Art Knowledge News - Keeping You in Touch with the World of Art...

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• We are celebrating Thanksgiving today . . A Joyous Holiday to you and yours !
• Dance of Colours: Vaslaw Nijinsky's Eye and Abstraction at Hamburger Kunsthalle
• Anglican AIDS & Healthcare Trust hosts Art from Southern Africa
• Francis Bacon's Artistic Career at the Palazzo Reale in Milan ~ A Full Overview
• Willie Cole and Hank Willis Thomas Explore Amistad Center's Extensive Collection of Art
• Photos by Abbott, Evans, Bourke-White on View at the Colby College Museum of Art
• Tate Liverpool shows the Glenn Brown exhibition of The Extraordinary & Alien
• MCA Chicago Shows Liam Gillick: Three Perspectives and a Short Scenario
• Major Survey of the Work of Charles Burchfield at the Whitney Museum
• Hamburger Kunsthalle Surveys the Art of Jakob Philipp Hackert (1737–1807)
• Exhibition At The Tate Britain Shows The History & Versatility Of Watercolor Painting
• Baltimore Museum of Art presents Rarely Shown British Landscapes
• He An Solo Exhibition at Art Statements Gallery
• Algorithmic Visualizations by George Legrady in Toronto
• The North Carolina Museum of Art Displays Contemporary African American Art
• J. C. Leyendecker: America's 'Other' Illustrator opens at The Hudson River Museum
• Erwin Olaf showcased at Hague Museum of Photography
• Seattle Art Museum Exhibition Explores the Life and Work of Kurt Cobain
• The Boise Art Museum Shows "The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories"
• Art Knowledge News Presents "This Week In Review"

We are celebrating Thanksgiving today . . A Joyous Holiday to you and yours ! Posted: 23 Nov 2011 07:15 PM PST

Dance of Colours: Vaslaw Nijinsky's Eye and Abstraction at Hamburger Kunsthalle Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:44 PM PST HAMBURG,GERMANY - The Russian dancer Vaslaw Nijinsky (1889-1950) and the ballet company Les Ballets Russes had their European premiere in Paris. Nijinsky immediately became an unrivalled star on the stages of Europe, and ranks as the most important dancer of the twentieth century until today. Apart from his exceptional career as a dancer and choreographer, Nijinsky also created large numbers of coloured paintings and gouaches in 1918 and 1919. These works are here for the first time presented comprehensively. With finely-drawn coloured circles and ellipses and strongly-coloured plane surfaces, Nijinsky produced series of images where space and line are interwoven and rhythm and colour are transformed into a painted choreography of intense emotions. On view through August 16th, 2009. Nijinsky's highly impressive paintings are here for the first time presented in the context of modern art in Paris after 1910. Around 100 drawings by Nijinsky, mostly from the John Neumeier Foundation, will be juxtaposed with important paintings by the Russian artists Sonia Delaunay-Terk, Alexandra Exter, Vladimir Baranov-Rossiné, Léopold Survage and the Czech painter František Kupka. Like Nijinsky at times, these painters lived in Paris between 1910 and 1925 and worked on the themes of dance, rhythm and motion in a highly abstracted manner. Strong colours, arches, concentric circles, ellipses and sweeping curves dominate their compositions. The paintings are marked by a strong, rhythmic accent and call to mind a dance motion or the musical progression of a film sequence. In their dynamism the physical presence of the human figure on the canvas links up with the light, the shapes and the vibrations of the cosmos to build up to a stirring dance of colours. In bringing together the important, and largely unknown series by Nijinsky with the art of Sonia Delaunay-Terk, Alexandra Exter, Vladimir Baranov-Rossiné, Léopold Survage and Frantisek Kupka, the exhibition offers an entirely new perspective on the origins of abstraction from dance. It is a unique contribution to the worldwide events that mark the centenary of the Ballets Russes' spectacular debut in Paris. The historic personality of Nijinsky, the outstanding dancer of the twentieth-century, comes alive in a separate section of the exhibition in photographs, posters, paintings and sculptures by leading artists of Nijinsky's time, on loan from the private collection of John Neumeier. The exhibition presents around 100 works by Nijinsky, mainly from the collection of the John Neumeier Foundation, and more than 100 works by the other five artists, each represented by around twenty works from international collections. The Kunsthalle owes its existence to an initiative by the Kunstverein in Hamburg (Hamburg Art Union), which was founded in 1817 and opened the first "public municipal painting gallery" in the Börsenarkaden in 1850. The collection grew rapidly due to the contribution of gifted works, and it soon became necessary to provide a building in which to house it. In August 1869, financed largely through donations, the Hamburg Kunsthalle was opened.  The galleries have been renovated, and paintings by the old and recent masters as well as the modern art collection have been rearranged into an attractive new hanging. An extension building offering 6.000 m of exhibition space has opened in February 1997, and houses the new collection of contemporary art - "New Modernist" art from 1960 onwards.  Visit : http://www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de/

Anglican AIDS & Healthcare Trust hosts Art from Southern Africa Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:33 PM PST Cape Town, South Africa – The exhibition Art from Southern Africa is at the Anglican AIDS and Healthcare Trust's Office; 1 Braehead Rd, Kenilworth. Made up of nearly 140 paintings, graphic works and sculptures the exhibition incorporates emerging and established artists from South Africa and Zimbabwe with styles ranging from realism to abstraction and everything in between. There is no theme as such, the art is left to speak for itself and it definitely does. From social and political to whimsical the artists strive to share their lives through their work. The artists interpret and absorb western artistic traditions and make them their own with a unique cultural stamp.  On exhibition until the 3rd of July, 2009.

Francis Bacon's Artistic Career at the Palazzo Reale in Milan ~ A Full Overview Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:32 PM PST Milan, Italy - Francis Bacon is unanimously considered the last of the great 20th century masters, but his works have not been exhibited in Italy since 1993. Nonetheless, he was so accomplished at representing the universal unrest of his century that a wide-ranging public recognizes and appreciates his work.  The exhibition shows a collection of his works and its completeness and precision put it in the same light as other important international tributes to Francis Bacon. It covers the key phases of this great painter's exploration of his art, and provides an overall interpretation of his artistic career.

Willie Cole and Hank Willis Thomas Explore Amistad Center's Extensive Collection of Art Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:29 PM PST HARTFORD, CT.- A new collaborative exhibition featuring the works of Willie Cole and Hank Willis Thomas, entitled Digging Deeper, will open this fall at The Amistad Center for Art & Culture at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art . Both Cole and Thomas were invited to explore The Amistad Center's extensive collection of art, artifacts, and archives which document the African American experience and respond with new works inspired by this rich source material. The show will also include additional objects from The Amistad Center's collection to highlight the common threads between historical characterizations of race and present-day conceptions of African American culture. Digging Deeper is on view from September 19, 2009 through April 4, 2010.

Photos by Abbott, Evans, Bourke-White on View at the Colby College Museum of Art Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:27 PM PST WATERVILLE, ME.- The Colby College Museum of Art presents American Modern: Abbott, Evans, Bourke-White, on view from July 9th through October 2nd. In the 1930s, photographers pushed the genre of documentary photography to the forefront of public culture in the United States and onto the walls of newly opened museums and art galleries. That historic development receives new insight with this exhibition focusing exclusively on the work of American photographers Berenice Abbott, Walker Evans, and Margaret Bourke-White. Organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and the Colby Museum, the exhibition comes to Waterville after its display at the Amon Carter and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Tate Liverpool shows the Glenn Brown exhibition of The Extraordinary & Alien Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:22 PM PST   LIVERPOOL, UK - Tate Liverpool presents today Glenn Brown, on view through May 10, 2009. Borrowing from art history and popular culture, Glenn Brown transforms a familiar visual history into something extraordinary and alien. Paintings by Rembrandt, Fragonard, Salvador Dalí, Frank Auerbach and many others, including the illustrators for science fiction novels, have all been used by the artist as starting blocks. Yet it is not original paintings that Brown turns to for inspiration but reproductions – images printed on postcards, in books or digitised on the internet.

MCA Chicago Shows Liam Gillick: Three Perspectives and a Short Scenario Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:21 PM PST CHICAGO.- The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago, presents Three Perspectives and a Short Scenario, the final installment of a multi-part exhibition project by four international art museums on the work of acclaimed British artist Liam Gillick, running from October 10, 2009, to January 10, 2010. Gillick emerged in the early 1990s as part of a re-energized British art scene, producing a sophisticated body of work ranging from his signature "platform" sculptures -- architectural structures made of aluminum and colored Plexiglas that play with social interaction -- to wall paintings, text sculptures, and published texts that reflect on social, cultural, and political systems of authority and how they manifest themselves in art, architecture, and graphic design. As a complement to his art exhibit, Gillick also takes on the role of a curator in Liam Gillick Curates the MCA Collection, on view from October 17, 2009 to January 10, 2010.

Major Survey of the Work of Charles Burchfield at the Whitney Museum Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:20 PM PST NEW YORK, NY.- The Whitney Museum of American Art focuses on the work of the visionary artist Charles Burchfield (1893-1967) in an exhibition curated by acclaimed sculptor Robert Gober. Heat Waves in a Swamp: The Paintings of Charles Burchfield features more than one hundred watercolors, drawings, and paintings from private and public collections, as well as selections from Burchfield's journals, sketches, scrapbooks, and correspondence. Organized by the Hammer Museum, in collaboration with the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, the exhibition provides the most comprehensive examination to date of an underappreciated modernist master. Whitney senior curatorial assistant Carrie Springer is overseeing the installation in the third-floor Peter Norton Family Galleries, where it will be on view from June 24 through October 17, 2010. Born in 1893 in Ashtabula Harbor, Ohio, and raised nearby in Salem, Burchfield spent most of his adult life in upstate New York, in Buffalo, where he moved in 1921, and the neighboring suburb of Gardenville. Working almost exclusively in watercolor on paper, his principal subject was his experience of the natural world, which led him to create deeply personal landscapes that are often imbued with highly expressionistic light. His works quiver with color and the almost audible sounds of humming insects, rustling leaves, bells, birds, and vibrating telephone lines. In 1945 he noted, "It is as difficult to take in all the glory of a dandelion, as it is to take in a mountain, or a thunderstorm." Contemporary artist Robert Gober has curated previous exhibitions, most notably The Meat Wagon at the Menil Collection in Houston, in 2005, drawn from the diverse selection of works in the Menil's holdings. With this exhibition, Gober – who discovered that his interest in Burchfield was shared by Hammer Director Ann Philbin and coordinating curator/Hammer Deputy Director Cynthia Burlingham – is for the first time curating a large-scale monographic show of another artist's work. The exhibition is arranged chronologically, with each room presenting a distinct phase of Burchfield's career. Exploring both physical and psychological terrain, Gober has augmented the selection of Burchfield's works with extensive material that sheds light on the artist's thoughts about his work and artistic practice. Burchfield (with much help from his wife, Bertha) left a trove of well-maintained sketches, jottings, notebooks, journals, and ephemera spanning his entire career. This material is now part of the Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College. The title of the show, Heat Waves in a Swamp, comes from the title of a Burchfield watercolor. Gober writes of Burchfield in his catalogue introduction: "He loved swamps and bogs and marshes. He loved all of nature and was torn as a young man between being an artist and being a nature writer. He liked nothing more than to paint while literally standing in a swamp. Liked the mosquitoes and the rain and the decay of vegetation. I felt early on that this title had a metaphorical sweep that captured Burchfield's enthusiasms at their deepest and best." The exhibition begins with work Burchfield created in 1916 while living in Salem, Ohio, and follows his career with particular attention to transformative and reflective moments in his life and work. Among the earliest works is a 1917 sketchbook entitled "Conventions for Abstract Thoughts," which includes a series of symbolic drawings depicting human emotions. The abstract forms in these drawings would reappear in Burchfield's work for years to come. A room is dedicated to a series of works that were shown in a 1930 exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, Charles Burchfield: Early Watercolors, 1916 to 1918, the first show at MoMA devoted to a single artist. Correspondence between Burchfield and MoMA's legendary curator/director Alfred Barr will be shown alongside the work. As Gober notes, "Burchfield's complex communion with nature, as seen in these early watercolors, would resurface later, becoming the inspirational touchstone for the work of the last two decades of his life." From 1921 to 1929 Burchfield worked as a designer at the M. H. Birge & Sons wallpaper factory in Buffalo. His designs, like all his art, were based in nature and reveal such diverse influences as Japanese woodcuts by Katsushika Hokusai and Ando Hiroshige, Chinese scroll paintings, and the illustrations of Arthur Rackham. Burchfield's work as a wallpaper designer during the 1920s is featured in a room that includes watercolors from the same period hanging on walls covered in a reprint of one of his designs. When the opportunity arose to show his paintings at the Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries in New York, Burchfield gave up his job and decided to paint full time. Burchfield accepted commissions from Fortune magazine to paint railroads in Pennsylvania, sulphur mines in Texas, and coal mines in Virginia. Many of his paintings of this period deal with the rural and industrial worlds around him and present these worlds in a less fantastical way than in his earlier watercolors. By the mid-1930s, Burchfield was celebrated for his realist depictions of the American landscape. In 1943 Burchfield faced a creative crisis as he was approaching fifty and the country was in the middle of World War II. At that point he began to look back at his earlier watercolors and to expand them. The exhibition reunites two pivotal paintings, both completed in 1943 within a month of each other, although one was begun in 1917 and the other in 1934. These two paintings, The Coming of Spring and Two Ravines, were the works that marked Burchfield's transition from crisis to the extraordinary achievements of his last two decades. Gober notes, "He felt that his work had lost the intensity of his early watercolors, and in his struggle to make works that he felt reflected the best possibilities for his creativity, he took early drawings and physically expanded them to make these two landmark works." Although he struggled with health problems during the 1950s and 60s, until his death in 1967, Burchfield created some of his most vibrant and fascinating works toward the end of his life. As Gober writes, "The works from this period of Burchfield's life are immersed in what he perceived as the complicated beauty and spirituality of nature and are often imbued with visionary, apocalyptic, and hallucinatory qualities. In these large, late watercolors, Burchfield was able to execute with grace and beauty many of the painting ideas that he had developed as a young man…And in so doing, he transformed himself and his practice, producing one of the rarest events in the life of any artist: great art in old age." Visit The Whitney Museum of American Art at : http://www.whitney.org/

Hamburger Kunsthalle Surveys the Art of Jakob Philipp Hackert (1737–1807) Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:16 PM PST   Hamburg, Germany - Jakob Philipp Hackert (1737–1807) regarded landscapes as natural events, and his precisely observed depictions of geological and atmospheric phenomena marked a turning point in 18th-century landscape painting. For the first time, a comprehensive exhibition of Hackert's work is being presented at the Hamburger Kunsthalle in cooperation with the Klassik Stiftung Weimar (Foundation of Weimar Classics). On exhibition 28 November through 15 February, 2009.

Exhibition At The Tate Britain Shows The History & Versatility Of Watercolor Painting Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:16 PM PST London (Wall Street Journal) - Watercolor painting thrived for centuries before oil arrived around 1500. While oil reigned, watercolor wasn't forgotten, particularly by the British landscape painters, who valued its purity of color and translucent quality, so different from sticky oils. "Watercolour," a show at the Tate Britain museum in London, plucks the art from its usual context, shows of U.K. landscape painters, and traces it back through 800 years of history, from medieval illuminated manuscripts to abstract works of modern-day artists. The museum was renamed "Tate Britain" in March 2000, before the launch of Tate Modern, since which time it has been dedicated to the display of historical and contemporary British art only.

Baltimore Museum of Art presents Rarely Shown British Landscapes Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:13 PM PST   Baltimore, MD - Majestic settings of the English countryside have inspired writers and artists from the poetry of William Wordsworth to the paintings of J.M.W. Turner. This fall, the BMA focuses on the transforming British landscape in Taking in the View: English Watercolors and Prints. On view through December 7, 2008, this one gallery exhibition features an array of more than 20 prints, watercolors, and books drawn from the Museum's collection.

He An Solo Exhibition at Art Statements Gallery Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:12 PM PST   Hong Kong - Art Statements Gallery is delighted to announce the first exhibition of the Chinese Contemporary artist He An in Hong Kong. He An was born 1971 in Wuhan, China and lives and works in Beijing. He recently participated in the mega show 'The Real Thing: Contemporary Art from China' at Tate Liverpool in UK . On exhibition July 18th – August 31st

Algorithmic Visualizations by George Legrady in Toronto Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:10 PM PST Toronto, Canada - Pari Nadimi Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition by internationally acclaimed Los Angeles based artist George Legrady.  On exhibit until 21 October.

The North Carolina Museum of Art Displays Contemporary African American Art Posted: 23 Nov 2011 06:09 PM PST Raleigh, NC.— The North Carolina Museum of Art is proud to present "30 Americans", an exhibition of work by many significant contemporary African American artists, in its Meymandi Exhibition Gallery in East Building until September 4th. Organized by the internationally known Rubell Family Collection, the exhibition features 75 works of art from the last three decades and includes painting,drawing, photography, video, sculpture, and mixed-media installations. 30 Americans brings together both established and emerging artists whose work explores issues of race, gender, identity, history, and popular culture. By featuring seminal figures such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and David Hammons alongside rising stars like Hank Willis Thomas and Kehinde Wiley, 30 Americans also highlights artistic legacy and influence, and illustrates how a previous generation of African American artists influenced those working today. "The works in the exhibition invite, provoke, and encourage the viewer to reexamine assumptions and viewpoints," said Linda Dougherty, curator of contemporary art. "They also offer visitors the opportunity to see the world from alternative perspectives and to see that beneath highly individual and personal stories, experiences, and identities, there is much we all hold in common, regardless of race, gender, and history." Covering more than 15,000 square feet of gallery space, 30 Americans is a sweeping display across a variety of media by some of the nation's best contemporary artists. The works of art on view are provocative and dramatic, and many have never been shown in this region.  Highlights of the exhibition include several of Nick Cave's sculptural Soundsuits constructed from found materials, Kehinde Wiley's portraits of contemporary African American men that reference Old Master paintings, three graffiti-inspired paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat, and conceptual artist Glenn Ligon's text paintings and installations that borrow words from historical and contemporary figures. "30 Americans" also features work by Robert Colescott, Kerry James Marshall, Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems, Barkley Hendricks, Gary Simmons, Mark Bradford, Rashid Johnson, Mickalene Thomas, Iona rozeal brown, and Kara Walker, among others. The North Carolina Museum of Art's history began in 1924, when the North Carolina State Art Society was formed. In 1928, the society acquired funds and approximately 75 paintings by bequest from Robert F. Phifer, a North Carolina native and businessman. In 1929 the first in a series of temporary art exhibition spaces opened in the Agriculture Building in Raleigh. In 1947 the state legislature appropriated $1 million to purchase a collection of art for the people of North Carolina. The appropriation, which was unheard of at the time and drew national attention, was in response to a then-anonymous challenge grant from noted philanthropist Samuel H. Kress of New York through the persuasive efforts of Robert Lee Humber. The initial $1 million legislative appropriation was used to purchase 139 European and American paintings and sculptures. The Kress Foundation matched the $1 million appropriation with a gift of 70 works of art, primarily Italian Renaissance, adding the Museum to its program of endowing regional museums throughout the United States with works from the Kress Collection. The Kress gift to the Museum became the largest and most important of any except that given to the National Gallery of Art. The Museum's original collection, along with the Kress gift, established the North Carolina Museum of Art as one of the premier art museums. By the 1960s the Museum had outgrown its Morgan Street location. Designed by Edward Durrell Stone and Associates of New York and Holloway-Reeves Architects of North Carolina, the new building in Blue Ridge Road opened in 1983. At 181,000 square feet it was four times the square footage of the Morgan Street location and had twice the exhibition space. In 2000 the Museum began to lay plans fo the construction of a new building specifically for the purpose of housing the permanent collection. Over the course of the next two years, the Museum began working with architects Thomas Phifer and Partners on the design of a new gallery building. A unique glass-walled architectural structure with striking roof lines, a dramatic exterior, and state-of-the-art environmental elements, West Building has arisen adjacent to the original building on the Museum site. With the exterior 50 percent glass, the 127,000-square-foot gallery space allows for filtered natural light and viewing of the collection in a whole new way. Landscaped sculpture gardens and reflecting pools complement the existing Museum Park and strengthen the connection of art and nature. Visit the museum's website at ... http://ncartmuseum.org

J. C. Leyendecker: America's 'Other' Illustrator opens at The Hudson River Museum Posted: 23 Nov 2011 05:44 PM PST   Yonkers, NY - The Hudson River Museum presents J. C. Leyendecker: America's 'Other' Illustrator, on view through May 10, 2009. Joseph Leyendecker (1874 – 1951) was one of the most popular artists of his day. Though not as well known as his fellow American illustrator Norman Rockwell, his work was recognized by millions of fans and was in constant demand by publishers and advertisers. The fifty paintings and sketches, and original magazine covers and advertisements in the exhibition J. C. Leyendecker: America's 'Other' Illustrator provide new audiences with the opportunity to experience artwork that mainstream America took to its heart during the first half of the 20th century.

Erwin Olaf showcased at Hague Museum of Photography Posted: 23 Nov 2011 05:43 PM PST   THE HAGUE, NL - With their averted eyes half open, staring into nothingness, the models in the photographs in Erwin Olaf's latest series, Fall, evoke a strange kind of aloofness. The portraits are interspersed with still lifes of plants and flowers in simple ceramic vases. With its use of color, the strange, almost awkward expressions on the faces of the models and the almost unreal setting, the series Fall is in some ways the logical successor to the earlier series Grief, Hope and Rain. Today, all four will be on display together for the first time in a retrospective at The Hague Museum of Photography.  On exhibition 27 September through 18 January, 2009.

Seattle Art Museum Exhibition Explores the Life and Work of Kurt Cobain Posted: 23 Nov 2011 05:42 PM PST SEATTLE, WA.- Grunge music is about as universally synonymous with modern-day Seattle as Starbucks and Microsoft, and no band symbolizes this movement more readily than Nirvana. The late Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain is easily the most recognizable icon from this period, famous for his heart wrenching lyrics, aggressive left-handed guitar playing, scraggly blond locks and premature demise. On view at the Seattle Art Museum from May 13 through September 6, 2010, the exhibition Kurt will reveal the extent to which his music and biography continue to exert a strong pull on our collective consciousness.

The Boise Art Museum Shows "The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories" Posted: 23 Nov 2011 05:41 PM PST Boise, ID.- Inspiring, vibrant and fun, "The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories" explores the meanings of shoes, presenting 120 playful, imaginative and provocative objects.  Shoes speak to style, fashion and individuality, yet they also tell stories, expressing more than just their role as footwear. Shoes reflect the time and place of their creation, providing unique insights into human history and identity. The 100 contemporary artists from the USA, Canada and Israel whose shoe-inspired artworks are presented in "The Perfect Fit " are motivated by these themes, creating objects of wit, whimsy and visual pizzazz. "The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories" can be seen at the Boise Art Museum in Idaho until July 31st. "The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories" was organized by the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Massachussets and curated by Wendy Tarlow Kaplan. There are 120 shoe-related objects created by over 100 artists from across the US, plus Canada and Israel. Artists featured in the exhibition include, Lynne Allen, Michael Boroniec, Ali Cann-Clift, James Ellis Coleman, Patricia Delaney, Marina Dempster, Nina Fletcher, Judy Haberl, Jan Hopkins, Ken Hruby, Sergei Isupov, Silas Kopf, Diane Lamb-Wanucha, David Lang, Marga Lianko, Laurie Miles, Gwen Murphy, Marilyn Pappas, Paula Rasmus-Dede, Beverly Rippel, Marjorie Schick, Diana (Micki) Shampang-Voorhies, Rebecca Siemering, Jessica Straus, M.L. Van Nice, Lois Tarlow, and Nicole Tourangeau. Wendy Tarlow Kaplan, who curated the show, is an independent curator whose family has strong ties to Massachussets' legendary shoe manufacturing industry. This exhibition does not just pay an artistic homage to footwear, many of these works also have a political purpose, speaking as they do to issues of gender, sexuality, race and class. Diana (Micki) Shampang-Voorhies' "Red Steel Hi-heels" appear to be a sporty new spin on the femme-fatale stiletto with their flowers and autopaint red finish, however, with soles made out of scrap steel and drill-bit heels, they could never be worn, and instead make a statement about the aspirations of those who would wear such shoes. "Tolerance" by Jan Hopkins crafted from grapefruit and cantaloupe peels and waxed linen, sports text saying "Judge her when you've walked in her shoes." The artist made the piece to honor a divorced soccer mom who became an exotic dancer to pay the bills. Marjorie Schick's "Chopines and Puddles" pay tribute to a fantastical world of circus-inspired fun, with bright shiny colors and puddle-like bottoms that hug the platform's soles. Constructed from painted wood, plastic, and papier maché, this carnivalesque footwear is actually modeled after a true-to-life platform shoe that was popular in Venice and England in the late 16th century. The exhibition also features installations, paintings and other artwork. The Boise Art Museum (BAM) is the only AAM accredited art museum in the State of Idaho. It began in 1931 as the Boise Art Association when a group of thirty people interested in promoting art in the city of Boise and throughout the state met in the Crystal Lounge of the Hotel Boise. Their purpose was to organize an association whose duties were to acquire and maintain a suitable gallery, hosting traveling exhibitions and promoting fine art in Boise. Their first official exhibition was held at the Hotel Boise. In 1937, the Association's goals were realized through a partnership among the Boise Art Association, the City of Boise and the federal Works Progress Administration. The Boise Gallery of Art was constructed in Julia Davis Park in the heart of downtown Boise. Exclusively managed by volunteers from the Boise Art Association, the 3,000 sq. ft. Art Deco building was composed of two galleries and a small office/lobby space. Although the gallery did not actively collect, it presented local and regional artwork and played an important role in Boise's growing community. In 1961, the Boise Art Association incorporated as a non-profit organization under the name Boise Gallery of Art. In the mid-sixties, the first professional staff was hired and programming became more ambitious. The need for additional space quickly became a priority, and in 1972, the gallery moved to a temporary location as construction began on a year-long expansion program. The 10,000 sq. ft. addition included enlarged galleries, a lobby, sales shop, vault and studio space, allowing the institution to lay the foundation for its current mission, Permanent Collection, exhibition practices and educational programs, including a docent program. In 1986, the institution successfully completed a second renovation, expansion of its galleries, and support of its new facilities. Upon completion of the expansion in 1988, the Museum was awarded its initial accreditation by the American Association of Museums, with subsequent accreditation awarded in 1996. That same year, 1988, the Museum was renamed Boise Art Museum to reflect its focus on developing its Permanent Collection and education program as well as the display of significant traveling exhibitions. In 1997, BAM embarked upon a multi-million dollar campaign, supported by the City of Boise and the community, which enabled BAM to increase its facilities by 13,800 square feet to a total of 34,800 square feet. This most recent expansion reflects the Museum's dedication to its Permanent Collection, display of multiple exhibitions, and educational programming. The Museum added five more galleries devoted to the display of its Permanent Collection, a 2,775 square foot sculpture court; an education wing comprised of three studios and an interactive children's gallery; art storage vault, art prep area, and staff offices. Visit the museum's website at ... http://boiseartmuseum.org

Art Knowledge News Presents "This Week In Review" Posted: 23 Nov 2011 05:41 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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