Monday 03rd September 2012A Dolphin for Damien
Anyone that is familiar with Damien Hirst's work, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, is bound to crack a smile when they see the work of Spanish artist, Alfonso Batalla.
In Batalla's own work, A Dolphin for Damien, he mimics Hirst's famous work of a shark in a tank of formaldehyde, only with a Jeff-Coons-style inflatable dolphin, in a similarly light and desolate tank environment.
While we might get a tingle of humour from the piece, the artist did not necessarily intend for the work to be humorous. The artwork is part of a larger series entitled Landscape Under Construction, where the artist fills empty and abandoned spaces, with bright and recognisable objects from everyday life. The resulting photographs os the scenes exhibit a sense of familiarity in a location of isolated neglect.
The artist was quoted on
Design Boom, describing the philosophy of the work; "the dolphin is just one of the many actors of my 'landscape under construction' series. in this work a new, ordinary,
shiny element many times related to our childhood is digitally inserted in a powerful decaying architectural environment.
this has something to do with hegel/heideger philosophical concepts. in a simple explication we, human beings,
live usually in a 'being there' status. we are happy, or sad, with our jobs, properties, family...from time to time we feel a kind of distress,
anguish, and we start to realize what we are. we might call this condition 'being oneself."
Posted on September 03rd 2012 on 02:12pm
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Monday 23rd July 2012Double-Decker Bus Does Push-Ups for the London 2012 Olympics
Czech artist, David Cerny was probably a fan of The Transformers as a child, judging by his latest creation for the London 2012 Olympics.
Cerny purchased a 1957, red London double-decker bus from an owner in the Netherlands, and has turned that bus into work of art that can do more push ups than most of us.
The artist has attached two very large arms to the bus, along with an electrical engine, and a great deal of engineering wizardry in order to allow the 6-ton bus to perform push-ups like an Olympic athlete.
The bus can push out to various heights, and is accompanied by a voice groaning with the effort, along with video projections in the bus windows.
When speaking to Sky News about the artwork, the Czech artist said, "There is one common exercise for every sportsman in the world, and that is push ups…So I thought the push ups would be perfect fun. The thing about the push ups is also that in one hand it is training for sport activities but at the same time it is also punishment in armies or prisons."
With the Olympic Games only 4 days away, Cerny hopes that the artwork will spur on his fellow sporting countrymen in their efforts to reach gold in the coming weeks. The bus will be installed in London, near to where the Czech team will be staying.
Image: Reuters
Posted on July 23rd 2012 on 09:29am
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Monday 28th May 2012Anish Kapoor Designs Olympic Tower for London 2012
Olympic fever is rife in the UK in the build up to London 2012. The Olympic torch is making its way around the country, and the Cultural Olympiad is in full swing. A major talking point of late has been the official Olympic tower, which now sits in the Olympic Park.
The tower, called Arcelor Mittal Orbit was designed by Anish Kapoor and architect Cecil Balmond. The red, twisted tower of steel stands at 115 meters tall, which, for a bit of perspective, is a whole 22 meters taller than the Statue of Liberty. As Britain's largest piece of public art, Arcelor Mittal Orbit will likely receive around 700 people per hour to its observation deck, which gives views of Olympic Park, the central Olympic stadium and the rest of London.
The response to the sculpture has been extremely mixed. Much like Marmite, people either love it or hate it. Like much of Kapoor's work, the structure is unique in form and structure, and being brightly coloured, is no shrinking violet.
The sculpture was named after the steel company who fronted much of the projects cost, with the tower coming in at $35.5 million, and as with all things Olympic will be compared to the offerings of Olympic hosts in the past.
As the games creep closer, we look forward to seeing this, and other cultural offerings providing much warranted attention for the British arts scene.
Posted on May 28th 2012 on 04:56pm
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Friday 25th May 2012The Frieze Art Fair Announces Exhibitor List for 2012
After the Frieze Art Fair's first appearance in New York City, it has announced the full list of exhibitors that will be attending the fair in London this October.
Frieze Art Fair will take over Regents Park from the 11th to 14th October, and this 10th edition of the show looks to be very promising. As well as having 170 exhibitors on the books, the fair will also have a
Focus section, which will be entirely dedicated to galleries that were established after 2001. This aspect of the fair was introduced as part of Frieze New York, and as a mark of its success, will be a feature here in London later this year.
The fair will also include a Frame section, which is devoted to galleries that are less than six years old, which are delivering a presentation of a single artist for the fair. London is set to see 21 galleries in the Frame section, 16 of which will be first-timers.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, there will be Frieze Masters. This brand new fair, linked to the main outing, that will debut with 99 galleries, and will present pre-21st century art.
Fair directors, Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, were quoted in ArtInfo as saying, “Having successfully launched Frieze New York in May, we’re now looking forward to our two UK fairs,” they stated. “Together Frieze London and Frieze Masters promise to make London in October one of the most anticipated moments in the international art world calendar.”
That being said, this list of galleries that will be taking part in Frieze Art Fair 2012 are as follows:
- 303 Gallery, New York
- Galería Juana de Aizpuru, Madrid
- Galería Helga de Alvear, Madrid
- Andersen’s Contemporary, Copenhagen
- The Approach, London
- Laura Bartlett Gallery, London
- Galerie Catherine Bastide, Brussels
- Galerie Guido W. Baudach, Berlin
- Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York
- Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
- Bortolami, New York
- BQ, Berlin
- The Breeder, Athens
- Broadway 1602, New York
- Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York
- Buchholz, Berlin
- Cabinet, London
- Campoli Presti, London
- Canada, New York
- Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne
- Sadie Coles HQ, London
- Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin
- Pilar Corrias Gallery, London
- Corvi-Mora, London
- Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris
- Thomas Dane Gallery, London
- Massimo De Carlo, Milan
- Elizabeth Dee, New York
- Galerie Eigen + Art, Berlin
- galerie frank elbaz, Paris
- Konrad Fischer Galerie, Dusseldorf
- Foksal Gallery Foundation, Warsaw
- Galeria Fortes Vilaça, Sao Paulo
- Marc Foxx, Los Angeles
- Carl Freedman Gallery, London
- Stephen Friedman Gallery, London
- Frith Street Gallery, London
- Gagosian Gallery, London
- Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam
- A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro
- Gerhardsen Gerner, Berlin
- Greene Naftali, New York
- greengrassi, London
- Galerie Karin Guenther, Hamburg
- Jack Hanley Gallery, New York
- Hauser & Wirth, London
- Herald St, London
- Hotel, London
- International Art Objects Galleries, Los Angeles
- Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo
- Alison Jacques Gallery, London
- Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna
- Johnen Galerie, Berlin
- Annely Juda Fine Art, London
- Casey Kaplan, New York
- Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
- Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Stockholm
- Kerlin Gallery, Dublin
- Anton Kern Gallery, New York
- Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich
- Tina Kim Gallery, New York
- David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles
- Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo
- Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York
- Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna
- Kukje Gallery, Seoul
- kurimanzutto, Mexico City
- Yvon Lambert, Paris
- Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York
- Lisson Gallery, London
- Long March Space, Beijing
- Kate MacGarry, London
- Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich
- Giò Marconi, Milan
- Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
- Mary Mary, Glasgow
- Galerie Meyer Kainer, Vienna
- Meyer Riegger, Berlin
- Victoria Miro, London
- Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London
- The Modern Institute, Glasgow
- Murray Guy, New York
- Galleria Franco Noero, Turin
- Galleria Lorcan O’Neill, Rome
- Pace, London
- Maureen Paley, London
- Galerie Perrotin, Paris
- Galerie Francesca Pia, Zurich
- Galerija Gregor Podnar, Berlin
- Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich
- Project 88, Mumbai
- Rampa, Istanbul
- Galleria Raucci/Santamaria, Naples
- Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels
- Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
- Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris
- Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York
- Salon 94, New York
- Aurel Scheibler, Berlin
- Esther Schipper, Berlin
- Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich
- Micky Schubert, Berlin
- Sfeir-Semler, Beirut
- Galeria Filomena Soares, Lisbon
- Sommer Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv
- Reena Spaulings Fine Art, New York
- Sprüth Magers Berlin London, Berlin
- Standard (Oslo), Oslo
- Stevenson, Cape Town
- Galeria Luisa Strina, Sao Paulo
- Galerie Micheline Szwajcer, Antwerp
- T293, Rome
- Timothy Taylor Gallery, London
- Team Gallery, New York
- The Third Line, Dubai
- Vermelho, Sao Paulo
- Vilma Gold, London
- Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou
- Waddington Custot Galleries, London
- Wallspace, New York
- Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin
- Michael Werner, New York
- White Cube, London
- Wien Lukatsch, Berlin
- Max Wigram Gallery, London
- Wilkinson, London
- Alex Zachary Peter Currie, New York
- Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp
- David Zwirner, New York
Focus:
- Algus Greenspon, New York
- Altman Siegel, San Francisco
- Ancient & Modern, London
- Jessica Bradley Art + Projects, Toronto
- Casas Riegner, Bogota
- Chatterjee & Lal, Mumbai
- Chert, Berlin
- dépendance, Brussels
- Elastic Gallery, Malmo
- Fonti, Naples
- Hollybush Gardens, London
- Karma International, Zurich
- Kimmerich, New York
- Andreiana Mihail Gallery, Bucharest
- MOT International, London
- Office Baroque Gallery, Antwerp
- One And J. Gallery, Seoul
- Galeria Plan B, Cluj
- RaebervonStenglin, Zurich
- Raster, Warsaw
Frame:
- 47 Canal, New York: Josh Kline
- Arcade, London: Anna Barham
- The Box, Los Angeles: Sarah Conaway
- Bureau, New York: Matt Hoyt
- Carlos/Ishikawa, London: Ed Fornieles
- La Central, Bogota: Carolina Caycedo
- Galerie Crèvecoeur, Paris: Xavier Antin
- Experimenter, Kolkata: Bani Abidi
- Galerie Cinzia Friedlaender, Berlin: Jeronimo Voss
- François Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles: Mike Kuchar
- Kisterem, Budapest: István Csákány
- Ignacio Liprandi Arte Contemporáneo, Buenos Aires: Magdalena Jitrik
- Maisterravalbuena, Madrid: Maria Loboda
- Mendes Wood, Sao Paulo: Adriano Costa
- Galerie Mor Charpentier, Paris: Milena Bonilla
- mother’s tankstation, Dublin: Kevin Cosgrove
- Take Ninagawa, Tokyo: Yukiko Suto
- NON, Istanbul: Günes
- Terkol
Ramiken Crucible, New York: Lucas Blalock
- Société, Berlin: Josh Kolbo
- SVIT, Prague: Lukas Jasansky & Martin Polak
image: Courtesy Flickr
Posted on May 25th 2012 on 04:33pm
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Thursday 24th May 2012New Barnes Foundation Opens in Philadephia
It has been one of the most talked about issues in Philadelphian art in the past decade, but the time has finally come for the new Barnes Foundation to open on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The Barnes Foundation was founded in 1922 by Albert C. Barnes, a doctor and avid supporter of art in the United States. Barnes created the foundation in order to promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts.
The Foundation, and Barnes' enormous collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artworks, from some of the worlds greatest and best-known artists, was housed in Barnes former home in Merion, PA. The huge residence was entirely dedicated to his art collection, even featuring a huge mural by Henri Matisse.
Barnes died in a car crash in 1951, aged 79, and despite the hard work of some of his faithful associates, the Foundation fell into arguably the wrong hands, and a campaign started to have the collection moved away from Barnes' home, and into the centre of Philadelphia.
There was a lot of opposition to the move as it went against the written will of Barnes himself, but it was decided that the collection would get more attention, and pull in more revenue for Philadelphia if it were in a more central location.
The new Barnes Foundation building opened last weekend, and is free to the public until next week. The huge modern structure might, at first, be an uneasy home for some of the monumental works of the collection, as it will be a far stretch from where they have been situated whilst in Merion. However, the building is likely to bring a new lease of life to the collection.
The first room of the museum has the full size Matisse mural, The Dance, which was taken down from Barnes' home in Merion. The mural is accompanied by Paul Cezanne's The Card Players, key Pointillist works by Georges Seurat and famed works by Pablo Picasso.
There's absolutely no doubt of the quality of the collection, and that it can stand on its own as a rare gathering of artistic legends, but will the new foundation truly uphold the ideals and worked of Albert C Barnes. After all, without him, the collection wouldn't exist at all.
The Barnes Foundation
2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19130
http://www.barnesfoundation.org
Photo © Ben Sutton
Posted on May 24th 2012 on 12:14pm
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Friday 20th April 2012Olafur Eliasson to Make Olympic Artwork, Then Funding is Rejected
Olafur Eliasson is a Scandinavian artist, perhaps best known for is works at Tate Modern (The Weather Project, 2003, pictured right) or his New York City Waterfalls of 2008. Eliasson creates ephemeral works that play with feeling and perception, creating all-encompassing atmospheres and scenarios.
Eliasson has been commissioned to create a central artwork for the London 2012 Olympic Games, however controversy has arisen as the Olympic Lottery Distributer (OLD) has refused the application for funding for the work. The project, for which an application for funding in the amount of £1 million had been submitted, was said to no longer meet the funding criteria of the OLD.
The proposed installation, to be called Take A Deep Breath, was to ask people to inhale and exhale on behalf of a preferred person, movement or cause. Each person was to be recorded, and featured on a website in a personal 'breathe bubble'.
The total cost of the project is said to be $1.5 million, which would take up a considerable proportion of the $26.1 million that is available for the Cultural Olympiad, which is a major reason for the knock back. It's also said that the project has changed considerably since the idea was first pitched.
In a video about the project, Eliasson has said that "There's not a lot to celebrate in the Olympics, and I thought I would make a work of art that expresses some of the weaknesses of the Olympics." At a time when social and economic conditions are on a downturn, the Olympics is being heralded as a reason to retain pride and celebrate, so it's likely that Eliasson's negative opinion on the matter also has something to do with the rejection of his funding application.
With less than 100 days to go until the Olympics, the UK doesn't have long to wait to see what sort of artworks do get the green light to celebrate in London this year.
Posted on April 20th 2012 on 11:53am
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Monday 19th March 2012Paul Smith of Maximo Park Featured on a Gallereo Website
One of the best things about helping artists, photographers, and even galleries, to create their very own websites, is that we get to hear about all of the fantastic events that Gallereo users put together, or are part of.
For one of our users, last week saw the launch of a very special exhibition.
The F-Stop Gallery in Newcastle, which is part of Digital Lab, is proudly hosting an exhibition of photographic works by the lead singer of Maximo Park, Paul Smith.
Smith has spent a great deal of time, while on tour with Maximo Park, taking polaroid pictures of the places that he has been able to visit. In an interview with
The Journal newspaper, Smith said, "As a musician I've been lucky enough to travel the world. While I was away I took lots of pictures and each photograph carries a memory of where I was at that time…Over the course of the five years I had taken all of these pictures and one day I asked myself what I could do with them."
All of those pictures have been made into a book called Thinking In Pictures, which was published along side is debut solo album, and now there are a select few blown-up pictures from the book which are on show, and available to buy, from the F-Stop Gallery.
The exhibition will run until the 30th April, and more information can be found on the
F-Stop Gallery website, which was build using our very own artist website builder.
Posted on March 19th 2012 on 12:22pm
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