Nicole Page-Smith, Dunedin studio, 2011,
New Zealand
Then to London where I stayed for three months, off and on, also going to Paris, Holland and Belgium. I loved the energy of London for contemporary art, it felt like anything was possible because there was so much going on. Exhibitions of Pedro Cabrita Reis, Monika Sosnowska, Jannis Kounellis, Cindy Sherman, George Condo, William Eggleston, Robert Frank and Bruce Nauman, the list goes on, another trip included Fischli & Weiss and David Smith at the Tate. When my feet touch European soil, I feel like I am running. The Traces du Sacre at the Haus der Kunst in Munich, the Glyptothek, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Alte Pinakothek, Isa Genzken in Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Caspar David Friedrich in Berlin and a show in Hamburg, Rogier van der Weyden in Frankfurt, Christian Schad in Vienna, Messerschmidt and so forth. Upon return, it takes quite a lot to absorb all the information while I continue to make art, read, write and think. Eventually I gained the courage to approach some international art professionals from established museums, including the Tate Modern, sending out about twenty letters and not really expecting to hear back from anyone, I received several major responses. Feeling like I was dreaming, I communicated the response to the 'so called' art professionals of my own two countries but far from the celebration one might expect, the response was either ignored, trashed or laughed at. So, in the end, who are they?
Pedro Cabrita Reis
Cindy Sherman
Isa Genzken
Fischli & Weiss
Nicole Page-Smith, Dunedin studio, 2011,
New Zealand
