Voices On Art - The Van Horn Gallery Podcast | hosted by Daniela Steinfeld

This is a special Episode created in co-production with Independent Art Fair, NYC. LaTiesha Fazakas, founder of the eponymous gallery for contemporary indigenous art in Vancouver, Canada tells her personal story. LaTiesha talks her childhood and youth, from growing up in a working class household, quitting highschool and becoming a teenage mom, to her young adult years in which she decided to finish her education and by a leap of destiny enrolled in an art history class, which ultimately changed the course of her life. After having worked for 11 years at a gallery for indigineous art, LaTiesha realized that her approach towards this art and culture is much more open and inclusive then was provided by dealers and art historians until then. LaTiesha talks in detail about Beau Dick, one of the artists from which she learned a lot, who was included in documenta 14 in Athens, how she founded her gallery in 2012 and how she set up a fluid and individual business model that suited the particular needs of all parties involved. She is convinced that art and art history will benefit greatly from including other voices, cultures and especially those by these skilled and evolved indigenous artists. She gives a glimpse into the future and talks her presentation at Independent in September and her plans to move to a bigger space in 2022. Listen to this enlightening and personal talk with a passionate promoter and lover of contemporary indigenous art. This talk will be also part of the  Independent Art Fair OVR in September 2021. recorded June 12, 2021, 47 min., Language: english

In this special Episode, created in collaboration with Independent Art Fair, my guest is Mills Morán, co-founder of the gallery Morán Morán with his brother Al and, together with collector Dean Valentine, of Felix Art Fair in Los Angeles. Mills talks about his childhood in El Salvador, the reasons the family had to leave the country and the different places they settled, before living in Miami and finally in Los Angeles. He talks about how he connected with the artist community and how knowing artists led him and his brother to first found a project space and ultimately the gallery. Mills relates the history of the gallery, giving every aspect of developing the family business together with his brother, his relations to the artists, other galleries and the collectors. He talks how work and relations changed and developed in times of the pandemic and gives an outlook into the future for the gallery as well as the fair. Listen to this informative and engaging talk with a passionate gallerist and supporter of artists. This talk will be also part of the Independent Art Fair OVR in September 2021.  Recorded June 3, 2021, 38 min. Language: english

A talk with Florian Peters-Messer, passionate collector of contemporary art. Florian co-curated the exhibitions "Fuck Your Fear" at VAN HORN in 2019 and "Empört Euch!/Time For Outrage" with Linda Peitz at Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf in 2020, where he also serves as member of the boards of the friends of the museum. Florian is the author of two books and runs a family business with seat in Viersen, Germany. He talks about how his art teacher at school ignited the deep and lasting interest for contemporary art in him, how meeting artist Thomas Hirschhorn in the 1990's changed his whole outlook on art and that he feels more and more drawn to political, social and psychological art.  He talks about his process of collecting, citing examples like "Rotterdam Rostock" by artist Erik van Lieshout and talks about feeling a certain kind of responsibility to collect and preserve these more complicated works of art for the public. We talk in depth about how anger can be a destructive force and a danger for democracy, as well as a source of creativity when expressed in works of art, like in the installations by artist Henrike Naumann. Florian reminds us that art plays an important role in understanding and reflecting society and the human condition and that preserving our environment and having real human contact are what we need just now. Recorded May 9, 2021, 42 min, Language: English

My guest today is Joanna Kamm, Founder and Owner of the eponymous gallery from 2001 to 2014 in Berlin and since 2018 Director of Liste Art Fair, Basel. Joanna moved to Berlin in 1989, shortly before the wall came down. She talks about how that changed everything and that the atmosphere of "everything is possible" opened up many opportunities for a whole generation. Joanna studied german Literature and Philosophy before she fell for art, first opening a project space before founding the gallery. She talks about the development of the gallery, that she always loved to discover artists and how her experiences as gallerist and as board member of ABC Berlin were invaluable for her current post at Director of Liste Art fair. She truly believes in humanistic values and the importance art has for Society. She gives some first hand and personal insights into the meaning galleries have for art, artists and cultural production. In the second half of the Podcast she talks about new ideas and projects for Liste, analog as well as digital, and some new and exciting plans for the upcoming fair in September 2021.  Episode 33, recorded March 15, 2021, 31 min. Language: english

My guest today is Mareike Dittmer, Director of Public Engagement at TBA21-Academy, Zürich, Switzerland. Mareike's skill is communication and she takes us onto an elaborate journey through her life. In the first part of this Episode Mareike talks her upbringing in East Germany, why she first trained in banking before attending art school and her diving into the underground artworld of 90s Berlin, working in London, her years at Frieze Magazine and her engagement with the 9th Futurological Congress and the Museum Susch in Engadin, Switzerland. In the 2nd half of the Podcast she speaks in depth about TBA21 Art Foundation and Academy, the Ocean Uni, the past year under Corona measurements and her plans and wishes for the future. She mentions many people she cherishes and cooperated with and shares her belief in serendipity, that she keeps her doors open for luck to come in and how she's very glad that there seems to be a new sense of togetherness. Recorded April 15, 2021. 53 min. Language: english

There are as many ways to become a gallery owner as there are galleries. A perfect example of somebody who treaded a completely individual path is my current guest Grant Wahlquist, owner of the eponymous gallery for contemporary art in Portland, Maine since 2017.

Grant has a broad education and studied a variety of topics. He seriously learned to play classical piano for 15 years, holds degrees in Philosophy, Art and Religion and even attended the fuller theological seminary.

Grant is a doctor of law, he was an associate at a law firm and worked as a freelance attorney before he became an art critic and a curatorial assistant at the Orange County Museum of Art, where he worked on exhibitions by artists like i.e. Peter Saul and Mary Heilman.

Grant talks about his studies and inclinations as a young man, the opportunities and challenges of opening a gallery outside of the big commercial hubs, his fascination with mid-career artists and how to combine business with cultural and philosophical integrity.

It's a pleasure to listen to his reflections and insights about art, the gallery business and living a good life.

Language: english, 36 min., recorded March 22, 2021

In this talk, my guest is Haley Mellin, a painter and land conservationist. Haley founded "Art into Acres", a non-profit initiative supporting artists and artworks in conserving large-scale landscapes for a positive impact on climate, biodiversity and irreplaceable ecosystems. She also founded conserve.org as a platform for people to be able to permanently conserve a single acre of land for the cost of a dinner out.

Her own painting practice happens "on the road“ while attending to conservation projects. She’s working with institutions like Hauser & Wirth, MOMA PS1, MOCA L.A., the Guggenheim and - very recently - the Kunstmuseum Bonn, to name just a few. A large part of her work is dedicated to supporting artists and smaller organisations like non-profits or galleries with their carbon footprints and how to reduce them.

Being an artist, she is the perfect intermediary between the land conservation organisations and the art world and entertains strong, trustful relations with the artists that donate their artworks and participants from the art community who are learning and looking into their carbon emissions through calculation and reduction approaches.

We discuss her upbringing and love for being outdoors, nurtured by her father, who held the view that "giving back is a large part of being alive.“ We talk about how she started painting and exhibiting at a young age and how art and conservation interlace in her life and practice. She shares her profound knowledge and deep insights into how art and conservation, both meant to last, go hand in hand.

This talk celebrates the 30th Episode of "Voices On Art," with Haley Mellin as a special guest and with a small "bonus track“: Haley unexpectedly started asking me questions herself. Enjoy this 38 min. in-depth talk with Haley, plus an extra 10 minutes of Haley Mellin interviewing Daniela Steinfeld. Recorded March 24, full length 49 min. Language: English.

My guest for this talk is Elizabeth Dee, co-Founder of the Independent Art Fair and Director of the John Giorno Foundation. She ran her eponymous Gallery in NYC for 18 years and founded the X Intiative, from which Independent developed. Elizabeth now sees herself in a variety of roles -  a Collector, an Artist, a Curator, a Teacher, a Lecturer, a Strategist, an Advocate, an Entrepreneur, a Publisher, a Writer, an Advisor and the Director of an art fair. This is an almost one hour in depth talk about Elizabeth's background, her upbringing and her studies at an all women's college, her beginnings as an artist (and cellist) and the many decisions she made and the uncounted doors she went through in a more than 20 years career in the artworld. Coming from a non-privileged background she had to face some hardships and learned everything from scratch, which gave her knowledge about almost all fields of the artworld. She shares her expertise in how to run a gallery, how to develop an art fair - even under dire circumstances - and above all, her deep passion for art and artists. She is very honest and let's us partake in her personal feelings, thoughts and experiences and thus gives us a lot to think and learn about. Recorded March 8, 2021, 57 min., Language: english.

My guest today is Michael Zimmer, entrepreneur, investor, consultant, art collector, founder of the sculpture park „The Inhabited Garden“ and editor of the book „A Sculpture Garden.“ Michael is extensively involved in social issues and has initiated or founded various foundations to help people in need. We talk his upbringing and how through art he got „a room on his own“ and that art was his refuge as a young man. He relates how he first studied art history before going into real estate and how he merged these two fields in his life. We talk in depth about his sculpture garden, what the main ideas are behind this unique project, how the international artists are selected and that it’s roots in Northrhine-Westphalia are very important to him. His deep interest lies with the human condition, so he is listening to his guests and extends his hospitality to the artists, their sculptures and anybody who visits the garden. To learn more go to their website: https://www.derbewohntegarten.de/, there you find also information about the beautiful book „A Sculpture Garden“. Recorded February 9, 2021. 35 min. Language: english

My guest today is Jennifer Higgie, writer and art critic. She has been Editor at Large for Frieze Magazine and is the host of Bowdown a wonderful Podcast about women in art history, she curated the Hayward touring and Arts Council exhibition „One Day, Something. Happens: Pictures of People“ and wrote and illustrated the children's book „There's Not One“. Currently she is working on various screenplays and writing projects. Her book „The Mirror and the Palette: 500 Years of Women's Self-Portraits“ is forthcoming at Weidenfeld & Nicolson in March 2021. We discuss her art studies in Australia, her moving to London, her transition from artist to writer and her love for painting. We talk the importance of art criticism, the need to highlight all kinds of inequality, including gender inequality. We talk her Bowdown Podcast about women in art history, which is one of the best art Podcasts around and new upcoming book "The Mirror and the Palette: 500 years of Women Self-Portraits", to be published in March 2021 at Weidenfeld & Nicolson. It's a personal and insighful talk and I loved speaking to Jennifer. Recorded February 6, 2021. 38 min., language english.