In the Studio Cecilia Vicuña, New York

Cecilia Vicuña’s practice moves fluidly between poetry, sculpture, textile, and performance, always returning to what she calls arte precario: an art built from debris, unspun wool, feathers, and stone that she has been making since 1966. Rooted in Indigenous Andean knowledge systems, and above all in the khipu—the knotted cord long dismissed as a mere accounting device—her work reframes precariousness and fragility as forms of consciousness rather than loss.

Person with long wavy hair sits on a stool in a gallery, looking at the camera, wearing a navy jacket; left wall covered in blue Life posters.

In the Studio Robin Kid, Rambouillet, France

Robin Kid works with images that feel less made than encountered. Cowboys, cops, fragments of cartoon Americana: images that existed long before he picked them up, suspended somewhere between memory and mass culture. Raised in the south of the Netherlands by his grandparents, in a former mining neighbourhood bordering an American army base, he grew up with the idea of the U.S. glowing faintly from the other side of the fence.

Adult female with blonde ponytail in a dark sweatshirt stands with arms crossed amid tall cacti in a sunlit garden.

In the Studio Megan Plunkett, Los Angeles, CA

American artist Megan Plunkett turns away from depicting people, instead focusing on everyday objects. Drawn from consumer culture, and the film industry, her carefully constructed photographic series cultivate a sense of estrangement within things that might otherwise feel familiar.

Two adults chat and smile on a colorful circular-seat bench in a bright modern room with white walls and art.

Collector Stories Johanna and Friedrich Gräfling, Wiesen, Germany

The program that Johanna and Friedrich Gräfling have completed in terms of art over the past ten years is actually more than enough for three lifetimes. They have founded an experimental exhibition space in Aschaffenburg, established the “Salon Kennedy” in Frankfurt am Main, a place for exhibitions and discourse on art, architecture and design, founded an art association, converted a barn into a residence, and built up a distinguished art collection with an international reputation, including works by Alicia Kwade, Simon Fujiwara, and Michael Sailstorfer.

Culture Briefing

Where to meet art, culture and creativity

Poster for Julian Charrière's 'Spiral Economy' exhibition at Museo Corner Venezia during the Venice Biennale.

Nordic Notes

Smiling person in a black t-shirt stands in a textile workshop beside shelves of yarn cones and fabric rolls.

Pia Ferm, Frankfurt
Be it carving, weaving or tufting, Pia Ferm defines herself as a sculptor. In her neat tapestries, hand-trimmed to keep the surface alive, the Swedish artist mixes a pretty medium with humor, creating figures that are frozen in time like cartoons. Time is essential for Ferm but not in the way you might think. She has plenty of it.
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