Crossing the threshold of 30 issues came as an opportunity to take stock of the years behind us and envision the trajectory ahead. We have chosen 50 monographic stories from Kaleidoscope's past 29 issues, spanning a diversity of media, generations and attitudes towards art. The result is a snapshot of what's happening in visual culture now, a document of the zeitgeist—and the perfect issue to keep you company during the summer.
Artists featured in this issue include: Mark Leckey (by Mark Fisher); John Currin (by Catherine Wood); Michael E. Smith (by Chris Sharp); Cao Fei (by Klaus Biesenbach); Ed Atkins (by Hans Ulrich Obrist); John Armleder (by Andrea Bellini); Apichatpong Weerasethakul (by Carson Chan); Amalia Ulman (by Francesca Gavin); Ron Nagle (by Sterling Ruby); Torbjørn Rødland (by Hanne Mugaas); Vanessa Beecroft (by Alessio Ascari); Steven Shearer (by Dieter Roelstraete); Dianna Molzan (by Bruce Hainley); Keiichi Tanaami (by Fredi Fischli and Niels Olsen); Neïl Beloufa (by Camille Blatrix); Thomas Houseago (by Michael Ned Holte); Darja Bajagić (by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Simon Castets); Sterling Ruby (by Piero Golia); John Divola (by Chris Wiley); Alexandra Bachzetsis (by Catherine Wood); Mark Flood (by Jeff Elrod); Yngve Holen (by Pablo Larios); Bernadette Corporation (by Annie Ochmanek); Simon Denny (by Venus Lau); Isa Genzken (by Beatrix Ruf); Loretta Fahrenholz (by Michele D'Aurizio); Albert Oehlen (by Fredi Fischli and Niels Olsen); Xu Zhen (by Davide Quadrio); Domenico Gnoli (by Giorgio Verzotti); Lynette Yiadom-Boakye (by Hans Ulrich Obrist); Sylvia Sleigh (by Joanna Fiduccia); Francesco Vezzoli (by Kevin McGarry); Jordan Wolfson (by Beatrix Ruf); Michael Clark Company (by Catherine Wood); Metahaven (by Nav Haq); Ashley Bickerton (by Fredi Fischli and Niels Olsen); Shanzhai Biennial (by Kevin McGarry); Anne Imhof (by Susanne Pfeffer); Ida Ekblad (by Peter J. Amdam); Yang Fudong (by Li Zhenhua); Walter Pfeiffer (by Nicolas Trembley); Carroll Dunham (by Catherine Taft); Katy Grannan (by Charlie White); MR. (by Alessio Ascari); Peter Halley (by Fredi Fischli and Niels Olsen); Pierre Huyghe (by Eric Troncy); Luigi Ghirri (by Luca Cerizza); Robert Longo (by Ross Simonini).
In addition, to celebrate this special issue, we commissioned a major visual project to young Los Angeles-based artist Martine Syms. Often described as "conceptual entrepreneur," Syms combines autobiographical material with historical narratives and tropes from popular culture, examining representations of blackness and its relationship to American vernacular, situation comedy, feminist movements and radical traditions.
This 30+ page cover story runs parallel and serves as a spin-off to the artist's first US solo museum exhibition a New York's MoMA, centered around her new feature-length film, Incense Sweaters & Ice. Here, Syms creates a complex visual system featuring a conversation with Yale academic Rizvana Bradley and a constellation of film stills, script excerpts, pop-cultural references, self-preservation rules and found family photographs.
Parallel to this project, Syms launched WYD?, a digital app created in collaboration with developer Brent David Freaney. Find the app's icon on the cover and inside the magazine, point your camera to the image and turn your audio on to activate video and augmented reality content.