In 2022, it was business as (un)usual in the art world.
Frieze Seoul and Paris+ par Art Basel made triumphant arrivals on the scene, while FIAC departed in a fog of uncertainty. The 59th Venice Biennale offered a heady fusion of surrealism and activism, controversy engulfed Documenta fifteen, and climate change crusaders doused multifarious liquids over a range of priceless art. Christo’s final posthumous work was unveiled, the crypto crash set the world of NFTs on fire, and Damien Hirst set fire to 1,000 of his paintings via live stream.
In 2022, we were never short of talking points. But as we know, the only way to get under the skin of the art world is to talk to those shaping it: the artists. Here are 10 Wallpaper* art interviews that defined the year.
TOP 10 ART INTERVIEWS OF 2022
1. The year of Cecilia Vicuña
Portrait of Cecilia Vicuña at Guggenheim New York
In 2022, Chilean artist, poet and activist Cecilia Vicuña had what is known as a moment. In April, she was honoured with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 59th Venice Biennale; she was the subject of a major survey show at the Guggenheim in New York; and is now dominating Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall for the 2022 Hyundai Commission. We visited the artist’s New York studio earlier this year to discuss reclaiming oppressed histories with vigour, resilience and love.
2. Thomas Struth and Chris Levine on photographing Queen Elizabeth II
Lightness of Being by Chris Levine, 2008
In September 2022, Britain – and the world – lost Queen Elizabeth II. During her remarkable 70-year reign, few were given the opportunity to photograph her; even fewer rose to the occasion with a portrait that held such longevity in the public imagination. Two artists honoured with this career-defining moment were Chris Levine and Thomas Struth, who looked back on the making of their portraits in interviews with us to mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
3. Yayoi Kusama: ‘Painting helps me to keep away thoughts of death’
Portrait of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama
In November, legendary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama opened her major retrospective at M+, Hong Kong (on view until 14 May 2023). As she told writer, Megan C Hills: ‘I fight pain, anxiety, and fear every day, and the only method I have found that relieves my illness is to keep creating art. Painting helps me to keep away thoughts of death for myself. That is the power of art.’
4. Wolfgang Tillmans on 35 years of shaping photography
Self-portrait of photographer Wolfgang Tillmans for the November 2022 Issue of Wallpaper*
At the opening of Wolfgang Tillmans’ major retrospective ‘To Look Without Fear’ opened at MoMA, Wallpaper’s US Editor Pei-Ru Keh interviewed the acclaimed photographer. He described 35 years of activism, breaking conventions and capturing ‘the weight of existence’ through the everyday. ‘I want to lay reality bare,’ he said.
5. Anish Kapoor in Venice: gore, glory and blackest black magic
Portrait of Anish Kapoor, 2021
We visited the south London studio of Anish Kapoor ahead of his major two-venue retrospective during the 59th Venice Biennale. There, the Turner Prize-winner introduced the world to his much-anticipated Vantablack sculptures, which use technology that absorbs 99.8 per cent of visible light.
6. Es Devlin’s spiritual ode to biodiversity at Tate Modern
Es Devlin stands in front of Come Home Again, commissioned by Cartier and installed in front of Tate Modern
Acclaimed artist and stage designer Es Devlin is used to being in the limelight, but even by her standards, Come Home Again, a multisensory public installation commissioned by Cartier on the Tate Modern riverside, was a project of great prominence. Wallpaper* magazine editor TF Chan visited Devlin in her London studio to understand the full scope of this space for education, contemplation and conservation action.
7. Cyprien Gaillard on chaos, reorder and excavating a Paris in flux
Portrait of French artist Cyprien Gaillard in his Berlin Studio
We interviewed French artist Cyprien Gaillard ahead of his major two-part show,
‘Humpty \ Dumpty’ at Palais de Tokyo and Lafayette Anticipations, coinciding with the inaugural Paris+ par Art Basel. Through abandoned clocks, love locks and asbestos, the epic show, on until 8 January 2023, dissects the human obsession with structural restoration.
8. Carrie Mae Weems on nurturing a new generation of image making
Carrie Mae Weems with her Rolex protégée, Camila Rodríguez Triana, photographed in Weems’ studio in Syracuse, NY, in June 2022. In the background are artworks from Weems’ All the Boys series
To round off a year of art moments in our December 2022 issue, acting editor-in-chief Bill Prince spotlighted the collaboration between pioneering American artist Carrie Mae Weems and emerging talent Camila Rodríguez Triana as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. 2023 will be a big year for Weems, with her first solo exhibition in a UK institution opening at London’s Barbican in June.
9. William Kentridge: ‘art must defend the uncertain’
William Kentridge in his studio in Houghton, Johannesburg, a purpose-built space designed in 2000 by Pierre Lombart and Briget Grosskopff
For our October 2022 Legends Issue, Azu Nwagbogu, founder and director of the African Artists’ Foundation, profiles William Kentridge, South Africa’s most influential contemporary artist ahead of his recent major exhibition at London’s Royal Academy of Arts. Nwagbogu explored how Kentridge’s work holds a mirror to the limits of human intervention in society, not just in South Africa but worldwide.
10. Helen Pashgian: ‘making art is like a divine itch’
Portrait of Helen Pashgian in her Pasadena studio
For more than 60 years, Pasadena-based artist Helen Pashgian has toyed with the limits of optical perception and material perfection – ‘making art is like a divine itch’, she told us. A pioneer of California’s Light & Space movement, her hyper-polished spherical sculptures trap light and radiate colour, as Hunter Drohojowska-Philp discovered when she visited the artist’s Pasadena studio.
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The 24 best photographs of 2024, shot for the pages of Wallpaper*Photography editor, Sophie Gladstone, completes her year in review, with some personal highlights from Wallpaper* photographers in 2024
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Time, beauty, history – all are written into trees in Karimoku Research Center's debut Tokyo exhibitionThe layered world of forests – and their evolving relationship with humans – is excavated and reimagined in 'The Age of Wood', a Tokyo exhibition at Karimoku Research Center
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Tour Xi'an's remarkable new 'human-centred' shopping district with designer Thomas HeatherwickXi'an district by Heatherwick Studio, a 115,000 sq m retail development in the Chinese city, opens this winter. Thomas Heatherwick talks us through its making and ambition
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Cyprien Gaillard on chaos, reorder and excavating a Paris in fluxWe interviewed French artist Cyprien Gaillard ahead of his major two-part show, ‘Humpty \ Dumpty’ at Palais de Tokyo and Lafayette Anticipations (until 8 January 2023). Through abandoned clocks, love locks and asbestos, he dissects the human obsession with structural restoration
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Yayoi Kusama on love, hope and the power of artThere’s still time to see Yayoi Kusama’s major retrospective at M+, Hong Kong (until 14 May). In our interview, the legendary Japanese artist vows to continue to ‘create art to leave the message of “love forever”’
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Antony Gormley interview: ‘We’re at more than a tipping point. We’re in a moment of utter crisis’We visit the London studio of British sculptor Antony Gormley ahead of his major new show ‘Body Field’ at Xavier Hufkens Brussels
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Photographer Maisie Cousins on nostalgia, impulsive making and ‘collecting useless things’Explore the vision of British artist Maisie Cousins in ‘Through the lens’, our monthly series spotlighting photographers who are Wallpaper* contributors
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Rashid Johnson in Menorca: a journey through migration, longing and togethernessWe visited Rashid Johnson’s Brooklyn studio ahead of the artist’s show at Hauser & Wirth Menorca, which contemplates drift – physical and emotional
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Step inside the kaleidoscopic universe of Pipilotti RistSwiss artist Pipilotti Rist, who headlines Wallpaper’s November 2022 issue, has transformed the way we see, with a poetic yet playful practice spanning three decades. Here, and in a special portfolio, she reveals how she has liberated video art from its conventions, imbued the digital realm with emotion, animated public spaces, and harnessed the healing powers of colour
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Gathering: the new Soho gallery blending art and social activismGathering, the newest gallery resident in London’s Soho, will focus on contemporary art exploring systemic social issues. Ahead of Tai Shani’s inaugural show, we speak to founders Alex Flick and Trinidad Fombella about their vision for the gallery
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Olivia Arthur on expanding photography and minimising preconceptions‘Through the lens’ is our monthly series that spotlights photographers who are Wallpaper* contributors. Here we explore the vision of Magnum photographer Olivia Arthur
