Modern Painters / BlouinArtInfo.com June/July 2016 – In a report for the global art magazine Modern Painters, Fellow Jonathan Guyer writes about why art’s biggest stars are flocking to the collecting mecca of Qatar.
Guyer attended the New York Times‘ Art for Tomorrow conference in the conservative, constitutional monarchy’s capital. He interviewed Jeff Koons and Marina Abramovic, as well as local practitioners, about art’s role in a land without free speech. “I think that art can be quite political, but on the surface it doesn’t have to be so obvious in its politics,” said Koons, a frequent guest of the Qatari royal family.
Guyer goes on to survey Qatar’s artists and museums, and discovers that the country’s red lines are undoubtedly broken, often to little fanfare. But even as some artists shrug at rules, there is one inescapable fact: In Qatar, dissent might land you in jail.
The feature is in the June/July 2016 edition on newsstands now. For a copy of Guyer’s article, contact Haley Aubuchon at haley.aubuchon@icwa.org