Little Black Book of Art

If there is one museum to visit right now, that’s London’s Tate Britain to go and see the work of British artist Henry Moore and Turner Prize winner Chris Ofili.

CHRIS OFILI – (Exhibition runs from 26 Jan – 16 May 2010)

Chris Ofili’s intensely coloured and intricately ornamented paintings are on show at Tate Britain in a major survey of the artist’s career that brings together over 45 paintings, as well as pencil drawings and watercolours from the mid 1990s to today. One of the most acclaimed British painters of his generation, Ofili won the Turner Prize in 1998 and represented Great Britain at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003.

Ofili has built an international reputation with his works that bridge the sacred and the profane, popular culture and beliefs. His exuberant paintings are renowned for their rich layering and inventive use of media, including balls of elephant dung that punctuate the canvas and support them at their base, as well as glitter, resin, map pins and magazine cut-outs.

Ofili’s early works draw on a wide range of influences, from Zimbabwean cave painting to blaxploitation movies, fusing comic book heroes and icons of funk and hip-hop. For the first time, these celebrated paintings are presented alongside current developments in his practice following his move to Trinidad in 2005. While adopting a simplified colour palette and pared-down forms, his recent works continue to draw on diverse sources of inspiration, and are full of references to sensual and Biblical themes as well as explore Trinidad’s landscape and mythology.

Definite highlights include No Woman, No Cry, 1998, a tender portrait of a weeping female figure created in the aftermath of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry and The Upper Room 1999–2002, a darkened, walnut-panelled room containing thirteen canvases depicting rhesus macaque monkeys. Each is differentiated in bold colours, and individually spot-lit.

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HENRY MOORE – (Exhibition runs from 24 February 2010  to 8 August 2010

Radical, experimental and avant-garde, Henry Moore (1898–1986) was one of Britain’s greatest artists. This stunning exhibition takes a fresh look at his work and legacy, presenting over 150 stone sculptures, wood carvings, bronzes and drawings.

Moore rebelled against his teachers’ traditional views of sculpture, instead taking inspiration from non-Western works he saw in museums. He pioneered carving directly from materials, evolving his signature abstract forms derived from the human body. This exhibition presents examples of the defining subjects of his work, such as the reclining figure, mother and child, abstract compositions and drawings of wartime London.

The works are situated in the turbulent ebb and flow of twentieth-century history, sometimes uncovering a dark and erotically charged dimension that makes us look at them in a new light. The trauma of war, the advent of psychoanalysis, new ideas of sexuality, primitive art and surrealism all had an influence on Moore’s work.

Highlights of the show include a group of key reclining figures carved in Elm, which illustrate the development of this key image over his career. Moore was an Official War Artist and his drawings of huddled Londoners sheltering from the onslaught of the Blitz captured the popular imagination, winning him a place in the hearts of the public. Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to truly understand this artist’s much-loved work.

Text: ArtRabbit

Opening times: 10.00 – 17.50 daily

Location: Tate Britain, Millbank, London, SW1P 4RG, United Kingdom

For more information, visit: www.tate.org.uk/britain/

General Director of the Fondation Cartier, Hervé Chandès has had a long-standing fascination for the work and personality of the multi-talented, Japanese national treasure Takeshi Kitano (b.1947), giving him the idea to invite the artist to Paris to create a show transforming the entire exhibition space of Jean Nouvel’s glass building with his works of art.

Having carved a unique niche for himself in both Japanese and world popular culture, Takeshi Kitano (who goes by his stage name ‘Beat’) is probably one of the biggest media stars in his country, having also written novels, short stories, poetry and essay collections.

An accomplished painter (an interest he developed after a near-fatal motorcycle accident in the early 1990′s), Beat uses his artwork in his own films to startling and symbolic effect. He believes that painting is the ideal form of representation which is why it plays a very significant role in the creative process of his filmmaking.

‘Gosse de Peintre’ will be  first showing of  Takeshi Kitano’s work as an artist in Europe. He aims to create a family-friendly exhibition which engages the viewer through a series of bright playful paintings and whimsical interactive works.  The show will also feature two short films specially commissioned by the foundation.

This landmark exhibition, in conjunction with the French release of his latest film ‘Achilles and the Tortoise’ (the story of a child who dreams of becoming a painter), is undeniably one of the most unexpected and ambitious shows ever created for the Fondation Cartier.

After its presentation in Paris, ‘Gosse de peintre’ will be shown at other venues around the world.

‘The foundation was created in 1984 by the Cartier firm as a center for contemporary art that presents exhibits by established artists, offers young artists a chance to debut, and incorporates works into its collection. In 1994 it moved to its current location in a building designed by architect Jean Nouvel with garden landscaping by Lothar Baumgarten’.

Fondation Cartier
261, boulevard Raspail
75014 Paris
+33 (0) 1 42 18 56 50
Visit : www.fondation.cartier.com

This major exhibition, inspired by Paul Gilroy’s seminal book The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness (1993), identifies a hybrid culture that spans the Atlantic, connecting Africa, North and South America, The Caribbean and Europe. The exhibition is the first to trace in depth the impact of Black Atlantic culture on Modernism and will reveal how black artists and intellectuals have played a central role in the formation of Modernism from the early twentieth century to today.

From the influences of African art on the Modernist forms of artists like Picasso, to the work of contemporary artists such as Kara Walker, Ellen Gallagher and Chris Ofili, the exhibition will map out visual and cultural hybridity in modern and contemporary art that has arisen from the journeys made by people of Black African descent.

Divided into seven chronological chapters, from early twentieth century avant-garde movements such as the Harlem Renaissance to current debates around ‘Post-Black’ art, this exhibition opens up an alternative transatlantic reading of Modernism and its impact on contemporary culture for a new generation.

Tate Liverpool has initiated a city-wide programme of parallel exhibitions and events that explore the themes and ideas of Afro Modern: Journeys through the Black Atlantic.

The exhibition runs from: 29 January – 25 April 2010

Tate Liverpool
Albert Dock
Liverpool
L3 4BB

Telephone: 0151 702 7400

Text credit: Tate Press Office

The French equivalent to Tracey Emin, Sophie Calle (France’s best-known living conceptual artist), has her first British retrospective at the Whitechapel gallery in east London. The exhibition takes place from 13 October 2009 to 3 January 2010 and explores her fascination with the boundaries between our private and public lives.

Coincidently, in 2007 both Emin and Calle were chosen by their respective countries to represent them in the Venice Biennale, however it was Sophie Calle who triumphed there, when she filled the French pavilion with her a praised exhibition entitled, ‘Prenez soin de vous’.

The idea came about when a boyfriend dumped her by email, to which Calle then asked 107 women professionals to read it and interpret it. She photographed them reading it and invited them to analyse it, according to their job.

The ex’s grammar and syntax were torn apart by a copy editor, his manners were dismissed by an etiquette consultant and his lines pored over by Talmudic scholars. He has been re-ordered by a crossword-setter, evaluated by a judge, shot up by a markswoman, second-guessed by a chess player and performed by actress Jeanne Moreau. A forensic psychiatrist decided he was a ‘twisted manipulator’.

The exhibition at the Whitechapel entitled ‘Talking to Strangers’ features the work ‘Prenez Soin de Vous’ which has been translated into English for the first time. This piece, along with other major works from the 1980s up until the present, shows how Calle works as she documents social interactions and reports on encounters and situations that she sets in motion.

For more information, visit www.whitechapelgallery.org

Award-winning Egyptian visual artist Amal Kenawy’s untitled sculpture (see left) is one of the works from contemporary Middle Eastern artists showing at the Golden Gates exhibition, which opens in Paris from 20 October- 13 November 2009.  

Showing in the heart of the Marais at 46 Rue de Sévigné, this insightful exhibition showcases paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs and installations by a cross generational selection of artists who represent a diversity of voices from across the region.

The show co-insides with FIAC, so it provides an excellent opportunity to see the artistic creativity emerging from countries including Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine, Lebanon and Turkey. As art world insiders look to the Middle East as the most interesting emerging market, this show takes an in depth view and looks set to challenge our cultural preconceptions.

Telephone: +33 1 53 45 28 14
Opening hours: Monday - Saturday, 10:00 – 19:00

In April 2009, Orel Art launched its London premises in an impressive 350 m² space at 7 Howick Place, near Phillips de Pury Auction House in London SW1.

An expansion from the Paris-based gallery and a major addition to the London art market, Orel Art UK is primarily devoted to bringing contemporary Russian art to a wider western audience.

Operating from Paris, Director Ilona Orel has played an instrumental role in raising the profile of Russia’s most significant contemporary and emerging artists through a series of acclaimed exhibitions.

Cementing its reputation as one of London’s most innovative galleries, Orel Art UK breaks new ground with the first ever exhibition of Necrorealist art in Britain, one of most radical underground movements in recent Russian history.

With major shows devoted to Necrorealism coming up at the State Russian Museum in St Petersburg and the Museum of Modern Art Moscow, Necrorealism is finally acknowledged as an artistic movement after years of debate and controversy.

‘Letter from the Island’ brings together an astonishing and unsettling combination of paintings, installations and films, spanning from the 1980s to today, by the movement’s three great representatives: Serp, Evgeny, Yufit, and Vladimir Kustov.

NB: Necrorealism grew out of the Soviet Union in the early 1980s in St Petersburg. As the regime started to crack, a rebellious underground movement by very young artists challenged attitudes to life, death and social norms through absurdist performances in film, and later, paint.  The movement aimed to poke fun at the state ideology of supposedly immortal heroes by confronting the viewer with the reality of death.

LETTER FROM THE ISLAND – 8 October – 22 December 2009

Orel Art UK
7 Howick Place
London SW1P 1BB

www.orelart.com

Press release: reiber + partners ltd

English Artist and designer Thomas Heatherwick first came to my attention when he was commissioned in 1997 by Harvey Nichols to design the store’s windows for London Fashion Week.  The dramatically-lit plywood sculpture called ‘Autumn Intrusion’ wove in and out of the windows and climbed up the front of the building. Despite its short lifespan, the project was explosively popular and won him a D&AD gold award and copious amounts of media attention.

‘Autumn Intrusion’, Harvey Nichols, London, 1997 – photographed by Steve Speller

Today, Heatherwick is best known for his innovative use of engineering and materials in public monuments and sculptures such as the controversial ‘Bang’ in Manchester.

‘Bang’, 2004

At Haunch of Venison gallery in London until 7 November, 2009 Thomas is displaying the world’s first single-component metal furniture extruded using the world’s largest extrusion machine.

The exhibition entitled ‘Extrusions’ has been 18 years in the making and includes 6 extruded, aluminium benches made without the use of fixtures or fittings. Each piece consists of a single piece of aluminium is polished for 300 hours to achieve a mirror finish (the images below show the pieces before polishing).

The pieces are early prototypes for a final outdoor installation which will be constructed and exhibited in 2010.

Extrusions is at Haunch of Venison, 6 Burlington Gardens, London W1s 3ET.

Born in India in 1964, Gupta is one of the most exciting and audacious contemporary artists to have emerged in recent years. He is best known for using everyday Indian objects like steel tiffin boxes, pans, bicycles and milk pails to create sculptures that reflect on the economic transformations of his homeland.

Subodh Gupta has lived and worked in New Delhi since 1990 and these pieces created especially for this exhibition moves away from his sculptural work towards objects that possess a different kind of quality.

Made from bronze, steel and marble, the new works merge appropriate icons from the canon of western art with replicas of perishable goods from India.

Among the works made specifically for the show is a three dimensional reworking of a bronze of Duchamp’s moustachioed Mona Lisa L.H.O.O.Q.

Exhibition runs from 1 – 31 October 2009, Hauser & Wirth Piccadilly and Old Bond Street, London.

For more information, please click HERE.

Joe La Placa (who first stormed into the art world in New York in the early 1980s), and Mike Platt (multi-millionaire CEO of Europe’s third largest hedge fund management company, BlueCrest) formed a new venture last year called All Visual Arts (AVA).

The two first met at Frieze Art Fair a few years ago combining their talents of business intelligence and art knowledge to form an exciting new enterprise which brings about a partnership between themselves and artists. This idea was born in order for both men to create and acquire a major collection of contemporary art, rather than battling it out for the latest big names in overheated auction rooms or wandering from gallery to gallery cherry picking pieces from dealers.

AVA chooses the artists with whom they wish collaborate and whose work they really admire, to produce and commission the art it collects. They then mount ambitious shows to introduce the work to a wider public, hiring venues for exhibitions and when the need arises, collaborates with other galleries. They work in this way in order to dramatically cut down their overheads so that they can spend their money on production.

As Joe La Placa insists, ‘No one else is doing this, according to this particular formula. It’s a hybrid.’

Following last years’ success during Frieze Art Fair where over 4,000 visitors came to see the duo’s exhibition by sculptor Paul Fryer, AVA announces its forthcoming show ‘The Age of the Marvellous’.

Over a year in planning and production, ‘The Age of the Marvellous’ is the arts organisation’s third major show and features over 60 works of art, most of them especially produced for the exhibition, which will take place at One Marylebone from the 14th – 22 October, 2009.

The artists exhibiting are as follows:

Keith Tyson | Hugo Wilson | Ben Tyers | Alyson Shotz | Martin Sexton | Kate MccGwire | Jonathan Wateridge | Alastair Mackie | Wolfe von Lenkiewicz | Reece Jones | Paul Fryer | Adam Fuss | Maria Novella Del Signore | Nicola Bolla | Hilary Berseth | Polly Morgan (shortly to be profiled in our Artist of the Week section)

‘The Age of the Marvellous’ is at One Marylebone, Osnaburgh Terrace, London NW1 4GD

For more information please visit: www.allvisualarts.org

New York fashion week kicked off with a preview of the forthcoming ‘Richard Hambleton – New York’ exhibition Presented by Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld and Andy Valmorbida in collaboration with Giorgio Armani, proving that art and fashion make a perfect partnership.

Celebrities such as Bruce Willis, Derek Blasberg, Devon Aoki, and Jefferson Hack, Julia Roitfeld, DJ Nellee Hooper all turned up to support major artist Richard Hambleton who, along with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, had great success coming out of the New York City art scene during the booming art market of the 1980′s.

As the last surviving member of the East Village Art Movement, he saw what fame and drug use did to his close friends so the last 20 years Hambleton has led a relatively reclusive life on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Despite a low public profile, Hambleton has continued to create and his works can be found in the permanent collections of the MoMA, Brooklyn Museum and Houston Museum of Fine Art.

The show opens to the public on 15 September at 560 Washington Street, (door 37E), New York.