Hello everyone, this is the first post on my ArtHotShot blog. I have been wanting to start this blog for quite some time now but have only just recently managed to find the time for it.

As I work in the arts, I’ve decided to dedicate this blog to international contemporary artists and their artworks. My first main focus will be on Eastern European Art, as it is being overlooked because Western Europe, the USA and China are still getting the most attention globally. Big galleries like Pace, Gagosian and Hauser & Wirth are representing the same artists or are managing their estates but fail to see the talented and underappreciated Eastern European ones.

The artists of those countries weren’t able to show their individual style and artwork during the Cold War, as only Socialist Realism was accepted behind the Iron Curtain and every other kind of art was oppressed. Therefore, artists couldn’t display their works internationally or even nationally and become known on a larger scale. The situation only changed after the Iron Curtain fell, but by then the international art market was already experiencing its first boom which had started in the early 1980s and continued into the 1990s. The main focus in the 1980s was Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, but in the 1990s the focus shifted to contemporary art which became the art market’s biggest growth area.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain there was some interest in Eastern European art, however many of the avant-garde artists were overlooked or didn’t get enough acknowledgment, because they were from the older generation, which didn’t have access to the outside world during the communist regimes. However, the younger generation managed to accomplish this feat for the older one in having a few globally known artists, most recently Adrian Ghenie, who represented Romania at the 56^th Venice Biennale in 2015.

Another focus of my blog will be about international exhibitions I visited or that are currently running, for example the 58^th Venice Biennale. Furthermore, I’ll write about art fairs, as well as museum and gallery exhibitions. I’ll also talk about different and unusual types of art, which aren’t always considered “real” art. Additionally I’ll speak about up-and-coming international artists or some that have caught my eye and where I see future potential.

My first uploads though will be about Romanian artists from different generations. The younger ones are all sculptors or performance artists, while also working with technology, ceramics and unusual kinds of materials. The older artists are in the domain of painting and sculpture; but some of them were also influenced by other artists through emigration into different countries during the communist regime.

I plan to upload an article once or twice a month. Some links and pictures will be added for you to explore the different types of works mentioned in the blog and have a look at the venues where exhibitions are taking place. I hope it will be of interest to you getting to know Romanian artists of all generations. Additionally, I aim to update you about the international art market and world, as well as recommending exhibitions I enjoyed.