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• The Singapore Tyler Print Institute Presents a Survey of David Hockney's Prints
• Nest Egg's April 16 Auction Features Photographs and Fine Art
• The Toledo Museum of Art Displays "Small Worlds"
• Mauritshuis in The Hague to Display A Private Collection of Dutch Masters
• Eli Klein Fine Art exhibits Two Solos ~ Zhang Gong and Zhao Bo
• The Snite Museum of Art features Mauricio Lasansky ~ Great Thinkers
• Grand Palais opens Exhibition of Paintings of Optical Illusions and Visual Puzzles
• The State Russian Museum Celebrates the 150th Anniversary of Konstantin Korovin's Birth
• This Week in Review in Art Knowledge News

The Singapore Tyler Print Institute Presents a Survey of David Hockney's Prints Posted: 18 Apr 2012 08:29 PM PDT Singapore.- The Singapore Tyler Print Institute is proud to present "David Hockney: Through the Eyes of the Artist", a selection of the artist's prints from Singapore Art Museum Tyler Collection. "David Hockney: Through the Eyes of the Artist" is on view at the Institue until July 30th. Bold, luscious colours, dynamic lines and curves fill the walls of STPI with Singapore Art Museum Tyler Collection's works on paper from British giant David Hockney. This survey of Hockney's works not only follows his artistic development throughout the years, but pays homage to some key figures of inspiration such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Best known for his chic, minimal portrayals of Los Angeles, California, these works on paper reveal Hockney's unique eye into the people and environment around him and show how Hockney's deft and experimental printing techniques are a true testament to the legacy he had with Master printer Kenneth Tyler. Do not miss this opportunity to see why Hockney is regarded as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. When you think about his road to becoming one of the most popular living British artists (little wonder that postcards reproduced with his 1971 masterpiece "Mr & Mrs Clark and Percy" are hot sellers at the Tate Museum), you won't be surprised to discover that during his childhood, David Hockney drew cartoons of Jesus much to his Sunday school teacher's consternation. This exhibition features rare lithographs and prints from the Singapore Art Museum's Tyler Collection. The effervescently hued works delve into the 72-year-old icon's personal experiences with family, close friends and his living environment. As much as it sheds light on the artist's personal narrative and signature techniques of layering multiple perspectives and mixing mediums, it also celebrates the influential role of his collaborator, master printmaker Kenneth E. Tyler. Expect to gawp at Hockney's oeuvre from the 1980s, which includes the impressive Images of Celia (1984), a stylistic mash-up of lithography, screenprinting and collage, paying homage to Cubism. Clever observers will also notice that the model for the work was Celia Birtwell, a popular British fashion designer from the Swinging London era and a close friend of the artist, was also heavily influenced by Pablo Picasso. And to cap it all off, there is also an inkjet print of Hockney's recent dabbling with Apple's iPhone and iPad, showcasing the innovative spirit of this grand master. Best known for his chic, minimal portrayals of Los Angeles, California, these works on paper reveal British artist David Hockney's unique eye into the people and environment around him and show how Hockney's deft and experimental printing techniques which is a true testament to the legacy he had with Master printer Kenneth Tyler. The Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI) is an international publisher and dealer of fine art prints and works on paper. With its unique facility and dedicated team, STPI collaborates with outstanding artists from around the world to push the technical and aesthetic frontiers of printmaking and papermaking, creating edition prints and unique works on paper. STPI was established in 2002 under the guidance of the foremost American master printer of the 20th century, Kenneth E. Tyler, with the support of the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Totalisator Board. For nearly 40 years, Tyler published major works by prominent international artists such as Josef Albers, Anthony Caro, Helen Frankenthaler, David Hockney, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Motherwell, James Rosenquist, Frank Stella and Donald Sultan. Through its Visiting Artists Programme (VAP), STPI has collaborated with leading artists from Singapore, The United States, China, France, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia. Each collaboration offers unique opportunities to pursue new and innovative techniques whilst opening the door for artists to push their art to higher levels of development. Visit the institute's website at ... http://www.stpi.com.sg/

Nest Egg's April 16 Auction Features Photographs and Fine Art Posted: 18 Apr 2012 08:28 PM PDT Nest Egg's April 16 Auction Features Photographs and Fine Art MERIDEN, CT.- An extraordinary archive of Alfred "Cheney" Johnston (1884-1971) glamour photos of Jazz Age beauties, as well as important artworks from the renowned Ziegfield Follies photographer's personal collection, will be auctioned on April 16, 2011 at Nest Egg Auctions' gallery in Meriden, Connecticut. Johnston's personal photo archive, which was bequeathed to a neighbor 40 years ago and has remained in the same family ever since, includes dozens of beautiful nudes that were considered very daring for their time. Johnston was a trailblazer in celebrity photography and rose to the top of his profession with his stunning pictures of showgirls, film stars and rising starlets – among them Barbara Stanwyck, Clara Bow, Paulette Goddard, Gloria Swanson and Julie "Catwoman" Newmar. Johnston's ability to put his subjects at ease resulted in stylish portraits whose artistic quality has withstood the test of time.

The Toledo Museum of Art Displays "Small Worlds" Posted: 18 Apr 2012 08:27 PM PDT Toldeo, Ohio.- The Toledo Museum of Art is pleased to present "Small Worlds" on view at the museum through March 25th 2012. As its name suggests, "Small Worlds" brings together intricate, charming, disquieting and thoughtful works of art on the smallest of scales. Each of the engaging works creates an intimate space or environment and shows scenes which are familiar but perhaps slightly askew. The five contemporary artists represented offer us more than 40 small worlds rendered as relief paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographs. There also are video and art installations, a fully functional 65-square-foot house, and objects created specifically for this show that, in some cases,incorporate facets of the Toledo Museum of Art and its environs. The concept of "world" is both universal and highly personal because our worlds are shaped by individual experiences and imaginations. The intricate, intriguing works in Small Worlds explore the realms of the home, the studio, the neighborhood, the city and the natural world, said Amy Gilman, curator of contemporary art, associate director of the Museum and organizer of the exhibition. "These works encourage the viewer to consider space and perspective in different ways," says Gilman.

Mauritshuis in The Hague to Display A Private Collection of Dutch Masters Posted: 18 Apr 2012 08:26 PM PDT THE HAGUE.- A selection of highlights from the remarkable art collection of Eijk and Rose-Marie de Mol van Otterloo will be on display at the Mauritshuis in The Hague (The Netherlands) this autumn. The exhibition Made in Holland: Old Masters from a private collection in America features 44 masterpieces produced by Dutch masters during the Golden Age. Not only are these works of outstanding quality, their subject matter is often intriguing. The selection includes works by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan Steen and Hendrick Avercamp. One floor of the Mauritshuis will be transformed into the home of Van Otterloos for a period of three months. This will offer a unique opportunity to view these works, which are rarely exhibited in public. Made in Holland opens to the public on November 4, 2010 and will be on view until January 30, 2011 in The Hague. The Dutch showing of this exhibition has been made possible thanks to financial support from the Turing Foundation, NIBC and the Friends of the Mauritshuis. History of a Collection Dutch collectors Eijk and Rose-Marie de Mol van Otterloo, started collecting after their marriage in 1974, initially acquiring antique carriages and English sporting prints. Peter Sutton, current director of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, suggested that they collect works by seventeenth century Dutch masters. Simon Levie (advisor from 1995), former director of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and Frits Duparc, former director of the Mauritshuis (who took over from Levie in 2009), were closely involved in shaping this exceptionally beautiful collection. Paintings of extraordinarily high quality continue to be added, such as Rembrandt's Portrait of Aeltje Uylenburgh (1632) in 2005, which the couple themselves describe as 'the jewel in our collection's crown', and Gerrit Dou's Still Life with Sleeping Dog (1650): 'love at first sight'. Masterpieces by Aert van der Neer, Esaias van de Velde, Gabriel Metsu, Salomon de Bray and Pieter Claesz were acquired in 2008 and 2009. All Genres Represented A pretty, yet insolent young girl, a dog sleeping peacefully, winter landscapes or a summer scene with shepherds and picturesque mountains: the pictures in Made in Holland illustrate the versatility of seventeenth-century Dutch painting. In the exhibition, first-rate paintings will be grouped in ensembles, with an emphasis on still lifes, landscapes, genre paintings and portraits. Among the still lifes, a number of rare works by painters from Middelburg, including Balthasar van der Ast, Ambrosius Bosschaert and Adrian Coorte, are of particular interest. These will be shown alongside works by famous still-life painters such as Jan Davidsz de Heem and Willem Heda. The Dutch landscape is well represented with, among others, three works by the leading landscape artist of the Golden Age, Jacob van Ruisdael. The work of Nicolaes Berchem, Jan Both, Karel du Jardin and Adam Pijnacker focuses on the Italian landscape. Father and son Willem van de Velde the Elder and Willem van de Velde the Younger depict the Dutch Republic as a seafaring nation. Admirers of seascapes like this will also enjoy Jan van de Cappelle and Simon de Vlieger's beautiful paintings. In the portraits section, masterpieces by Rembrandt and Frans Hals stand out, while everyday life takes centre stage in the work of painters such as Jan Steen, Nicolaes Maes, Adriaen van Ostade and Frans van Mieris the Elder. An unexpected highlight is the history painting Orpheus Charming the Animals (c. 1640), an early work by Aelbert Cuyp. In 2011, the complete collection of paintings, together with a smaller collection of antique furniture and objets d'art, will go on display in the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. The exhibition will then move to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and finally to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. Private Collectors and the Mauritshuis Private collectors have always played an important role at the Mauritshuis. The core of the holdings is made up of the royal collections of the Princes of Orange-Nassau, Willem IV (1711-1751) and Willem V (1748-1806), but since 1822, a large part of the museum's collection -– has been acquired via gifts and bequests. Additionally, long and short-term loans made by individuals over the years have boosted the museum's permanent display. Loans from private individuals also form an essential part of many exhibitions at the Mauritshuis. The Van Otterloos belong to this group of private lenders, which always supports exhibitions both at home and abroad, including those at the Mauritshuis, with great generosity. Since many of the works in the Van Otterloo's collection were intended for private homes, the exhibition Made in Holland lends itself perfectly to the intimate galleries of the Mauritshuis, itself built in the seventeenth century as a private residence for Count Johan Maurits of Nassau Siegen (1604-1679). Visit The Mauritshuis at : http://www.mauritshuis.nl/

Eli Klein Fine Art exhibits Two Solos ~ Zhang Gong and Zhao Bo Posted: 18 Apr 2012 08:25 PM PDT NEW YORK, NY - Eli Klein Fine Art is proud to present Zhang Gong's first solo exhibition in the United States. Zhang Gong's work parodies instantly recognizable Western art, demonstrating the effect of Western popular culture on contemporary Chinese society.In his most recent works, Zhang Gong incorporates cartoon characters with scenes from modernist Western paintings and other popular images. Also Zhao Bo's second solo exhibition in New York. Both exhibitions on view through 22 April, 2010.

The Snite Museum of Art features Mauricio Lasansky ~ Great Thinkers Posted: 18 Apr 2012 08:24 PM PDT SOUTH BEND, IN - Mauricio Lasansky was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1914 where he learned the art of printmaking at a young age. By the age of twenty-two he had already become the director of the Free Fine Arts School in Villa Maria, Cordoba, Argentina. Seven years later in 1943, he was offered a Guggenheim Fellowship to come to the United States and study the print collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. During this decade, printmaking was revitalized to the status of a fine art and Lasansky worked at creating new methods and techniques for the craft, as well as developing new subject matter.

Grand Palais opens Exhibition of Paintings of Optical Illusions and Visual Puzzles Posted: 18 Apr 2012 08:21 PM PDT PARIS.- Artists fascinated by optical illusions and keen to explore the limits of painting have long indulged in visual puzzles and changing perspectives. Playing on the ambiguity of double images, which change with the observer's point of view, many painters have covered their tracks and introduced several meanings, often hidden, in images that can be read in multiple ways. They did so for fun, but also to give their works moral or symbolic meaning, or even religious, political or sexual connotations. Apart from Arcimboldo's famous composite images or reversible portraits, and the inventions of Dali, the unchallenged grand master of ambiguous imagery, double images have often been dismissed as fortuitous creations, attributed to chance rather than conscious acts and deliberate decisions on the artist's part.

The State Russian Museum Celebrates the 150th Anniversary of Konstantin Korovin's Birth Posted: 18 Apr 2012 08:18 PM PDT St. Petersburg, Russia.- The State Russian Museum is proud to present "Konstantin Korovin 1861-1939", on view at the museum until November 8th. This special exhibition, being held to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Korovin's birth, brings together for the first time almost 250 of the artist's works. Spanning his work from the 1880s, when he was considered one of the key innovators in Russian painting through to his final works created in exile in France, the exhibition demonstrates Korovin's mastery of landscape, stil life and portraiture as well as featuring the newly restored painted panels that he created for the Russian Pavillion at the Paris World Fair in 1900. Konstantin was born in Moscow to a merchant family, though his father, Aleksey Mikhailovich Korovin, had earned a university degree and was more interested in arts and music than in the family business established by Konstantin's grandfather. Konstantin's older brother Sergey Korovin was a notable realist painter. Konstantin's relative Illarion Pryanishnikov was also a prominent painter of the time and a teacher at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. In 1875 Korovin entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he studied with Vasily Perov and Alexei Savrasov. His brother Sergey was already a student at the school. During their student years the Korovins became friends with fellow students Valentin Serov and Isaac Levitan; Konstantin maintained these friendships throughout his life. In 1881–1882, Korovin spent a year at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, but returned disappointed to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He studied at the school under his new teacher Vasily Polenov until 1886. In 1885, Korovin traveled to Paris and Spain. "Paris was a shock for me … Impressionists… in them I found everything I was scolded for back home in Moscow", he later wrote. Polenov introduced Korovin to Savva Mamontov's Abramtsevo Circle: Viktor Vasnetsov, Apollinary Vasnetsov, Ilya Repin, Mark Antokolsky and others. The Abramtsevo Circle's love for stylized Russian themes is reflected in Korovin's picture "A Northern Idyll". In 1885 Korovin worked for Mamontov's Opera house. He designed the stage decor for Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, Léo Delibes' Lakmé and Georges Bizet's Carmen. In 1888, Korovin traveled with Mamontov to Italy and Spain, where he produced the painting On the Balcony, Spanish Women Leonora and Ampara. Konstantin traveled within Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia and exhibited with the Peredvizhniki. He painted in the Impressionist and later in the Art Nouveau style. In the 1890s, Korovin became a member of the Mir iskusstva art group. Korovin's subsequent works were strongly influenced by his travels to the North. In 1888 he was captivated by the stern northern landscapes seen in The Coast of Norway and the Northern Sea. His second trip to the North, with Valentin Serov in 1894, coincided with the construction of the Northern Railway. Korovin painted a large number of landscapes: Norwegian Port, St. Triphon's Brook in Pechenga, Hammerfest: Aurora Borealis, The Coast at Murmansk and others. The paintings are built on a delicate web of shades of grey. The etude style of these works was typical for the Korovin's art of the 1890s. Using material from his northern trip, Korovin designed the Northern Railway pavilion at the 1896 All Russia Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod. In 1900, Korovin designed the Central Asia section of the Russian Empire pavilion at the Paris World Fair and was awarded the Legion of Honour by the French government. At the beginning of the 20th century, Korovin focused his attention on the theater. He moved from Mamontov's opera to the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Departing from traditional stage decor, which only indicated the place of action, Korovin produced a mood decor conveying the general emotions of the performance. Korovin designed sets for Konstantin Stanislavsky's dramatic productions, as well as Mariinsky's operas and ballets. He did the stage design for such Mariinsky productions as Faust (1899), The Little Humpbacked Horse (1901) and Sadko (1906) that became famous for their expressiveness. In 1905, Korovin became an Academician of Painting and in 1909–1913 a professor at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. One of the artist's favourite themes was Paris. He painted A Paris Cafe (1890s), Cafe de la Paix (1905), La Place de la Bastille (1906), Paris at Night, Le Boulevard Italien (1908), Night Carnival (1901), Paris in the Evening (1907) and others. During World War I Korovin worked as a camouflage consultant at the headquarters of one of the Russian armies and was often seen on the front lines. After the October Revolution Korovin continued to work in the theater, designing stages for Richard Wagner's Die Walküre and Siegfried, as well as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker (1918–1920). In 1923 Korovin moved to Paris on the advice of Commissar of Education Anatoly Lunacharsky to cure his heart condition and help his handicapped son. There was supposed to be a large exhibition of Korovin's works but the works were stolen and Korovin was left penniless. For years he produced the numerous Russian Winters and Paris Boulevards just to make ends meet. In the last years of his life he produced stage designs for many of the major theatres of Europe, America, Asia and Australia, the most famous of which is his scenery for the Turin Opera House's production of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel. Korovin died in Paris on September 11, 1939. Konstantin's son Alexey Korovin (1897–1950) was a notable Russian-French painter. Because of an accident during his childhood he had both feet amputated. Alexey committed suicide in 1950. The State Russian Museum (formerly the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III) is the largest depository of Russian fine art in St Petersburg. The museum was established on April 13, 1895, upon the enthronement of Nicholas II, to commemorate his father, Alexander III. Its original collection was composed of artworks taken from the Hermitage Museum, Alexander Palace, and the Imperial Academy of Arts. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, many private collections were nationalized and relocated to the Russian Museum. These included Kazimir Malevich's Black Square. The State Russian Museum today is a unique depository of artistic treasures, a leading restoration center, an authoritative institute of academic research, a major educational center and the nucleus of a network of national museums of art. The State Russian Museum collection contains more than 400,000 items. The main building of the museum is the Mikhailovsky Palace, a splendid Neoclassical residence of Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich, erected in 1819-25 to a design by Carlo Rossi on Square of Arts in St Petersburg. Upon the death of the Grand Duke the residence was named after his wife as the Palace of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, and which became famous for its many theatrical presentations and balls. Some of the halls of the palace retain the Italianate opulent interiors of the former imperial residence. Other buildings assigned to the Russian museum include the Summer Palace of Peter I (1710–14), the Marble Palace of Count Orlov (1768–85), St Michael's Castle of Emperor Paul (1797-1801), and the Rastrelliesque Stroganov Palace on the Nevsky Prospekt (1752–54). The Mikhailovsky Palace and Benois Wing houses the permanent exhibition of the Russian Museum, tracing the entire history of Russian art from the tenth to the twentieth centuries. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.rusmuseum.ru

This Week in Review in Art Knowledge News Posted: 18 Apr 2012 08:17 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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