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• The Splendid Hamburger Bahnhof Museum In Berlin Is Toured By Our Editor
• National Gallery in London presents " Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian "
• Bozar Plans an Extensive Three Month Multidisciplinary Mexico Festival
• Impressionism and Scotland on View at National Galleries of Scotland
• Michael Werner Gallery exhibits Paintings by Swiss Artist Félix Vallotton
• Luis Meléndez's Still Lifes to Premiere at the National Gallery of Art
• Hauser & Wirth exhibits Works from the Henry Moore Family Collection
• George Rickey ; Kinetic Sculpture ~ A Retrospective
• Highlights & Special Projects at The Armory Show 11th Edition in New York City
• The Early Modern Painter-Etcher at Smith College Museum of Art
• Dali, Picasso, and Kandinsky at Museum of Fine Arts
• The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) hosts Jane Hammond ~ 'Paper Work'
• Film Forum Director Karen Cooper Invited to Select Films at MoMA
• SFMOMA Explores Architecture with 'Patterns of Speculation' Exhibition
• This Week in Review in Art Knowledge News

The Splendid Hamburger Bahnhof Museum In Berlin Is Toured By Our Editor Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:56 PM PST After a lengthy reconstruction by architect Josef Paul Kleihues, the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin reopened on 2 November 1996 as the "Museum für Gegenwart" (Museum for Contemporary Art). The building was erected in the mid-19th century as one of the first terminal stations of the rail system. In the early 20th century, the structure was converted into a museum of transport and construction. The station's architecture, its impressive Neoclassical façade, flanked by two towers, the grand industrial hall of the entrance area, and the wings of the cours d'honneur flanking the garden of the inner courtyard: all of these elements constitute special attractions for visitors to Berlin. Only the east wing, the so-called Kleihues Hall, was reconstructed in the style of a high vaulted grand gallery on the occasion of the 1996 reopening. Impressive from without by virtue of the façade's lucid historicist style, the building is rendered even more striking by an ingenious dichromatic installation, designed by American artist Dan Flavin, which bathes both the main façade loggia and the transitions leading to the wings of the cours d'honneur in blue and green neon light. Particularly at night, Flavin's last work (whose completion he unfortunately did not live to see) is visible from afar, and has come to be seen as the museum's trademark.The Hamburger Bahnhof is the third location of Berlin's Nationalgalerie. The name, "Museum für Gegenwart" invokes the museum's former Department of Contemporary Art, which opened at the Kronprinzen Palais on Unter den Linden in 1919 and was shut down by the Nazis in 1937. Established by Nationalgalerie director Ludwig Justi in the aftermath of the fall of the German monarchy, the "Museum der Gegenwart" was one of the first state museums devoted to "living art." In this progressive spirit, it was decided that the new museum's collection would focus on art since 1960. The original impetus for the elaborate redesign and restoration was the acquisition of the Erich Marx collection, whose permanent home would henceforth be the Hamburger Bahnhof. Its premiere presentation in 1996 in a splendid selection of works by Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Cy Twombly eloquently pointed up the museum's program. These pioneering artists, who transgressed the boundaries separating traditional art forms, were the point of departure, soon to be joined by additional pivotal figures, and the museum's exhibitions and programs have consistently focused on the interdisciplinary character of contemporary art. In the context of this expanded conception of art, the Nationalgalerie collection is distinguished in particular by its holdings of artists' rooms, including ones by John Cage, Bill Viola, Peter Campus, Wolf Vostell, Rebecca Horn, Carolee Schneeman, Reinhard Mucha, Marcel Broodthaers, Fritz Rahmann, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Johan Grimonprez and Aernout Mik. In 2002, the collection was enlarged significantly by the acquisition of Egidio Marzona's study collection of Conceptual Art and Arte Povera. Among recent acquisitions, filmic works represent an additional focus for the Nationalgalerie, a sphere of activity reinforced further by the arrival of the Joseph Beuys Media Archive and by Mike Steiner's donation of a collection of 1970s video art, as well as by purchases of films by artists such as Marcel Broodthaers, David Lamelas and Matthew Buckingham. In 2004, the museum was expanded by an additional 6000 m2, and now has a total exhibition surface of 13,800 m2. The former Lehrter Bahnhof, set behind the main building, was converted to become the so-called Rieckhallen, and now provides exhibition space for the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection, on loan for an initial period of seven years. In February 2008 the collector Friedrich Christian Flick donated 186 works of art to the Nationalgalerie. This donation includes works of the last forty years, including main works by artists like Marcel Broodthaers, John Cage, David Claerbout, Stan Douglas, Martin Kippenberger, Bruce Nauman, Raymond Pettibon, Jason Rhoades, Wolfgang Tillmans. The donation is the largest gift of a private person the museums since its foundation in the 19th century. The works of the donation will be presented in various shows during the next years. In addition, a publication about the donation is planned.The museum is currently publishing this collection of over 2000 superlative works of contemporary European and North American art in changing thematic and monographic presentations. Visit website:_ www.hamburgerbahnhof.de/ As part of Berlin's Nationalgalerie and its third location, the museum houses three highly prestigious collections. Along with the permanent Nationalgalerie collection are the renowned Frederick Christian Flick, Erich Marx and Marzona collections. Since 1996 the Hamburger Banhof Museum has consistently consolidated its reputation as one of the world's most highly-regarded contemporary art museums. In 2004 the prestigious Friedrich Christian Flick collection encompassing ca 2,000 works by approximately 150 artists was housed in the museum. In 2,002 the collection was again enlarged by the acquisition of Egidio Marzona's collection of Conceptual Art and Arte Povera. The core elements of the museum's collection stem from the legacy of Berlin collector Dr. Erich Marx who assembled some of the greatest masterpieces of the mid 20th century - works from contemporary giants such as the provocative German 'enfant terrible' Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Anselm Kiefer. Amongst the key pieces are iconic works of art such as Warhol's 'Mao' and Joseph Beuys' installations including over 450 drawings from Beuys and 60 sketches from Andy Warhol. Conceived as a showcase for the multi-media dimension of contemporary international art the scope of the museums' exhibits encompasses other contemporary art forms such as film, video, design and photography with installation work from Nam June Paik and experimental work from artists such as Sol Lewitt, Marchel Duchamp and Sigmar Polke and Jason Rhoades. A main emphasis of the collection is art on video and film. A collection of 1970s video art, made as a gift by Mike Steiner, as well as the Joseph Beuys-Medienarchiv form its basis. In addition, key works of video art by Peter Campus, Gary Hill, Marcel Odenbach, Bill Viola, etc., are among the inventory. This focus on trendsetting video and film works has been recently continued by diverse positions, which include films by Matthew Buckingham and David Lamelas, with sound works, for instance by the Canadian artist pair Janet Cardiff / George Bures Miller, up through extensive installations by artists such as Daniel Pflumm, Christian Jankowski and Arnout Mik. Works by Gerhard Richter, A.R. Penck, and Imi Knoebel may be counted among the central points of departure in the collection within the field of the painting. The basic attitude connected to these positions, namely to proceed not from reality, but rather from a reality determined by the media during the selection of the motifs, has shaped the development of painting to this day. Works by younger artists such as Michel Majerus, Corinne Wasmuth, or the artist group Suzi Pop, illustrate the changeability of the visual in the age of the computer. Photography, which was only able to establish itself as an independent art form during the course of the 1980s, is also represented in the collection in diverse forms. In addition to works by the so-called Becher School (Hilla and Bernd Becher, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff) are examples of staged and conceptual photography, next to those works whose epicenter is based at the threshold between photography and painting, including abstract views of landscapes by the Berlin artist Michael Wesely. The Hamburger Banhof Museum is a world class showcase for contemporary art, and is well worth a visit. ANNOUNCEMENT: Our Editor has been invited to visit Museums and cultural sites in mainland China, Korea, Vietnam. Myanmar, Thailand (Siam), Singapore, Bali and mainland Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Bhutan, Malaysia, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and now Germany. Because of the Editor's travel we will be posting many interesting articles from our archives, some of the BEST Articles and Art Images that appeared in your magazine during the past six plus (6+) years . . Enjoy.

National Gallery in London presents " Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian " Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:55 PM PST   LONDON - A landmark exhibition at the National Gallery explores the dramatic rise of portraiture in the Renaissance, through the great Masters of Northern and Southern Europe. 'Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian' features masterpieces by, among others: Raphael, Titian, Botticelli, Van Eyck, Holbein, Dürer, Lotto, Pontormo and Bellini. The exhibition provides a rare opportunity to explore Renaissance portraiture in exceptional depth, displaying over 70 paintings alongside important sculptures, drawings and medals. On exhibitions 15 October through 18 January, 2009.

Bozar Plans an Extensive Three Month Multidisciplinary Mexico Festival Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:53 PM PST BRUSSELS.- What better way to start the spring than by marking the bicentenary of Mexico's independence and the centenary of its revolution? Behind the clichés of the Aztec god Quetzalcóatl, the Virgin of Guadalupe, and revolutionaries in sombreros, you can discover, over three months, a rich and complex nation, constantly reinventing its "Mexicanness". Could Mexico, shaped over two centuries by the creative explosion of an incredible cross-fertilisation, be the archetype of the nation of the future? Find out at five exhibitions and a fascinating multidisciplinary Mexican festival at Bozar in Belgium.

Impressionism and Scotland on View at National Galleries of Scotland Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:49 PM PST EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - This summer, the National Galleries of Scotland presents Impressionism & Scotland, an exhibition of over 100 paintings, pastels and watercolours, which explore the Scottish taste for Impressionism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and assess the impact of modern European art on Scottish art and artists. On view through 12 October, 2008.

Michael Werner Gallery exhibits Paintings by Swiss Artist Félix Vallotton Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:47 PM PST NEW YORK, NY.- Michael Werner Gallery presents an exhibition of paintings by Swiss artist Félix Vallotton (Lausanne, 1865 – Paris, 1925). The exhibition features portraits of women, primarily nudes, and is the first gallery exhibition in New York devoted to the artist's paintings. Félix Vallotton's paintings do not give pleasure easily. In portraiture he is not a flashy virtuoso and his nudes are not "sexy", at least not in any typical fashion. His paint handling is careful and deliberate; his palette, subdued and a little flat; his surfaces, slow and at times somewhat dry. His intense, unforgiving attention to detail lends a palpable realism to the paintings. Enlivened by a thinly veiled eroticism, his subtly voyeuristic scenes leave one feeling more than a little uncomfortable. Paintings of Félix Vallotton is on view from 4 February to 10 April 2010.

Luis Meléndez's Still Lifes to Premiere at the National Gallery of Art Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:45 PM PST WASHINGTON, DC.- Delights of the Spanish table depicted by 18th-century painter Luis Meléndez (1715-1780) will be presented to American audiences for the first time in nearly 25 years at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, May 17 through August 23, 2009. In a rare opportunity to explore the artist's working method, Luis Meléndez: Master of the Spanish Still Life will showcase 31 paintings, some of which have never been exhibited publicly, and nine examples of 18th-century kitchenware similar to those used as studio props by Meléndez.

Hauser & Wirth exhibits Works from the Henry Moore Family Collection Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:43 PM PST   LONDON - Hauser & Wirth presents a major exhibition of important and previously unseen works from the Henry Moore Family Collection. The Old Bond Street gallery has been transformed by Zaha Hadid & Patrik Schumacher, whose bold organic creations – specially commissioned for the exhibition – provide a sympathetic and novel context for re-approaching Moore's oeuvre. Celebrated as the most important British sculptor of the twentieth century, Moore's radical addressing of the human form and uncompromising vision make him an abiding influence for contemporary artists.

George Rickey ; Kinetic Sculpture ~ A Retrospective Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:41 PM PST   GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, the most significant sculpture and botanic experience in the Midwest and an emerging cultural destination on the national scene, is pleased to host a major museum presentation of works by internationally-acclaimed sculptor George Rickey. The exhibition, George Rickey: A Retrospective is through December 31, 2007.

Highlights & Special Projects at The Armory Show 11th Edition in New York City Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:37 PM PST NEW YORK, NY - All parties involved in New York's flagship international contemporary art fair know that, this time around, something serious is up, or rather down. But sub-7,000 Dow or no, the show is not only back in more or less full gear on Pier 94 on the Hudson River, but it's also introducing a substantial and sometimes interesting supplement called the Armory Show Modern on the adjoining Pier 92. Over 240 international galleries are present for the 11th edition of the newly expanded Armory Show, and their exhibits range from contemporary works exclusively made for the fair to museum-quality historical presentations. A new series of Special Projects will punctuate the public areas.

The Early Modern Painter-Etcher at Smith College Museum of Art Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:35 PM PST Northampton, MA – Prints by Durer, Bruegel, Rubens, Rembrandt, Boucher, Goya, and a host of other master painters are featured in The Early Modern Painter-Etcher, at the Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, MA.  The exhibition surveys etchings from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries by more than sixty European artists who took up the challenge of making works on paper.  It highlights "experimental" sheets, which, in some cases, feature the single printed work an artist made.  The exhibition will be on view through Sunday, October 29, 2006.

Dali, Picasso, and Kandinsky at Museum of Fine Arts Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:31 PM PST Santa Fe, NM — Collecting Modernism: European Modernism from the Munson- Williams-Proctor Arts Institute is a stunning exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts that features 26 notable works by Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso, Georges Rouault, and other key modernist figures.  The show runs Friday, September 29, 2006, through Sunday, January 7, 2007.  A companion exhibit, European Modern from the Museum of Fine Arts Permanent Collection, runs Friday, October 6, 2006, through Sunday, November 26, 2006. In line with the Museum of Fine Arts' mission to "bring the art of the world to New Mexico and the art of New Mexico to the world," the two exhibitions opening this fall will showcase a select group of European paintings that represent the most important stylistic developments of the twentieth century.

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) hosts Jane Hammond ~ 'Paper Work' Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:26 PM PST Detroit, MI - The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) hosts the special exhibition Jane Hammond: Paper Work . The exhibition features Hammond's unique works on paper made over the last 15 years from a myriad of techniques and materials, along with prints and books. All of the objects rely on the artist's "vocabulary" of 276 borrowed images which she has manipulated endlessly to produce visually rich and mentally stimulating compositions that provoke thought, feeling, and new meaning about interaction and communication. Zany and mysterious, the works are flat and three-dimensional, large and small, painted and drawn, photographed, and printed.

Film Forum Director Karen Cooper Invited to Select Films at MoMA Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:25 PM PST NEW YORK, NY.- The Museum of Modern Art presents an exhibition of 33 nonfiction films chosen by Karen Cooper, Director of Film Forum, to celebrate that institution's 40th anniversary and the crucial role Cooper has played in keeping it a vital part of New York's film culture. All films in the series, which runs from February 3 to 20, 2010, premiered at Film Forum. Karen Cooper Carte Blanche: 40 Years of Documentary Premieres at Film Forum is organized by Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art.

SFMOMA Explores Architecture with 'Patterns of Speculation' Exhibition Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:18 PM PST   SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) features Patterns of Speculation: J. MAYER H., the first solo museum exhibition of work by the German architecture studio J. MAYER H. The exhibition is unorthodox in that it combines two approaches to showing architecture in a gallery: video documentation of the studio's built work and an environment, designed by J. MAYER H., that presents the architect's spatial language at full scale. On view through 7 July, 2009.

This Week in Review in Art Knowledge News Posted: 17 Dec 2010 07:17 PM PST This is a new feature for the subscribers and visitors to Art Knowledge News (AKN), that will enable you to see "thumbnail descriptions" of the last ninety (90) articles and art images that we published. This will allow you to visit any article that you may have missed ; or re-visit any article or image of particular interest. Every day the article "thumbnail images" will change. For you to see the entire last ninety images just click : here . When opened that also will allow you to change the language from English to anyone of 54 other languages, by clicking your language choice on the upper left corner of our Home Page.  You can share any article we publish with the eleven (11) social websites we offer like Twitter, Flicker, Linkedin, Facebook, etc. by one click on the image shown at the end of each opened article.  Last, but not least, you can email or print any entire article by using an icon visible to the right side of an article's headline.

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