Meet the Curator: Sandra De Giorgi
This International Women's Day Auction has a totally different format to other years. We have invited seven female curators to each create an auction of female identifying artists, which will all run concurrently from 23rd February to 9th March. We are introducing each of the curators on our blog, this week speaking with AOAP's own, Sandra De Giorgi.
Register to Bid in Sandra's Mini Auction
We're very excited about having seven female curators for this year's AOAP International Women's Day Auction. Do you think it's harder for women to be successful in the art world than it is for men?
Yes, this is unfortunately the case. My fellow curators in this auction have referenced case studies and statistics that show this disparity, with Louise Fitzjohn speaking particularly about the struggles artist mothers face and Carrie Scott referencing the disappointing statistics of female artists represented in galleries as opposed to their male counterparts.
Still, I’m so lucky to be part of an all-female team at Art on a Postcard, which has supported me in curating my first auction. Having my first auction be filled with female-identifying artist and for our International Women’s Day Auction has been such a joy and makes me hopefully for the future.
Can you tell us about how you got to the position you are in today?
I consider myself a curator in progress, as I am right at the start of both my curatorial journey and my career in the art world. After studying art history, I gained some experience in marketing, before joining Art on a Postcard in 2021. There’s never a quiet moment at AOAP and after over a year of supporting with auctions and meeting artists, I’m looking forward to my first show!
At AOAP we always try to champion rising talent. What emerging artist are you most excited about in your auction?
It’s so difficult to pick just one, as the majority of the artists in my show are ones that I discovered recently over the last year and who are emerging talents! Being half-Korean, I really wanted to champion emerging artists of Asian heritage, so I’m particularly excited about Mizuki Nishiyama’s work, as she’s incorporated Japanese Ink painting techniques, 'Sumi', in her cards, and Alya Hatta, who takes inspiration from both her South-London and Kuala Lumpur residences.
What artwork would you buy if money was no object?
What a choice to make! I really love Shara Hughes - one of her large-scale landscapes would be an absolute dream (though neither my budget or tiny flat can accommodate it currently!). I also think the works of Danielle McKinney, Yuri Yuan and Anthony Cudahy are all outstanding.
Over the last year, I’ve really fallen in love with the artworks of Cece Philips and Shaqúelle Whyte, who we've worked with at AOAP, they are definitely artists I'll be keeping my eye on and looking to collect one day!
What upcoming projects are you looking forward to in 2023?
AOAP has some really outstanding auctions coming up, including our April auction with War Child UK as well as a mini auction with a new guest curator, Jack Trodd (Brushes with Greatness Gallery).