‘You Don’t Have to Go Where Everyone Else Is Going’: How the Cultivist’s Joey Lico Spends Her Art-Filled Summers

Joey Lico’s job as the global curator and senior director of the
members-only arts club the Cultivist keeps her
constantly on the move. While most people dream of unhurried
summers at the beach, Lico jet-sets around the world to see
thought-provoking, often politically charged contemporary
art—and she wouldn’t have it any
other way. 

During a rare moment of downtime back home in Los Angeles, we
caught up with Lico before she was set to leave on a trip to Puerto
Escondido and Oaxaca to talk about her recent trips, the best art
she’s seen this summer, and what makes traveling for art worth it.
Here’s what she had to say.

How much of your travel this summer has been for work,
versus for fun?

I’m a curator—even when it’s for fun, it’s work. We’re
constantly researching and trying to see new things. At the
Cultivist, we’re always trying to expand the horizons of our
membership, so that means challenging our own horizons, too.

And where have you taken your members
recently? 

We did a trip with 18 people in early June to Guadalajara.
Mexico City has a lot of credibility as a major art hub, but I
wanted to show our members how important Guadalajara is, not just
to the Mexican art scene, but also to the contemporary art scene,
globally.

There are so many incredible artists’ studios there. We had a
full itinerary, from Thursday to Sunday, visiting artists
including Jose Dávila; Gabriel Rico, who is representing Mexico in
the current Venice Biennale; and Cynthia Guttierez, who represented
Mexico in the last biennale.

There are also two incredible fabricators who are based in
Guadalajara, Taller Mexicano de Gobelinos and Cerámica Suro, who work directly with
contemporary artists such as Pae White, John Currin, and Walead Beshty.

Taller Mexicano de Gobelinos is one of the only traditional
tapestry makers left in the world. They use a very old method that
involves several different colors of yarn to weave these beautiful
tapestries for many artists who we know and love. And pretty much
anyone who does ceramics works with Cerámica Suro.

What was the best, most unforgettable part of that
trip?

The Cultivist commissioned a private performance from Emanuel Tovar on the island of Mezcala. It
was a special moment.

And then we did a studio visit with Jorge Mendez Blake. I love his work and
he was so generous with us. We wound up having sunset cocktails on
his rooftop. We also had a dinner with Eduardo Sarabia on his ceramic-ware,
which was unlike any other experience that I could possibly
recreate.

And from Mexico, you flew to the other side of the
world, right?

From there, I went back to the Sharjah Biennial, which is quite far from
Guadalajara. I was only there for two-and-a-half days, which
is crazy because it’s a 17-and-a-half hour flight—but that’s my
life. I’m very lucky if I can be in a place for more than a few
days. I had been there in March, but this year’s presentation was
exceptional, and I wanted to do more research on some of the
exhibitions I’d seen.

There’s also a wonderful foundation there called the Barjeel Art Foundation. They have a number
of paintings by this Palestinian painter, Asim Abu-Shakra. His story is quite
sad. He was looking for an apartment in Tel Aviv and no one
would rent him one because he was Palestinian. He started living in
an attic, but it was rat-infested and filled with toxins, and he
wound up dying at the age of 28. But one of the most beautiful
paintings I’ve ever seen is of the view from his window where he
lived. It’s quite haunting, especially when you learn the story
behind it.

When you think about what’s happening now in the world, it’s a
reminder of how important it is to treat everyone with humanity,
regardless of their background.

As a woman traveling in Sharjah, did you feel
welcome?

The Emirates do have a reputation for being quite conservative,
but Sharjah is quite open. It felt very Western outside of the
no-alcohol thing. I didn’t have any issues, and the women there
seemed very comfortable and open, and were often directors of the
museums. But Sharjah is a major city, and my experience is colored
by being in the art world, which is typically much more
progressive.

Do you often encounter great art in unexpected
places?

After Sharjah, I was planning a girls’ trip to Sonoma and one of
my closet friends was like, “We have to go to this vineyard, they
have an art collection!” It’s called the Donum Estate, and it houses a massive
public art collection throughout the vineyard.

We did our tasting and then we went on these ATVs around the
grounds to see the sculptures. There was work by Anselm Kiefer,
Lynda Benglis, Keith Haring, Fernando Botero, Mark Manders, the
entire zodiac from Ai Weiwei
and an incredible Louise Bourgeois spider.

It’s an embarrassment of riches—the perfect marriage of enjoying
really wonderful wine and being surrounded by incredible art. I was
so impressed by it that we’re going to do an event with them for
Cultivist members.

Is it ever hard to keep up with your busy
schedule?

It sounds really great, and I’m so lucky that I get to travel
and see so much amazing art.

But there’s a downside to it. I’m exhausted. I have no idea what
time zone I’m in. And I think my right shoulder is permanently
damaged from lifting my carry-on up into the overhead bin once or
twice a week.

What are you looking for in an art
destination?

I do whatever I can to support and highlight artists from Latin
America—Mexico in
particular, because it is such a rich epicenter for art,
creativity, design, cuisine, and culture. I went to Mexico City to
see a show of ceramics at the Museo Universitario del Chopo
by Eduardo Sarabia, done in the traditional Talavera style
that is indigenous to the country. Sarabia is Mexican-American, and
his work has to do with border politics. It’s always been relevant,
but, every day, it gets more and more relevant.

I went to Chicago, for an exhibition at the Smart Museum called “Cross Currents/Intercambio
Cultural,” looking at issues of Latinx identity and how it
manifests in artists’ practices. Chicago did an exchange with
Havana, Cuba, with artists from both cities, and the exhibition is
based on the research they conducted. The show has three artists I
love: Edra Soto and Harold Mendez from Chicago, and Alberto Aguilar from Cuba. The curator did
an amazing job of finding the spines of two cities—in two very different
countries—that are actually
dealing with and looking at very similar things in their questions
about identity and intercontinental relationships.

What kind of advice would you give to someone interested
in taking an art-themed trip?

Make your dinner reservations in advance! That sounds very
strange, but if I’m traveling for an art fair, I’m looking at
massive amounts of art, and I’m usually not eating. Being sure to
have dinner is a wonderful way to make sure you have the energy to
keep looking. During Art Basel Miami, I have a standing reservation
for six people at a restaurant every night, and I use it about 80
percent of the time.

In terms of choosing a destination, try anything that’s piquing
your curiosity and is also buoyed by a culture that you’re
interested in learning more about. So if you’re a really big fan
of, say, Takashi Murakami, and he has show in Atlanta, where you’ve
never been, maybe that’s a good time to explore that city.

You don’t have to go where everyone else is going. You’ll see
that on Instagram, covered ad nauseam. If you can find something
sparking your own interest, follow it and see what you think.

The post ‘You Don’t Have to Go Where Everyone Else Is Going’: How
the Cultivist’s Joey Lico Spends Her Art-Filled Summers
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