Guy Yanai in London group show

The breakthrough success of Lawrence van Hagen’s What’s Up, held in London earlier this year, underlined for its young curator the need for more global surveys of emerging and established contemporary artists.

What’s Up 2.0, the second of Lawrence’s ambitious series of shows, opens a week before Frieze Art Fair. With the kind support of House of the Nobleman, Susanne van Hagen, and Amazon property, What’s Up 2.0 will exhibit its dynamic range of artists to collectors from the capital, as well as art aficionados from all over the world.

Lawrence’s careful choice of artworks will conduct a dialogue with the spaces in which they are installed. Located just 300 metres from Frieze, two of seven adjacent residences-cum-showrooms will be dedicated to Lawrence’s show, while the remaining five will exhibit a selection of more institutional works. The venue at 94 Portland Place is part of The Park Crescent, London’s only Royal crescent with access to eight acres of private gardens; originally designed by John Nash, the space has been transformed by Amazon Property into new luxury private residences. Inside, viewers might be greeted by a Katherine Bernhardt painting of stylised toilet rolls hanging in a bathroom next to the real thing, or find Brian Bellot’s mustard drawings at home in the kitchen.

What’s Up 2.0 will respond to a series of fundamental questions: What drives the contemporary art market? ‘What’s up’ on the walls of leading art institutions? And how do these walls reflect the status of the art world today?

The exhibition aims to reify the ideology of its predecessor, combin- ing a multitude of artists and creative techniques to offer a glimpse into the art world’s most tantalising trends. All artists have been carefully selected through extensive research at galleries, institutions, private art centres, fairs, artists’ studios, and biennials. They are as varied in renown as they are in their chosen media, and the exhibition will showcase everything from painting and drawing, to sculpture and video art. This diversity reflects the creative energy of a burgeoning cohort of international young artists; even within a given medium, the pieces chosen by van Hagen reflect a wide range of artistic approaches.

“I wanted to create a second edition of What’s Up that builds on the knowledge we gained from the first exhibition, trying to keep the same balance between established contemporary artists and more emerging ones, something I believe helps the newer artists build status while enabling the established artists to stay current. The goal of the show is to entice younger collectors to begin col- lecting and more established ones to keep seeking to support the artists of today.” LVH

What’s Up 2.0 is orchestrated to engage experienced as well as first-time art collectors, and features work from an innovative group of artists, several of whom van Hagen has followed since their beginnings. These include, Paul Kremer (Fondazione 107), Katherine Bernhardt (Rubell Collection), Philippe Decrauzat (Kunsthalle Wien), Idris Khan (Bass Museum of Art), Anthony Pearson (Columbus Museum of Art), Tobjørn Rødland (9th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art), Jorinde Voigt (Hamburger Bahnhoff), Joe Bradley (Albright Knox), Katharina Grosse (Frieder Burda Museum), Michael Dean (David Roberts art foundation), Clément Cogitore (Palais de Tokyo and Fondation Ricard pour l’art contemporain), and Bianca Argimon (Fondation Hermès and laureate of the ‘prix du dessin con- temporain 2016’ awarded by le Cabinet des amateurs de dessins de l’École des Beaux-Arts).

The artists: Bianca Argimon, Mohammed Quasim Ashfaq, Brian Belott, Katherine Bernhardt, Joe Bradley, Ry David Bradley, Sarah Braman, Stefan Brügemann, Clément Cogitore, Michael Dean, Philippe Decrauzat, Robert Gober, Katharina Grosse, Camille Henrot, Thrush Holmes, Melike Kara, Jordan Kasey, Michael John Kelly, Idris Khan, John Knuth, Paul Kremer, Bettina Krieg, Manuel Scano Larrazàbal, Sadie Laska, Lilly Lewis, Shaun McDowell, Rory Menage, Alan Michael, Annie Morris, Christian Newby & Ana Martinez Fernandez, Anthony Pearson, Joe Reihsen, Torbjørn Rødland, Chris Succo, Jonathan Trayte, Jorinde Voigt, Eugenia Weinsten, James White, Guy Yanai.

Lawrence van Hagen is the curator of the What’s Up shows and an independent art advisor. Operated in partnership with Smart Fine Arts, LVH is a family-run business dedicated to supporting modern, post-war, and contemporary art. We are invested in helping clients navigate in the contemporary art markets by providing both short and long-term strategic advice to buyers and sellers. Lawrence has also actively been involved in the choice of works for the non-profit space “More Young Americans” in Paris.

94 Portland Place Marylebone, London W1B 1NZ

Friday 30 September - Sunday 23 October 2016

Monday - Saturday, 11-7pm or by appointment