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• Ori Gersht's Films & Photography at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art
• New Light on Australia's World War I History Revealed In Photos By Paul Dubotzki
• Italian Drawings from Renowned Collection at the National Gallery of Art
• The Museum of Fine Arts Boston & National Gallery of Canada Join LACMA in "Clock-Watching"
• Wadsworth Atheneum Reopens Morgan Great Hall Reinstalled with Contemporary Art
• Museo Reina Sofía Presents Exhibition of Works by Artist Leon Golub
• 100 Years of Archaeological Research at Xochicalco Commemorated
• Exhibition of Post-War European Painting at Musee Rath in Geneva
• The Akron Art Museum Has Extended Retrospective of M. C. Esher Works Until June 5th
• Montenegro Pavilion at Palazzo Zorzi showcases the famous Dado ~ "The Zorzi Elegies"
• Carmichael Gallery to exhibit Dan Baldwin ~ "Disillusion"
• 1000 Strip Off in Spencer Tunick Tribute to Artist LS Lowry
• Legendary Filmmaker Blake Edwards Retrospective at The Pacific Design Center
• The Museum Tinguely shows Robert Rauschenberg's Sculptural Oeuvre of the Late Eighties
• Bonhams Showcases Best of British at 20th Century British Art Sale in London
• First Museum Exhibition in 50 Years Devoted to Ida Kar at the National Portrait Gallery
• Salvador Dalí ~ Rare Prints & Drawings ~ at William Bennett Gallery
• Kunstmuseum Basel shows Hannah Villiger Photographic Exhibition
• The Louvre Abu Dhabi Features the Museum's First Acquisitions Preview
• Art Knowledge News Presents "This Week In Review"

Ori Gersht's Films & Photography at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Posted: 08 May 2011 11:05 PM PDT Santa Barbara, CA.- The Santa Barbara Museum of Art presents "Ori Gersht: Lost in Time", the artists first solo exhibition in the Western U.S. from May 20th until September 4th. Ori Gersht depicts scenes of natural beauty that perceptively disguise and reveal a history of violence.  Bringing together for the first time the artist's trilogy of films and related works based on 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century European still-life painting, and two new series based on Japanese history, "Ori Gersht: Lost in Time" represents five years of recent work. This exhibition of more than 28 works marks the artist's first solo museum exhibition in the Western United States, and is accompanied by his first museum catalogue produced in the United States. "Pomegranate" (2006), "Big Bang II" (2007), "Falling Bird" (2008), and related photographic works featured in the exhibition fuse the past with what the artist has called the "ultimate present." This is achieved through the creation of sublime scenes that become precipitously unsettling through both sudden and gradual obliteration.  Each work renders a prolonged moment of suspense through the use of stop-motion photography and slow-motion film.  Yet the visceral level on which these works operate most closely mimics that of their inspiration: painting.  Referencing historic paintings by Juan Sánchez Cotán (1560-1627), Henri Fantin-Latour (1836-1904), and Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699-1779), among others, these photographs and films provide a meditation on life, loss, destiny, and chance. Named after the critically acclaimed 1967 film of the same title by director Michelangelo Antonioni, the "Blow Up" series visually references the paintings of Fantin-Latour. The flower arrangement central to this work is composed of royal blue, white, and red—the colors of the Tricolore, or the national flag of France, which is based on a design that was modified by the artist Jacques-Louis David in 1794.  Gersht rapidly accelerates the demise of this arrangement by literally blowing it up, which involves a special technique of freezing the flowers with nitrogen and, with the aid of a pyrotechnics expert, creating a violent explosion. The action is captured in vivid, enhanced detail by a special high-resolution camera at 1/6000 of a second, and the most pivotal moments are then selected for publication. The effect of this image is stunningly mesmerizing, yet deeply haunting as it evokes the random acts of violence that are not only a part of European history but also a part of the artist's experience growing up in Israel. The body of work extends beyond the literal destruction and atrocities of war, but also comments on the dichotomy that exists between chaos and serenity. Gersht states during an interview with Joseph Caputo for Smithsonian in 2009, "My work is not so much a direct commentary as it is an open-ended observation of the absurdities around us…I'm thinking about scenarios where, in one place, there is a very bloody war, while in another place people are living a comfortable, decadent lifestyle. I'm intrigued by that kind of parallel existence, and how one sometimes weaves into the other." Gersht also made three films that further illustrate these points.  "Pomegranate" (2006), based on a still life by 17th century Spanish painter Juan Sánchez Cotán, shows a bullet crossing the frame in slow motion and destroying a suspended pomegranate. "Big Bang" (2007) shows a flower arrangement exploding moments after a sirenlike wail has faded. "Falling Bird" (2008), based on a still life by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, depicts a hanging pheasant that is suddenly unleashed of its string and free falls toward a mirror-like black surface.  As it penetrates the liquid, it triggers an epic chain reaction, reminiscent of a geological disaster. The yin and yang of beauty and destruction carries through to Gersht's latest series of work produced in Japan between April and May 2010, this time an exploration of symbolism. The cherry blossom has traditionally been the enduring metaphor for the nature of life, but its extreme beauty and quick death has also been associated with mortality.  During World War II the flower was used to motivate the Japanese people, to stoke nationalism and militarism among the population.  Gersht captures the essence of the disparity of this symbol in the series "Night Fly" and "Out of Time". As noted by Michele Robecchi in her essay "Ori Gersht – Breaking the Silence" for the exhibition catalogue, "…[the works] have a slightly sinister post-atomic quality.  This effect wasn't completely unintentional. When Gersht visited Hiroshima, his interest in the outdoor was equally split between investigating the lost innocence of cherry blossoms…and how nature flourish on nuclear-contaminated soil." Ori Gersht was born in Tel Aviv in 1967, and has lived and worked since 1988 in London, where he received his BA at the University of Westminster, and his MA at the Royal College of Art.  His work has been exhibited at institutions including the Tate, Britain; the Victoria and Albert Museum; the Tel Aviv Museum; Frankfurter Kunstverein; the Jewish Museum, New York; and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, among others. The mission of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is to integrate art into the lives of people. The collection of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art comprises 27,000 works of art spanning more than 5,000 years of human creativity, including a collection of classical antiquities rivaled in the West only by the J. Paul Getty Museum. The museum has a a large collection of French Impressionist masterpieces, including the largest collection of Claude Monet paintings on the West Coast and the only intact mural in the United States by David Alfaro Siqueiros, "Portrait of Mexico Today", 1932. The Santa Barbara Museum of Art opened to the public on June 5, 1941, in a building that was at one time the Santa Barbara Post Office (1914–1932). Chicago architect David Adler simplified the building's façade and created the Museum's galleries, most notably Ludington Court which offers a dramatic sense of arrival for museum visitors. The newly renovated Park Wing Entrance and Luria Activities Center opened in June 2006. Over its history the Museum has expanded with the addition of the Stanley R. McCormick Gallery in 1942 and the Sterling and Preston Morton Galleries in 1963. Significant expansions came when the Alice Keck Park Wing opened to the public in 1985 and the Jean and Austin H. Peck, Jr. Wing in 1998. The Ridley-Tree Education Center at McCormick House, a center for art education activities, was established in 1991. Today, the Museum's 60,000 square feet include exhibition galleries, a Museum Store, Cafe, a 154-seat auditorium, a library containing 50,000 books and 55,000 slides, a children's gallery dedicated to participatory interactive programming and an 11,500-square-foot off-site facility, the Ridley-Tree Education Center at McCormick House. More than 150,000 visitors every year explore the collection and exhibitions at the Santa Barnara Museum of Art. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.sbma.net

New Light on Australia's World War I History Revealed In Photos By Paul Dubotzki Posted: 08 May 2011 10:49 PM PDT SYDNEY.- Recently discovered photographs of Australia's little known internment camps operating during WWI, reveal how the internees created an extraordinary life behind the barbed wire. The photographs, of remarkable artistic quality, show groups of civilian detainees whose only crime was to be of German or Austrian descent.

Italian Drawings from Renowned Collection at the National Gallery of Art Posted: 08 May 2011 09:53 PM PDT WASHINGTON, DC.- Splendors of Italian draftsmanship from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, spanning the late Renaissance to the height of the neoclassical movement, are showcased at the National Gallery of Art, Washington. On view in the Gallery's West Building from May 8 to November 27, 2011, Italian Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1525–1835 includes 65 stunning Italian compositions and study sheets by the most important artists of the period, from Giulio Romano and Pellegrino Tibaldi to Canaletto, all three members of the Tiepolo family, and Giovanni Battista Piranesi.

The Museum of Fine Arts Boston & National Gallery of Canada Join LACMA in "Clock-Watching" Posted: 08 May 2011 09:40 PM PDT Boston, MA.- The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the National Gallery of Canada announced this week that they have jointly acquired a copy of "The Clock" by Christian Marclay. The Los Angeles Museum of Art (LACMA) purchased an edition of Marclay's masterpiece in April for $467,500 and MOMA in New York is also rumored to be considering buying a copy. The Museum of Fine Arts Boston is currently undergoing refurbishment, and will unveil the new Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art in September. Marclay's work will have its Boston premiere on September 17 and 18, when the MFA hosts a 24-hour celebration of the new wing.

Wadsworth Atheneum Reopens Morgan Great Hall Reinstalled with Contemporary Art Posted: 08 May 2011 08:31 PM PDT HARTFORD, CT.- The Morgan Great Hall at the Wadsworth Atheneum reopened to the public on May 7, 2011 after a year-long closure, marking the completion of the first phase of a comprehensive renovation project across all five of the museum's buildings. In a radical rethinking of the museum's most recognizable space, the Morgan Great Hall—previously home to the Wadsworth's collection of American and European history paintings displayed salon-style— was reinstalled for the first time with large-scale works from the museum's Contemporary art collection.

Museo Reina Sofía Presents Exhibition of Works by Artist Leon Golub Posted: 08 May 2011 08:18 PM PDT MADRID.- Museo Reina Sofía presents an exhibition of works by Leon Golub, on view from May 6 through September 12, 2011 in the Palacio de Velázquez. The art of Leon Golub (Chicago, 1922 - New York, 2004) challenges the dominant model of the development of art from the 1950's onward. Oblivious to the media experimentation taking place in most artistic production during these decades, Golub's work is based on a pictorial renovation in which genres believed to be exhausted, such as historical painting or portraits, once again show unexpected expressive and critical capacity.

100 Years of Archaeological Research at Xochicalco Commemorated Posted: 08 May 2011 08:17 PM PDT MEXICO CITY.- Three life-sized Prehispanic sculptures found in fragments almost 20 years ago at Xochicalco Archaeological Zone, Morelos, are exhibited in public for the first time at Cuauhnahuac Regional Museum, after having been reassembled and restored. The exhibition commemorates 100 years of exploration at the site. "Earthly and divine were mixed in this artwork, giving it great symbolic value", mentioned the researcher at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), adding that the sculptures dated in the Epi Classic period (650-1100 AD) were found in 1992 by the Xochicalco Project headed by archaeologist Norberto Gonzalez Crespo.

Exhibition of Post-War European Painting at Musee Rath in Geneva Posted: 08 May 2011 08:03 PM PDT GENEVA.- For the first time, the public is able to view the collection of Jean Claude Gandur dedicated to non-figurative Expressionist painting of the post-war period in Europe. The second largest collection in the world of its kind after that of the Centre Pompidou, it provides an overview of this important and often little-known period of art history. Éric de Chassey, curator of the exhibition and director of the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici, has selected around one hundred works of primal importance organised in ten sections, of which three are dedicated to some of the movement's greatest names: Pierre Soulages, Georges Mathieu, Hans Hartung, and Swiss artist Gérard Schneider.

The Akron Art Museum Has Extended Retrospective of M. C. Esher Works Until June 5th Posted: 08 May 2011 08:02 PM PDT Akron, OH.- Surpassing attendance expectations, "M.C. Escher: Impossible Realities" has drawn record crowds to the Akron Art Museum. As the last of only two venues in the United States to show this once-in-a-lifetime loan exhibition from Athens, Greece, "Impossible Realities" has been drawing visitors to Akron from across the country. Escher fans came from as far away as Alaska, California and Washington, with most of the out-of-state visitors hailing from Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan and Illinois. Because of its overwhelming popularity, the museum, in an unprecedented move, is extending the exhibition's closing date. Visitors now have until Sunday, June 5th to examine first-hand the masterworks of Maurits Cornelis Escher before the collection returns to Greece. "Impossible Realities" surveys the breadth of Escher's career from the 1920s to the 1960s. It showcases 130 of the artist's finest works, starting with his early book plates, moving on to landscapes, tessellations and impossible worlds, and concluding with his very last print, "Snakes" (1969). Featured in the exhibition are seminal and instantly recognizable works such as "Drawing Hands" and "Reptiles", as well as the extremely rare lithographic stone for the making of "Flatworms" and wood blocks, study drawings and single-color prints that illustrate Escher's artistic process from concept to finished print. In addition, the Akron Art Museum is among a very few institutions to feature all eight of Escher's mezzotints together, including "Eye", one of the finest examples of the medium ever created. Not only has the exhibition been a huge hit with general museum goers, it's been a must-see for area school children. Earlier in the exhibition's schedule, Merrill Lynch Akron Complex generously subsidized additional gallery hours for groups of K-12 students in order to meet the overwhelming demand for school tours. The additional hours of operation allowed the museum to serve approximately 700 additional students on a waiting list, bringing the total anticipated number of students and teachers served during the Escher exhibition to more than 5,700! When the museum first opened its doors on February 1, 1922 as the Akron Art Institute, it was located in two borrowed rooms in the basement of the public library. Volunteers were the sole staff until 1924, when city support made it possible to hire a professional director and again when the Great Depression ended City funding. It functioned (for much of that time in borrowed spaces) as an art center, offering classes and exhibiting mostly local artists. In 1937 the institute moved into its first permanent home, a historic mansion. Just four years later, a disastrous fire destroyed the building and much of the collection, threatening the institute's existence. It arose after World War II, phoenix-like, from the ashes with a professional staff and a new focus: fine art and design. Strengthening the fine art collection became a goal, leading to the first purchases of art. To educate the general public and encourage collecting, major loan exhibitions were organized, including contemporary design shows that garnered national attention. A professional school emphasizing the design arts was established. In 1950, the institute moved back to where it had begun, the former public library, although this time it renovated and occupied the entire building. In the mid-1960s, a re-examination of the institute's mission began. Over the next fifteen years, the institute was transformed from a school and art center into a museum. In October 1980 the importance of collecting as part of the mission was sealed by a name change. "Akron Art Institute" became "Akron Art Museum." The following year the museum moved to another renovated historic downtown structure, the 1899 old post office building it still occupies. Over the next quarter century, the museum has continued to enrich the lives of those in Northeast Ohio and beyond through modern art. Its nationally recognized collection was documented through the publication of collection catalogues. Three acquisitions endowments were created to ensure the collection's future growth. A greatly enlarged general endowment provided increased, more stable funding, allowing the staff to undertake ambitious programs and exhibitions with national and even international impact. In 2007, its eighty-fifth year, the museum more than tripled in size with the opening of the new John S. and James L. Knight Building, which adjoins the 1899 building. Spanning three centuries, like the museum's collection, together they symbolize the museum's dual role as preserver of the past and herald of the future. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.akronartmuseum.org

Montenegro Pavilion at Palazzo Zorzi showcases the famous Dado ~ "The Zorzi Elegies" Posted: 08 May 2011 07:19 PM PDT VENICE.- For half a century, the well-known Montenegrin-born artist Dado (b. Cetinje, 1933) has been creating a world of delicate horror and intricate fantasy in every medium from painting and fresco to drawing, engraving and book illustration. The commissioner for the exhibition is Michael Peppiatt, formerly editor of 'Art International' and best known for his books and exhibitions on Francis Bacon, Alberto Giacometti and other major 20th-century artists.

Carmichael Gallery to exhibit Dan Baldwin ~ "Disillusion" Posted: 08 May 2011 07:18 PM PDT West Hollywood, CA - Carmichael Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of new paintings and ceramics by English artist Dan Baldwin. This is Baldwin's debut US solo exhibition and his first with Carmichael Gallery. Fifteen paintings, four ceramic vases and an exclusive, limited edition print compose Disillusion, Baldwin's most mature and provocative body of work to date. His portrayal of a fantastic cosmos in which pop cultural icons, myths and symbolic imagery collide presents a heightened yet informed criticism of contemporary life. Baldwin began this work immediately following Dead Innocent, his successful solo exhibition at Forster Gallery, London, in September, 2008. Opening reception: Thursday, September 10, 2009. On exhibition 10 September through 1 October, 2009.

1000 Strip Off in Spencer Tunick Tribute to Artist LS Lowry Posted: 08 May 2011 07:17 PM PDT Manchester, UK - More than one thousand volunteers braved the cold and stripped naked. . in the name of art. People of all ages, shapes and sizes were photographed by Spencer Tunick at eight landmark locations across Salford and Manchester. The nude mass gathering was held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Lowry arts centre, with the pictures set to form part of an exhibition at the venue later in the year.The New York artist has photographed thousands of nude volunteers across the world, most recently at the Sydney Opera House last month. But he chose chilly Salford and Manchester for his first multiple site installation after being inspired by the works of LS Lowry, who also captured crowds of people in public places . . albeit with their clothes on.

Legendary Filmmaker Blake Edwards Retrospective at The Pacific Design Center Posted: 08 May 2011 07:16 PM PDT   LOS ANGELES, CA - Feingarten Galleries presents The Art of Blake Edwards, the first major retrospective of the Academy Award-winning American film director, screenwriter and producer, on view at The Pacific Design Center January 9 – 31, 2009. The exhibition opens with a private reception hosted by P.S. ARTS and Julie Andrews on January 8, 2009 from 6:00PM to 8:30PM. Spanning nearly 40 years, the exhibition is grouped by different periods from Edward's ouvre including a collection of sculptures, watercolors, and paintings from the "Anvil," "Floating Spaces," "Flowers," "Circus," "Modern," "Geometrics," "Lavender Fields," and "Suisse" series.

The Museum Tinguely shows Robert Rauschenberg's Sculptural Oeuvre of the Late Eighties Posted: 08 May 2011 07:15 PM PDT BASEL.- A year after the death of Robert Rauschenberg, on May 12, 2008, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, celebrated the memory of this great artist with the exhibition Robert Rauschenberg: Gluts. Comprised of approximately forty works. The Museum Tinguely is presenting from October 13, 2009 to January 17, 2010 a little known body of Rauschenberg's work in metal drawn from the holdings of the Rauschenberg Estate, with additional loans from institutions and private collections in the United States and abroad. Always one to recycle, Rauschenberg found new uses for what others tossed aside, reinvigorating detritus with a revealing second life. Faced with disparate objects littering his studio, he applied a direct approach to the Gluts (1986–89 and 1991–95), his final series of sculpture. The exhibitions "Gluts, the American artist and the poetry of objects" and "Robert Rauschenberg - Jean Tinguely, collaborations" can be seen in the Museum Tinguely.

Bonhams Showcases Best of British at 20th Century British Art Sale in London Posted: 08 May 2011 07:14 PM PDT LONDON.- The best of 20th Century British Art comes to Bonhams New Bond Street on 18th November, showcasing an impressive array of paintings and sculptures, including The Art of Newlyn and St Ives. The upcoming 20th Century British Art sale encapsulates a range of works from vibrant coastal scenes and character studies to a number of highly important and visually striking sculptures. One of the highlights of the sale is Sir Alfred Munnings' (1878-1959), Meet at the crossroads which depicts a busy and colourful local hunt meet and the attending country folk. This painting is reflective of Munnings' equestrian leanings and his experiences riding out with numerous East Anglian hunts. This stunning oil on canvas has a guide price of £50,000-70,000.

First Museum Exhibition in 50 Years Devoted to Ida Kar at the National Portrait Gallery Posted: 08 May 2011 07:13 PM PDT LONDON.- A new exhibition of portraits by the twentieth-century pioneering photographer Ida Kar opened at the National Portrait Gallery Thursday 10 March. Ida Kar: Bohemian Photographer, 1908-74 highlights the crucial role played by this key woman photographer at the heart of the creative avant-garde. With striking portraits of artists such as Henry Moore, Georges Braque, Gino Severini and Bridget Riley, and writers such as Iris Murdoch and Jean-Paul Sartre, this exhibition offers a fascinating insight into the cultural life of post-war Britain and an opportunity to see iconic works, and others not previously exhibited. Material on display from the photographer's archive (acquired by the National Portrait Gallery, including over 800 of Kar's vintage prints and 10, 000 negatives) includes letters, a sitters' book and a portfolio book made in 1954 of her trip to the artists' studios of Paris.

Salvador Dalí ~ Rare Prints & Drawings ~ at William Bennett Gallery Posted: 08 May 2011 07:12 PM PDT New York City - A retrospective two years in the making providing a fresh insight to the lifelong dialogue Salvador Dal í had with Love, Poetry, Religion, Bullfighting and Surrealism. Featuring a selection of original works on paper and Dalí's rarest graphic portfolios. On exhibition through March 31st, 2009, showing Alice in Wonderland | Paradise Lost | Divine Comedy | The Biblia Sacra | The Hippies | The Tauromachie Surréaliste | Greek Mythology | Carmen | and other selected works at William Bennett Gallery.

Kunstmuseum Basel shows Hannah Villiger Photographic Exhibition Posted: 08 May 2011 07:11 PM PDT   Basel, Switzerland - Hannah Villiger described herself as a sculptor throughout her life, and until the late '70s she produced 3-dimensional works. In 1980, she began to concentrate almost exclusively on the medium of photography. She repeatedly photographed herself, her Polaroid camera sometimes very close, groping along her naked body, and sometimes only as far away as her outstretched arm would allow. This generated fragmentary image details of single body parts or parts folded into each other, which were turned, reflected, enlarged many times, and mounted on aluminum sheets as color or black and white photographs. Overexposure, blurring of focus, and extreme light/dark or color contrast often gave rise to a high degree of abstraction, as did the act of turning individual photographs and arranging them side by side or in a multi-part block prints.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi Features the Museum's First Acquisitions Preview Posted: 08 May 2011 07:10 PM PDT ABU DHABI - On the occasion of a state visit by Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic, His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and President Sarkozy today inaugurated a preview experience of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the first universal museum in the Middle East. The event took place as part of a celebration to mark the commencement of construction of the museum. The preview, titled Talking Art: Louvre Abu Dhabi, will reveal for the first time the concept of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, with works from the Louvre and other French national museums being shown with the first acquisitions for the Louvre's Abu Dhabi developing collection.

Art Knowledge News Presents "This Week In Review" Posted: 08 May 2011 07:09 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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