In many ways, 2022 scored! Finally, we had the return of normal life as in the pre-pandemic, there were many important auction sales, confidence was renewed in the art market, we had the return of art fairs and some great in-person exhibitions. At the same time, certain political problems that gained momentum during the pandemic found a new expression in the face of new and persistent injustices during this year. Discover the most impactful moments in the art world in 2022.
1. Female Power in Art
Female artists totally dominated the biggest contemporary art exhibitions and awards in 2022. The Venice Biennale international exhibition, Milk of Dreams by Cecilia Alemani, was dedicated to female artists, and the Golden Lion for best contribution went to Simone Leigh. The best pavilion award was won by United Kingdom for an exhibition curated by Sonia Boyce, and the Golden Lions for Lifetime Works went to Katharina Fritsch and Cecilia Vicuña. Earlier this month, the 2022 Turner Prize was won by Veronica Ryan, ahead of Heather Phillipson, Ingrid Pollard and non-binary artist Sin Wai Kin. The top 15 lots up for auction – which include works dating back to Sandro Botticelli's 1481 painting Madonna of the Magnificat – were by male artists, but when it comes to contemporary art, things are much more balanced. On average, 48% of works acquired by US contemporary art museums from 2008 to mid-2022 were by women artists.
2. The NFT market went down. Here comes art by AI
The art NFT market grew by 21,000% in 2021, reaching $17 billion and representing 16% of the global art market. As interest rates rose and cryptocurrency prices plummeted this year, the NFT market evaporated even faster than it formed. However, the technology's usefulness in assigning a unique owner to a digital work and allowing artists to benefit from resales means that NFTs are unlikely to go away. Fifteen thousand people attended NFT.NYC in June, and NFT projects played an important role in Miami Art Week. AI tools like Lensa and ChatGPT have taken it by surprise this year, and in the hands of a talented new generation of digital artists, these new techniques will undoubtedly have people ready to open their wallets.
3. Attacks on art museums due to climate change
Climate protesters got a lot of attention in the news this year, as they put cake on the Mona Lisa (1503), splashing soup on Vincent's Sunflowers Van Gogh (1888) and sticking to The Last Supper (c. 1520). The actions divided public sympathy and had no discernible effect on the world's top emitters - Chinese coal, Saudi Aramco, Russia's Gazprom, Iranian oil and US ExxonMobil - but signaled growing frustration with business leaders and governments as climate change accelerates. Gideon Mendel took a different approach, displaying portraits of victims of floods and wildfires.
4. War in Ukraine, Covid, 'Women, Life, Freedom' and Documenta XV
Phillips, Guggenheim and the Royal Academy were the first to break ties with Russia when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February. Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot fled Russia, curators in Russia canceled her own pavilion at the Venice Biennale, and Banksy traveled to Ukraine to do new work. Artists also supported the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement in Iran by holding a large protest at the Guggenheim, while Shirin Neshat and JR participated in the Eyes on Iran action on Roosevelt Island. In China, artists have joined protests against tough Covid restrictions. The curators of Documenta XV, were accused of anti-Semitism, undermining the exhibitions.
5. Surrealism arises
Although “Surrealism Beyond Borders” opened late last year at the Met, its impact has echoed throughout this year. When the international exhibition shifted to the Tate Modern, it offered a reconsideration of the movement and its lesser-known proponents. When the Venice Biennale opened in April, the frenzy for surrealist and contemporary surrealist works reached new heights. In Venice, the exhibition “The Milk of Dreams” by curator Cecilia Alemani highlighted the subconscious, the mythical and the spectral through a list led by surrealist women such as Jane Graverol, Unica Zürn and Alice Rahon, alongside contemporary artists such as Dora Budor, Marianna Simnett and Raphaela Vogel, who explore these themes in new ways. None of this went unnoticed by auction houses: both Sotheby's and Christie's featured sales organized around the movement. As sales of works by Surrealist women such as Dorothea Tanning and Leonora Carrington continue to exceed estimates, particularly smaller works and prints, these dream-influenced artists still prove popular with collectors.
