Author: Lizzy Vartanian Collier

Lizzy Vartanian Collier aka Gallery Girl is a writer and curator based in London. Her work has been featured in publications including Dazed, Hyperallergic and Vogue Arabia. She was curator of Perpetual Movement during AWAN Festival 2018 and in 2019 had a residency at the Lab at Darat Al Funun in Amman, Jordan. She has also worked with Armenia Art Fair for its inaugural edition and previously worked as an editor at I.B.Tauris Publishers. In 2019 she co-founded Arsheef, Yemen’s first contemporary art gallery. She has given workshops at Manara Culture in Amman, Jordan and Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK. As of 2020 she is currently in law school, with the ambition of greater understanding the intersection between art and the law.

Azadeh Razaghdoost @ Sophia Contemporary

December 28, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

‘O rose thou art sick The invisible worm … Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy’ – The Sick Rose, William Blake, 1794 What does the state of contemporary Iran and eighteenth and nineteenth century Britain and France have in common? Persian artist, Azadeh Razaghdoost, […]

Bahrain Art Week @ Asia House

December 18, 2016.Reading time 5 minutes.

I have always believed that art is a powerful tool of communication. Although it is often audibly silent, the visual nature of art has the ability to speak volumes in ways the written or spoken word cannot. The opening reception to Bahrain Art Week began with a panel discussion that included a former British MP […]

Anselm Kiefer @ White Cube

December 11, 2016.Reading time 3 minutes.

If you only see one more exhibition before this year draws to a close, make sure it is Anselm Kiefer’s solo exhibition at White Cube. Walhalla is an immersive experience which unravels to reveal a beguiling universe as you progress through the gallery space. Kiefer’s show is a journey. His work has completely taken over […]

Classic American Photography @ Pace

December 3, 2016.Reading time 2 minutes.

The current exhibition of ‘American Classics’ at Pace Gallery is stunning. The show displays the photographs of artists whose careers began in the USA shortly after the close of the two world wars. The black and white documentary style images present an historical snapshot of American culture and politics in a striking and moving display. […]

Subversive Fashion @ Barbican

November 27, 2016.Reading time 3 minutes.

Subvert [verb], to undermine the power and authority of (an established system or institution. Midway through the current Subversive Fashion exhibition at Barbican Gallery I turned to my friend and said ‘this is lacking a bit of oomf isn’t it?!’ He looked at me and nodded, with a tinge of disappointment in his eyes. The […]