NRW-Forum Exhibition by Magnum photographers focuses on war and crisis photography

DUSSELDORF.- This photo is one of the most iconic photos in the world and is etched deeply in people’s memories: a soldier, his arms thrown backwards as he falls, his rifle sliding out of his grasp, has just been hit by the bullet that will end his life. In this photo, which is entitled ‘Death of a Loyalist Militiaman’ and was taken during the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the photographer Robert Capa captures the quintessence of all wars. One could [...]

Survey exhibition of paintings and drawings by Hans Burkhardt at Jack Rutberg Fine Arts

LOS ANGELES, CA.- Hans Burkhardt’s (1904–1994) expansive career and influence in L.A. are the focus of a survey exhibition of paintings and drawings entitled Hans Burkhardt: Within & Beyond the Mainstream. The exhibition, is part of the October 1 inauguration of the Getty’s initiative Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945 – 1980. Arriving in L.A. in 1937, following his association with Arshile Gorky, whose studio he shared in New York from 1928-37, Burkhardt represented L.A.’s earliest and most critical link [...]

Andy Warhol’s headline works presented by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

WASHINGTON (AP).- Andy Warhol is known for soup cans and celebrity images, not so much for painting headlines and abstract works. The late pop artist has left much to be discovered in two shows that open Sunday on the National Mall. The National Gallery of Art is opening its first Warhol exhibit with “Warhol: Headlines,” an examination of his use of news headlines throughout his career. At the same time, the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum will feature “Andy Warhol: Shadows,” a 450-foot-long [...]

Dutch and Flemish paintings on view at the Museum of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg

SAINT PETERSBURG, FL.- The 38 striking paintings and 14 works on paper in this exhibition are rich in the history of sixteenth and seventeenth-century northern Europe. The works encompass biblical stories, mythological subjects, stunning portraits, scenes from everyday life, seascapes and landscapes, and still lifes. The St. Petersburg Times is the media sponsor of all MFAexhibitions. The Gilberts, who developed this exceptional collection over more than 35 years, were attracted to these paintings, in part, because so many explore biblical stories. Abraham [...]

American artist Dan Colen’s first major exhibition in Rome opens at Gagosian Gallery

ROME.- Gagosian Gallery Rome presents Dan Colen’s first major exhibition in Rome. In “Poetry,” a large-scale exhibition at Gagosian New York last year, Colen moved closer to reality while plumbing its metaphysical potential. Rather than “deceiving the eye” with techniques that mimic real materials, he used the real materials themselves – a brick wall, a halfpipe, and a row of customized motorcycles — transforming them in bold and singular acts, and on a scale befitting his romance with environment. Since this time, [...]

Two new AGA exhibitions explore pioneers of both early French photography and the frontier landscape

EDMONTON AB.- The Art Gallery of Alberta opened two new exhibitions in continuation of its fall season: 19th Century French Photographs from the National Gallery of Canada and Prairie Life: Settlement & the Last Best West 1930-1955 on view until January 29, 2012. Drawn from the extensive collection of French photographs from the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) in Ottawa, 19th Century French Photographs features work by some of the major pioneers of French photography including Eugène Atget, Gustave Le Gray and [...]

Exhibition of recent work by Japanese artist and architect Yutaka Sone at David Zwirner

NEW YORK, NY.- David Zwirner presents an exhibition of recent work by Yutaka Sone, on view at the gallery’s 533 West 19th Street space. This is the artist’s fifth solo show since his first exhibition at the gallery in 1999. Working in a wide range of media—predominantly sculpture but also painting, drawing, photography, video, and performance—Yutaka Sone’s work revolves around a tension between realism and perfection. The artist originally trained as an architect and an almost obsessive attention to detail and its [...]

Exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum tackles tough task: define “Postmodernism”

LONDON (REUTERS).- On the wall near the exit to the Victoria & Albert’s new show on postmodernism hangs a bright neon sign of the word “Shop”. Many museums are too embarrassed to draw attention to the fact that they force visitors to walk through the gift shop in order to get out of a blockbuster show. Not so “Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990″. But then the self referential joke with its bold allusion to consumerism is part of the point. The show, which [...]

Neuberger Museum of Art presents first ten-year survey of paintings and drawings by Dana Schutz

PURCHASE, NY.- Even before she had reached the age of thirty, Dana Schutz was considered one of the leading artists of her generation. Her imaginative work, filled with inventive stories and hypothetical situations, is strange, humorous, whimsical, disturbing, and oddly compelling, all at the same time. Combining fantasy and reality, humor and horror, her vibrant paintings abound with expressionist energy. From September 25 through December 18, 2011, the Neuberger Museum of Art will present Dana Schutz: If the Face Had Wheels, the first [...]

Larry Wright appointed Managing Director of Bellevue Arts Museum in Washington

BELLEVUE, WA.- Following an extensive national search, the Board of Trustees of Bellevue Arts Museum announced the appointment Larry Wright as Managing Director. An Eastside native, Wright joins BAM with more than 15 years of non-profit leadership experience. He is relocating to the Pacific Northwest for this important post and will start transitioning into his new role on October 3, 2011. Most recently Wright was the CEO of the National Mentoring Partnership in Washington, DC. There, he was responsible for the strategic oversight [...]

Restoration work to begin on Joan Miró mural in Wichita State University’s Ulrich Museum of Art

WICHITA.- Conservation crews will begin removing a massive mosaic by modern master Joan Miro from an art museum at Wichita State University next week as part of a five-year, $3 million restoration effort to stop the work from raining down pieces of Venetian glass and marble. Measuring 26 feet by 52 feet, the Personnages Oiseaux mosaic depicts surrealist, fantastical birds. It was installed in 1978, five years before the death of the Spanish artist best known for his shock of blues, [...]

Made in the UK: Contemporary art British art at the Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design

PROVIDENCE, RI.- The Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design highlights its extraordinary collection of contemporary British art in a major exhibition this fall. Made in the UK: Contemporary Art from the Richard Brown Baker Collection richly captures Britain’s contemporary art scene as it emerged from World War II to become a prominent force on the world stage today. Made in the UK opened to the public on September 23. Made in the UK celebrates works by British artists from the 1950s [...]

Third solo exhibition by Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes on view at Galerie Max Hetzler

BERLIN.- Galerie Max Hetzler presents the third solo exhibition of Beatriz Milhazes, featuring four large scale paintings and a mobile, which were the subject of her solo show at Fondation Beyeler in Basel earlier this year, as well as recent collages. Central to the exhibition are four monumental canvases of different sizes on the theme of the four seasons. They are composed of stylized, ornamental floral motifs and geometric forms which are symptomatic of Beatriz Milhazes’ oeuvre, as is the transfer technique [...]

MFA Houston announces major Frank Stella acquisition: “Palmito Ranch” (1961), a landmark in American painting

HOUSTON, TX.- The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has acquired Frank Stella‘s Palmito Ranch (1961) from the artist‘s landmark ―Benjamin Moore‖ series, which ushered in a new current of Minimalism in American art. The acquisition is a combination museum purchase from the Caroline Wiess Law Accession Endowment and gift from the artist, who made the donation in memory of the late MFAH director, Peter C. Marzio (1943-2010). “Peter Marzio was everything you would want from the director of a great museum,” [...]

Houston’s Menil Collection Announces Return of Byzantine Frescoes to Cyprus in 2012

HOUSTON, TX.- After more than two decades in Houston, the beloved Byzantine frescoes will go back to Cyprus in 2012. While this moment is bittersweet, the story of these frescoes—from their rescue, to their long-term loan to the Menil, and now to their return—very much reflects the essence of the Menil Collection, its focus on the aesthetic and the spiritual, and our responsible stewardship of works from other nations and cultures. In 1983, Dominique de Menil, founder of the Menil Collection, was [...]