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• Johan Thorn Prikker: from Art Nouveau to Abstraction at Museum Kunst Palast
• Please Excuse Our 24 Hour Delay For Maintenance
• Smithsonian American Art Museum shows New Deal Paintings ~ First Federally Funded Art Program
• Fundación Juan March Hosts A Major Wyndham Lewis Exhibition
• National Railway Museum (NRM) Opens Film Season ~ Rails & Reels
• Frida Kahlo ~ Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray at Palm Springs Art Museum
• Luhring Augustine show New Work by Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) to feature 'Photographic Figures'
• New Works on Paper & Recent Paintings by Philip Taaffe at Gagosian Gallery
• Victoria and Albert Museum Showcases Grace Kelly's Glamorous Wardrobe
• MoMA to Host 9th Annual Festival of International Nonfiction Films
• Arndt & Partner to host First Solo Exhibition by the Iranian Khosrow Hassanzadeh
• KIA Exhibition Celebrates 225 Years of American Drawings
• Ekundayo solos at Thinkspace Gallery
• Museum of Fine Arts Features the Artists who Designed Currier & Ives Prints
• This Week in Review in Art Knowledge News

Johan Thorn Prikker: from Art Nouveau to Abstraction at Museum Kunst Palast Posted: 25 Apr 2011 08:11 PM PDT DUSSELDORF.- Working together with the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, over 130 works are presented by Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, from the multi-faceted oeuvre of Johan Thorn Prikker (The Hague 1868 to 1932 Cologne). The exhibition of this Dutch artist, who mainly became famous through his Art Nouveau works, is the first retrospective of his oeuvre in over 30 years, comprising all the genres in which this versatile artist was active: paintings, drawings, watercolours, mosaics, murals, glass windows, furniture, design objects, textile art, book covers and carpets. On view through 8 July. As well as numerous items from international collections, visitors to Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf will find that the foyer of the collection wing also has a large format window by Thorn Prikker which has been part of the building since 1925. In the same year Thorn Prikker also created two monumental mosaic walls for the corner pavilions of the Ehrenhof. Johan Thorn Prikker studied painting at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, and even his early paintings and drawing are counted among the most outstanding works of Dutch Symbolism. However, Thorn Prikker gained considerably more fame with his works in applied art, ranging from lead glass through furniture, textile art and carpets to monumental mosaics and murals. In the 1890s the emphasis of his art began to shift towards social critique. "The artist's successful use of material in his monumental works – with their references to the structures and colours of architecture, both formally and in content – shows that Thorn Prikker continued to develop his ideal synthesis of the arts for the benefit of the people, despite his change of techniques and media."(Christiane Heiser) In 1904, after his first successes as an artist, he left the Netherlands to teach at the School of Applied Art and Craft, in Krefeld. Following an invitation by Karl Ernst Osthaus, he then moved to Hagen, where he also designed a monumental window for the town's central railway station, with the programmatic title: "The Artist as a Teacher for Trade and Commerce". It was not only through his wide-ranging artistic work in the Netherlands and Germany that Thorn Prikker made an immense impact on monumental art in Germany, but especially also through his murals, mosaics and windows and also through his teaching activities at various schools of applied art and craft in Krefeld, Munich, Essen, Düsseldorf and Cologne. Glass windows and mosaics at the Ehrenhof in Düsseldorf Thorn Prikker's most significant legacy in Düsseldorf consists of three works. Firstly, there are two monumental mosaic walls, executed by Otto Wiegmann in 1925, called "Day" and "Night". Both can be viewed at today's Ehrenhof, where they occupy the northern corner pavilion of the NRW Forum and the southern corner pavilion of Museum Kunstpalast. Secondly there is also a tall, large-format glass window in the foyer of the collection wing, facing the river Rhine. This window comprises 35 panes and adds a cathedral-like character to the room with its high ceiling. The window was inserted in its current location in 1926 on the occasion of a major exhibition entitled GeSoLei (a German acronym for healthcare, social welfare and physical exercise) The overall artistic management of the GeSoLei project was handled by Wilhelm Kreis who, in his role as architect and town planner, was responsible for the conceptual and artistic design of the four building sections which were to be preserved after the end of the exhibition. After GeSoLei the building was occupied by the Kunstmuseum (Museum of Art, now Museum Kunstpalast) and by the Reichsmuseum für Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftskunde (Imperial Museum for Social and Economic Sciences, now NRW Forum). The original Planetarium was transformed into a large function room (now Tonhalle), and only the restaurant (now Rheinterrassen) retained its original purpose. In 1937 the window in the foyer of today's museum kunst palast was classified by the Nazis as "degenerate art" and was partly removed. The remaining windows were destroyed in an air raid in 1943. After their replacement with plain white glass in the 1950s, they were restored to their original state during the rebuilding of the Kunstmuseum in 1984, using the cardboard patterns that had been preserved at the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum in Krefeld. The climax of Prikker's attention to the forms and motifs of ornamental monumental art came partly with this glass window and partly with his two mosaic walls, "Day" and "Night", in the corner pavilions of the Ehrenhof. "His anti-naturalist, expressive design and his tendency towards ornamental and abstract-geometric elements combines an architectural approach with the autonomous imagery of two-dimensional art. What makes his mosaics, in particular, so convincing is not just this "cleansed" imagery, but also the way he composed his art with the material – and not for the material." (Barbara Til)

Please Excuse Our 24 Hour Delay For Maintenance Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT ANNOUNCEMENT: Art Knowledge News will be taking a One Day break during a 24 hour, or less, period required for maintenance of our equipment. We are 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 also publishing current art news articles on the left hand side under RECENT NEWS .. Enjoy

Smithsonian American Art Museum shows New Deal Paintings ~ First Federally Funded Art Program Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT WASHINGTON, DC.- In 1934, Americans grappled with an economic situation that feels all too familiar today. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the U.S. government created the Public Works of Art Program—the first federal government program to support the arts nationally. A selection of paintings made with support from this program will be on view Feb. 27 through Jan. 3, 2010, in the exhibition "1934: A New Deal for Artists" at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It will begin a three-year tour of the United States in 2010.

Fundación Juan March Hosts A Major Wyndham Lewis Exhibition Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT MADRID.- Wyndham Lewis could be described as a "single-handed avant-garde movement". An accomplished artist, Lewis found An accomplished ed Vorticism, the only English avant-garde movement, and was the author of more than 50 books. In addition he issued manifestoes, edited and published journals and was responsible for a fascinating and strikingly varied body of work that runs from his vorticist, Cubo-futurist and abstract compositions to his most refined portraits. A pioneer of abstraction, war artist, major portraitist, novelist, essayist, editor and critic, Wyndham Lewis is one of the key figures in European modernism of the first half of the 20th century.

National Railway Museum (NRM) Opens Film Season ~ Rails & Reels Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT York, UK - Film fans are in for a 'reel' good time this autumn as a month-long season of films hits the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York. The film season, named Rails & Reels , will explore and celebrate the influence of the railways on our culture through the use of on screen media - from the first railway film shown in 1895 to present day. The Museum provides the perfect setting to explore the effect the railways have had on film. Staged at the NRM from 12 September through 11 October 2009, Rails & Reels will incorporate screenings of a range of films, from iconic feature films set around the tracks, to British Transport Films used to promote the railways.

Frida Kahlo ~ Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray at Palm Springs Art Museum Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT PALM SPRINGS.- Approximately forty-six portraits of Frida Kahlo and three letters she wrote to Nikolas Muray comprise this exhibition. The photographs, dating from 1937 to 1941, were taken by Nickolas Muray, Kahlo's friend, lover and confidant. Muray began photographing Kahlo in color in the winter of 1938-1939, while she was in New York attending an exhibition of her paintings at the Julien Levy Gallery. Muray photographed Frida more often than any other single person and his compelling photographs bring to light Kahlo's deep interest in her Mexican heritage, her life and the people significant to her. On View through16 November, 2008.

Luhring Augustine show New Work by Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT NEW YORK, NY.- Luhring Augustine presents an exhibition of new work by the collaborative team Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller. This marks Cardiff and Miller's third solo exhibition at the gallery. Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller are internationally recognized for their immersive multimedia works. Incorporating dramatic audio tracks into their visually striking installations, the artists create engaging and transcendent multisensory experiences which draw the viewer into ambiguous and unsettling narratives. Their works address grand themes such as time, voyeurism, dreams, and mystery. Providing only fragments of information, the completion of the storylines, images and thoughts are left to be formed in the minds of the individual viewers.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) to feature 'Photographic Figures' Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT   BOSTON, MA - On November 19th, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), will open its first exhibition space permanently dedicated to photography. The gallery's premiere exhibition, Photographic Figures, will be on view through May 10, 2009 in the Herb Ritts Gallery and the adjacent Clementine Haas Michel Brown Gallery. Artists have long taken advantage of the camera's ability to capture expressive images of the human form, from straightforward documentation to poetic metaphor. This exhibition explores the diversity of these approaches by artists working with a camera.

New Works on Paper & Recent Paintings by Philip Taaffe at Gagosian Gallery Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT ATHENS.- Gagosian Gallery presents an exhibition of new works on paper and recent paintings by Philip Taaffe. Taaffe's elaborate images evolve out of wide-ranging meditationS on the interrelations between forms and images in art, nature, architecture, and archaeology filtered through a discerning and dynamic relation to the history of abstract painting both Occidental and Oriental. Drawing has always played an important role in his art. Early appropriationist works (after Bridget Riley, Myron Stout, Charles Shaw, and others) were largely hand-drawn. On view 18 May through 16 July, 2010.

Victoria and Albert Museum Showcases Grace Kelly's Glamorous Wardrobe Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT LONDON (AP).- Dresses that Grace Kelly wore in screen classics such as "High Society" and "Rear Window" are going on show at a London's V&A museum. "Grace Kelly: Style Icon" at the Victoria and Albert Museum will display the glamorous wardrobe of the Oscar winning actress-turned-princess. Exhibits include the gown Kelly wore to accept her Oscar in 1955, as well as the outfit she wore to her first meeting with her husband Prince Rainier III of Monaco later that year. The show will trace the evolution of her style as Princess Grace of Monaco, with haute couture gowns by her favorite couturiers Dior, Balenciaga, Givenchy and Yves St Laurent.

MoMA to Host 9th Annual Festival of International Nonfiction Films Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT NEW YORK, NY.- The 2010 edition of Documentary Fortnight, MoMA's ninth annual festival of international nonfiction film, includes 20 feature and 23 mid-length and short documentaries that represent the wide range of creative categories that extend the idea of the documentary form. Established in 2001, MoMA's annual two-week showcase of recent nonfiction film and video takes place each February. On view in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters at MoMA from February 17 through March 3, 2010, Documentary Fortnight, 2010 is organized by Sally Berger, Assistant Curator, with Maria Fosheim Lund, Director Liaison, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art. This year's festival consists of two parts: a series of thematic programs based on community and collaborative filmmaking, chosen by Ms. Berger; and an international selection of films chosen by a committee which included Berger; Andrew Ingall, independent curator, and Assistant Curator, The Jewish Museum; and Liza Johnson, artist, filmmaker, and Associate Professor of Art, Williams College.

Arndt & Partner to host First Solo Exhibition by the Iranian Khosrow Hassanzadeh Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT BERLIN.- Arndt & Partner Berlin will present the first solo exhibition by the Iranian painter Khosrow Hassanzadeh in Germany. The artist, whose work is currently also on show at the 53rd Venice Biennale, is one of the most prominent representatives of the Iranian art scene today. His fascinating, versatile oeuvre spans a wide range of media from screen-printing, painting and drawing to collages and assemblage. His Berlin exhibition will include work from his latest series Ya Ali Madad (2008-2009) and from his earlier series Terrorist (2004), where screen-printing and painting combine to produce powerful and complex compositions with – as in all the artist's works – human figures as the focal point.

KIA Exhibition Celebrates 225 Years of American Drawings Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT Kalamazoo, MI - A new exhibition at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts looks at the history of America through the art of drawing.  Lines of Discovery: 225 Years of American Drawings opens Saturday, September 23 at the KIA and continues through Sunday, December 31.  The exhibition is on loan from the Columbus (Georgia) Museum, which owns one of the most important collections of American drawings in the Southeast.  Assembled over 25 years, the 144 works that make up Lines of Discovery celebrate the rich history of American drawing and attest to the unique properties of drawing and its status as the most intimate, immediate and versatile art medium.

Ekundayo solos at Thinkspace Gallery Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT Los Angeles, CA - Ekundayo solos at Thinkspace. Ekundayo was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1983 and raised there until the age of five at which point he left with his father to travel around the United States. After his father passed away in 1994 he found an escape through graffiti and hasn't looked back or stopped painting since. Among Ekundayo's many influences are Arthur Rackham, Nicoli Fechin, Toulouse Lautrec, Lucien Freud, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Gustave Klimt, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Sergio Toppi and Alan E. Cober; to name just a few. Ekundayo studied Illustration at Art Center College of Art and Design in Pasadena.

Museum of Fine Arts Features the Artists who Designed Currier & Ives Prints Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT SPRINGFIELD, MA – The lithography firm of Currier & Ives produced more than 8,000 images, including pictures of newsworthy events and prints that reflected familiar all-American themes such as farm life, home and children, religion, sports and leisure, and westward expansion. To design their prints, the company used staff artists who are unknown today as well as a group of celebrated American artists. The work of some of these well-known artists will be highlighted in the exhibition Behind the Scenes: The Artists Who Worked for Currier & Ives, on view from June 10, 2008 through January 18, 2009, at the Museum of Fine Arts.

This Week in Review in Art Knowledge News Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:29 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.

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