June Art Fair Moves Online with Hauser & Wirth, Featuring Sepuya, Varelas, and Wu

The 2020 edition of June, a boutique art fair launched last year in Basel, has transitioned to an online format hosted by Hauser & Wirth from August 20–31. ArtReview is supporting this year's fair, which features artists Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Jannis Varelas, and John Ziqiang Wu. Sepuya presents collages created during a 2018 residency at LightWork in Syracuse, using accumulated photographic material. Varelas shows paintings titled The Maroons, inspired by the Laocoön composition and depicting figures in jungle-like settings, with an accompanying animation made for ArtReview. Wu exhibits drawings developed from his artist residency at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, where he served as an unofficial intern across departments. Sepuya expressed hope that white artists would address whiteness in their statements, though he doubts it will happen. Wu noted increased engagement with art on Instagram and described the current remote world as an exciting global experiment that may lead to better art reflecting social changes. Varelas has a solo show planned with The Breeder in Athens this winter. Wu is working on an artist book titled One Day Intern and preparing for his first solo exhibition at Empty Gallery in Hong Kong this fall, incorporating material from travels to Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.