Meet millennial artist Anna Weyant, who recently joined hands with mega-empire Gagosian, having sold pieces valued at over $500 000.
This week the streets of New York are bustling with life as the city welcomes its vast array of illuminating art galleries and enthusiasts for its yearly art week. We should all know by now that the city that never sleeps is one of the busiest urban centres in the world.
Every newcomer who has ever arrived with a cultural suitcase has contributed to the sounds, tastes and textures of New York. Not only does NYC promote visibility, but it creates a space where people can safely come and see themselves reflected in the artwork. It also shows people that there is more to life than they see.
Over the decades, many New Yorkers made it big, and much of the fabulous wealth was reinvested into collecting some of the most significant artworks on the planet. So you can imagine how many art galleries there are. They are everywhere in New York City, from Brooklyn and Queens to Manhattan’s Upper and Lower East Sides.
However, in particular, one gallery made history when they recently announced that they had officially invited the youngest artist to join in on all their modern and contemporary glory. Gagosian is a contemporary art gallery directed by the infamous Larry Gagosian.
There are 16 gallery spaces: five in New York City; three in London; two in Paris; one in Basel, Beverly Hills, Rome, Athens, Geneva and Hong Kong.
The painter Anna Weyant has joined Gagosian, the mega-gallery empire with 19 locations worldwide. “At 27, she is the youngest artist currently on the roster where she will have a solo show in New York this fall,” states Gagosian.
Born in Calgary, Canada, the upcoming artist earned a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. She relocated to New York and studied painting at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. Moving back to New York, she worked as a studio assistant while pursuing her practice.
The art market has closely watched her paintings of women in muted tones. Tinged with an obscure kind of darkness, these surreal images hint at tortured psychological states, tinged with a mysterious type of darkness.
Anna Weyant has effectively “short-circuited that trajectory, joining one of the world’s most prominent galleries after being pushed up the ladder by Blum & Poe and 56 Henry.”
Later this month, whether her work will continue to dominate at auction will be tested in the New York marquee auctions. According to ArtNews, “Weyant paintings will feature in sales at both Phillips and Sotheby’s, where they are estimated to bring in at least $100,000.”
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND BLUM & POE, LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK AND TOKYO