March 4, 2010
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 6:04 am
A new exhibition about an ancient kingdom found in the current state of Nigeria during the 12th century shows why current sculptures of the past that have been recently found have changed the way the West looks at African arts.
In the past, African art was often thought to be primitive, but with the discovery of copper, bronze, and terracotta figures that show the Ife society was actually quite beautiful although albeit painful and savage.
The exhibit which is located at the British Museum is titled “Kingdom of Ife: Sculptures from West Africa.”
In a review of the exhibit Jonathan Jones wrote that the faces seem to coolly glaze right through you and will disturb those who have believed that European art is unique. Jones added that the sculptors of Ife are able to accurately portray the human face as well as any Greek artist and are as equally matched in balance, harmony, and proportion as any Greek piece.
The stunning pieces discovered from Ife were in fact so stunning when they first discovered that many people believed that the paintings were not actually from Africa.
In fact, originally Leo Frobenius, a German archaeologist, thought that the works were traces of the widely mythical lost city of Atlantis.
The works will be on display at the museum from March 4th to June 6th and are mostly from Africa and will hopefully help educate those who hold preconceptions about African art see the culture in a new point of view.
February 23, 2010
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 5:23 am
Henry Moor seems to be a large problem in the art world as it is hard to recognize him as a true artist given his sci-fi creations can be a bit out of this world, and yet, he did live as a cultural hero and even a national mascot during the sixties, although by the time he died in 1986 he was already living well past his glory days.
Now although it is 50 years later, Tate Britain is hoping that this is the time to bring his name back to the forefront with a new retrospective opening tomorrow that shows an edgier side of Moore.
Instead of showing an organic, archetypal type of art, what viewers will see is a political artist that is more surreal, the basis of which was formed by Moore as he lived through both World Wars and as a founding member of the CND.
A Tate Britain curator commented that Moore managed to create a troubling form of art that shows the bare essence of life and the modern experience. While this phrase may sound intriguing, the real question is if Tate Britain is able to take Moore’s work and create the emotion that they hope it conveys.
For instance, Moore’s piece the Atom Piece, is simply a half-mushroom cloud and half-skull which is clearly about the nuclear threat, but yet it is just a lump on a canvas making it quite hard to actually view it as a masterpiece.
February 5, 2010
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 5:42 am
With an exhibition that honours Gandhi, The Saatchi Gallery, London has opened an exhibit titled “The Empire Strikes Back: Indian Art Today” which will be open to the public until May 7th of this year.
When viewers first enter the exhibit they pass through an area that contains 4,479 fibreglass bones that are arranged to spell out a peaceful non-violent plea that was made by Gandhi.
However, as viewers turn the corner the mood quickly chances as the art becomes much darker and almost frightening at times throughout the remaining eleven spaces.
The most shocking piece is possibly the Allah O Akbar by Jaishri Abichandani, which portrays the glory of martyrdom and the rigorous demands of Islam by spelling out ‘God is Great’ with shining green and red whips.
Also frightening is a large figure in a bag with clay hands that emerge resembling the remains of an executed individual in the form of a sculpture by Huma Hhabha.
Another notable installation is the sculpture of a Mumbai child that was created by Jitish Kallat. While the small child is offering books for sale portraying him as a fighter, the mood quickly switches for those who reach out to touch him and find that the statue’s black lead finish will leave a dark mark on their hands.
For the most part, the aim of the gallery is to shock visitors by violently shaking their senses and emotions instead of pleasurably calming them. However, it is a different taste of the world that should not be missed; especially given the fact the gallery is free.
January 27, 2010
Filed under: Art News, Exhibitions — admin @ 7:21 pm
UK street artist, Sickboy presents Logopop Bristol, a solo exhibition of new limited edition work and a site-specific installation in Bristol this February. It will be Sickboy’s second Logopop show in the UK, and hs is returning to Bristol where he established himself as a graffiti artist. The month-long exhibition is taking place at the Friend & Co gallery.
According to the PR:
“Sickboy recreates the lysergic symbolism that underpins much of his work, presenting a new collection which unravels the relationship between the artist’s complex and imaginatively-detailed artworks and his signature simple, bold and raw urban interventions. In addition to original artworks, the artist presents his Logopops series – artworks available in various sizes which can be interconnected to create bespoke, one-off compositions of Sickboy art.”
For further information, please visit: http://friend-and-co.com
Friend & Co: 24 Park Row, Bristol, BS1 5LJ, UK
Open to public: February 6-27, 2010.
Opening times: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00
Sickboy’s website: http://www.thesickboy.com/
Filed under: Art News, Exhibitions, Photography — admin @ 9:15 am
A Manchester-based photographer and digital artist has found growing interest in his work from the Far East. Andrew Brooks, whose work has been exhibited at URBIS and CUBE Gallery, has been creating quite a stir in Japan, Taiwan and China.
Brooks was unaware of this popularity until he saw a magazine article published in the Popular Photography magazine praising his talent and futuristic style. After that it wasn’t long before huge numbers of visitors nearly crashed his website all of them coming from Japan, Taiwan and China. This was followed quickly by features on gigazine.net and fengniao.com as word of his work began to spread.
“It seems like it was one of those things that happened just through people seeing my photographs on my website as I’d never really targeted it as a potential market for my work,” says Brooks – who last year had his Hidden Manchester show named as one of the URBIS gallery in Manchester’s most popular exhibitions. “The coverage clearly sparked a lot of interest in my work and it’s been incredible to see all these visitors and offers of work coming in from the East. I know that there’s another eight-page feature in a Taiwanese magazine coming up, so I’m just getting ready to deal with the surge of interest that could create!” says Brooks.
At the end of 2009 late last year Brooks was invited to the prestigious China Pingyao International Photography Festival in the province of Shaanxi and a meeting with the one of China’s leading exhibition curators Teng Haolong who discussed the potential for a British photographer to become big in the East. Brooks as he was able to spend some time capturing cityscape images of some of China’s supercities as well as landscapes of the countryside and temples out East, before returning home to Manchester.
As he says, “I’m thrilled that there’s so much interest in my work from the East and fortunately there’s still a huge demand for my work in the UK, so with any luck it looks like I’ll be kept busy this year!”
Website: http://www.andrewbrooksphotography.com
January 19, 2010
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 7:24 am
The Real Van Gogh: the Artists and his Letters, is the new exhibit at the Royal Academy and its attempt to combat the common myth that Van Gogh was a madman blessed with genius, as it instead chooses to portray him as a professional artist.
The attempt starts with a stroll through the first gallery in which viewers see that Van Gogh wrote in order to voice his needs and thoughts in a clear fashion. What is interesting is that the voice that is portrayed in the letters discusses how to actually paint and draw by informing friends and his brother about how he is learning to create art with new brushes or pencils. A significant fact to notice is that the letters are not outcries of suffering or depression.
Although it may seem as if this would make for a boring gallery, the actual effect is anything but, with the 30 drawings and 65 paintings that surround the exhibit which is a remarkable collection complied from loans and displayed in their full glory.
Some may enjoy the fact that the letters give significance to the painted works, while others may simply see the letters as art on their own as Van Gogh’s delicate instructions are an inspiration for any aspiring artist.
The most intrinsic aspect of the exhibit however is that by reading the letters Van Gogh wrote about his paintings before studying them the viewer gets the rare opportunity to see each painting through the actual artist’s eyes, which is the real charm of the entire show.
December 17, 2009
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 9:03 am
The Royal Academy of Arts was forced to scrap plans for what was intended to be a major exhibition after a customs problem with the exportation of a painting that belonged to the Prince of Liechtenstein.
The museum was scheduled to show the a collection of paintings from Prince Hans-Adam II but after a dispute ensued with Customs and HM Revenue over a painting in the collection by Sanchez Coello the prince decided to drop the entire show.
The dispute was about the painting Infante Don Diego, which the Prince purchased from a collector in Britain back in 2006 in London. After its purchase the UK customs authorities deferred a licence allowing the work to be exported so that an alternate buyer could raise the funds to purchase it so the painting would remain in the UK.
During this process HM Revenue and Customs also launched a formal investigation into several licence applications including the Coello and other items, making it impossible for an export licence to be given until the investigation closes.
A statement by the director of the Prince’s collections Johann Kraftner said that the Prince does not believe it would be proper to go ahead with the collection exhibition until the issue surrounding the Coello painting is closed.
The Royal Academy of Arts also issued a statement that while they are disappointed that after months of planning the exhibition will not be opening, they are already hard at work planning an alternative for next autumn.
December 4, 2009
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 4:37 am
With its first year behind it the collection of hundreds of works known as the Artist Rooms will begin to tour the UK with five new works added the collection that was originally donated by Anthony D’Offay.
The collection of artwork showcases the environment of the UK post-war and completed its first tour throughout the UK from Inverness to Bexhill.
The announcement that five more works will be added to the collection was included with a statement that the Artist Rooms tour will continue for a second year and include visits to 21 different galleries and museums.
The director of the Tate, Sir Nicholas Serota, stated that it has always been his hope that he collection would start to grow in size as more people started to recognize how valuable the collection was to people throughout the country.
Serota continued to state that two years ago the idea of sharing a collection did not exist since it was all in storage, but with the success of the first year of touring artists are now offering to share their works in an effort to be included.
Among the new donations are pieces by Ed Ruscha from the US who donated a 1984 item with text from a Ballard novel and two textual works that are from the estate of Ian Hamilton Finlay.
The three other pieces are still in the pledge stage and not yet an official part of the collection and include paintings from Jannis Kounellis, Agnes Martin, and Robert Therrien
December 2, 2009
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 6:30 am
While the current buzz and promotional efforts at the new Royal Academy show Earth, Art of a Changing World may be the installation art outside and inside the hallway of the museum, it is worth walking by each of the overdone pieces to see the stunning items inside the gallery.
The first place that you should stop is on the first floor at the installation of Amazonian Field by Antony Gormley. The installation is enough to stop you in your tracks with thousands of eyes staring down at you from the multitudes of terracotta figures that are standing shoulder to shoulder across the room floor.
The second stop you make should be at the Hot Spot by Mona Hatoum which is a large globe of steel stainless mesh that has a neon outline of all the continents. The borders of each country that is currently suffering from political unrest is glowing a hot red, which casts a spell over the room set off with a slight crackle of the electricity that leaves you to wonder when the entire might combust.
Also worth a stop is the Heart of Darkness by Cornelia Parker which is composed of charcoal from a forest fire in Florida. Around the charcoal is a sting of pine cones, branches, and other debris that represent the after effects of such a disaster.
According to Parker the debris can be related to any catastrophe that is created by man from rainforests to the overuse of biofuels.
November 30, 2009
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 7:57 am
Previously known as a cricket captain, Michael Vaughan has a new collection of artwork on display at the Bluewater, which is inspired by both his love of art and the game of cricket.
However, the art itself is not so much inspired by cricket, as it is created with the tools of cricket, which include a bat and ball that are used in place of a paintbrush to create his masterpieces.
Vaughan has nicknamed the technique ‘artballing’ which includes taking a cricket ball that is covered in paint and either batting or bowling it onto a canvas that is placed either on the wall or the floor.
In the art world, the style is referred to as abstract expressionism and was popular in the 40’s and 60’s when Jason Pollock started to allow paint to simply drip on a canvas instead of using a traditional paint brush.
The former cricket captain retired from the game in June, and said that since then he has used his paintings to try and catch some of the most important moments from his career as well as the drama of his sport.
Vaughan stated that at first it was just a fun project but the more he played with the idea the more he took his new found art seriously. He continued to say that he first began to collect art about four years ago and then started got the idea to try painting with a cricket ball after he heard from a friend about Martina Navratilova’s discovery of painting with a racket and tennis ball.
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