LONDON.- Reza Derakshani is a most worthy choice for the second exhibition of Iranian art at
Osborne Samuel Gallery. He follows our well received show in June 2009 which brought the works of Sadegh Tirafkan, Behrouz Rae and Morteza Darehbaghi to London for the first time. The gallery has always shown a great interest in art from those countries where there is a vibrant art scene that is perhaps under-represented in London . Osborne Samuel Gallery pioneered the showing of Indian contemporary art some years ago and are now embarking on an ambitious programme to show the best Iranian artists. In spite of the upheavals in that country there is no doubting the unique strength and importance of the art that is being made in Iran , steeped in history and tradition yet entirely relevant to today’s world. These artists are free spirits, they deserve to be heard and their work
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- On March 16, 2010, a second rotation of objects will be installed in the exhibition Friend or Faux: Imitation and Invention from Innocent to Fraudulent, now on view at the
Rosenbach Museum & Library. The major exhibition, which opened in November and will be on display through July 11, 2010, explores the notion of authenticity across a range of periods and media. From innocent copies of artwork made as family mementos to illegal forgeries intended to fool even the most seasoned scholar, Friend or Faux engages visitors in the stories behind the museum’s collection of copies, imitations and forgeries. Who created them? Why were they acquired? The exhibition addresses these questions and more, demonstrating that both friend and faux can be useful tools for understanding the past. New exhibition highlights include a faux playbill from Ford’s Theatre from 1865. According to affidavits from the owner of
VALENCIA.- The sea has been an indispensable element of cultural germination and a symbol of inspiration thanks to the magic of its waters, its legends, its light, the contrast between calmness and roughness and, for that reason, artists have not overlooked these aesthetic sensations. The sea is a psychological allegory that encloses clear antitheses: surfaces and depths, the absence of confines on the horizon and the absence of light in the abyss. Unlike the earth – a symbol of the rational soul – the sea is indeed the metaphor of the heart. It is the figure of the uneasiness that tortures us: of our need to go in pursuit of unknown goals. Claude Monet was captivated by the sea. He wanted to draw it so he embarked upon the adventure of portraying it. Like him, many other artists have striven to represent it as the maximum symbol of reality but also of abstraction, performing acrobatics so as to do away with the possibility of immediate recognition and, in
NEW YORK, NY.- Michael Rosenfeld Gallery presents Unconscious Unbound: Surrealism in America, the gallery’s first exhibition in over a decade dedicated to the influence of surrealism on American figural and abstract art. Spanning two decades from 1931 to 1952, the exhibition features painting, drawing, sculpture, and collage by thirty-two artists: William Baziotes, Eugene Berman, Federico Castellon, Eldzier Cortor, Willem deKooning, Jimmy Ernst, Herbert Ferber, Jared French, Arshile Gorky, Morris Graves, David Hare, Charles Howard, Gerome Kamrowski, Leon Kelly, Harold Lehman, Norman Lewis, Seymour Lipton, Helen Lundeberg, Boris Margo, Irving Norman, Gordon Onslow-Ford, Alfonso Ossorio, Jackson Pollock, Richard Pousette-Dart, Theodore Roszak, Mark Rothko, Charles Seliger, Kurt Seligmann, Theodoros Stamos,
AMSTERDAM.- In this rare artistic collaboration, the photographer Miles Aldridge invited contemporary painter Chantal Joffe to explore the theme of 'the artist and model'. The resulting works in colour and black and white photographs, ink and pencil drawings and paintings in watercolour and oils create a fascinatingly obsessive and emotional study of one woman: the model Kristen McMenamy. Aldridge is well known for high-gloss, high-drama images of women captured in pop colours. His work featured in the recent "Weird Beauty" Exhibition at The International Centre of Photography in New York, while his two solo shows in London and New York in 2009 were heralded in international publications ranging from The New York Times to Art Review: "In his acid-coloured images of lascivious lips, impossibly glossed models and hallucinogenic still lifes, photographer Miles Aldridge is
DENVER, CO.- The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (MCA Denver) announce the appointment of Nora Burnett Abrams as Associate Curator. Abrams comes to MCA Denver from New York City, where she was working on her Ph.D. at the Institute of Fine Arts. Since August 2009, Abrams has been assisting with exhibitions at MCA Denver as an adjunct curator, working from her home in New York until her move to Denver at the beginning of this year. “Nora brings both impeccable academic credentials and an outstanding ability to make contemporary art accessible to wide audiences,” said director Adam Lerner. “Working with her on two exhibitions, I quickly saw that Nora was unique among her peers nationally. Her hire is a major step in realizing MCA Denver’s vision of building our national stature while providing our local community with engaging exhibitions and educational programs.” In addition to her work with
NEW YORK, NY.- 303 Gallery present their first exhibition of new work by Mike Nelson. It is his first solo gallery exhibition in the United States. For ‘Quiver of Arrows,’ Nelson has constructed a work from four old travel trailers. The trailers are placed nose to tail in a square formation, forming a small enclosure within. The viewer will be able to navigate the structure by walking through the work, as the trailers have been customized in such a way as to allow passage from one into another. Existing like a remnant from a confusion of past and future, a commune or an ad hoc derelict space station, the trailers are littered with the detritus of unspecified inhabitants. Each space looms heavily with the spirits imbued to inanimate objects, their peripheral position and dislocation emanating from the environments. These ghosts potentially offered ideas of change or movement that can now only
NEW YORK, NY.- The Wooster Group will present its first benefit art auction on the occasion of its 35th Anniversary. Dubbed “The Wooster (Support) Group”, the event will feature live and silent auctions of contemporary art. The benefit will be chaired by Frances McDormand, supported by the Rolex Institute, and hosted by the Sean Kelly Gallery at 528 West 29th Street in New York on Monday, March 15, 2010 at 6:30pm. Works by Marina Abramović, Vito Acconci, Carl Andre, John Baldessari, Matthew Barney, Louise Bourgeois, Ernesto Caivano, James Casebere, Chrome Hearts, Francesco Clemente, Chuck Close, Jessica Craig-Martin, Marcel Dzama, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Louis Faurer, Fischerspooner, Robert Gober, Nan Goldin, Antony Gormley, Rose Hartman, Steven Holl, Rebecca Horn, Jacqueline Humphries, Callum Innes, Jasper Johns, Rashid Johnson,
By: Katrina Manson
KINSHASA (REUTERS).- In a macabre echo of the punishments Belgian colonials once meted out to their Congolese laborers, a faded bronze statue of the explorer who carved out the country is missing two of his limbs. Pulled down by anti-imperialists after Congo's former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko declared a policy rejecting colonial vestiges in 1971, the statue of Britain's Henry Morton Stanley lies clutching a broken baton, his feet severed. Stanley's broken statue is one of more than 40,000 objects stored at Kinshasa's national museum, which for 40 years has kept one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest collections of art behind closed doors in one of Mobutu's old palaces. The Institute of National Museums of Congo opens the collection -- rich in chief's clothing, masks, spears, and other relics of Central African country's cultural past
HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s announced that the Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2010 Spring Sale will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 8 April 2010. Comprising over 330 lots with an estimated total value of approximately HK$430 million, one of the outstanding highlights of the sale is undoubtedly the Magnificent Ceremonial Pearl Necklace of Qing dynasty, 18th century. Also on offer this season is the single owner sale - Water, Pine, and Stone Retreat Collection - Objects of Contemplation. Nicolas Chow, Sotheby’s International Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, said “2009 Autumn sale well demonstrates that the market continues to be solid and strong, particularly when the property is fresh and correctlyestimated. Buyers were out in force competing strongly for the finest objects of China’s Imperial past, the Imperial Zitan throne of Qianlong period achieved
