Art News and Updates from Gallereo
All the latest news from the art world, as well as what's happening here at Gallereo. If you've built a gallery at Gallereo, let us know about your experience and you and your site could feature in our blog in the coming weeks.
Monday 11th October 2010Tate Modern Taken Over by.....Sunflower Seeds?
Tomorrow sees the official opening of the new installation in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern. As part of the Unilever Series, Al Weiwei has filled the cavernous space of the Turbine Hall with sunflower seeds....or are they....
The work, which is titled "Sunflower Seeds" is actually made up of millions of small works of art; each of these little sunflower seeds are actually life-sized replicas of sunflower seeds made out of porcelain. Each seed on the floor of the Tate has been hand-crafted and painted in workshops in China and represent the hard work of hundreds of skilled craftsmen and women.
Al Weiwei is a famed conceptual artist and a larger than life social commentator who was involved in the design of the "Birds Nest" stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, even so, the artist is said to have a strained relationship with the Chinese authorities.
Weiwei's "Sunflower Seeds" are rumoured to be representative of the artists generous and given nature but also linked to our views of what it means for something to have been mass produced in China. The connotations that this particular concept has in Western society and the way that we perhaps take the availability of mass produced goods for granted are captured in this artwork that allows the viewer to walk over the tiny porcelain productions.
Certainly an installation for all of the senses, Weiwei's work will remain in the Turbine Hall until May 2011. As the 11th artist to be invited to make an installation in the Turbine Hall under the Unilever Series at the Tate, Weiwei has some tough acts to follow, with the former power station having played home to works by Doris Salcedo, Louise Bourgeois and Olafur Elliason.
Posted on October 11th 2010 on 07:41pm
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Saturday 09th October 2010Fred Tomaselli Goes Solo at the Brooklyn Museum
Fred Tomaselli (American, b. 1956). Echo, Wow, and Flutter, 2000. Leaves, pills, photocollage, acrylic, and resin on wood panel, 84 x 120 in. (213.4 x 304.8 cm). Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York. James G. Forsyth Fund. Image courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum.
Brooklyn-based artist, Fred Tomaselli is now showing at the
Brooklyn Museum. The solo show is dedicated to the artists two-dimensional works from the late 1980's through to the present day.
Tomaselli was born in California in 1956 and has made a name for himself in contemporary art creating detailed paintings that combine the practice of encapsulating weird and wonderful materials in a layer of clear, epoxy resin over the top. Amongst the materials that Tomaselli suspends in the resin are prescription tablets, hallucinogenic plants and images of flowers, birds, arms and legs. Combining traditional painting and more abstract collage, Tomaselli creates fascinating and intricate works that are stunning from a distance, and utterly captivating up close.
The exhibition in Brooklyn opened yesterday and will run right through until the 2nd January 2011. The show takes an in-depth look at the development of Tomaselli's work and how he went from early experimentation with photograms and collage, to his more recent paintings and print series.
Tomaselli is an interesting character in himself; fascinated with botany and ornithology and a hoarder of prescription pills and images of plants, birds and body parts cut from books. He amasses detailed visual archives from which he pulls influence and material for his works.
Around 40 works are being shown at the exhibition, including two which were specially created for the occasion. The first called "Night Music for Raptors" and the other "Starting". Both of these works are part of Tomaselli's recent exploration and investigation into the form and nature of individual birds, with "Night Music for Raptors" comprising the study of an owl, made up of hundreds of cut out eyes and the later being a striking creation of a starlings head.
The exhibition is already running at the Brooklyn Museum. Find out more about the museum and the exhibition on the
Brooklyn Museum website.
Posted on October 09th 2010 on 01:33pm
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Friday 08th October 2010Mushroom Works Brings New Studio Space to the North East
With continuing talks of funding cuts in UK and the impact that it will have on vulnerable parts of the economy, like the arts, it's great to hear that the
Mushroom Works will be opening new artist studio spaces in Gateshead, in the North East of England.
The Mushroom Works itself if an artist-led gallery and studio space that is home to a whole range of creative sector individuals, including painters, illustrators, jewellery makes, animators, architects, glass artists and furniture makers.
As well as housing the artists and their work, the Mushroom Works also run classes and events to get people more involved with the arts and to develop a strong creative atmosphere in the North East.
This year, the Mushrooms Works purchased an old church in Bensham in Gateshead with their sights set on turning the space into a series of studios that will be available for monthly rental. The plans are set for 12 affordable spaces to be created within the church, with people being able to rent the space for any number of creative pursuits on a month by month basis.
Named
Brighton Road Studios, the church is about to host an exhibition, titled "In the Beginning..." which will allow a range of artists and creatives to come together and use the space as an exhibition platform before the renovation work starts to take place. The exhibition starts on the 15th October and gives people a chance to visit the space and take a look at the sort of work that already goes on as part of the Mushroom Works program.
Earlier this year there was also a call for anyone who knew anything about the history of the church on Brighton Road, to get in touch with the Mushroom Works. If you do know anything, or just want to find out more about this project, you can call the Mushroom Works on +44 (0)191 224 4011, or contact
Justin Keeper.
Posted on October 08th 2010 on 02:47pm
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Thursday 07th October 2010The Online Experience, is it Really Free?
Image courtesy of the New Museum, New York
The new exhibition that is set to open at New York's
New Museum on the 20th October is titled "Free" and seeks to explore the impact that the internet has had on the way we interact with the world and spaces around us. Referring perhaps more to how 'free' we are to access vast amounts of information and images like never before, as well as the freedom we have to share our own and others experiences right across the globe.
From it's very distinctive building on The Bowery, the museum looks set to explore the new creative possibilities that the internet, and the freedom that it provides, gives us. The exhibition will include a vast array of media including video, installation, sculpture, photography and sound which will peer into issues of what freedoms and constraints we are subject to as a consequence of our online experience.
The show is curated by the Executive Director of Rhizome and New Museum Adjunct Curator, Lauren Cornell and will feature artists such as Liz Deschenes, Joel Holmberg, Lars Laumann, David Horvitz, Lisa Oppenheim and Alexandre Singh.
From write ups in anticipation of the show, there sounds like there is going to be a lot of interesting discussion over digital imagery and how the internet has altered the ways that we can access and spread images. Repetition, context and manipulation are amongst the visual challenges that we face as an image consuming public, and this exhibition certainly looks like the place to join in the conversation and soak up some new perspectives on how the internet has altered the way art is conceived, created, distributed and received.
"Free" opens on 20th October at the
New Museum, New York City
Posted on October 07th 2010 on 05:49pm
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Wednesday 06th October 2010Donald Judd Land - A Texan Haven for Art Fanatics
I first came across The Girl with the Gallery while at Graduate school in New York. As it happens, I also learned about the focus of the current blog post on Art Market Views while in New York, and have wanted to visit it ever since.
Donald Judd Land, or Marfa, Texas as it's more commonly known, came into being as a consequence of Minimalist artist, Donald Judd buying up a range of dilapidated properties in Marfa in the early 1970's and turning them into exhibition, studio and living spaces for himself and a handful of friends and contemporaries. As Pollock describes in the blog post, amongst the buildings that Judd purchased at bargain prices were a supermarket, a bank, an old wool and mohair warehouse and an army barracks, which now houses Judd's
Chinati Foundation. The 340 acres of space at the former army base looks to make a fascinating place for the Foundation, which displays works by many of Judd's contemporaries, such as Dan Flavin, Roni Horn, Richard Long, Carl Andre and Claes Oldenburg to name a few.
Pollock's blog post follows her visit to Marfa as part of one of the tours hosted by the
Judd Foundation. The Judd Foundation was established in 1996 to "maintain and preserve Donald Judd's permanently installed living and working spaces, libraries, and archives in New York and Marfa, Texas." The Judd Foundation works hard to educate and facilitate an understanding of Judd's work and mission in life. Anyone interested in Minimalism, Judd himself of the work of his contemporaries should definitely add one of the tours to their long term 'to do list'.
So far, only
part I of the tour of Marfa has been posted on the Art Market Views blog and already there are some great pictures of what is on offer in Marfa. Tune in to catch the next installment of the trip.
Posted on October 06th 2010 on 06:19pm
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Tuesday 05th October 2010A Book No Artist Should Be WithoutAs an artist trying to make a name for yourself or trying to work out the best way to sell art online or through the gallery system, the road is littered with obstacles, uncertainties and lots and lots of questions. If you find yourself to be an artist and you are nodding your head right now, there is a book that you should definitely consider buying.
The Artists' Yearbook 2010/11
is an invaluable guide to just about everything an artist needs to get by, and get ahead in the art world. All 544 pages of the thing are published by Thames & Hudson every couple of years to stay up to date and as current as possible.
The book functions both as your mascot; to encourage you through the tough days, and also a comprehensive reference book of contacts, suppliers and need to know information. The current volume features some introductory essays by artist Boo Ritson and photographer Sam Taylor-Wood. There are also some informative essays on private galleries, public museums and the role that the internet plays in the arts today.
If that wasn't enough to get you to buy the book there is then the reference section listing art material suppliers, art bookshops, conservators, consultants, founders, framers, insurers, packers and shippers, photography specialists, printers and publishers and studio spaces.
Beyond that there is information on prizes, grants and awards as well as art fairs and festivals. There are also listings relating to funding and commissions, and art related publications.
The publication is aimed at UK artists, which is great if you are working in the UK, but wouldn't it be great to see a book like this for every artistic hub in the world! Maybe such books exist...if they do and you'd like to recommend them, please leave a comment for other readers.
You can purchase
The Artists' Yearbook 2010/11 from most good book retailers at an extremely reasonable price. It's probably the best art resource book you'll buy this decade.
Posted on October 05th 2010 on 01:40pm
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Sunday 03rd October 2010Madrid Hosts Top American Landscape ArtistProbably best associated with the Hudson River School of New York, Asher B. Durand was one of America's foremost landscape painters. An exhibition of his work is now being shown at Fundación Juan March’s headquarters in Madrid.
Like many artists of his generation, Durand made a tour of Europe in June 1840, and this is the biggest return of Durand's work to Europe since then. As the first monographic exhibition devoted to his work outside of the U.S.A, the exhibition includes 140 works which pay homage to Durands talents as a landscape painter, but also as a portraitist.
For anyone interested in landscape painting, this is an exhibition not to be missed. While not entirely devoted to his work as a landscape painter, there will certainly be some first class examples of large-scale nineteenth American landscapes on show.
Asher B. Durand.
White Mountain Scenery, Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, 1857
The New-York Historical Society
Durand spent a great amount of time between New York and the surrounding countryside along the Hudson River. Painting in the Catskill Mountains, Adriondacks and the valleys along the river, Durand created some of the most iconic images of nineteenth century America and servers as an example of the celebration of the great outdoors.
For European visitors to the exhibition who may be unfamiliar with the work of Durand or the Hudson River School, there will no doubt be a great number of parallels that can be drawn between some of the well know European masters such as Turner, Constable, Rubens or Claude Lorrain.
Posted on October 03rd 2010 on 12:48pm
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Saturday 02nd October 2010Versailles Now Home to the Cheshire CatAny body that is interested in the contemporary Pop Art masters like Jeff Koons or Takashi Murakami, will no doubt have come across the protests and commotion surrounding the contemporary art programme at the
Palace of Versailles.
Jean-Jacques Aillagon has long been a supporter of contemporary art, and has shown his support by staging exhibitions of some of the worlds most cutting edge artists within the grounds and palace rooms at Versaille. Perhaps two of the most controversial of those have been the Jeff Koons exhibition in 2008/2009 and the current Takashi Murakami exhibition.
Each of these exhibitions has seen the display or artwork throughout the Royal Apartments and the gardens of Versailles, provoking objections that accuse Versailles of bowing to "Disneyfication" or to artists who merely act as parasites on the art of the past in order to make a quick buck. In particular, two French groups, the Coordination Defense de Versailles and Versailles Mon Amour (VMA) have had two petitions signed by over 12,000 people in protest of Murakami being allowed to show at the Palace which formerly housed Louis XIV and his entourage.
Jeff Koons, "Split Rocker" 2000
Despite the cries of sacrilege, I think that these types of exhibitions are great, and break down some of the barriers that keep people from exposing themselves to either the arts of the past, or modern and contemporary art. Also, who can say that there isn't a healthy does of fun and lightheartedness about these shows. Isn't the art experience supposed to be an enjoyable one? Especially where Koons or Murakami are concerned? Who could fail to be amused by the sight of Koons 2000 work "Split Rocker", peering out over the gardens, or smile at the juxtaposition of Murakami's "Flower of Matango" in the Hall of Mirrors?
Murakami's "Flower Matango" on view in the Hall of Mirrors (Photo: Gilles Truyens/EPV)
Call me weak, but I certainly can't help myself, and I think Murakami knows just what he is doing if his official press statement is anything to go by: "I am the Cheshire Cat who greets Alice in Wonderland with his devilish grin, and chatters on as she wanders around the chateau."
Posted on October 02nd 2010 on 12:46pm
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Thursday 30th September 2010Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize - Short List Announced
The prize starts out as an open competition where anybody from established professionals to students and talented amateurs, can put their photographic achievements forward to be judged. This year the competition received around 6,000 submissions, with a solid mix of approaches to the genre of portraiture. Of those 6,000 submissions, 60 portraits have been chosen, by a panel of judges, which will now appear in an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.
The exhibition begins on the 11th November, and runs right through to 20th February next year.
As well as the main awards for the Photographic Portrait Prize, which is sponsored by the Taylor Wessing international law firm, there will also be an award made by ELLE magazine. Known as the ELLE Commission, the prize is awarded to one outstanding photographer who will then be commissioned to shoot a feature story for ELLE magazine.
With a lot going on, this exhibition is always definitely worth a visit. For anyone interested in photography it is a great chance to get up close and personal with a range of works from professional and amateur photographers who are devoted to the genre of portraiture.
Posted on September 30th 2010 on 05:44pm
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Tuesday 28th September 2010Where is Gallereo this Week? The NewcastleGateshead Art Fair!It is almost impossible to believe that it has been a year since the last
NewcastleGateshead Art Fair. Gallereo attended last year to spectate and take in all of the great galleries and artists that the Fair had attracted.
This years art fair is on from Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd October at the The Sage Gateshead; a landmark building for what has become a landmark art event in the North East of England. The art fair is a great place for collectors and art lovers, whether they are looking to make their very first investment or are well seasoned art connoisseurs.
Last year the show had around 9,000 visitors, and hopefully they can beat that this year. The art fair now attracts galleries from all across the world, and this year Gallereo are particularly excited about The Emerging Artist Showcase which will be returning with 15 unrepresented artists, offering people a chance to see some brand new talent.
Head honcho at the fair, Andy Balman certainly deservers some recognition for the work that he has put in to get the fair to where it is today. Starting of setting up
The Biscuit Factory, Europe's largest commercial gallery, Andy has put a great deal of effort into making the NewcastleGateshead Art Fair a huge success and an internationally recognised event for leading artists and galleries.
We'er going to be these this weekend to see what pleasant surprises the fair has this year, hope to see you there!
Posted on September 28th 2010 on 10:13pm
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