Director of VOLTA
Amanda Coulson sat down with us on the opening day of VOLTA to talk about the emerging relevance of critical work, the end of glitter, and artists reeling it in.
WHITEWALL: Last year was the first time that VOLTA New York did the solo artist booth. How did the reaction to last years show lead you to use that format again this year?
AMANDA COULSON: There was a very specific reason. The concept behind VOLTA as a whole is to not just catch the leftovers. When Merchandise Mart bought us they wanted to have VOLTA on the American platform. In New York there was already Pulse, which is a great fair. So we had to decide what are we then providing that will be different? There were so many fairs, so many galleries, and I decided that we should strip down, limit the number of galleries, and we came up with solo projects. Last year we had great feedback and we decided to do it again. It’s easier to do something really striking with solo projects and do a tightly curated show.
WW: How were the title, “Age of Anxiety,” and the theme of the show decided upon between you and Christian Viveros-Faune, the Curatorial Advisor of VOLTA?
AC: Christian and I are both working art critics and that keeps us very engaged in looking at things critically. Christian and I keep a mental list of artists that we’ve looked at over the year. Normally we see a pattern. Now aesthetics, as far as beauty goes, aren’t the standard for criterion anymore.
Now aesthetics, as far as beauty goes, aren’t the standard for criterion anymore.
WW: Walking around the fair you do notice the lack of flash and glitter.
AC: It’s about what happens at a time when people begin to feel anxious about whatever – because not all the work is about the economy, some of the work is about gender or the environment. The art world got really flashy and artists started reacting to that. They have a conflicted relationship with the market. So a lot of the work is about reeling it in and showing substance and content.
WW: As the art market grew, China and India and other emerging markets got a lot of attention and subsequently other countries were passed over. Is that a reason why you chose to select underexposed international galleries?
AC: There were always hot countries. We made an effort to look for people that have a much harder time getting a platform.
WW: You’re a critic. How has that informed your role as director of the fair?
AC: As a critic you’re taking the temperature of what’s happening. We’re looking at what is upcoming as opposed to what an artist has achieved which changes the flavor of the fair. We all have our niches and what we bring is an attention to the installation. We come at it as if we’re curating a show.
