This issue spotlights the representation of disenfranchised and marginalized communities and gives voice to creatives emerging out of these groups. Featuring: “self-taught” Italian artist
Roberto Cuoghi; a survey of the works of Chinese artist Evelyn Taocheng Wang; an interview with Grace Wales Bonner by
Hans Ulrich Obrist; art-world outsider turned insider
Raymond Pettibon; the sound environments of musical collective Non Worldwide; a conversation with Puppies Puppies and Nancy Lupo…
Discussing the painting practice of Kerry James Marshall with Hans Ulrich Obrist, fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner cites Marshall's intention to keep producing images of blackness “so that you're broadening the spectrum and flooding people with that kind of imagery until it becomes normal.” “I think that's probably why I'm on this path as well,” she concludes. Her words are central to this issue of
Flash Art, which is premised on broadening the spectrum of representation of disenfranchised and marginalized communities and giving voice to creatives emerging out of these groups.
This issue gathers together artists and practitioners concerned with the development of creative languages “for empowerment,” all of whom “weaponize” creativity. In a tacit homage to
Lutz Bacher's interview project “Do You Love Me?” our cover artist Puppies Puppies meets with fellow Los Angeles–based artist Nancy Lupo. To his question, “What do you think about power in my work?” Lupo replies: “We are mutually vulnerable. The project of finding out when and where love begins is irresistible because it allows you to inscribe yourself into something that's already happening. You get to choose your archetype, although it's true that archetypes can be vexing, as are readymades.”
Flash Art is an international quarterly magazine and
publishing platform dedicated to thinking about contemporary art, exploring the evolving cultural landscape through the work of leading artists, writers, curators and others.
One of Europe's oldest art magazines,
Flash Art was founded in Rome in 1967, before relocating to Milan in 1971, and was originally bilingual, published in both Italian and English. In 1978 two separate editions were launched:
Flash Art International and
Flash Art Italia. Today the magazine remains one of the most recognizable and widely read publications of its kind, and is distributed in 87 countries.
