Ei Arakawa Invites Artists for Exhibition at Kunsthalle Zurich

ZURICH.- The exhibition “Non-Solo show: Non-Group show” borrows its title from a solo exhibition by the Japanese artist Ei Arakawa staged at the Franco Soffiantino Gallery in Turin in 2008. Ei Arakawa invited two other artists, Nora Schultz and Henning Bohl, to participate with him in that exhibition. Based on this model, Kunsthalle Zürich invited Ei Arakawa, who in turn invited colleagues and collaborators, and four other artists to make individual presentations. Both projects will be presented simultaneously – spatially [...]

Canadian Photographer Edward Burtynsky Presents “Oil” at Huis Marseille

AMSTERDAM.- With his exhibition and publication on oil, Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky has produced a masterpiece. On the basis of monumental and highly detailed color photographs about oil, its extraction and consumption, which Burtynsky has been making since 1997, he reveals the connection between our use of oil and the effect this has on the landscape. Within this context the relationship between the culture of oil consumption and the immense infrastructure that it requires is also firmly established. Ultimately Burtynsky’s [...]

Michael Lee-Chin Crystal Cited as Architectural Marvel

TORONTO.- The book ‘Off the Tourist Trail: 1,000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives’, names the Royal Ontario Museum’s (ROM) Michael Lee- Chin Crystal, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, as one of the world’s architectural marvels and one of six modern buildings to rival Australia’s Sydney Opera House. Prefaced by famed American author Bill Bryson and published in fall 2009 by Dorling Kindersley (DK) as part of its Eyewitness series, the book praises the highly successful Renaissance ROM project, the Museum’s renovation and [...]

Koudelka’s Legendary Photographs of the Prague Invasion to be Shown in Miami

MIAMI, FL.- The Freedom Tower at Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida is the third stop on the tour for “Invasion 68: Prague”, an exhibition and accompanying book presenting legendary Magnum photographer Josef Koudelka’s remarkable work documenting the 1968 Soviet invasion of Prague. The show in Miami follows a successful kick off at Aperture Gallery in New York in the fall of 2008, followed by stops at the American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center, in Washington, D.C., and Centro Cultural [...]

London-Based Pakistani Artist Brings Unique Artworks to Dubai

DUBAI.- Strong bold colors and sharp contrasts are the most striking facets of Faiza Shaikh’s collection of works on display at Capital Club on December 9, 2009. The London-based Pakistani artist, whose works have been featured in a number of prestigious shows including shows at the BAFTA Awards and the World Bank, already has a dedicated following in Dubai. Her art has a philosophical aspect to it as she takes couplets or excerpts from scriptures and translates them onto canvas. [...]

Kessling Vs. Kessling 2009 at the Modern Artists Gallery

BERKSHIRE.- If you want to track down Paul and Kate Kessling at work in the Oxfordshire home that they share with their three daughters, two dogs, eight hamsters, ten silkies, three ducks and a cat and five hives of bees – your best bet is to use your ears. If it’s Kate you want, head for the loud music. If you pause for a few moments, you’ll realise that it’s the same track on repeat, again and again. This year, [...]

Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery Shows Exhibition by Influential Designer Verner Panton

TOKYO.- Who is Verner Panton? If you are enquired about this name, you might think of Panton Chair that is the streamlined form with the first single-unit cantilevered chair made of molded plastic. Verner Panton, who was born in Denmark, immediately established himself at the forefront of avant-garde design in Europe in 1960’s in consequence of producing famous design collaborating with industrial producers. His works were not limited to single objects, but extend to the design of entire space like [...]

Bologna’s International Art Fair, Arte Fiera Art First, Announced

BOLOGNA.- Over its 34 editions, Arte Fiera Art First has strengthened its role as Italy’s most important and complete international fair of modern and contemporary art by presenting the best historical and avant-garde galleries. On the international art scene, Arte Fiera Art First confirms its constant promotion of Italian art from the early XX Century, to the ‘50s till today by presenting internationally renowned artists. It is a unique showcase for discovering modern masters such as Carlo Carrà, Felice Casorati, [...]

Stadel Museum Examines Works by Frankfurt Artist Who Died at Age 23

FRANKFURT.- When the Frankfurt artist Peter Roehr died in 1968 at the young age of 23, he left behind several hundreds of works in which he pursued exclusively the idea of serial repetition. From found commonplace materials he created ever new montages of photographs, text, typography, objects, sound, and film probing the concept of redundancy. Roehr abstained from both making a statement and sticking to an individual style. His formal repertory is deliberately reduced to the selection of an object, [...]

Sotheby’s to Sell, “Elephant” (Purple), a Unique Work by Jeff Koons

PARIS.- One of the major events at Sotheby’s this Autumn promises to be the sale in Paris on December 8 of a unique work by Jeff Koons: “Elephant” (Purple), donated by the artist to the Foundation Claude Pompidou in 2009. This masterpiece from 1999 (estimate €300,000-400,000) will be sold to help finance the Foundation’s most recent project: the Institut Claude Pompidou in Nice, dedicated to treating Alzheimer’s Disease and incorporating a teaching and research centre. The story behind this event [...]

800 Unpublished Drawings from the Venetian 19th-Century to Go on View

VENICE.- As part of the programme of developing the vast patrimony of its collections, the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia is presenting a vast exhibition of nineteenth century drawings at the Correr, most of which are on display for the very first time. It includes works by artists such as Caffi, Pividor, Guardi, Moro, Bosa, Vervloet and to name but a few. Coordinated by Giandomenico Romanelli, the exhibition is installed in the Hall of Honour and the Museum’s large exhibition [...]

Pinacotheque de Paris to Show Edvard Munch or the “Anti-Scream”

PARIS.- The Pinacothèque de Paris will provide from February 19th, and until July 18th, 2010, a new approach to Edvard Munch’s work, one of the most mythical artists but equally one of the most mysterious, of the end of the 19th-century and early 20th-century. Edvard Munch has not been shown in France nor in Paris for twenty years. So the Pinacothèque de Paris is offering the public a unique opportunity to completely rediscover this immense artist’s oeuvre, through a simple [...]

Sale of Masterworks from Band Estate Carries Heffel Auction to $20.8-Million Sale

TORONTO.- Fifteen masterworks from the collection of Helen E. Band estate brought in a combined $10,494,024, and with the other 84 lots in Heffel’s second session of Fine Canadian Art, totaled $17.5-million. The first session featuring Canadian Post-War and Contemporary Art that occurred between 4 p.m. and 6:05 p.m. brought in $3.3-million. The two sessions combined totaled $20.8-million – the second highest total for a Canadian fine art auction. This sale also set a record for the most million dollar [...]

Kunsthalle Dusseldorf Eats the Universe with Exhibition of Art Made with and Involving Food

DUSSELDORF.- Eat Art, a term coined by Daniel Spoerri for art made with and involving food, has its institutionalized origins in Düsseldorf. Two years after opening his restaurant at the Burgplatz, the Swiss artist founded the Eat Art Gallery in 1970 and inspired numerous artists to produce various editions made of edible materials and food wastes. The exhibition “Eating the Universe” — a title created in the 1970′s by Peter Kubelka, former professor for Film and Cooking at the Frankfurt [...]

Serpentine to Celebrate 40th Anniversary with Richard Hamilton Exhibition

LONDON.- To start its 40th anniversary year, the Serpentine Gallery presents “Richard Hamilton: Modern Moral Matters”, a solo exhibition by one of the world’s most respected living artists. This will be the first major exhibition of Hamilton’s work in London since 1992. Hamilton has embraced many different mediums since the 1950s, including painting, printmaking, installation and industrial design. The exhibition will reassess the nature of this British artist’s pioneering contribution, taking as a starting point the artist’s political works. The [...]