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Nicholas Logsdail, Lisson Gallery's owner, says that he likes artists "who are on a slow burn, very good, very serious, not in the fast track, but pursuing their own artistic interests with tenacity, quirkiness, and confidence" (Thornton 90). Pursuing their art with tenacity, quirkiness, and confidence indeed are Ai Weiwei and Anish Kapoor, both of whom are Lisson's artists. Weiwei was detained by the Chinese government last year, and many believe the reason to be his political activism against the communist regime despite the Chinese government's claim that the arrest was due to the artist's tax evasion (Jones). This incident provoked indignation among fellow artists, and Kapoor, openly opposing the Chinese government's action, refused to show his sculpture at the National Museum of China in Beijing and dedicated his installation shown in Paris to Weiwei (Bailey, Jones). To petition for the artist's release, Tate Modern in London posted the message "RELEASE AI WEIWEI" on its façade. Kapoor's call for artists' protest and Tate's clear stance on this issue are proof that art and politics are not always unrelated and distant from each other. Moreover, the Chinese government's arrest of Weiwei demonstrates how politics can limit art when it sees certain art as dangerous to its scheme.
Ai Weiwei
Tate Modern's petition message on its façade
http://www.randomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/tate-modern-release-ai-weiwei.jpeg
The Art Fair Calendar provided by ArtVista shows the profusion of art fairs in recent years. Barbara Gladstone sees the reason for this success in that nowadays "everyone feels comfortable viewing art as an asset, not just a pleasure" (The Economist). András Szántó, consultant and contributing editor to The Art Newspaper, said: "The fairs have done very well in exploiting a structural weakness of the gallery system - -it it is inchoate and based on local markets" (Burns). During the downturn, many withdrew from these markets and, according to dealer David Zwirner, "the overall weight has shifted to clients who don't live where you work - -so so you service them through art fairs" (Burns).
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Russeth, Andrew. "As Director Steps Down, Armory Show Announces Trimmer 2012 Edition." New York Observer. 20 Sep. 2011. Web. 15 Jan. 2012. <http://www.observer.com/2011/09/as-director-steps-down-armory-show-announces-trimmer-2012-edition/>.
Young, Faith-Ann. "The Party is Over." Intelligent Life. Web. 15 Jan. 2012. <http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/art-fairs-lean>.