Committed to creating value in the art market. We deepen our market understanding, expand our network, and cultivate a diverse audience. We publish our newsletter targeting intelligent and inquisitive people who are not traditional art world participants. Recognizing a broad demand for insightful critique of art and the art world, plus an under explored dynamic interplay with the growing market for Digital Art, we are developing innovative products to engage and expand our audience and unlock value for our clients.
When Nilima and Billy Came To London
Published about 2 months ago • 11 min read
When Nilima and Billy Came To London
Published: Tuesday, 29 October 2024
Contemporary Art is a beast of its own. Technically, it simply refers to art produced from the 1960’s onwards, to differentiate it from categories like ‘Modern Art’ (from the 1860’s (!) to the late 1960’s) and ‘Old Masters’ (1300-1850). The term was introduced to create a separation from the obsession with abstraction and the subconscious that infused Modern Art movements like Cubism and Surrealism, and the fascination with drawing old men with weird hats and pointy beards that dominates the Old Masters [1].
However, in reality, Contemporary Art was always about more than the time period of creation. Contemporary Art often challenges established orders and traditional boundaries while blending materials and methods (cough, sharks in formaldehyde, cough). Like all other art genres, it has categories and subcategories based on technique, medium, and technology.
When we looked at the Frieze London art show last week, we saw multiple examples of the latest Contemporary Art. All art is a combination of aesthetic and commentary, exhibiting the intention of the artists while reflecting on the context of the viewer [2].
Contemporary Art is especially powerful at incorporating diversity and global cultural viewpoints. There is a reason why Contemporary Art is one of the highest performing genres in the art world: it is humanising in the way that the genre is able to validate and reflect the experiences of everyone living in this moment while history is written alongside.
Quite literally ‘living in this moment’: one of the artists at Frieze London, painted (and sold) his works in the middle of the fair. Another, across the park at Frieze Masters, weaved a literary, poetic and cultural dialogue into her work, while humbling me with her incorporation of living practice into historical narrative. They were in opposite tents, but shared a studio theme: one had a mini studio set up for them to live paint, interact with patrons, and sell the completed works; while the other was displayed at Studio in Frieze Masters [3]. Meet Billy Childish and Nilima Sheikh.
Today we are going to take a deeper look at these two different contemporary artists who appeared at Frieze. At first glance, their styles do not particularly overlap: their primary connection to each other appears to be that they both happened to enthral me on the same day. However, we’re going to use this coincidence as an excuse to explore what we can learn about them, and what they can teach us about each other.
You may have heard of them before or seen their work without making the connection. That’s what's so great about art fairs, you get exposed to artists and artistic styles you may not have been aware of. With so much art on display at these fairs, it becomes a gravitational, instinctual, pull towards the art that attracts you. This is how I made these discoveries (unfortunately, I couldn't say 'shut up and take my money' to the sales assistants just yet… maybe if this newsletter gets forwarded to a bunch of people…).
Nilima Sheikh and Billy Childish are broader artists beyond the brush and canvas as painters. What they create is something deeply intentional. While hailing from different cultural and artistic backgrounds, they share thematic similarities in their work while exhibiting distinct differences in their artistic approaches and mediums.
Artistically, what drew me to both artists at first glance was how perception and proximity play on the human eye. They both dominate with their fearlessness in the application and tonal use of colour. Their works are almost fractal: just as intriguing and highlighting different details depending on if you are standing a couple of inches to several feet away. It makes it more of a conversation between painting and the observer that can continuously be had each time one gazes upon it.
Billy Childish
Left: Frieze London 2024, Installation view, Lehmann Maupin, Stand C13, Photo by Daniel Kukla. Right: Personal Photo taken of Lehmann Maupin booth at Frieze London.
Billy Childish is as creative an individual as it gets. Not only an artist, he is also an author, poet, and musician. He writes poetry and novels, but his lyrics often carry a poetic sensibility that complements his music and paintings. Childish founded the Stuckism art movement [4] in 1999 with Charles Thomson as a reaction to the dominant conceptualism [5] of the late 20th century in Western art.
His work is introspective and emotional. His portraits of nature and people bear the same emotive and intuitive quality as the works of Vincent Van Gogh (see Vincent Van Gogh: Painting as Poetry), Peter Doig, and Edvard Munch.
swimmers, 2018, Billy Childish, Oil and charcoal on linen.
The work by Billy Childish has a realistic yet lucid dream-like-quality the further away you stand from his paintings. Throughout his artistic oeuvre he tackles personal experiences like his turbulent childhood and struggles with addiction, and critiques social and political issues like war and protest. It is a different kind of pastoral than what we will see in the work of Nilima Sheikh.
I love Childish’s spectacular use of light to render surface tension. What looks like a subtle gradual colour transition at a distance is actually a very distinct, almost fragmented, colour transition up close. It includes all the elements essential to a Billy Childish painting: reflection, light, natural elements like trees or water, and colour saturation. I find his paintings meditative and calming, yet also challenging and intriguing.
I unfortunately wasn't lucky enough to see Billy Childish paint live at the Lehmann Maupin booth at Frieze London, but witnessing a glimpse of his studio and works in progress was special. The development from concept and paintbrush, to completed work on canvas is such a rare glimpse to see by a living artist. It humanises the artist as well in this context. It adds a fun story for the lucky buyer to say ‘I saw him live paint this at Frieze!’
The feedback even on Lehmann Maupin’s instagram posts are overwhelmingly positive. They all commented on how rare it is to be able to witness something like this. Whereas Studio in Frieze Masters had a slightly different effect and impact.
Nilima Sheikh is a female Indian artist originally trained in Western-style oil painting who later transitioned to a self-taught miniature painter due to her interests in historical traditions of painting in Asia (such as vernacular folk songs and other oral traditions). Sheikh addresses migration, history, and cultural memory, often within this context. Her work evokes mystical imaginary landscapes that address feminine experiences. Sheikh's practice does not align with a specific art movement in the same way that Childish does, but she successfully engages with historical and traditional art forms to address contemporary issues.
The calming and eye-catching yet profound storytelling executed by Nilima Sheikh is spectacular. Whereas Childish appears to separate his painting, writing and poetry, Sheikh integrates poetry and text directly into her paintings. Drawing from a wide range of sources, including traditional and contemporary works, enriches her visual narratives. Inspired by reading Rabindranath Tagore, she became interested at an early age in the connection between stories and images, as well as the age-old connection from murals to ancient manuscripts. Chemould Prescott Road Gallery says ‘Sheikh’s work gives new meaning to the term pastoral by activating the poetic beauty of the landscape to communicate the political reality of the land.’
In an interview, Nilima touches upon this layered influence: ‘In some ways, I stitch together stories and information in a way that allows different elements to build up over time. I like my paintings to contain references to different times and geographies. In that sense, I use history as an alibi to move beyond a notion of tradition prone to regressive manipulation, and as a way of structuring my work. My use of history is not terribly self-conscious or academic. It is a way by which I bring multiple registers into my work.’
Home-Land 2, 2024, Nilima Sheikh.
I find her work humbling, because it reminds me how little I sometimes know about other cultures and contexts. This was a direct personal experience of what we noted in the Laocoön newsletter two weeks ago about storytelling: 'Artists often rely heavily on the assumed knowledge of the observer to dissect what is being depicted in an artwork' [6]. Given the Asian contemporary and historical accounts Nilima Sheikh incorporates into her paintings, a Western observer like myself is naive to the deeper message behind the artwork displayed.
Personal photo taken at booth in Frieze Masters of Home-Land 2 and 3 with text of the stories the paintings depict.
This is important to keep in mind about the different levels of art appreciation that can occur with art. After I personally experienced this, I actively researched and learned the stories and events she depicts in order to deepen my understanding of her artistic intentions. So it’s not just art, it is social activism in an artistic form reaching across the boundaries of culture, language, and geography.
Annotated photo of Home-Land 2 to see the detail.
The Home-Land paintings reference two nomadic pastoralists communities Sheikh encountered in Kashmiri. In the Frieze Masters newsletter, she mentions her attempts to recreate the sensation of walking on foot through the mountains, and her 'deep admiration for the way they live, their concern and passion for their animals and how they avoid being exploitative of the land.'
In terms of its political specificity it refers to Asifa, an eight-year-old Bakarwal girl who was abducted in 2018 by city dwellers while grazing the family's horses, then drugged, raped, and murdered - before her body was found a week later.
What's interesting about Home-Land 2 is what clearly looks like an unfinished portion of the painting. The colours are complementary yet contrasting in a balanced and beautiful way. There's sketches, text, and accented patterns throughout the painting: like a red and blue bird soaring over the hills, wind blowing clouds through the air and hugging the mountains, and villages in the hills and at the base. Parts of the hills bleed into this final section of the painting.
The stark divide at the top with the blue hills implies it's something different, but at the same time there are elements grounding and connecting it to the rest of the composition as it enters into this pure space. Is it another part of the story the artist is referring to? Is it representative of how this part of the story should be perceived? Is it a metaphor for a national or cultural story still being told?
To me the lack of diverse colour is a conscious choice, exposing the raw material of the medium, the neutral tones of the pencil, and metallic use of highlighted white and gold. It creates something that is almost divine, serene, and sacred. As if it is representing what untouched beauty is supposed to be. Or maybe it represents what remains after its exploitation.
Home-Land 3, 2024, Nilima Sheikh, Mixed tempera on Sanganer paper.
As was the case with Billy Childish, proximity to a work is another important element I realised with Nilima Sheikh. Up close you see the beautiful detail, colour, and artistry at play. The attention to detail and textile-like prints adds a textured layer to the work you can see at a distance and up close. Her work truly looks like it came from an ornate, historical literary text that evokes cultural nostalgia.
Personal photo taken at Frieze Masters. Detail of Home-Land 3.
Despite having no obvious connection, both artists convey intentional and important messages most of society can resonate with but tend to overlook, take for granted, or let it get lost in the fabric of everyday life. There is beauty in the turbulence that becomes a part of our shared history. They incorporate this masqueraded intimate layer in plain sight of the viewer.
They have more similarities than what initially meets the eye. Despite their artistic differences, both artists bring a rich, culturally grounded perspective to their work, providing valuable insights into their respective societies through a blend of traditional and modern artistic expressions. Thank you, Billy and Nilima, for coming to London!
Am considering starting a section on 'How To Invest In Art', with suggestions on what to purchase. If it wasn’t obvious already, this idea has two constraints: 1) I can’t afford any of them, 2) If I could, my answer would be 'Buy ALL of them, they’re all masterpieces!' Maybe one day…
I enjoy researching and writing this newsletter, and I hope you enjoy reading it. If you have any feedback, questions, or suggestions for future newsletters, please reply to this email!
[1]
I’m only half joking. I asked ChatGPT: ‘how many of the Old Masters paintings feature old men with weird hats and pointy beards?’ The response was ‘While it's hard to provide an exact number, the depiction of old men with weird hats and pointy beards is a common motif among the Old Masters, spanning from the late Middle Ages through the Renaissance and into the Baroque period. Artists such as Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, and Rembrandt are known for featuring such characters in their works, often as part of larger, more complex scenes.” #Research #ILoveMyJob.
[2]
There’s a field of Contemporary Art that incorporates the viewer as an active participant in the work… Shudders, can you even imagine? More power to those people… perhaps one day that’ll appeal to me, but tbh I’m still the girl who hid under the seat at the Christmas Pantomime when they called for all the children to come on stage*.
* I was TWENTY ONE at the time.
[3]Studio was a curated display by Sheena Wagstaff (former Chair of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC), spotlighting 10 living artists in a space for ‘thinking historically in the present’. Studio featured Beatrice Caracciolo (Paula Cooper Gallery), Isabella Ducrot (Sadie Coles HQ, Galerie Gisela Capitain and Standard [Oslo]), Nathalie Du Pasquier (Pace Gallery), Shirazeh Houshiary (Lisson Gallery), Kim Yun Shin (Lehmann Maupin), Mernet Larsen (James Cohan), Thaddeus Mosley (Karma), Doris Salcedo (White Cube), Nilima Sheikh (Chemould Prescott Road) and Adriana Varejão (Victoria Miro). It was fantastic and beautifully executed.
[4]
In several versions of its manifesto, Stuckism stresses the value of painting as a medium, its use for communication, and the expression of emotion and experience – as opposed to what Stuckists see as the superficial novelty, nihilism and irony of conceptual art and postmodernism. The most contentious statement in the manifesto is: 'Artists who don't paint aren't artists'. In the Remodernism manifesto, the Stuckists declared that they aimed to replace postmodernism with remodernism, a period of renewed spiritual (as opposed to religious) values in art, culture and society. They also define themselves as anti-anti-art which is against anti-art and for what they consider conventional art. By May 2017, the initial group of 13 British artists had expanded to 236 groups in 52 countries.
[5]Conceptual art- art for which the idea (or concept) behind the work is more important than the finished art object. It emerged as an art movement in the 1960s and the term usually refers to art made from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. Famous artists include Marcel Duchamp, John Baldessari, Martin Creed, and Simon Starling.
[6]
I got to quote myself! 'According to Anderson [2024] in reference to Anderson [2024]' lol. Most of my University Professors would be scandalised, but there’s one who would be so proud though.
We'd love to hear from you. Get in touch: Antonia<at>ambirisana.com
Committed to creating value in the art market. We deepen our market understanding, expand our network, and cultivate a diverse audience. We publish our newsletter targeting intelligent and inquisitive people who are not traditional art world participants. Recognizing a broad demand for insightful critique of art and the art world, plus an under explored dynamic interplay with the growing market for Digital Art, we are developing innovative products to engage and expand our audience and unlock value for our clients.