Conversations | The Artist and the Gallerists: Alvaro Barrington
Art Basel, Miami Beach
Friday December 3rd, 2021
Alvaro Barrington, artist, London and New York
Tim Blum, Co-founder, Blum & Poe, Tokyo, Los Angeles and New York
Pedro Mendes, Co-founder, Mendes Wood DM, Sao Paulo, Brussels and New York
Kyla McMillan, Founder, Saint George Projects, New York
Moderator: Lou Stoppard, writer and curator, London
This panel offers a frank and informal conversation about the unique relationship between the artist Alvaro Barrington and his gallerists, including how they met, how they came to work together, and how their relationships have evolved over time. The panelists will discuss what it means for an artist to collaborate with and be represented by many galleries, working across different countries, situations and audiences. They will explore how ideas of artist representation are shifting, and how collaboration can go beyond simply sharing artists or spaces.
Born in Venezuela, Alvaro Barrington was raised between the Caribbean and Brooklyn, New York, by a network of relatives. An unwavering commitment to community informs his wide-ranging practice alongside an exploration of migration and cross-cultural exchange. While Barrington currently considers himself primarily a painter, his artistic collaborations encompass exhibitions, performances, concerts, fashion, philanthropy and contributions to carnival and the Notting Hill Carnival in London. His approach to painting is similarly inclusive – embracing non-traditional materials and techniques such as burlap and sewing – and infused with references to his personal and cultural history
Blum & Poe was founded by Tim Blum and Jeff Poe in Santa Monica in September of 1994 as a space to show local and international contemporary art in all media. Blum’s extensive experience in the Japanese art world combined with Poe’s keen knowledge of emerging artists in Los Angeles resulted in an international program of influential artists. Throughout a twenty-seven-year history, Blum & Poe has shaped the trajectory of contemporary art by championing artists at all stages of their careers—cultivating the lineages that run between emerging and established practices, and working with artist estates to generate new discourse surrounding historical work. Currently, Blum & Poe represents forty-eight artists and eight estates from sixteen countries worldwide.
Kyla McMillan is the founder of Saint George Projects, an agency specializing in curatorial projects and art consulting. McMillan organizes exhibitions, provides business management services to artists, and advises private and institutional clients on art collecting. Prior to founding Saint George Projects, she worked at David Zwirner Gallery and Gavin Brown’s enterprise as a sales director and artist manager. McMillan has also worked in marketing and communications on campaigns for several arts and cultural institutions, including Dallas Museum of Art, LACMA and Johannesburg Art Fair, as well as brands including: Adidas, Airbnb, BMW and Spotify among others.
Lou Stoppard is a London-based writer and curator. She has written for The Financial Times, Vogue, Aperture, The New York Times and The New Yorker. She has curated a variety of exhibitions including North: Fashioning Identity, an exploration of visual representations of the North of England, at Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool and Somerset House, London; and The Hoodie, at Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, which looked at this much-debated garment. Her first book, ‘Fashion Together’, an exploration of collaboration was published by Rizzoli in 2017. In 2019, she edited a survey of the work of street photographer Shirley Baker for Mack and her most recent book, ‘Pools’, an exploration of swimming in photography was published by Rizzoli in 2020.
Conversations take place in the Auditorium (Grand Ballroom), Level 2, North. They are free and open to the public on a first come first serve basis, no booking required. Doors will open 10 min before the event.
All conversations will also be livestreamed with subtitles on our Facebook page.
A recording will be available on our youtube channel after the event.
Headsets for hearing aids are available on request in the auditorium. Please check the Convention Center information page for visitor access details.
