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

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• The Mathaf In Doha, Qatar ~ A Luxurious Home For Modern Arab Art In A New Museum
• National Gallery of Art exhibits " Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered "
• Ballina Arts Centre Will Reveal To The Public ~ Altered Images
• Schiele, Klimt, Kokoschka and Viennese friends at The MART
• Sotheby's Exhibits Highlights from Forthcoming Sales of Russian Art in Paris
• Camden Arts Centre presents Thomas Scheibitz
• MoMA Presents the Theatrical Premiere of Emily Hubley's film 'The Toe TacTic'
• The Irish Museum of Modern Art to show Exhibition of Limited Editions
• Miami Art Museum Presents Exhibition of Interactive Works by Carlos Cruz-Diez
• Richard Pousette-Dart: Predominantly White Paintings at The Phillips Collection
• Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art hosts Christopher Wool Exhibition
• Yale Center for British Art Presents Contemporary Artist Howard Hodgkin
• Pentagram's Paula Scher Shows Limited Edition Screenprints at Stendhal Gallery
• Art Knowledge News Presents "This Week In Review"

The Mathaf In Doha, Qatar ~ A Luxurious Home For Modern Arab Art In A New Museum Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:41 PM PST "Art can only truly flourish if the artists, their collectors, curators and audiences are able to connect today's activities to yesterday's achievements." With these words, H.E. Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali Ali Thani set out the philosophy behind the Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf - pronounced Mat-haff, meaning "museum" in Arabic) in Doha, Qatar. In 2008, Qatar opened the Museum of Islamic Art, home to a rich collection of 800 artistic and historical treasures from three continents, illustrating Islamic culture from the seventh to the 19th centuries. The five-storey building, designed by Chinese-American Pritzker Prize winning architect I. M. Pei, whose other projects have included the Pyramide du Louvre in Paris, was built on an artificial island 60 metres (yards) from the Doha Corniche. The Mathaf will complement the Museum of Islamic Arts by showing the works of more contemporary Arab artists from throughout the world. More than 6,500 artworks from Sheikh Hassan's personal collection form the cornerstone of the new museum, originally donated to the Qatar Foundation, who safeguarded it for four years before the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) took the Museum project on, and formed the current joint administration. As well as donating the collection itself, Sheikh Hassan campaigned for the creation of the museum and encouraged creativity in Qatar and throughout the region with his longtime commitment to Arab artists. Opened in December 2010 the Museum temporarily occupies a former school building in Doha's Education City, which was re-designed for Mathaf by the French architect Jean-François Bodin. QMA will determine its plans for the construction of a future, permanent home for the Museum at a later date (but are already considering some impressive designs). In the meantime, Jean-François Bodin's converted school provides an excellent venue in which to display the collection. The off-white building combines modern exterior touches with an all-glass facade above the entrance, with traditional shapes and designs. The Mathaf provides galleries on two floors (with over 6,500 square meters of exhibition space), a café, a museum shop, a research library and an education wing. Visitors enter Mathaf through a terrace that features a shaded outdoor seating area for the café. From the terrace, visitors pass through a screen-wrapped scaffolding-style façade, upon which imagery and video can be projected at night. Inside Mathaf, the flexible space has an informal and contemporary aesthetic. Like the collection that it houses, this temporary home expresses a balance between the old and the new, as well as reflecting Mathaf's commitment to education. The museum hosts exhibitions, programs and events that explore and celebrate modern art in all mediums by Arab artists. In addition to its collection and special exhibitions, Mathaf's on-site and online programs reinforce its role as a center for global dialogue, research and scholarship. Through these activities, which are designed to engage artists, writers, students, scholars and the widest possible public audience, Mathaf intends to contribute to the cultural landscape of the Gulf region, the Middle East and the Arab Diaspora. "When QMA opened the Museum of Islamic Art, we made Qatar the place to see and appreciate the greatest treasures of a vast and vital heritage, which spans centuries and cultures," stated H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa. "Now, with the opening of Mathaf, we make Qatar the place to see, explore and discuss the creations of Arab artists of the modern era and our own time. As we reveal this body of exciting, important but previously little-seen artworks, we demonstrate that the world can continue to look to Qatar for new possibilities and surprising experiences." According to H.E. Sheikh Hassan, "Arab artists are now receiving unprecedented visibility and support, in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. We warmly welcome this development. By making public a century's worth of distinctive artworks, Mathaf will deepen the conversation about Arab art and help advance the creativity of the Arab world." Visit the museum's website at ... www.mathaf.org.qa With almost 7,200 artworks, Mathaf holds the largest collection of Arab paintings and sculptures in the world, including works by artists from most Arab countries and spanning the 1840s to the present day. A pair of sculptures dominates the forecourt, impressive in both size and scale. The towering "Guardian of the Fertile Crescent" was conceived by renowned sculpture artist Ismail Fattah, who sadly passed away before its completion. Ali Nouri finished the monumental granite carving, which depicts two imposing figures seated side by side. Also in the forecourt is Adam Henein's "Al-Safina" ("The Ship"), created from blocks of pink and black granite quarried from his homeland in Egypt. Sitting solemnly on top of the ship-like structure are a variety of imposing bronze sculptures which depict animal, plant and human life, as well as several abstract forms, many of which soar impressively towards the skyline. Inside the museum, the collection concentrates on paintings alongside mixed media and abstract installations, both from Sheikh Hassan's donated collection and other sources. Among some of the higlights are "Les Shadoufs" by Egyptian master Mahmoud Said purchased at auction for $2.43 million in 2010 and works by Dia Azzawai, Mahmoud Said, the Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour and Iraqis Ismail Fattah (a realist sculptor from Basra), and Shakir Hassan al-Said. The museum's initial hanging presents the collection by theme under the title "Sajjil: A Century of Modern Art". 'Sajjil' means'Act of Recording' and the exhibition brings together over 200 artworks from Mathaf's extensive collection. The exhibition creates a space for many different stories and experiences and helps set Arab modern art in its historical place within a larger art-history tradition. It also emphasizes the several common moments and concerns that make it possible to talk about a shared identity in the region. Sajjil is divided into ten themed categories: nature; the city; individualism; form and abstraction; society; family; history and myth; struggle; huroufiyah ('abstract letterform art') and Doha. Many elements of the art recur across time, space and historical interruptions. In addition, the museum contains more than 750 pieces of antique sculpture, metalwork and ceramics revealing the influence of ancient civilizations on contemporary Arab art, with some dating to more than 5,000 years old. In addition to the inaugural exhibition featuring works from the collection, Mathaf is presenting two special opening exhibitions in a new temporary exhibition space located on the grounds of the Museum of Islamic Art. 'Interventions', on view from December 30, 2010 to May 28, 2011, celebrates the work and artistic development of five major modern Arab artists, Dia Azzawi, Farid Belkahia, Ahmed Nawar, Ibrahim el-Salahi, and Hassan Sharif who were instrumental in introducing and negotiating modernism in the Arab world, and remain productive and influential today. . As well as highlighting key moments in their experiments and oeuvres, "Interventions" introduces five new works commissioned by Mathaf from the artists for this exhibition. These new works are presented alongside pertinent pieces from Mathaf's permanent collection, providing a context which emphasizes thematic and artistic progression. The new works assert the continuing commitment of the five artists and the endurance of their discourse and cultural roles. 'Interventions' features works from Mathaf's permanent collection alongside a newly commissioned work by each artist. 'Told/Untold/Retold', on view from December 30, 2010 to May 28, 2011 brings together twenty-three artists with twenty-three commissioned works that mark a significant departure, a new way of looking at both art and the world. It is the first and largest exhibition of contemporary art on this scale within a museum context in the history of the Arab world. In a world where everything is in motion, artists are not confined within rigid cultural identities based on the traditional geography. The exhibition invites you to look at artists, not as national representatives but as 'transmodern' artists in consistent metamorphosis. "Told/Untold/Retold" seeks simply to let the artists speak, free of stereotypes or contrived connections. ANNOUNCEMENT: Our Editor has been invited to visit Museums and cultural sites worldwide, and they are featured on our Home Page (center). 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 . . and we are publishing current art news articles on the left hand side under RECENT NEWS .. Enjoy

National Gallery of Art exhibits " Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered " Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:40 PM PST WASHINGTON, DC.- The life and career of Jan Lievens (1607–1674), one of the greatest yet most enigmatic Dutch painters of the 17th century, is finally brought to light in the exhibition Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered, on view at the National Gallery of Art in the West Building This exhibition and its accompanying catalogue will present an overview of the full range of Lievens' career. More than 130 of the artist's finest works will be presented, including 54 paintings, 39 drawings, and 39 prints. On view from October 26, 2008, through January 11, 2009.

Ballina Arts Centre Will Reveal To The Public ~ Altered Images Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:38 PM PST CO MAYO, IRELAND. - An exhibition of works from the Collections of Mayo County Council, South Tipperary County Council and the Irish Museum of Modern Art opens to the public on Friday 14 August 2009 at the Ballina Arts Centre, Ballina, Co Mayo. Altered Images includes work by artists Thomas Brezing, David Creedon, Alice Maher, Caroline McCarthy and Abigail O'Brien, with especially commissioned works by Amanda Coogan and Daphne Wright. The exhibition will be officially opened by Aidan Dunne, Art Critic, The Irish Times, on Thursday 13 August 2009.

Schiele, Klimt, Kokoschka and Viennese friends at The MART Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:35 PM PST Rovereto, Italy - Egon Schiele died in 1918 at the age of just 28, but his "eternal" painting continues to fascinate and enchant the public, today as it did yesterday.  The "Schiele, Klimt, Kokoschka and Viennese friends" exhibition at the Mart in Rovereto ( Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto ) presents over 120 works from Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, and other prestigious Austrian and German museums, comprising paintings, drawings and sculptures, many of which never exhibited before in Italy, illustrating the life and work of Egon Schiele (1890 – 1918), one of the most celebrated exponents of expressionist art.  On Exhibition until 8th January 2007.

Sotheby's Exhibits Highlights from Forthcoming Sales of Russian Art in Paris Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:31 PM PST LONDON.- To coincide with the 2010 'L'année de la Russie en France', Sotheby's announced that it will exhibit important works from its forthcoming sales of Russian Art in New York (April 2010) and London (June 2010) at its Paris Saleroom from March 4th to March 9th, 2010. The exhibition of around 25 paintings by leading Russian artists – some of whom emigrated to France – will also include a group of important works by Pavel Tchelitchew, which have come from the estate of American actress and socialite, Ruth Ford.

Camden Arts Centre presents Thomas Scheibitz Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:28 PM PST London - Camden Arts Centre presents a new exhibition by Thomas Scheibitz including paintings, sculptures and large works on paper. German artist Scheibitz received international acclaim at the Venice Biennale in 2005. Using geometric shapes and symbols taken from personal memory and the media, he creates a vision of a future fast-paced consumer society. On exhibition 22 February – 20 April 2008.  Admission free.

MoMA Presents the Theatrical Premiere of Emily Hubley's film 'The Toe TacTic' Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:26 PM PST   NEW YORK, NY - The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) presents the theatrical premiere of Emily Hubley's feature debut, The Toe Tactic, a nimbly creative film that brings to life a layered world of reality and imagination through the combination of Hubley's distinctive, handdrawn animation and live action. Hubley, who has been making animated shorts for 30 years, unspools the whimsical story of a young woman engulfed by loss and the mystical events she encounters over the course of a problematic but magical weekend. By juxtaposing different views of reality, The Toe Tactic addresses themes of memory, loss, and renewal.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art to show Exhibition of Limited Editions Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:25 PM PST DUBLIN.- An exhibition of 31 prints by leading Irish and international artists opens to the public at the Irish Museum of Modern Art on Saturday 26 September 2009. Traces: IMMA Limited Editions celebrates the IMMA Limited Editions Series, introduced by the Museum in 2003. Artists being shown include : Michael Craig-Martin, Dorothy Cross, Gary Hume, Isaac Julien, Alex Katz, William McKeown, Elizabeth Peyton, Jack Pierson and Sean Scully. Newly-created additions to the series by renowned Irish artists Louis le Brocquy, Patrick Scott and Camille Souter are also shown for the first time.

Miami Art Museum Presents Exhibition of Interactive Works by Carlos Cruz-Diez Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:23 PM PST MIAMI, FL.- The Miami Art Museum presents an exhibition of interactive works by Carlos Cruz-Diez (b. 1923, Caracas), one of Latin America's most important living masters. "Carlos Cruz-Diez: The Embodied Experience of Color" marks the artist's first exhibition to focus solely on sensory chromatic environments and interactive projects. The exhibition will feature four participatory environments created from color and light including Cromosaturación (Chromosaturation), a groundbreaking artwork first conceived in 1965. On view 20 March through 20 June, 2010.

Richard Pousette-Dart: Predominantly White Paintings at The Phillips Collection Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:21 PM PST WASHINGTON, DC.- Pousette-Dart: Predominantly White Paintings, an exhibition of important postwar (1949–1954) paintings by Richard Pousette-Dart (1916–1992), will be on view at The Phillips Collection from June 5 to Sept. 12, 2010. In 1955 at Betty Parsons Gallery, Richard Pousette-Dart exhibited a cycle of paintings that presented a radically innovative approach to the picture plane. Utilizing a restrained palette of graphite drawn on titanium white grounds, he realized an exceptional range of tonality and emotion. Through the variability of the drawn line and the occasional applications of tints of color, the artist achieved both depth and an effect of ethereal luminosity.

Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art hosts Christopher Wool Exhibition Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:20 PM PST   PORTO, PORTUGAL - Christopher Wool is a highly esteemed painter belonging to the middle generation who has explored since the 1980s, in new and unprecedented ways, fundamental concerns of painting: relations between the picture plane and the shapes applied to it; colour contrasts between black and white; the painterly and the graphic; the unique and the reproduced. His exhibition at Serralves traces the migration of abstract imagery through different media of representation, namely free-flowing painting and silkscreened print. On view through 25 March, 2009 at the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art.

Yale Center for British Art Presents Contemporary Artist Howard Hodgkin Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:17 PM PST New Haven, CT - Howard Hodgkin (b. 1932) is among the most important artists working in Britain today.  Nominally abstract, his paintings are, in his words, "representational pictures of emotional situations."

Pentagram's Paula Scher Shows Limited Edition Screenprints at Stendhal Gallery Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:15 PM PST NEW YORK, NY.- Stendhal Gallery presents Paula Scher: Maps Screenprints 2006-2010 from through March 27 2010. Scher's limited edition screenprints are created with the highest quality fine art screen-printing technique, each realized with the same hand-drawn elegance of her painted maps. Using the highest quality paper and printing techniques available, these screenprints will last over 500 years and can be passed down for generations as highly collectible works of art. Executed in an array of remarkable 30 – 40 colors, meticulous attention to detail, and with a wealth of knowledge like no map before, these stunning works are sought after by fine art collectors all over the world.

Art Knowledge News Presents "This Week In Review" Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:14 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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