The Economist reports on the rise of American unemployment, tensions with China and South Korea falls into recession.
Category Archives: Profiles
Artist Profile: Scottish Painter David Roberts Masterpieces Of “Seville Cathedral” In 1833 (Video)
These two magnificent paintings by Scottish artist David Roberts exquisitely capture the essence of life in Seville in the 1800s. Hear how Roberts, one of the most widely travelled artist explorers of the 19th century, executed these resplendent views of the Cathedral – one capturing the ceremony of the Corpus Christi festival, the other displaying the bustle of life outside. ‘Interior of the Cathedral of Seville’ and ‘The Moorish Tower at Seville’.
Artist Profile: German Expressionist Painter Lyonel Feininger (Video)
Lyonel Feininger combined influences from different art movements to find a style all his own. In this video, discover how Feininger’s work combines elements of Cubism and 
Italian Futurism, abstract form and function from the Bauhaus, and an expressive use of colour from his involvement with Die Brucke and Die Blaue Vier. Feininger’s instantly recognisable style is clearly visible in the dramatic interplay of light and shadow displayed in ‘Zottelstedt II’ from 1927.
Lyonel Charles Feininger (1871 – 1956) was a German-American painter, and a leading exponent of Expressionism. He also worked as a caricaturist and comic strip artist. He was born and grew up in New York City, traveling to Germany at 16 to study and perfect his art.
Paintings: J.M.W. Turner’s “Gledhow Hall” (1816)
This magnificent watercolour by J.M.W. Turner exquisitely captures the romantic painter’s love for the North of England. Discover how the “painter of light” depicted the sheer essence of time and atmosphere in this sumptuous watercolour of “God’s Own Country”.
Gledhow Hall, in Leeds, is still standing sentinel and today houses several luxury flats. Yet few are aware that the Hall and the Gledhow area itself is intrinsically linked with the family of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Gledhow Hall is on Gledhow Lane at its junction with Gledhow Wood Road. The land was originally monastic and was purchased from Queen Elizabeth I by the Thwaites family. Several notable Yorkshire families have owned the Hall, including the Becketts, the Benyons, the Dixons and the Coopers. The Hall, as seen today, was completed shortly after 1766, by York architect John Carr who had been responsible for Harewood House – the home of Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood, whose niece is Queen Elizabeth II.
Art Centers: Sculptor Auguste Rodin’s Enduring Appeal (Stanford Cantor)
Stanford University (July 20, 2020):
What makes Rodin’s sculptures “modern”?
The enduring appeal of Rodin, the modernity of his work, has to do with the way in which he makes visible an aesthetic of process – how, in other words, he takes traditional sculpture apart and puts it back together again in new and daring ways. Strategies of multiplication, scalability, fragmentation and recombinatory modes of assembly and display constitute some of the hallmarks of Rodin’s artistic practice.
Works by Rodin on view at the Cantor are often utilized by students and scholars from a range of disciplines, including medicine. In this moment, with outbreak of disease across the globe, what can Rodin’s works teach us about the relationship between art and nature?
It’s interesting that Rodin attracts so much attention from medical experts, especially here at Stanford, who have used his hands for diagnostic purposes. It’s true that Rodin was intensely interested in exploring pathologies of the body, especially now-discredited understandings of female hysteria. But there is also the irony that Rodin became furious after a critic accused him of making his first life-size figure through life casting, rather than modeling it himself. It should go without saying, but Rodin’s hands are not hands – not real ones, anyway – and their expressive forms don’t align neatly with the anatomical reality of hands in flesh and blood or even their more naturalistic counterparts. But the very fact that they elicit such responses demonstrates the power of art to provoke challenging questions that drive innovative paths of research that cut across disciplines, particularly in a university setting.
Top Artists: Watercolor Painter Deborah Chabrian – “Vibrant Narratives”
“To me architectural and still life paintings are anything but still… they are personal narratives, full of life, that tell the story of a person, time, and place that I find… endlessly inspiring.”
Deborah Chabrian is a watercolor artist who transforms houses, gardens, and objects into vibrant narratives. Her paintings have been included in numerous exhibitions throughout the United States and awarded honors from The American Watercolor Society, The National Watercolor Society, The Portrait Institute, The National Academy of Design, and The Society of Illustrators. Her work graces more than 500 book covers and is featured in numerous books and magazines focusing on Fine Art.
Passionate about art since childhood, Deborah was born and raised in Illinois, and won a full scholarship to Parson’s School of Design in NYC, from which she graduated with Honors. There she met her husband, portrait artist Edward Martinez, they are each other’s strongest supporter, and most critical second eye. Over the years they have studied with many inspired artists, most notably, teacher and master realist painter, Burton Silverman. As a lover of watercolor, Deborah discovered Silverman, first through his book, Breaking the Rules of Watercolor, which led to several years of personal study in his NYC atelier. Silverman said of Chabrian: “In some measure Deborah’s work is more than the watercolor medium she uses. Its excellence relies on her visual sensitivity and her expressive content to talk about the wonder of the ordinary, to reveal what our eyes usually just record without really seeing. In this regard, her work is very special indeed.”
Top Architectural Design: Antony Gibbon Designs “Pushing The Boundaries”
Embracing nature’s forms as a source of inspiration and pushing the boundaries of architectural design, Antony’s body of work has gained world-wide recognition and been featured in Vanity Fair, New York Times, Huffington Post, Dezeen, Dwell, Designboom and the Secret Homes Television series.
Antony sees the environment as an important driving force behind his work, each structure is individually created to consider the surroundings using sustainable materials wherever possible. He aims to create the connection between Nature & Nurture, seeking a path to merge one into the other. To combine each unique, bespoke structure and its individual habitat and to develop harmony, so they grow together.
Wherever you are based, the team works with you to create a design that meets your exact needs. Working with a selection of the best building companies around the world to deliver the highest quality service tailored to each individual project.
Artist Profiles: The Legacy Of Violinist Isaac Stern
Tuesday, July 21, marks the centennial of the birth of violinist Isaac Stern. He was not only an acclaimed musician, but a devoted teacher who was a mentor to generations of musicians.
Isaac Stern, (born July 21, 1920, Kremenets, Ukraine, Russian Empire—died September 22, 2001, New York, New York, U.S.), Russian-born American musician who was considered one of the premier violinists of the 20th century. Active in organizations promoting the arts, he played a key role in saving New York City’s Carnegie Hall from demolition in 1960 and later became president of the corporation that administered the hall and its cultural programs; he held the post until his death. In 1964 he helped establish the National Endowment for the Arts. Stern was also noted for his encouragement of young musicians, and he aided the careers of Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman, among others. The recipient of numerous awards, Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award in 1984 and a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 1987.
Artist Profile Video: The “Existential Sculptures” Of Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti is one of the most admired and sought-after sculptors of the 20th century. In this video, discover how his post-war work came to embody the ideas of Existentialism and how the influence of ancient sculpture led to the attenuated human form so emblematic of his oeuvre. Conceived in 1956-57, at the height of Giacometti’s international acclaim, ‘Femme Debout’ comes from an outstanding family collection of works from the European avant-garde.
Top Short Films: “Ripening” -Chef Oliver Rowe And His 15-Year “Food” Journey
Directed by: Stephen Ashwell and Miriam van Ernst
Executive Producer: Adam Penny
Cinematography: Stephen Ashwell
Producer: Miriam van Ernst
In 2005, Connected Pictures made a ten-part documentary for the BBC about chef Oliver Rowe, setting up a restaurant in Kings Cross and sourcing all his food from within London. The series was a global success, showing around the world for many years after. Since then, the seasonal and local food landscape has exploded.
However, Oliver’s journey hasn’t been quite as smooth in 2018 he wrote a book called ‘A Food for All Seasons’ about his relationship with food.
Together with director Stephen Ashwell ,we made a film to talk about his journey to today and about the important role food has played throughout his life.
Boomers Daily 