Art at Work

One of the perks of working at and visiting UOVO is being in an environment filled with some incredible works of art from the collections of our Chairman and CEO, Steven Guttman and Steve Novenstein.

As part of our ongoing employee training series, UOVO art handler (and artist) Nick H. gave a talk titled “The Revolving Art World” on the changing nature of galleries and institutions, the role of artists, curators, galleries, advisors, dealers – and how UOVO fits in.

 

Nick is responsible for curating the work that hangs in our offices (and I have him to thank for the wonderful photographs by Wolfgang Tillmans in mine). As a part of his talk, Nick explained his curatorial approach to our current lobby installation, which features work by four young female artists – Thea Djordjadze, Latifa Echakhch, Analia Saban, and Andrea Romano.

 

Nick is interested in the way that all four artists use a brutalist style and a set of materials often associated with men’s work and construction – steel and resin – in their practice. The works have an interesting relationship to elements of the architecture, such as concrete walls and floors. Selecting four women artists for the installation is also a nod to the many women on UOVO’s team. Some notes from Nick on selections from the installation are below:

“Steel was an important medium to include in this installation. The cold demeanor of the steel interacts in an interesting way with the blue pigment Djordjadze uses. The brightness of the blue stands out amidst the colder tones of pigment in the other exhibited works.”

“This is a true mixed media piece. It combines photography with painting, and at the same time it references a process of dissolution that is familiar in the concepts and aesthetic Saban in known for.”

Seeing a thoughtfully curated exhibition in the office reminds our staff of how UOVO fits into the larger context of the art world, caring for objects from storage, in transport, and during installation.