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

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• Milwaukee Art Museum to host the Poster-art of Toulouse-Lautrec & the Paris Belle Époque
• Kunsthal KadE to show "Who More Sci-Fi Than Us ~ Caribbean Art"
• Rembrandt self-portrait from Kenwood House now on view in NYC at The MET
• The Mac to show "Billy Hassell ~ Watershed" new exhibition Celebrating Earth Day
• The Bleicher Gallery to exhibit Ann McCoy's master works
• Craig Thomas Gallery to show "Bui Thanh Tam ~ Crazy People"
• The Museum of Modern Art of Wakayama to open "Human/Nature"
• The Tennessee State Museum shows first museum exhibition of John Mellencamp's Artwork
• OLD MASTER AND MODERN DRAWINGS COVERS 400 YEARS OF EUROPEAN ART
• The Tibor de Nagy Gallery Exhibited New Collages by Poet John Ashbery
• National Gallery of Art showcases Luis Meléndez ~ Master of the Spanish Still Life
• Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht Shows Modern Masterpieces from the Liege Collections
• Wadsworth Atheneum Reopens Morgan Great Hall Reinstalled with Contemporary Art
• Norton Museum of Art opens a Special Photography Exhibition ~ ' Coming Into Focus '
• The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Shows Clarice Smith's ~ "Nature Reined"
• Morris Museum of Art features Paintings by Jeffrey Kronsnoble
• High Museum of Art to Premier the Works by American Photographer Peter Sekaer
• The National Gallery of Art exhibits Stunning and Significant French Drawings
• Our Editor Is Greeted At The Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (The Mudam) In Luxembourg
• Art Knowledge News Presents "This Week In Review"

Milwaukee Art Museum to host the Poster-art of Toulouse-Lautrec & the Paris Belle Époque Posted: 12 Apr 2012 09:27 PM PDT Milwaukee, Wisconsin.– This summer, the Milwaukee Art Museum transports visitors to nineteenth-century Paris with its feature exhibition, "Posters of Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec and His Contemporaries". Opening on June 1st, and remaining on display through September 9th, the exhibition brings together the finest French examples from the golden age of the poster. Advertising everything from theatre productions to the debaucherous cancan, bicycles to champagne, brightly hued, larger-than-life-size posters with bold typography and playful imagery punctuated the streets of turn-of-the-century Paris. Posters of Paris features more than one hundred of these posters (including a few designs that were originally censored) by artists hailed as masters of the medium: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jules Chéret, Pierre Bonnard, Alphonse Mucha, and others. These artists drew from an array of styles, from Byzantine and Rococo to Realist and Art Nouveau. "These works celebrated the dawn of new entertainment, new products, and new technology," said Mary Weaver Chapin, exhibition curator. "The posters were audacious, colorful, bawdy, and sometimes even profane. Art critics praised the artistic posters for bringing joy and color to daily life and for giving Paris a free 'museum for the masses,' 'an open-air exhibition' that changed daily as new posters were pasted up," said Chapin. "Some critics went further, describing the posters as superior to the paintings found in exhibitions." Posters were the popular tools for advertising and communication at the time, similar to today's social media. The arrival of a new poster was newsworthy and could draw a crowd. In some cases, police intervention was required. Billposting itself turned competitive and evolved into public theater, adding to the spectacle one encountered on the streets. "By the 1890s, artistic posters covered the boulevards throughout the city; they were posted on billboards, scaffolding, Morris columns, kiosks, in shop windows, and even pulled through the streets on mobile publicity carts," said Chapin. "These posters were the object of intense fascination, and the term affichomanie (poster mania) was invented to describe the craze. Paris would not have been Paris without them." Posters were so popular that collectors stole them from billboards almost as soon as they were pasted up. New markets emerged to meet the demand; posters were both collectors' items and fashionable home décor. Print dealers started to sell posters and publishers offered subscriptions to portfolios with the most popular images of the day in more manageable, reduced sizes. Posters that found their way into private homes eventually entered the collections of museums all over the world. In addition to the dazzling posters, the exhibition includes rare preparatory studies and maquettes that show how artists developed their designs from the drawing board to the final lithographic poster. The Milwaukee Art Museum's history began in 1882 when the Milwaukee Museum of Fine Arts was founded. The museum dissolved six years later. In 1888, the Milwaukee Art Association was created by a group of German panorama artists and local businessmen; its first home was the Layton Art Gallery. In 1911, the Milwaukee Art Institute, another building constructed to hold other exhibitions and collections, was completed. The institute was built right next to the Layton Art Gallery. Alfred George Pelikan, who received his Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) from Columbia University, was the Director of the Milwaukee Art Institute from 1926 to 1942. The Milwaukee Art Center (now the Milwaukee Art Museum) was formed when the Milwaukee Art Institute and Layton Art Gallery merged their collections in 1957 and moved into a three-story building underneath the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial. The museum is home to over 25,000 works of art. Its permanent holdings contain an important collection of Old Masters and 19th-century and 20th-century artwork, as well as some of the nation's best collections of German Expressionism, folk and Haitian art, American decorative arts, and post-1960 American art. The museum holds a large number of works by Georgia O'Keeffe, as well as many works by the German Expressionist, Gabriele Munter. Other notable works in the collection includes Fauve paintings by Georges Braque and Maurice de Vlaminck, seminal Expressionist paintings by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Vassily Kandinsky, and magnificent works by Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti. The MAM recently gained international recognition with the construction of the white concrete Quadracci Pavilion, designed by Santiago Calatrava (his first completed project in the United States), which opened on May 4, 2001. The pavilion was engineered by the Milwaukee-based engineering firm, Graef, while the construction manager was also Milwaukee-based, C.G. Schmidt. The structure contains a movable, wing-like brise soleil which opens up for a wingspan of 217 feet during the day, folding over the tall, arched structure at night or during inclement weather. The brise soleil has since become a symbol for the city of Milwaukee. In addition to a gallery devoted to temporary exhibits, the pavilion houses the museum's store and its restaurant, Cafe Calatrava. The pavilion received the 2004 Outstanding Structure Award from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering. Visit the museum's website at ... http://mam.org

Kunsthal KadE to show "Who More Sci-Fi Than Us ~ Caribbean Art" Posted: 12 Apr 2012 08:52 PM PDT Amersfoort, Netherlands.- Coming up at Kunsthal KadE, from May 26th through August 26th, is an exhibition entitled "Who More Sci-Fi Than Us: Contemporary Art from the Caribbean". The exhibition is guest curated by Nancy Hoffmann. "Who More Sci-Fi Than Us" features work by a representative selection of contemporary artists from all over the Caribbean, from south (Antilles and Surinam) to north (Cuba and Jamaica) and from west (Costa Rica and Panama) to east (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and every island in between. 'Who More Sci-Fi Than Us' is a discursive account of the Caribbean that reveals a kind of common culture shared by all the islands. The exhibition also shows the complexity and diversity of the region. In fact, it may actually be quite wrong to talk about 'the Caribbean' at all. We don't want to 'frame' the artists in a geographical context but to centre attention on the account of the region.

Rembrandt self-portrait from Kenwood House now on view in NYC at The MET Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:56 PM PDT NEW YORK, NY.- Kenwood House, the London museum that holds the art collection known as the Iveagh Bequest, is closed for renovations until fall 2013. By special arrangement, Rembrandt's Portrait of the Artist (ca. 1665), which has never before traveled outside Europe, is on loan to The Metropolitan Museum of Art through May 20, 2012. This great canvas now hangs next to the Metropolitan Museum's own Self-Portrait by Rembrandt of 1660, providing a rare opportunity to compare the two works which, although close in date, are utterly different in scale, format, and expression. Both were painted during a period of economic difficulties for the artist. The loan is also an occasion for the Museum to bring together in one gallery the late Rembrandts from the collection, including Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (1653), Hendricke Stoffels (mid-1650s), The Standard Bearer (1654), and Woman with a Pink (ca. 1660-64).

The Mac to show "Billy Hassell ~ Watershed" new exhibition Celebrating Earth Day Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:21 PM PDT Dallas, Texas.- In celebration of Earth Day, The McKinney Avenue Contemporary (the MAC) is pleased to present "Billy Hassell: Watershed", on view from April 14th through June 19th. Taking John Wesley Powell's (geologist, explorer, ethnologist 1834 -1902) definition of "watershed" as "That area of land, a bounded hydrologic system, within which all living things are inextricably linked by their common water course and where, as humans settled, simple logic demanded that they become part of a community", this exhibition of paintings and color lithographs by local Dallas/Fort Worth artist Billy Hassell, surveys the current state of humanities most important natural resource, water.

The Bleicher Gallery to exhibit Ann McCoy's master works Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:04 PM PDT Los Angeles, Califortnia.- As part of the Getty initiative Pacific Standard Time, historic Los Angeles artist Ann McCoy returns to Bleicher Gallery La Brea for an exciting solo exhibit of master works. Acclaimed for her enormous and elaborate pencil drawings, Ann's work is deeply routed in alchemical theory and Jungian analysis. Ann has been celebrated and collected internationally through the most prestigious art institutions, awards and auction houses in the arts including LACMA, MOMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the National Gallery of Australia. Ann McCoy's solo exhibition will be on view from April 20th through May 20th, with an artist's reception on Saturday April 21st from 7-9:30pm.

Craig Thomas Gallery to show "Bui Thanh Tam ~ Crazy People" Posted: 12 Apr 2012 06:44 PM PDT Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.– Craig Thomas Gallery is pleased to present "Crazy People", a solo exhibition by Hanoi-based artist Bui Thanh Tam, on view at the gallery from April 26th through May 17th. "I live in a world where most of my contemporaries are focused only on things like money, social status, reputation and personal pleasure," Bui Thanh Tam says of his latest collection of paintings entitled Crazy People exploring the effects of the new hyper-materialism being embraced by many of his compatriots. Tam believes this phenomenon is eroding the country's unique culture and values. His "crazy people" – members of Vietnam's recently minted class of nouveau riche – grin inanely out of his canvases as they revel in their privileged lifestyles. For Tam, these fashionable but empty-headed people are slaves to their newly acquired tastes and appetites. In the thrall of Vietnam's über-capitalist gold rush, they are like puppets manipulated by unseen hands along a luxury-filled, ostentatious, but ultimately meaningless, existence. While there is an earnest moral lesson at the heart of his work, Tam leavens the potential didacticism through the use of parody and humor. His often whimsical paintings focus on the ridiculous contradictions between his subjects' contemporary lives and his view of a more traditional Vietnamese existence. Tam gives his characters the familiar stylized faces of Vietnamese water puppets and portrays them with simpleton's smiles and wide doe-eyed stares. Their silly visages serve as masks behind which they hide their feelings of confusion and inadequacy. Tam's crazy people are meant to be mocked and pitied but not despised. Among his inspirations when creating the Crazy People series, Tam cites the Arhant sculptures found in Buddhist temples like the Tay Phuong Pagoda in Vietnam's Ha Tay Province. According to Mahayana Buddhist tradition, Arhants are at a lower level than bodhisattvas and have reached their liberation from the cycle of life and death known as samsara in an undesirable and self-serving way. Like Arhants, Tam's crazy people seek their own personal nirvana through a selfish and unworthy path. For them the goal is a life of luxurious decadence and to achieve this they seek to free themselves not from materialism and physical desires, but from the virtues embodied in traditional Vietnamese culture and values. In the Crazy People paintings, Tam's characters are dressed in traditional garments and headdresses, a clear reference to Vietnam's historical and cultural identity. The dresses worn by the women are rendered in bright, lively colors, but at close inspection we find traditionally painted images and representations hiding within them. The figures and scenes are taken from Vietnamese folk paintings and depict historical events, legends and anecdotes that might once have carried meaningful life lessons. Tam is pointing to the confused use of such symbols in modern Vietnamese society where theyhave become merely ornamental appendages shorn of their original significance and meaning. They are now just so many more pretty things to show off within the glittering lifestyle of the newly prosperous. Tam uses the well-known image of the To Nu folding screen to emphasize his underlying theme that Vietnamese society is inevitably being coarsened by the loss of its traditional culture. Used especially in Hang Trong and Dong Ho folk paintings, To Nu paintings typically depict demure maidens in a series of panels wearing traditional Vietnamese dress, playing indigenous musical instruments and holding various other iconic cultural objects. In the painting Crazy People VI, a forlorn looking young woman sits holding a violin – the playing of which is an imported fashion in itself – in front of a To Nu screen. Rather than the normal items such as the don nguyet (a traditional Vietnamese plucked, fretted lute with a round body and two strings), a flute or a folding paper fan, the women in these panels flourish knives and swords. There is a price to be paid when people become deracinated, and the transformation of these once charming symbols into smirking, weapon-wielding menaces signifies that cost. Tam speaks of the influence that the Cynical Realism of Chinese painters has had on his work. Arising in China in the 1990s, the work of the Cynical Realists used humor and irony in confronting their society's socio-political issues through their art. Featuring characters that often shared the exaggerated grinning face of the artists themselves, the art of the Cynical Realists focused on the transition from the old to the modern that China was experiencing and the confusion arising therefrom. In a similar way, Tam's paintings can be seen as cynical commentaries on the state of contemporary society in Vietnam. He says they are intended as parodies in that the viewer may find them amusing, but also painful and bitter. Tam's work could be classed in a new category of contemporary art that might be called "parodic realism." Born in 1979 in Thai Binh Province in the northern coastal region of Vietnam, an area known as the homeland of Vietnamese water puppetry, Tam was born postreunification, but perhaps must be viewed as balancing on the cusp of a true generational demarcation in the country's history. Unlike Vietnamese born 10 years after him, Tam has clear memories of a time – most notably the period of rationing and scarcity referred to by Vietnamese as "thoi bao cap" – before today's relative prosperity began its slow and ongoing spread through the country. This was a time before satellite television, expensive brands, and for many, electricity and sufficient food, when the country's traditional customs and culture were a source of great solace during trying times. Today's younger generation does not share a living experience of that time, and not surprisingly, they are the segment of the population that has most enthusiastically embraced Western culture. While Tam's is an essentially conservative vision, his work should not be viewed as an indictment of Western culture which he calls "civilized, progressive and compelling." Tam is disturbed by the less positive side-effects of Vietnam's modernization including the rampant consumerism and narcissism the process has engendered. His ideal result would be a synthesis between the traditional and the modern that would allow thecountry to flourish and prosper, but would also retain what is unique and special about Vietnam. Tam says, "if we can manage to preserve the roots of our traditional Vietnamese culture as we modernize, in my opinion, the Vietnamese people will be purer and better." Bui Thanh Tam currently resides in Hanoi. He is a 2009 graduate of the Vietnam Fine Arts University. Crazy People is Tam's second solo exhibition in Vietnam and his first in Ho Chi Minh City. Established in 2009, Craig Thomas Gallery (CTG) is the natural evolution of its founder's decade long involvement in the Vietnamese art scene and the relationships developed with artists, curators and collectors during that time. The gallery is focused on supporting the development of young (emerging, early) and mid-career Vietnamese artists and providing them with a platform to present their work to a wider audience.  CTG strives to play an active role in promoting the development of a vibrant domestic art scene in Vietnam through ongoing efforts to promote talented young Vietnamese artists and through the hosting of regular exhibitions at the gallery. CTG's main exhibition space is located in a quiet corner of Ho Chi Minh City's District 1, approximately five to ten minutes from the city's central business area. The gallery also has a satellite exhibition space in the Thao Dien neighborhood of Saigon's District 2. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://www.cthomasgallery.com

The Museum of Modern Art of Wakayama to open "Human/Nature" Posted: 12 Apr 2012 06:12 PM PDT Wakayama, Japan.- The Museum of Modern Art Wakayama is proud to present "Human/Nature: Four Perspectives from Modern to Contemporary", an exhibition on the the theme of humans and nature, on display from April 14th through June 3rd. How humans deal with natural environment varies by regions and times. Yet one fact never changes: nature is necessary for humans. And, taking a distance view, human beings are nothing more than a part of nature. In the field of art, nature has always been one of the most important subjects through the ages. In modern times, natural objects such as landscape and plants were always objects to be depicted. And now in our time, such natural phenomena as visible or recordable as movements of stars, and even as invisible in themselves as time and gravity, are occasionally the focus of artists interest. Furthermore, some artists deal with relationships to nature by finding materials in nature or bringing nature itself into their works.

The Tennessee State Museum shows first museum exhibition of John Mellencamp's Artwork Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:53 PM PDT Nashville, Tennessee.- The paintings of John Mellencamp will be featured in his first museum exhibition, "Nothing Like I Planned: The Art of John Mellencamp", from April 12th through June 10th at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville. Organized by curator Renee White, the exhibition contains 52 paintings, spanning four decades of output. Lois Riggins-Ezzell, Executive Director of the museum and a longtime supporter said, "For more than 30 years, I have been an ardent admirer of John Mellencamp, the heartland rock and populist champion of the people. More recently, I've become a serious devotee of John Mellencamp, the extraordinarily talented artist. We are very pleased to introduce John Mellencamp the Artist to a museum audience."

OLD MASTER AND MODERN DRAWINGS COVERS 400 YEARS OF EUROPEAN ART Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:40 PM PDT WASHINGTON, DC – Private Treasures: Four Centuries of European Master Drawings offers a selection of works from one of America's most significant private collections of master drawings.  The exhibition, on view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, from May 6 through September 16, features 100 of the finest drawings from the collection, and represents 85 artists of the Italian, French, Dutch, Flemish, German, Swiss, British, and Swedish schools from the 16th to the 20th centuries. The exhibition was jointly organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Morgan Library & Museum in New York.  On exhibition at the National Gallery of Art, Washington MAY 6 – SEPTEMBER 16, 2007. "The collection we celebrate here reflects the direct communication of the artist through a wide range of drawings spanning four centuries and eight national schools," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art.  "They range from the quickest personal notations to the most elaborate and finished works of art and are a reflection of the collector's enormous taste and great passion." The Exhibition The exhibition will be presented chronologically by century, with various schools combined. About half of the exhibited drawings are by Italian artists, including Fra Bartolommeo's delicate The Virgin and Child Surrounded by Saints and Angels (c. 1500); a deeply moving study of The Dead Christ by Agnolo Bronzino (1529/1535), and three studies in colored chalks by Federico Barocci.  Two 17th-century Italian highlights are a rich red chalk figure study by Mattia Preti titled Study for the Figure of Adrian Fortescue (1662/1666) and Two Studies of St. Cecilia Playing the Organ by Pier Francesco Mola (1648). Eighteenth-century highlights include The Annunciation (1735/1740) by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo; Marta Gandolfi (1778), a tender portrait of Gaetano Gandolfi's daughter; and a Lagoon Capriccio with a Fortified Tower (1780s) by Francesco Guardi. About one-quarter of the show will consist of French drawings, with artists ranging from Etienne Delaune and Claude Lorrain to Edgar Degas and Odilon Redon. Eighteenth-century highlights include The Drawing Lesson (1777) and The Gardens of the Villa Negroni (1773), two of the greatest drawings by François-André Vincent; A Man Playing a Guitar (1717/1718), a brilliant trois-crayons (three chalks) work by Antoine Watteau; and three outstanding works by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Little Park (1765), Two Cypresses in an Italian Garden (1774), and The Bread Box (1777).  Nineteenth-century works include Cliffs at Fécamp (1835/1839), a vibrant watercolor by Eugène Delacroix, and Madeleine Ingres with the Artist (1830), a double portrait of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and his wife. Among those works representing Dutch and Flemish art are a wonderfully calligraphic sketch by Ferdinand Bol and The Wijde Kapelsteeg in Amsterdam with the Burgerweeshuis in the Distance (1793), a beautifully detailed view of a street in Amsterdam by Jacob Cats. The British drawings section will begin with a rare work by the l7th-century artist Francis Place, Ruins of Old St. Paul's Cathedral (1670/1672), and will feature landscapes, including Wooded Landscape with a Stream (mid-1780s) by Thomas Gainsborough and Figures Entering an Extensive Valley (1820) by John Martin. Among work by German artists rounding out the selection will be a small but magical 19th-century landscape by Caspar David Friedrich, Moonlit Landscape with Lovers and a Church (1797/1798); a mesmerizing study of a woman by Wilhelm Leibl, Young Peasant Woman (1889); and two silvery graphite drawings by Adolf Menzel, Seated Man Leaning Forward (1887) and A Couple Looking at a Painting (1893). German 20th-century drawings will include powerful portrait studies by Käthe Kollwitz and Lovis Corinth. Curators and Related Activities The exhibition curators are Margaret Morgan Grasselli and Andrew Robison at the National Gallery and Rhoda Eitel-Porter and Jennifer Tonkovich at the Morgan Library & Museum. The exhibition catalogue, edited and designed by the National Gallery of Art, is fully illustrated and jointly written by National Gallery and Morgan Library & Museum curators.  Published by Lund Humphries, the 248-page book features 153 color and 10 black-and-white illustrations, and provides an opportunity for collectors, scholars, and general readers to enjoy major works that are seldom reproduced.  The catalogue contains new scholarship on each drawing, and the sumptuous layout shows all the works in full color. General Information The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets and Constitution Ave. NW are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1.  For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov

The Tibor de Nagy Gallery Exhibited New Collages by Poet John Ashbery Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:39 PM PDT New York City.- The Tibor de Nagy Gallery presented an exhibition of new collages by acclaimed poet John Ashbery. This is the gallery's second solo exhibition devoted exclusively to Ashbery's collages, following his hugely successful debut with the gallery in 2008. "John Ashbury: Recent Collages" Ashbery was fascinated in his youth by the collage novels of Max Ernst and the partly collaged Cubist paintings of Picasso and Braque. He started making collages as an undergraduate at Harvard, and has continued the collage process in both his visual and literary creations ever since. Influenced by such collage giants as Kurt Schwitters, Joseph Cornell, and more directly, Joe Brainard, Ashbery's work combines equal doses of art historical and contemporary pop culture references. These recent works are more inventive and confidently his own than ever before. Ashbery continues to explore the collage medium, pushing the imagery into increasingly amorphous shapes with unexpected and often humorous juxtapositions, in much the same way that he has consistently pushed the boundaries of poetry.

National Gallery of Art showcases Luis Meléndez ~ Master of the Spanish Still Life Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:38 PM PDT WASHINGTON, DC.- Delights of the Spanish table depicted by 18th-century painter Luis Meléndez (1715-1780) will be presented to American audiences for the first time in nearly 25 years at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, May 17 through August 23, 2009. In a rare opportunity to explore the artist's working method, Luis Meléndez: Master of the Spanish Still Life will showcase 31 paintings, some of which have never been exhibited publicly, and nine examples of 18th-century kitchenware similar to those used as studio props by Meléndez.

Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht Shows Modern Masterpieces from the Liege Collections Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:37 PM PDT Maastricht, NL - Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht presents Wintertuin / Wintergarden a selection of modern masterpieces from the Liège collections on view through 19 June 2011. In Wintertuin, the Bonnefantenmuseum is presenting forty classic masterpieces from the collections of the city of Liège and the French Community of Belgium, including seven works of exceptionally high quality known as 'Belgian national treasures' (Chagall, Ensor, Gauguin, Kokoschka, Liebermann, Marc and Picasso).

Wadsworth Atheneum Reopens Morgan Great Hall Reinstalled with Contemporary Art Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:36 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. The dramatic display of painting, sculpture and photography includes rarely seen monumental objects and new acquisitions dating from the 1950s to the present. The installation includes both abstract and figurative works and a range of well known artists, such as; Nick Cave, Willem de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Andreas Gursky, Elizabeth Murray, Robert Rauschenberg, Sean Scully, Frank Stella, Bob Thompson and Andy Warhol, among others. Announced last year, the museum's renovation will result in the addition of 8,000 square feet of reclaimed gallery space, a 14% increase, and the complete reinstallation of the museum's permanent collection. The entire renovation project is slated for completion in 2013. "Promoting contemporary art has always been an important expression of the museum's mission, from founder Daniel Wadsworth's support of the fledgling Hudson River School to the ongoing MATRIX program, which has presented solo shows for emerging artists since 1975," said Susan L. Talbott, Director, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. "The reinstallation of the Morgan Great Hall with gems from our Contemporary art collection stays true to that mission, while bringing new life to the museum's historic spaces and enabling the public to experience our familiar galleries in new ways." The comprehensive renovation project will also bring significant improvements for visitors, including improved wayfinding, new interior and exterior signage, bilingual signage, and space for commissioned art on the exterior of the museum. Designed in 1907 by Beaux-Arts architect Benjamin Wistar Morris, the Morgan Memorial building was built by J. Pierpont Morgan between 1908 and 1915 in memory of his father, Junius Spencer Morgan . In addition to the reinstallation of the Morgan Great Hall and renovation of all of the Morgan building galleries, another major component of the restoration project is the re-opening of the skylights, which will bring natural light into the upper galleries. The country's first public art museum, the Wadsworth Atheneum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places—a result of the museum's history of commissioning architecture that is an expression of its time. The museum's five separate, but contiguous buildings were built over the span of 125 years and now contain 57,000 square feet of gallery space, 2,260 square feet of education space, and 26,240 square feet of alternative use space, for a total of 164,000 square feet. The majority of the project's $16 million dollar cost is funded through a $15 million grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development; a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and an $183,000 grant from the Mortensen Foundation. The architect for the project is the Hartford-based firm of SmithEdwards Architects, and the construction manager is Consigli Construction Co., Inc., which has offices in Enfield. Both firms were selected for their expertise in architectural restoration and solving complex infrastructure issues while maintaining historical integrity. Examples of other important heritage landmarks these firms have worked on include: Trinity College's Long Walk; the Old State House; the Bowdoin College Museum of Art's Walker Art Building; and the New York State Capitol restoration. Alan Barton, Director of Facilities, is managing the project for The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. Visit : http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/

Norton Museum of Art opens a Special Photography Exhibition ~ ' Coming Into Focus ' Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:35 PM PDT   WEST PALM BEACH, FL - Opening to the public today, October 11, 2008, Coming Into Focus: Jeane von Oppenheim and Photography at the Norton, 1998—2008, celebrates the 10th anniversary of Baroness Jeane von Oppenheim's significant donation of over 650 photographs. Her generous contribution propelled the Norton Museum into collecting photography seriously, and therefore, as having one of the leading photography collections in the southeast. Since the initial 1998 donation, Jeane has continued to support the Norton Museum's photography program and is now the head of the Photography Committee.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Shows Clarice Smith's ~ "Nature Reined" Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:34 PM PDT Richmond, Virginia.- The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is pleased to present "Nature Reined: The Paintings of Clarice Smith", on view at the museum until December 11th. Clarice Smith is an established Virginia artist who has exhibited in America and Europe for three decades, most recently at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC.  This exhibition is selected to complement the works in the adjacent Mellon Collection and includes paintings of horses and horse-racing and still lifes, two of the most persistent themes in Smith's work. In "Nature Reined", Clarice Smith explores two quintessential themes in the history of Virginia painting: flowers and horse racing. She approaches these diverse genres with the same painterly eye, using layers and subtle tonalities of paint to convey both the drama and movement of the thoroughbred horse and the stillness and grace of the floral arrangement.

Morris Museum of Art features Paintings by Jeffrey Kronsnoble Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:33 PM PDT AUGUSTA, GA - Notes on the 19th, 20th, and 21st Centuries: Paintings by Jeffrey Kronsnoble opens to the public on Saturday, June 7, and remains on view through Sunday, August 10, at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia. Organized by Morris Museum of Art curator Jay Williams, the exhibition includes forty paintings and mixed-media constructions by artist Jeffrey Kronsnoble. "We're pleased to bring the work of Jeff Kronsnoble to the attention of a larger audience," said Kevin Grogan, director of the Morris Museum of Art. "He has been a major influence in American art for many years, both as artist and teacher, introducing his students and the public to the vital presence of art in contemporary life." Kronsnoble incorporates many representational elements, "appropriated" from historically important, classic works of art. Visitors may sense that Kronsnoble's work fits nicely into the familiar flow of art history; but they also may be disconcerted by his strange combinations of images from various periods and styles. A single painting may meld Renaissance portraits of merchants or saints with elements of architecture and abstract expressionist brushwork. These intriguing combinations of dissimilar styles and subject matter are part of a consistent philosophical approach, developed over the forty years of his tenure as a professor of painting at the University of South Florida. Kronsnoble explains, "The central issue in my art is the concern with relational ideas, with the new entity created by the interface of the elements of a work."     On a deeper level, Kronsnoble's paintings and drawings are poetic commentaries—he calls them "notes"—about the struggle between order and chaos in modern life and contemporary art. He appreciates the tension between order and chaos, and in his art seeks to reconcile these by manipulating the various elements of the composition. "It doesn't matter what the parts are," he asserts, "figures, design elements, whatever. . . . whether the art is realistic or abstract or anything in between." For him, the correct balance, the ideal set of relationships, occurs when "it hovers between chaos and order. It therefore looks like life. This being in a state of grace is so much like life that it's a metaphor for life; whether it's abstract or representational, it mirrors life." Many of Kronsnoble's paintings are based on the concept of collage, the technique of assembling cut-outs from printed materials, torn papers, photo images, and other found objects. (Collages also may be enhanced with lines and colors added by the artist.) Developed by European artists such as Kurt Schwitters, Max Ernst, and Pablo Picasso during the first half of the twentieth century, collage seems a particularly appropriate metaphor for contemporary life, in which people are constantly meshing diverse traditions, technologies, and other divergent cultural elements. Depending upon the technique and source material, Kronsnoble's works of art can be categorized into several major groupings: the box series, based on collages that were assembled and then painted or drawn; the postcard series, based on collages of images from museum collections; dioramas, large-scale assemblages similar to the box series; and later paintings that explore seemingly opposing traditions of easel painting, such as landscapes, portraits, and abstractions.   The artist: Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jeffrey Kronsnoble earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin, and his MFA from the University of Michigan. Following graduate school, Kronsnoble joined the art department faculty at the University of South Florida in 1963. Kronsnoble's work has been featured in one-man shows in galleries in New York, Milwaukee, New Orleans, La Jolla, and throughout Florida, as well as in group shows at the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Detroit Institute of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C., The National Academy of Design in New York City, and The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio. A twenty-five-year retrospective exhibition of his work was presented in 1990 at the Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, Florida, and traveled to museums in Melbourne, Hollywood, and Ft. Myers, Florida. Founded in 1985, the Morris Museum of Art is the oldest and largest museum in the country that is devoted to the art and artists of the American South. It is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., and on Sunday, noon–5:00 p.m. For more information about the Morris Museum of Art, visit our web site at www.themorris.org  or call 706-724-7501.

High Museum of Art to Premier the Works by American Photographer Peter Sekaer Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:32 PM PDT ATLANTA, GA.- The High Museum of Art will premiere the first major exhibition dedicated to the work of the Danish-born American photographer Peter Sekaer in June 2010. Consisting of approximately 75 vintage gelatin silver prints, several of which have never been on public view, the works in this exhibition span the years 1935 through 1945, and represent the first comprehensive assessment of Sekaer's life and work in photography. The majority of works in the exhibition are new acquisitions—giving the High the largest museum holding of Sekaer's photographs in the United States —complemented by selected loans from other public collections and the artist's estate. Organized by the High, "Signs of Life: Photographs by Peter Sekaer" will be on view from June 5, 2010, to January 9, 2011.

The National Gallery of Art exhibits Stunning and Significant French Drawings Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:31 PM PDT WASHINGTON, DC.- Some 135 of the most significant and beautiful drawings made over a period of three centuries by the best French artists working at home and abroad and by foreign artists working in France will be on view in Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500–1800 in the Gallery's West Building from October 1, 2009, through January 31, 2010. This is the first comprehensive exhibition and catalogue to focus on the Gallery's permanent collection of French old master drawings, which is remarkable for its breadth, depth, and individual masterpieces.

Our Editor Is Greeted At The Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (The Mudam) In Luxembourg Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:30 PM PDT The Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (The Mudam) is the foremost museum dedicated to contemporary art in Luxembourg, and strives to be attentive to every discipline and open to the whole world. Its collection and programme reflect current artistic trends and appreciate the emergence of new artistic practices on a national and international scale. The building, which is the work of Sino-American architect, and Leoh Ming Pei, is a marvelous dialogue between the natural, historical, and modern environment. Standing against the vestiges of Fort Thüngen, it follows the course of the former surrounding walls, and is rooted in the Park Dräi Eechelen (planned by landscapists, Michel Desvigne and Christine Dalnoky) which offers magnificent views onto the old town. The asymmetrical V shape of the building, with 45 degree angles, rises over the ruins. Tucked into its fortified walls, the introverted shape of the fortress is still discernible in Pei's new building. The geometry of the museum is, so to speak, an extension of the fortress. The contrast with the fortress is all the more interesting because Pei's building has very geometrical volumes, and he opted for shapes that are both modern and classical. His architecture is formalist, while remaining sober and monumental. On its south-western front the building of the Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean looks onto down town – the Grund, Clausen and the Pfaffenthal – while on its north side is the "Place de l'Europe" where the main entrance is situated. Access to the museum will be via two bridges that cross the dry moat and converge leading to the arrowhead that reflects the shape of the museum. After the main reception area the visitor enters a space of light. As he moves forward he comes face to face with the Grand Hall, a glass structure 33 m high, made of a metallic frame surmounted by a bell-turret with a square top: this is the heart of the museum from which one can access its other spaces. A second glass structure on the right is as impressive: in response to the contour of the hall which stems from the original layout of the ancient foundations, I. M. Pei has designed a rounded and curved glass-structure. On the left, another glass structure, symmetrical to the one to the right but flattened, highlights the design of the different elements that make up the metallic structure. The building also offers a subtle outlook on the neighboring landscapes by providing an unexpected view of the forest and its surroundings. Uniquely, a balcony that overhangs the Grand Hall offers a view of the historical city centre. The museum is spread over three levels of 4,700 m2 of surface area dedicated to the visits. Its construction was begun in January 1999 and it was inaugurated on 1 July 2006. Level -1 introduces the visitor into a more intimate space where the overhead light gives way to a twilight appropriate to exhibit luminous works. The auditorium with 120 seats is also housed here. Set back from the building is a small octagonal construction – the Henry J. and Erna D. Leir Pavilion – linked by a transparent footbridge. This pavilion is surmounted by a glass-structure with a bell-turret and gives another view over the "Park Dräi Eechelen". On the first floor, two large exhibition spaces can be accessed by the large staircase which starts in the Grand Hall, or by lateral staircases that are in themselves great architectonic feats. The sheds that we find in the first floor exhibition spaces allow natural and widespread lighting without shades or reflections. The cultural aspects of the Mudam is based on a conception of art seen at a poetical distance from the world. Its key words are freedom, innovation, a critical mind, and all this, not devoid of humor. The programme favors every vector of expression while questioning our habits and our representations. It aims to capture not only a way of contemporary thinking, but also the aesthetic language of an age to come. Visit the museum website at : www.mudam.lu/ The museum presents international exhibitions and projects from all areas of contemporary art. At the time when Pei was commissioned to design the museum, the collection of art works was only just beginning. Even though Pei's design was not geared to specific works, it is nevertheless not neutral. Art and architecture are automatically linked closely with each other. The architecture does not try to dominate art, it simply provides it with a framework. Mudam Collection bears witness to a particular interest in artworks anchored in the contemporary world regardless of the techniques employed (painting, sculpture, photo, installation, video...). In January 2011 the collection includes over 560 artworks by near to 300 international artists. Through the works in its collection, Mudam explores a spirit that, since Marcel Duchamp, continues to infuse contemporary artistic creation. The practices of misappropriation and irony serve the critical spirit of the artists and give them the distance and the filters necessary to bring a sense of play to the serious artistic business of their quest. The Mudam Collection bares witness to contemporary creation in all its technical and aesthetic forms, while remaining open to every other artistic discipline: painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, as well as design, fashion, graphic design and new media are all put on show. Resolutely anchored in the contemporary, the collection endorses poetic variations from the great masters such as Bernd and Hilla Becher, Daniel Buren, Blinky Palermo or Cy Twombly. The collection is devoted to international artworks as well as to local productions. Luxembourgish artists make up around ten per cent of artists in the collection. They are chosen for their quality and relevance, without having to fulfill any quotas . .fine art rules. The recent exhibition of Attila Csörgö leads us into a universe of scientific exploration, providing a comprehensive overview of his career, beginning from the early 1990s and reaching international acclaim in the form of major art exhibitions and awards. Empirical folding of great mathematical complexity, hypnotic plays of light resting on indecipherable mechanical movements, and other inventions that combine fantasy with curiosity about extremely varied physical and mathematical phenomena. The exhibition at Mudam is the second issue of an international series that started at Ludwig Museum. "Just Love Me"is first in a series of exhibitions showing the diversity of approaches in collecting contemporary art, in and out of Luxembourg. The fifty chosen artworks are linked to - people and their habitat - through a selection concerning forms and architecture (Carl Andre, Richard Artschwager, Dan Flavin, Imi Knoebel...) and the body and its presence (John Baldessari, Sarah Jones, Hermann Nitsch...). Other works reproduce the idea of private space. The visitor is invited to wander through and encounter artworks worthy of a contemporary cabinet of curiosities containing the horn of Mark Dion's unicorn, the graphic work of Bruce Nauman or Wim Delvoye, a Luc Tuymans painting as well as a small canvas by Marlène Dumas. Exhibition open until February, 2011. The exhibition by Daniel Buren in the Grand Hall of the museum is the fruit of a joint invitation to the artist from Mudam and Centre Pompidou-Metz to create a specific installation in relation to their respective spaces. As is often the case with his work, the installation the artist has conceived for Mudam is concerned with "frames" - be they aesthetic, architectural or institutional - which condition any exhibited art, by rendering certain aspects visible. Exhibition is open until 22/05/2011.

Art Knowledge News Presents "This Week In Review" Posted: 12 Apr 2012 05:29 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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