Ambiri Sana
Through our newsletter we deepen our market understanding, unlock value for our clients, and cultivate a diverse audience of intelligent and inquisitive individuals who are not traditional art world participants. We recognize a broad demand for insightful critique of art and the art world, plus an under explored dynamic interplay with the growing market for Digital Art. As we develop innovative products to engage and expand our audience; we are committed to creating value in the art market.
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This Australian Art Published: Tuesday, 21 January 2025 Dreaming. It is universal; it inspires children and sustains adults. Dreaming is part of our personal story, capable of evolution while connecting us to others and the world. Dreams can motivate, inspire, and guide us to our true selves. (Note that I'm talking about hopeful daydreams here, not the (potentially scary!) night-time dreams.... Think of Chagall's The Birthday or Sky Above Clouds IV by Georgia...
Beyond Rum and Reggae
Beyond Rum and Reggae Caribbean Art Published: Thursday, 9 January 2025 Happy New Year Everyone! Welcome to 2025! To kick off a new year at Ambiri Sana, we are diving into the vibrant and under-appreciated world of Caribbean art, to brighten the grey of winter with a splash of Caribbean sunshine. We’ve been fairly Western-centric so far, which is okay to build a foundation, but we need to broaden our horizons. There’s a world of art to discover, and it’s when you leave the cave that things...
Mimetic Miami
Mimetic Miami Art Basel Miami Published: Wednesday, 18 December 2024 After a week of embodying the mind, body and spirit of a seal pup with a pina colada (video below), I found myself in the middle of an art deco watering hole at Art Basel Miami. As the art world descended onto The 305 (i.e.'the Latin New York', aka Miami, Florida) to close out the 2024 season, you would not notice that attendance was apparently down by several thousand compared to last year: in contrast to some of the gloom...
When in Rome Part 3
When in Rome Part 3 Art and The Power of Display Published: Tuesday, 10 December 2024 Sometimes we forget the importance of context for our appreciation of things. A change in setting or display shifts how we perceive an object or person. Presentation and environment shape our experience and judgement. The designer fashion industry has certainly learned this lesson and is not shy about pulling all the levers to manipulate ahem influence our buying habits. Consider shopping at a thrift store...
When in Rome Part 2
When in Rome Part 2 It's All Greek (and Egyptian) To Me Published: Tuesday, 19 November 2024 Scheduling Note: We're an Anglo-American company, so we celebrate the King's Birthday and also Thanksgiving [1]. So, no newsletter next week due to holidays (vacations!); we'll be back in December. Sometimes we forget how multicultural art is. Popular movements typically associated with a culture can have strong influences from the art of other cultures. Whether its Japanese prints with French...
When in Rome Part 1
When in Rome Part 1 You Are Not A God Published: Tuesday, 12 November 2024 How often do you think about the Roman Empire? I don't know about you, but for me it is Every. Single. Day. Frankly, I’m not upset about that: their military conquests, engineering ingenuity, political organisation, and ‘progressive’ attitude toward citizen women is the bare minimum of their accomplishments. (Roman women were allowed to own property and handle money… well, some Roman women; it wasn’t perfect. Still,...
I Followed You to the End
I Followed You to the End Published: Tuesday, 5 November 2024 It is hard to think of Contemporary Art and not think of the YBA: the Young British Artists who shocked the world in the 1990s with their unconventional materials and provocative themes. And when you think of the YBA, it’s even harder not to think of Tracey Emin. She is a bit of a trailblazing legend. Sorry, that's DAME Tracey Emin: in 2013 Queen Elizabeth II appointed her Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire...
When Nilima and Billy Came To London
When Nilima and Billy Came To London Published: Tuesday, 29 October 2024 Contemporary Art is a beast of its own. Technically, it simply refers to art produced from the 1960’s onwards, to differentiate it from categories like ‘Modern Art’ (from the 1860’s (!) to the late 1960’s) and ‘Old Masters’ (1300-1850). The term was introduced to create a separation from the obsession with abstraction and the subconscious that infused Modern Art movements like Cubism and Surrealism, and the fascination...
Let's Get Digital Part 3
Let's Get Digital Part 3 Published: Tuesday, 6 August 2024 After three months of nose-to-laptop, I remembered this is a European art newsletter. Therefore, it is time to set my email auto reply to “Je suis actuellement en vacances”. Thank you all for reading: along with the rest of the art world, we’ll be back in September. Before we go, here is the third installment of our voyage into Digital Art. There’s more than one bar chart coming up (shudders), so I’ve included some artworks I think...
Let's Get Digital Part 2
Let's Get Digital Part 2 Published: Tuesday, 2 August 2024 Welcome back! Last week, you joined me outside my Comfort Zone in learning about digital art. We discussed the historical context of digital art, and how NFTs are just the latest example of new technologies disrupting the art world. We saw how NFTs compare to other historical art movements driven from new technologies, how they fit into the historical context, and why I dislike climbing Scottish mountains in bad weather (I’m over that...
Through our newsletter we deepen our market understanding, unlock value for our clients, and cultivate a diverse audience of intelligent and inquisitive individuals who are not traditional art world participants. We recognize a broad demand for insightful critique of art and the art world, plus an under explored dynamic interplay with the growing market for Digital Art. As we develop innovative products to engage and expand our audience; we are committed to creating value in the art market.