Tag Archives: Arts

Top New Art Books: ‘Salvador Dalí : The Impossible Collection’

In the popular imagination, possibly no other artist’s work is more recognizable than that of Salvador Dalí. Indeed, for many he is the ultimate mad artist, whose singular vision remorselessly probed his own psychological depths. His nightmarish visions and bizarre landscapes express the angst and turbulence of the twentieth century.

Dalí’s creativity embraced many different modes of expression and was never constrained by any one style. Over eight decades, the prodigious range of Dalí’s activity spanned every conceivable medium, from painting and drawing to sculpture, film, furniture, books, stage design and jewelry, not to mention his highly eccentric public persona, which could be considered an art form in itself.

Selected by curator and art historian Paul Moorhouse, Assouline presents Salvador Dalí: The Impossible Collection, spotlighting 100 works by this extraordinary creative mind, exploring Dalí’s inspirations and array of influences, from Old Masters to realism, Impressionism, Fauvism and Cubism as well as experimental approaches that delved into his obsessions with religion, science and stereoscopy.

Paul Moorhouse is a London-based art historian and curator. Currently chief executive of the Anthony Caro Studio, he was senior curator and head of displays at the National Portrait Gallery, London (2005–17) and senior curator at the Tate (1985–2005), where he was closely involved with the creation of Tate Modern and Tate Britain. He has curated numerous exhibitions internationally and published extensively, with books and exhibition catalogues on major modern and contemporary artists, including Anthony Caro, Salvador Dalí, Alberto Giacometti, Howard Hodgkin, Hans Hofmann, Richard Long, Gerhard Richter, Bridget Riley, Cindy Sherman and Andy Warhol.

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Art Videos: American Painter Cy Twombly’s ‘Apollo 11’ Homage (1969)

In the summer of 1969, Cy Twombly made a series of paintings inspired by the Apollo 11 space mission.

Born in Lexington, Virginia, in 1928, Edwin Parker ‘Cy’ Twombly studied art in Boston and at the avant-garde Black Mountain College in North Carolina. After graduating, he served as a cryptologist in the US Military — an experience that left a distinctive mark on his artistic style.

Learn more: https://www.christies.com/features/Mo…

Art: The ‘Dangerously Independent Women’ Of Italian Painter Vittorio Corcos (1859-1933)

He went on to become a highly respected portraitist, counting Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Benito Mussolini and opera star Lina Cavalieri among his subjects. In Coy’s view, however, his portraits were relatively conventional offerings — and Corcos’s ‘best work’ was his turn-of-the-century imagery of ‘dangerously independent women’.

Compare the biographies of Vittorio Corcos (1859-1933) and Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920), and a remarkable number of similarities become apparent. Both were born into Jewish families in the Italian port city of Livorno in the second half of the 19th century; both would settle — and artistically come of age — in Paris. Both would even excel at the same type of paintings: their provocative depictions of women.

Their reputations, however, have suffered widely different fates. Modigliani, who struggled to sell much work before his death at the age of 35, is today regarded as a master of Modernism. Corcos, by contrast, who enjoyed a long and prosperous international career, posthumously became a rather forgotten figure.

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Cocktails With A Curator: ‘Fragonard’s Progress Of Love, Part II’ (Frick Video)

In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon maps the century-long journey of Jean Honoré Fragonard’s Progress of Love series from Paris to Provence to London to New York. Fragonard’s career faltered because of his association with the ancien régime, and the Progress of Love was in many respects his last great accomplishment before he died in penury in 1806. In 2021, visitors will be able to experience three of the canvases for the first time in decades when the series is displayed in its entirety at Frick Madison. For today’s episode, Xavier has paired this fourteen-canvas parable of love with a mixed drink suitable for the occasion, a brandy-spiked Champagne Cocktail.

To view these objects in detail, please visit our website: https://www.frick.org/progressloveSHOW LESS

Profiles: London Artist Flora Yukhnovich – ‘Art Of Tiepolo As Abstraction’

September 23, 2020

…she decided to trace Tiepolo’s travels across Europe, from Venice to Germany and Spain, riffing on the works he created in these different places. ‘I realised I had basically followed Tiepolo’s journey since leaving Venice towards his death,’ she notes. ‘It was quite weird and morbid but also kind of appropriate for finishing off my Tiepolo cycle.’

Déjà vu isn’t dangerous for Flora Yukhnovich – it’s part of her art. ‘I think what I find really rewarding about working from old paintings is the moment when it all comes together and you feel like you recognise it,’ she tells me. ‘It’s such a weird, instinctive feeling […] like kissing an old friend.’

A shift in interest coincided with an invitation to Venice, via a residency with Victoria Miro. It was while living there during the summer of 2019 that she became immersed in the work of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and his own particular brand of Venetian rococo. The resulting exhibition at the Victoria Miro gallery is called ‘Barcarole’ after the song sung by Venetian gondoliers, a tune known for its rhythmic sway in time with lapping lagoon waves.

Her Website

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Modern Art: ‘Shangri-La, 2017’ By Matthew Wong

An invitation into any artist’s imagined world involves an intimacy rarely encountered outside of portraiture, but Matthew Wong does this without fear by relying on our one nugget of shared understanding – Shangri-la. What is paradise after all but knowing and being known? “You sit in front of this painting, and it overwhelms you.” – reveals our specialist Isabella Lauria, –

“We get lots in our dreams, and this painting makes me feel lost in the best way.” Post-War and Contemporary Art Day sale, October 7 2020

View sale highlights: https://www.christies.com/features/Po..

Matthew Wong was a Canadian artist. Self-taught as a painter, Wong received critical acclaim for his work before his death in 2019 at the age of 35. Roberta Smith, co-chief art critic at The New York Times, has praised Wong as “one of the most talented painters of his generation.”

Cocktails With A Curator: ‘Fragonard’s Progress Of Love’ (The Frick Video)

In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” join Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon as he discusses Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s Progress of Love paintings and the capricious countess who commissioned the series, Madame du Barry, mistress of Louis XV. Delve into the tumultuous life of Du Barry, who was born in poverty and clashed with Marie-Antoinette at Versailles. Tune in next week to discover how the Progress of Love series made its way from eighteenth-century France to the Frick’s beloved Fragonard Room.

To view these objects in detail, please visit our website: https://www.frick.org/progress_love

Art Video: ‘The Mystery Of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers’

The eventful history of Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, which have changed hands many times since they were painted for Paul Gauguin’s arrival in Arles.

Van Gogh’s paintings of Sunflowers are among his most famous. He did them in Arles, in the south of France, in 1888 and 1889. Vincent painted a total of five large canvases with sunflowers in a vase, with three shades of yellow ‘and nothing else’.

Artist Profile: American Painter Barbara Rudolph

Barbara Rudolph is an Arizona artist specializing in realism oil paintings that most often include a bird.  Her painting backgrounds can be either realistic, or contemporary with design elements, but always to showcase the finest of details in her main subject.  She will paint many layers, allowing each layer of oil paint to dry in between.

Barbara’s work is often sprinkled with an element of humor, She takes time to photograph and place each object within the scene she paints. “I enjoy getting absorbed in a new painting and letting it gradually reveal its own story”, she says. “The messages and symbolism in my work help to connect viewers to my subjects. I’m always thrilled when someone steps in for a closer look and responds with a laugh or smile.”

Barbara’s appreciation and desire to create art began at an early age.  She later earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1990 from her home school of Arizona State University. She first entered the professional world of art through graphic design, which then led her to paint for a variety of fine art publishers for many years to come.  She eventually opened her independent home studio where she now works full time.  

For more than twenty five years, Barbara’s paintings have been on display in various galleries and also in private collections across the United States and Canada.   She is a long standing member of the “International Guild of Realism.”  Some of her recent works have been chosen as finalists in the prestigious “Art Renewal Center” Salon competition,” which is the leading revival of realism art.

“Art is such an integral part of my life. It brings me joy to be able to create paintings that bring happiness into people’s lives.”

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Arts & Design Podcast: “2020 Venice Glass Week” & Top Brand “Wonderglass”

Monocle On Design: Looking for a crystal-clear take on Venice Glass Week? Monocle’s Ed Stocker checks in with WonderGlass, the brand that bonds traditional Italian craftsmanship with contemporary design.

WonderGlass bonds traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design, providing tailor-made solutions to the worlds of architecture, art and fashion – telling a story through our creations we aim to bring individuals into a delightful WonderLand. A surrealistic and dreamlike atmosphere which creates a seamless landscape of lighting, subtle colours and visual elements forming a world that captures people’s imagination.

Founded in 2013, Christian and Maurizio Mussati built their brand through bespoke glass lighting and installations handcrafted in Murano, working with renowned creative minds including Zaha Hadid, Jaime Hayon, India Mahdavi, John Pawson, Nao Tamura, Marcel Wanders, Dan Yeffet and Hideki Yoshimoto.

Now working with their team of WonderLab artisans in the Venetian region and collaborating with leading names in design and architecture such as Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, nendo, RML (Ana Meier & Hervé Descottes) and WOHA architects – WonderGlass offers architects, artists, developers, hotel designers and museums the opportunity to incorporate artisanal creations into projects of any scale.

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Venice Glass Week Website