Given this interesting manifesto, we caught up with a few of the artists involved (other interviews to run in the coming weeks), including Suitman, asking him if he was surprised by how dynamic — or not — the Chinese art scene is, given the rather conservative regime in power there? ‘No, I was not surprised at all. Chinese art has been going strong for last ten-fifteen years; internationally and domestically. The Chinese government recognizes the possibilities of financial gain in art industries and they are certainly extending supporting to art and artists. Of course, there’s still censorship of content. But so does America and rest of the world, by right wing government and religious groups’.
Who conceptualized the New Grand Tour and what will it mean for those who get to experience it?
‘Federico Tan, Asia marketing director of Diesel, approached me to have a show. And from that point, the team was created’.
Do you feel that ‘art’ always had a unifying effect across cultures or does it actually accentuate differences?
‘It’s all about sharing. And this tour was based on exchanging culture and gathering inspirations. And most importantly, sharing. I envisioned this as artists-PaciCorp traveling through globe and giving and sharing our thoughts and financial support to children’s education in rural areas and help them have better lifestyle standards’.
Where to from here for the New Grand Tour?
‘There’s talk of Central America, Cuba, Africa and Brazil’.
Tagged: China, Chinese art
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New York-based designer, and sometime Lost At E Minor contributor, Deanne Cheuk visited Beijing prior to the Olympics as part of the New Grand Tour. We touched in with her to see how she found the experience of being over there: ‘we visited some really modern art galleries, which seemed to be on par with with the best galleries in New York City’.
Davi Russo on The New Grand Tour
We interviewed Suitman a few weeks back, getting his perspective on The New Grand Tour he set up which saw a hand-picked group of American artists tour China to take in the cultural renaissance going on there. Photographer Davi Russo was a part of the tour, so we spoke to him about his experiences. Were you surprised by how dynamic the Chinese art scene is, given the rather conservative regime in power there? ‘This could be a two sided answer from me. I was able to see some contemporary photography inside some of the galleries I visited at 798 Area. I must say, there were a few times that I was extremely impressed, and somewhat even a little jealous to see the context of young emerging work being supported in Beijing. I would also say that after being introduced, I became a huge fan of and contributer to the photography being published in VISION magazine, which I think is something of a gem in China now’. Read more
Australian photographer, Sean Fennessy, was named by Art and Australia Magazine in 2006 as one of the ‘country’s best artists aged under 25′. These photos are from a larger series on Shanghai called Over the Rainbow. Read more
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