Recap: Art Forum Berlin

Okay, you guys know the drill we these posts. Enjoy the work. It left an impression or I would not have photographed it!

Here are my picks from Art Forum Berlin!

 

Florian Slotawa, SG.06.1; SG.06.2; SG.06.3; SG.06.4, 2010

Sies + Hoke Galerie, Dusseldorf, Germany

Thomas Hirschhorn, Woodchain IV (The little Mermaid), 2004

Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy

 

 

Douglas Gordon, 2010

I Am The Director Of My Own Downfall

I Am The Author Of My Own Addictions

Yvon Lambert, Paris (FR) and New York (USA)

Christian Hoischen, Rücken, 2010

Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin, Germany

 

Oliver Voss

Galerie Eva Winkeler, Frankfurt and Koln (DE)

Events: ArtsPark

I'm back!


My thesis is done, turned in, and I am ready to get back to the art blog world. I have a lot of events to catch you up on, like the Stresa Festival and a recent gallery visit. But, I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about a great event happening in Dallas, Texas today and tomorrow (October 1st and 2nd). 


ArtsPark is an event that stresses exactly what I have been trying to say all along, if you mix art with free, people will get involved. Art and Seek's Anne Bothwell describes it perfectly "One hundred arts groups. One day. One-stop shopping for culture at North Park Mall." 


ArtsPark is the brainchild of the the Northpark Center and the Business Council for the Arts. What better way to get people in Dallas interested, than sponsoring an event at a Mall. As a Dallas girl and I know just how much we, men and women alike, LOVE to shop in that city.


So what is ArtsPark? Well its much like a college or career fair, in that ArtsPark highlights the many diverse art centers and associations in North Texas by giving then booth space. So you walk around and pick up information on the various art groups. The goal is that you will hopefully find one that interests you and become involved.  


So venture out there on Friday if you want to dip your toes in the cultural scene and experience some FREE performances and then return on Saturday to sign up to volunteer at one of the great art groups in North Texas. 


This is your chance to get involved in the arts in a pretty safe environment. Shop around for the art organization that suits your interest and your comfort level. 


For those of you in the area, here is a bit of homework: go and tell me how it was. I am pretty bummed that I am missing out on an event that practices everything I preach! 

Basel Recap: Satellite Fairs- Scope

Along with Art Basel, which I will continue recapping throughout the month of July, there were plenty of satellite fairs in Basel. Of them, I attended Scope, Volta, and Liste. Here are a selection of images from Scope, the satellite fair I first attended. 

All in all I was really impressed by Scope. Unlike Art Basel, whose 40 year anniversary boasts a beautifully designed and enormous layout, Scope was a bare essentials kind of fair. Nonetheless, the younger art and galleries presented did not fail to make their mark in the space provided. I think what really struck me as a common theme in this fair was the intersections made between East and West, high and low, historical and mythical, etc. 

Mattia Biagi’s work deals with the intersection of faith and war. The mixed media sculptures, like Heaven and Hell, are meant to show the absurdity that drives parents to send their children to fight in wars, while they in turn sit at home and pray for their offspring's survival. In this piece the artist pushes this interplay further by mixing a classical sculpture with a black-tarred weapon. This same type of intersection continues in Kris Kuksi’s assemblages. The artist takes low (mass commodity) objects and forms them into history-laden surrealist sculptures, as seen in Colonel Wilhelm Von Howitzerhead. 

I wish I could continue talking about all the pieces I love, but I hear my thesis calling. Instead I will just add their images and stress how much I enjoyed Scope's galleries and artists, as well as the fair's no-frill, no-confusion environment. 

Photograph of the Fair Area, Kaserne, Basel

Mattia Biagi, Heaven and Hell

Year Unknown, Multimedia Sculpture

Holster Projects, London 

Kris Kuksi, Colonel Wilhelm Von Howitzerhead

2010, Mixed media assemblage, 32 x 30 x 12 in.

Joshua Liner Gallery, New York

Michal Macku, Glass Gellage III

Year Unknown, Glass, 

PaciArte Contemporary, Brescia

Scope Installation Artist 

Robert Montgomery 

THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE BECOME GHOSTS INSIDE OF YOU

 AND LIKE THIS YOU KEEP THEM ALIVE

 2009, Painted wood, LED lights and recycled sunlight

Courtesy of Analix Forever

Basel Recap: Art Basel

When I entered the Art Basel building, I knew immediately that I was out of my comfort zone and my league. It’s true that I love art, but my first impression was that this fair was what one would imagine if the Uffizi in Florence became a department store for art. Sure the art was impressive; there is no questioning that. But for someone new to this type of fair, it was overwhelming. 

So I did what any good assistant would do and followed my boss around like a lost puppy. Boy, am I glad I did. Not only did I learn the fine art of selective ‘gaze-walking,’ but also I was introduced to more art people than I have word count to list. 

In my jaw-dropped, frozen state my camera skills became non-existent. I apologize for the lack of images; most of the shots I took were to capture the essence of the fair and not so much the art. However, I don’t think I can be blamed for this methodology. Let me explain. I returned to the fair a couple more times during the week. As you can imagine, once was not enough. Each time I just was not able to focus on the art. There were too many people talking too much. Not just talking, schmoozing. The art lost value in this setting. It was just a commodity. As some of the artist and gallery owners reiterated to me, at the end of the day- Art Basel is a giant sale.

The last evening of the fair, while at the Art Basel Finale and then at the Art Basel dinner, I spoke to several artists of my sincere desire to walk through the fair with headphones on. They all agreed that it was a terrific idea. But it wasn’t just the sound of networking that was distracting; it was also the lack of interest and respect for the art.

Despite these drawbacks, I have no doubts I will return to the fair again. Why? Because, where else can you experience so much art created by artists from so many locations around the world. Also, the art is great and if you get a chance to be VIP, then you do get a few hours to search the fair grounds without the mobs.

(1) Gagosian Gallery; New York, Beverly Hills, London, Rome, Hong Kong
(2)White Cube; GB- London, Central Work: Damien Hirst, Anatomy of an Angel, 2008
(3)L&M Arts; US-New York, Central Work: Tom Friedman, Untitled (School Chair), 1992-2010
(4)Matthew Marks Gallery; US- New York, Central Work: Katharina Fritsch, Madonnafigur/ Madonna Figure, 1978/2009

Special Edition: Favorite Art Websites

For a few months now I have been writing about art events, festivals, artists, and galleries. But I've realized that you might be wondering, where does she get all this great information?The answer is, the internet. The real skill lies in knowing where to look. So, I decided this week I would post about the websites I visit most often.


The websites are listed in no particular order. Search through them and find out which one works best for you. If you have any questions, as always feel free to email or comment.


Buying Art Online
- Etsy
- 20x200
- artnet


News
- ARTINFO
- artnews.org
- Mutual Art
- FAD art fast news

- Dallas Fine Arts Examiner*

- artandseek


Social Networks
- ArtReview
- ARThood
- Art Education 2.0


Blogs
- Art Re-Source
- Art Fag City
- Art Rabbit
- Art: 21 Blog
- Art Observed
- Contemporary Art Daily


Academic
- Cornucopia
- The Social History of Art
- History of Art Timeline
- ArtLex: Art Dictionary
- Berger Foundation World Art Treasures


To find more websites try:
- Exploratorium
- Incredible Art


Note: I am taking a little vacation time to travel through Europe, but I will be back on mid-June.  Enjoy perusing through these websites in the meantime! 


* The Dallas Fine Arts Examiner and artandseek are specifically catered to North Texas events. If you are not interested in knowing about art events in Dallas, do a quick search of your local newspapers to find an art news section you like in your area.  

Events and Art Festivals: Austin Art Week

What: Austin Art Week & Austin Art City

Where: Austin, Texas

When: From Sunday the 18th of April to Sunday the 25th of April

For those of you in Texas, Austin Art Week is in full swing! The brainchild of the Art Alliance of Austin this event is a great reason to head down to the Lone Star State's capitol. Anyone who has ever been to Austin will agree, you never need a reason to go there. However, just in case you like to have reasons, Austin Art Week is a fabulous one. Why? Well perhaps because of the explosion of diverse activites that are featured, including happenings, live music, great food, and nearly 200 juried artists installations.*


So as typical of an event this great, there must be a catch. Unfortunately, it's not free. But it is pretty cheap. 15 bucks will get you a two-day pass to the Art City Austin event, free entrance to selected museums, plus a 10% museum store discount. 8 dollars gets you in on either the 24th or 25th. Not a bad deal for those on an art budget.** 


If you are not able to make it for the events from the 21st-23rd, just head down on the 24th for the weekends culminating Art City Austin events. Here is a link to the entire schedule of times and locations. Check it out and tell me how it went! 








Notes:
* In Texas, food is considered to be a particularly important social activity.
** Packages for the entire Art Week Events are $175 for the collector badge. 
The Art After Dark event did not occur this year. Sorry for any inconvenience that may have caused!

Gallery and Exhibition Reviews: Raffaello Centro D'arte

Bruno Caruso

 Pan

Renzo Meschis

Da "La Figlia di Lot" Omaggio a Guttuso

(From "The Lot's Daughter" Homage to Guttuso)

Renato Guttuso, Title and Date Unknown 

(Guttuso is not a contemporary artist, but I have included this piece in reference to Meschis' work)

Antonio Navarra

Oil on Canvas, 2009

On an uneventful weeknight in Palermo, I went to visit the Raffaello Centro d'arte (Center for the arts). I love visiting galleries versus museums because you get to see art that is made by local artists for FREE! 


Like most things in Italy, the gallery world and exhibition procedure is different from what I am used to in America. The space was pretty small, nothing larger than a standard American living room. When I walked in there were some paintings hung on the walls, but most of the work was stacked in a corner. The gallery assistant apologized for the confusion and explained that they had just finished exhibiting in another location. As I explained in the Antonello Blandi exhibition review, due to a lack of space in the galleries themselves most exhibitions are held in cultural hotspots around the city.


Finding a gallery between shows is a special treat, because you get to experience the no frills side of the art world. After a quick introduction by the assistant I was left to my own devices to wander through the space.


The work that was hung on the wall was not labeled, there was no special precedence given to any one piece.* It felt like I had just entered an artists studio. The gallery assistant gave me free rein to touch and move the works stacked against the wall and answered every question I had without hesitation and without giving me a sales pitch. She also allowed me to take photographs for the blog. (My apologies, I know they are pretty low quality!) 


Ignoring the couple of prerequisite lithographs by Salvador Dalí and Fernando Botero that seem to exist in every gallery, I was able to focus on the work of Sicilian artists Bruno Caruso, Renato Guttuso, and Meschis, and as well as other Italians, such as Roman artist Navarra.**


Here are a few of their works, if you have any questions about a particular piece you can contact the gallery directly or just email me!

Notes:

* Due to the lack of labels near the work, and the fact that I was not entirely sure the gallery assistant actually worked for the gallery, the paintings featured lack some information. If you really want some information, just email me and I will try to get it for you! 

**Although I do love the work done by Dali and Botero, this blog is focused on featuring  contemporary local artists. Also, I say prerequisite, because in my experience most galleries that focus purely on sales rather than exhibiting their artists seem to have one or two lithographs by a well-known artist hanging around. 

Events and Art Festivals: Corpus Christi, Texas

What:  Festival of the Arts 

               "Chalk it up for the Arts"

Where: Art Center of Corpus Christi

                 100 N. Shoreline

                 Corpus Christi, Texas

When: 26th-28th of March 2010

Times: Friday: 5:30-8PM, Saturday: 10AM-7PM, Sunday: 10AM-5PM 

I am a big fan of two very fun things, festivals and chalk. So, it should come as no surprise that I chose to write about the latest event taking place in Texas this coming weekend. Held at the Art Center of Corpus Christi, the festival begins with a ceremony and reception to officially open the exhibition. The festival's main attraction is the Italian Street Painting done by returning artists Julie Kirk and Melanie Stimmell. There are also many other art exhibitions, demonstrations, and performances (on Saturday and Sunday) free to the public. Not to mention the several arts activities for kids, including printmaking, mosaic making, and collage making labs. This is a great opportunity to see how great collaboration between different arts programs can make for a really fun event. So for those of you near enough, get out to Corpus Christi for some art time near the beach! 

Below are some examples of previous Italian Street Painting at the 2007 Festival of the Arts in Corpus. As always, get out there and enjoy the art!

Bella Via, Festival of the Arts 2007

Homere et Son Guide, Festival of the Arts 2007