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

---

• Zhang Xiaogang Sets Record Auction Price of $10 Million at Sotheby's
• Musée du Louvre and Teylers Museum Present Exhibitions of Claude Lorrain
• Modern Art from the Collection, 1910-1918 at the Guggenheim New York
• Amedeo Modigliani Biography Is Subject Discussion at The Library of Congress
• The National Museum of China Reopens with "The Art of the Enlightenment"
• Moderna Museet presents Selections From Its Collection
• Fifty Important Works by Andy Warhol on View at Hay Hill Gallery
• The Arena of Ridicule: English Caricatures 1780-1830 opens at Hamburger Kunsthalle
• 'Against the Wall' by Marlene Dumas Opens at Serralves Museum
• Zap! Pow! Zoom! Bam! Home Decor Now Gets a Pop Art Punch
• Susanne M. Winterling at GAK Gesellschaft fur Aktuelle Kunst in Bremen
• Brigitte Kowanz in Retrospective at MUMOK in Vienna
• Art 41 Basel Announces Art Statements: Solo Shows by Emerging Artists
• Eric Ravilious at Fry Art Gallery
• Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg presents Interior / Exterior ~ Living in Art
• François van Reenen ~ Monster Love ~ at 34 Long
• Delaware Art Museum Announces Highest August Attendance Since 2005 Opening
• Art Fair for Contemporary Objects Returns to the Saatchi Gallery
• This Week in Review in Art Knowledge News

Zhang Xiaogang Sets Record Auction Price of $10 Million at Sotheby's Posted: 04 Apr 2011 12:00 AM PDT HONG KONG — A three-panel painting by artist Zhang Xiaogang has set a record auction price for Chinese contemporary art, selling for 79 million Hong Kong dollars ($10 million). Sotheby's, which ran the Hong Kong auction, said the triptych, "Forever Lasting Love," was sold Sunday. The price broke the previous record of $9.7 million set by Zeng Fanzhi's "Mask Series 1996 No. 6," which was auctioned in Hong Kong in 2008. "Forever Lasting Love" was one of 105 artworks belonging to Belgian collector Guy Ullens and his wife Myriam that went on the block over the weekend. Zhang's 1988 work is "a monumental museum-quality work from a defining period of the Chinese avant-garde," Evelyn Lin, Sotheby's head of contemporary Asian art, said in a statement.

Musée du Louvre and Teylers Museum Present Exhibitions of Claude Lorrain Posted: 03 Apr 2011 11:59 PM PDT PARIS, FRANCE - Teylers Museum and Musée du Louvre present the first comprehensive exhibition in the Netherlands on Claude Lorrain, master of the golden light.  This autumn, Teylers Museum and Musée du Louvre present the first comprehensive exhibition on Claude Lorrain (1600 - 1682) ever held in the Netherlands. This French landscape painter is one of the most important masters in the history of art. An overview of his life's work, featuring over 100 works of art, will be shown in Haarlem and Paris. The exhibition will be on display at the Louvre from 20 April to 18 July 2011 and at Teylers museum from 28 September 2011 to 8 January 2012.

Modern Art from the Collection, 1910-1918 at the Guggenheim New York Posted: 03 Apr 2011 11:58 PM PDT New York, NY - When Vasily Kandinsky and Franz Marc formed Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) group in late 1911, the artists predicted a watershed in the arts, a große Umwälzung (great upheaval) that would radically challenge traditional artistic production. Undoubtedly, tremendous creativity and innovation characterized the years leading up to World War I, especially 1910–14. Cubism achieved recognition in Paris, sparking new artistic directions in France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Russia. Art's more expressionistic manifestations were at an equally momentous stage in Germany and Austria; Kandinsky wrote his influential treatise On the Spiritual in Art in late 1911 (published 1912), and abstraction took hold.

Amedeo Modigliani Biography Is Subject Discussion at The Library of Congress Posted: 03 Apr 2011 11:58 PM PDT Washington , DC -   Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) was considered the quintessential bohemian artist, his legend almost as infamous as Van Gogh's. In Modigliani's time, his work was seen as an oddity: contemporary with the Cubists but not part of their movement. In a major new biography, Meryle Secrest offers a fully realized portrait of one of the 20th century's master painters and sculptors: his upbringing as a Sephardic Jew from an impoverished but genteel Italian family, his moving to Paris to make his fortune, his striking good looks, his training as an artist and his influences, including the Italian Renaissance.

The National Museum of China Reopens with "The Art of the Enlightenment" Posted: 03 Apr 2011 11:56 PM PDT BEIJING.- Liu Yandong, State Councillor of Culture of the People's Republic of China and Guido Westerwelle, Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, opened 'The Art of the Enlightenment' exhibition at the National Museum of China. The exhibition, jointly organized by Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen Munich, together with the National Museum of China, is the first international exhibition to be hosted at the venue after its refurbishment and spectacular expansion. Falling under the joint auspices of Chinese President Hu Jintao and the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Christian Wulff, the exhibition will be on show at the National Museum of China for twelve months, from 2 April 2011 to 31 March 2012. The Exhibition's Chapters The prologue, 'Court Life in the Age of the Enlightenment', invites visitors to explore the world of Baroque palaces and the enlightened nobility and depicts all facets of court art from the 18th century. The palaces of Berlin, Dresden and Munich, whose collections went on to form the basis of the three museum bodies participating in today's show, are presented as examples for the court art of Europe as a whole. The periods depicted range from the late absolutist monarchy up to Frederick the Great, the first enlightened ruler to occupy a German throne. The 'Perspectives of Knowledge' chapter tells of the birth of modern sciences and their immense influence on the arts. Knowledge was acquired, systematized and disseminated publicly from all areas of learning; knowledge gained social prestige to a degree unheard of before. Not only had knowledge become fashionable, it was now a worthy subject for art in its own right. The 'Birth of History' highlights the new historical consciousness in the 18th century. The age saw the rise of such scholarly disciplines as archaeology and the founding of the first public museums. In the arts, the enthusiasm for antiquity was expressed in all manner of ways, seen, for example, in the sudden zeal for architectural ruins or the Neoclassicism of the age. However, a concern with the past also brought with it a heightened sense of the value of the here and now. The chapter 'Far and Near', turns our attention to the eagerness in the Enlightenment to investigate beyond the immediate sphere, the fascination in distant epochs and cultures, as well as their subsequent aesthetic impact on European art. Numerous expeditions, documented by artists taken along on the voyage, allowed new discoveries to be made on foreign peoples, animals and plants. China was one of the age's exotic idealized worlds and for many artists, writers and philosophers right up to the late 18th century it was the projection of an ideal, enlightened state that served as a counterpoint to Europe. However, the focus at the time was not merely placed on distant lands; people's immediate surroundings were also deemed a valid place of discovery. The example of the Sächsische Schweiz, or the 'Switzerland of Saxony', illustrates the invention of tourism and art's role in the early marketing of one such region. The chapter 'Love and Sensibility' illustrates how the 18th century also developed into the 'Age of Sensibility'. The socially critical and emancipatory tendencies of the age were complemented by the virtue of feeling. Even before it became firmly rooted as a concept, empathy evolved into a cultural technique that set new standards for humane coexistence between citizens. The way marriage and family were perceived changed and increasingly became defined by the concept of love as the base for relationships. This new image of the family was propagated in paintings, drawings and prints and craft objects. Friendship between like-minded people became the subject of art, be it in paintings, commemorative albums or decorative art objects. In the chapter 'Back to Nature' Arcadian landscapes, idylls and flights of imagination in 18th century sculpted gardens bring to life the Enlightenment's great dream of a new society. Rousseau's postulation 'back to nature' applied to humankind's nature and had a sweeping impact on the educational ideals and moral perceptions of the time. The recognition that, despite many technical achievements, nature remained indomitable was reflected in countless pictures of natural disasters (volcanic eruptions, storm scenes) and formed an important part in the development of one of the most fundamental philosophical ideas: the aesthetic of the sublime. 'Shadows' lifts the veil on the Enlightenment's interest in the human psyche and its emotional depths. The dark, irrational side to our being is depicted here in numerous drawings and prints, such as Goya's 'Caprichos', and appears as the reverse to the enlightened, intelligible world guided by reason. The loss of the kind of social and natural hierarchies traditionally propagated by the church and the emphasis on the self-responsibility of the individual also gave rise to uncertainty and fears. The chapter on 'Emancipation and the Public Sphere' depicts the Enlightenment as the epoch that spawned a kind of public sphere in which the individual was actively involved. The principal medium in the Enlightenment was initially the word; political and cultural topics were increasingly rapidly disseminated in a flood of books, periodicals, pamphlets and plays. However, like the word, the image also underwent a change in function, not least thanks to the opportunities that advances in technology opened up, and it developed into a visual mass medium that served the fervent dissemination of knowledge in the form of booklets, caricatures and popular literature.

Moderna Museet presents Selections From Its Collection Posted: 03 Apr 2011 06:10 PM PDT Stockholm - Moderna Museet has one of the world's best collections of art, spanning from 1900 to the present day. The photographic collection comprises works from the 1840's onwards. The art collection includes key works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse and Robert Rauschenberg, as well as new acquisitions by contemporary artists. Swedish art is largely integrated with the international works, presenting Swedish artists such as Vera Nilsson and Siri Derkert parallel with Oskar Kokoschka and Georges Braque. The contemporary section is rehung frequently, and it includes a presentation of contemporary film and video art in The Video Corridor. Selections from the collection on view through 31 January, 2010.

Fifty Important Works by Andy Warhol on View at Hay Hill Gallery Posted: 03 Apr 2011 06:08 PM PDT LONDON.- Fifty important works by Andy Warhol are on view at the Hay Hill Gallery this summer. The exhibition offers a rare and fascinating insight into Warhol's creative mind and working processes, with an unprecedented number of works juxtaposed with their preparatory drawings. On exhibition through 17 July, 2010.

The Arena of Ridicule: English Caricatures 1780-1830 opens at Hamburger Kunsthalle Posted: 03 Apr 2011 06:07 PM PDT HAMBURG, GERMANY - The period between 1780 and 1830 is considered the "golden era" of English caricature. During this time the genre first became recognised as an art form, which against the backdrop of the struggle for freedom of the press bore a strong influence on social and political opinion in Great Britain. Artists unsparingly parodied developments in day-to-day politics and social issues, wielding their innovative, trenchant means of expression to create an "arena of ridicule".  On exhibition at the Hamburger Kunsthalle from 5 July through 27 September, 2009.

'Against the Wall' by Marlene Dumas Opens at Serralves Museum Posted: 03 Apr 2011 06:06 PM PDT PORTO.- Marlene Dumas is an artist whose work is widely acknowledged and highly respected for focusing the painterly practice on the bare necessities of accommodating the things to be painted – refraining from temptations to create aesthetic surplus value. At the same time she aims at some of the most crucial issues of contemporary life, namely the way human beings are identified and bound by categories such as race, gender, religion, family ties and their affiliation with a particular nation. Her work is personal and autobiographical, and at the same time comprehensive in its scope. Grown up in South Africa and living in Holland since 1976, the thinking of Marlene Dumas is deeply informed by her experience of apartheid. Many of her works take as their starting point political and social conditions of segregation, oppression and domination to explore the fragilities of existence, the difficulties of living together, feelings of fear and anxiety, desire and expectation, and the conditions of love and war. On view 3 July through 10 October.

Zap! Pow! Zoom! Bam! Home Decor Now Gets a Pop Art Punch Posted: 03 Apr 2011 06:05 PM PDT NEW YORK, NY (AP).- Texan collector and decorator Andrea Reed grew up in a home filled with Pop Art, but it was the film "Tommy" that really made a lasting impression. In particular, a scene where Tommy's mother (played by Ann-Margret) sings "in an all-white room with a white ball chair. I was forever hooked," says Reed. With our continued interest in mid-century decor, it's no surprise to see Pop Art back for a visit. There are many ways to add a bit of "pop" to your rooms with furniture, accent pieces and color. Don't worry about kitsch; this is all about being fun and fresh.

Susanne M. Winterling at GAK Gesellschaft fur Aktuelle Kunst in Bremen Posted: 03 Apr 2011 06:04 PM PDT BREMEN.- Susanne M. Winterling works primarily in film, collage and photography. The various media of the individual installations developed for each of the exhibition contexts lead, altogether, to a whole. Her works produce thereby a system of concrete references, without resulting in the telling of a distinct story or following any clear narrative threads. But instead, meaning emerges in a delicate weave of references; narrative volatilizing and branching out. Literature, music, art, architecture and in particular film history become artistic materials for Winterling in just the same ways as everyday objects are staged in her works. They can be of a porcelain cup from an erstwhile family manufacturer, a bird's feather that changes colour in differing light, the delicate flying fiery spikes of a sparkler or of the historical inscription discovered at an exhibition site. On exhibition at GAK through 7 February, 2010.

Brigitte Kowanz in Retrospective at MUMOK in Vienna Posted: 03 Apr 2011 06:03 PM PDT VIENNA.- The Brigitte Kowanz retrospective is a part of a series of exhibitions that the MUMOK is putting on dealing with internationally successful Austrian artists. With the consistent depiction of light and language Kowanz's work is an exception, in both a local and international context. This is the first time that her varied and complex oeuvre from 1984 up to the present has been honoured to this extent with a presentation of representative wall pieces, installations, and interventions in architectonic space. The essential elements of her current creative work are compressed into an intensive light-space experience in a 450 m² 'mirrored hall'. During the exhibition encounters with Kowanz's work in public space have been made possible by two light projects - one on the façade of the MUMOK and one on the Uniqa Tower. On view through 3 October.

Art 41 Basel Announces Art Statements: Solo Shows by Emerging Artists Posted: 03 Apr 2011 06:02 PM PDT BASEL.- For Art 41 Basel the Art Statements sector spotlights 26 solo projects by young artists. Selected by the Art Basel Committee from more than 300 applications, the participating artists come from 17 different countries. The Art Statements sector has promoted young artists for over 10 years now, offering them a special platform that brings them to the eyes of an international audience of curators, collectors and art critics. Many previous participating artists have been awarded major exhibitions as a result of being discovered at Art Statements.

Eric Ravilious at Fry Art Gallery Posted: 03 Apr 2011 06:01 PM PDT LONDON.- A striking watercolour by Eric Ravilious has been purchased by the Fry Art Gallery with the help of the Art Fund. Entitled "Caravans", the work depicts the artist's temporary home and studio during the early 1930s. This is the first time the painting has changed hands since it was sold by the artist in 1936. The Art Fund gave a substantial grant to help the Fry Art Gallery acquire the work. The watercolour shows the two caravans where the artist lived and worked at the peak of his career, offering an insight into his attachment to the landscape of Sussex. The caravans painted by Ravilious stood near a remote cottage called Furlongs at Glynde in Sussex, which was owned by artist Peggy Angus. After visiting her in 1934, Ravilious was so inspired by the beauty of the Downs that he bought the caravans to use as a work space there.

Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg presents Interior / Exterior ~ Living in Art Posted: 03 Apr 2011 06:00 PM PDT WOLFSBURG, GERMANY - In 2006, under the artistic direction of Prof. Dr. Markus Brüderlin, the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg set out in search of modernism in the 21st century, integrating its exhibition projects thematically and conceptually into a comprehensive programme that draws its sources and inspirations in equal parts from the past and the future. Following on from the two major exhibitions ArchiSculpture. Dialogues between Architecture and Sculpture from the 18th Century to the Present Day and Japan and the West. Fulfilled Emptiness, the Kunstmuseum's latest exhibition Interior / Exterior. Living in Art (through 13 April 2009) explores another modernist phenomenon: private living space.

François van Reenen ~ Monster Love ~ at 34 Long Posted: 03 Apr 2011 05:58 PM PDT Cape Town, SA - 34Long celebrates two years of brilliant art with two notable shows. Downstairs, a group show spotlighting William Kentridge and Marlene Dumas; upstairs, a solo show by Cape Town artist François van Reenen, recently returned from two months in the Cité in Paris. On exhibit 12 December 2006 - 26 January 2007.  Frank's art brims with his love for toys and games, playfulness and fun.  He juggles the cute and the dark; a sort of neo-pop yin and yang.  The youngest of a large family, he collected hand-me-down scratched lead toys embossed with made in Japan.  He started making drawings at a tender age to barter with his grandmother for candy.  His staple diet was cartoons like Tintin and Mad Magazine.  Cartoons, like fairy tales, run the gamut from infinite lightness and beauty to the murky side of humanity, its absurdity, stereotypes and prejudices.  Monster Love is about all of this.

Delaware Art Museum Announces Highest August Attendance Since 2005 Opening Posted: 03 Apr 2011 05:55 PM PDT WILMINGTON, DE.- The Delaware Art Museum announced its highest attendance for the month of August since 2005, when the Museum reopened following a renovation and expansion project. The Museum welcomed 4,164 visitors in August 2009, an increase of 17% over last year and the best tally since August 2005. This is particularly welcome news since Museum attendance typically declines during the summer months as many potential visitors travel. The Museum credits this increase to the success of the Brandywine Treasure Trail Passport program, the popularity of two new exhibitions, higher attendance for Free Sundays sponsored by AstraZeneca as well as Bank of America's Museums on Us program, and less travel due to the difficult economy.

Art Fair for Contemporary Objects Returns to the Saatchi Gallery Posted: 03 Apr 2011 05:54 PM PDT LONDON.- The Crafts Council announced that COLLECT 2010, the leading international art fair for contemporary objects, will return to the Saatchi Gallery on London's Kings Road from May 14 - 17, 2010. Now in its seventh year, COLLECT has established itself as the event to view and buy the best in contemporary craft. Over 10,000 visitors attended COLLECT 2009, with international private collectors and public institutions, including the V&A and the National Museums of Scotland, making significant acquisitions.

This Week in Review in Art Knowledge News Posted: 03 Apr 2011 05:53 PM PDT 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.

You are subscribed to email updates from Art News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610