Participating Artists Concrete Matters

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Concrete art, Constructivism, Constructivism

Lygia Clark, Casulo No. 2 (Cocoon No. 2), 1959 © Lygia Clark

Participating Artists Concrete Matters

Read more about the artists participating in the exhibition Concrete Matters. Here you find short biographies.

GERALDO DE BARROS (1923–1998)

Geraldo de Barros was a Brazilian-born artist who was considered part of the vanguard of photography within Grupo Ruptura and the Concrete movement in Brazil. De Barros received a formal painting education at Associaçião Paulista de Belas Artes and became a member of the Foto Cine Clube Bandeirante of São Paulo in 1949. The same year he began teaching at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand photo lab.

During a visit to Europe between 1951 and 1952, he studied lithography and engraving in Paris and graphic arts at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm, Germany, where he also met Max Bill. In 1960 de Barros participated in the exhibition Konkrete Kunst in Zurich. His photography can be seen as an exploration of geometric abstraction, which was later also translated into his painted works. The isolation of shapes distilling geometric forms within his photography and painting inspired de Barros to set up his cooperative Unilabor in 1954, which was dedicated to the design and production of furniture.

Geraldo de Barros, Função diagonal (Diagonal Function), 1952 © Fabiana de Barros and Leonora de Barros

MAX BILL (1908–1994)

Max Bill was an artist, graphic designer, and architect born in Winterthur, Switzerland. He studied at Bauhaus under Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Oskar Schlemmer. As a painter, he was a proponent of the non-figurative, purely geometric style in the spirit of Theo van Doesberg and he organized the first international exhibition of Concrete art in Basel in 1944.

In the late 1940s he came into contact with the Latin American art scene through the Argentine artists Tomás Maldonado and Juan Melé, who were travelling in Europe. A retrospective exhibition of Bill’s art in São Paulo in 1951 had a great impact on the Brazilian art world. The following year, he was awarded the first prize at the first São Paulo Biennale in the category International Sculpture, and in 1953 he was one of the founders of the design school Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm, Germany. The school built on the heritage of Bauhaus and was in operation until 1968.

As a graphic and industrial designer Bill was a central figure in Switzerland from the 1950s onward, and in 1960 his work was presented at the Zurich exhibition
Konkrete Kunst.

ALUÍSIO CARVÃO (1918–2001)

Aluísio Carvão was a painter, illustrator, and scenographer. In 1952, he enrolled in Ivan Serpa’s painting course at the Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM) in Rio de Janeiro. Carvão was one of the original members of Grupo Frente, which was founded in 1954. His work was shown two years later in the first national exhibition of Concrete art, which took place in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

In 1959, Carvão participated in the Neo-Concrete exhibitions in Brazil. He also took part in Konkrete Kunst in Zurich in 1960, at the invitation of Max Bill, one of the founders of the Bauhaus-inspired Ulm School of Design (Hochschule für Gestaltung). Carvão exhibited there as a visiting artist in 1960 after receiving a prize in the form of a travel grant from Salão Nacional de Arte Moderna.

WILLYS DE CASTRO (1926–1988)

Willys de Castro was a trained chemist when he embarked on his artistic career. He also worked as a graphic designer, scenographer, costume designer, and editor of an experimental theater magazine. He was one of the driving forces behind the Neo-Concrete Movement in Rio de Janeiro, as well as developing the references to pheno menology that became part of the Neo-Concrete credo.

De Castro participated in the exhibition Konkrete Kunst in Zurich in 1960 at the invitation of Max Bill. The following year his work was shown at the second Paris Biennale and in Brazilian Art Today in London. In the course of the same period he made his objetos ativos (“active objects”), paintings that took on a three-dimensional form.

Willys de Castro, Objeto ativo (cubo vermelho/branco) (Active Object (Red/White Cube)), 1962 © Willys de Castro

LYGIA CLARK (1920–1988)

Lygia Clark was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and studied landscape architecture with Roberto Burle Marx in Rio de Janeiro and painting with Fernand Léger in Paris. She was part of Grupo Frente and was one of the driving forces behind the conversations that were the foundation of Neo-Concretism in 1959.

Clark’s early paintings were small and monochromatic, but she soon started to challenge the two-dimensionality of the canvas in different ways, work more conceptually and sculpturally and create “relational objects.” Interaction was central to Clark’s art, and in the 1960s she developed her proposições (propositions): gloves, masks, and other objects that stimulated and challenged the senses and were meant to be handled and used by the viewer. Clark is best known for her bichos (critter, beetles, insects), approximately seventy malleable and changeable works made from aluminum discs that are hinged together. In 1960 Clark participated in the group show Konkrete Kunst in Zurich.

WALDEMAR CORDEIRO (1925–1973)

Waldemar Cordeiro was one of the most prominent artists of the Concrete movement in São Paulo. In 1949 Cordeiro emigrated permanently from his native Rome to São Paulo and started making waves in the local art scene.

In 1952 he co-founded Grupo Ruptura, the group, driven by Cordeiro’s theories, that became known for its rationalistic rigor about art production. The Ruptura movement rejected naturalism in favour of an analytical, theoretical, and mechanical approach toward art production. In line with his ideas, his work cannot be pinned down to a specific medium; Cordeiro was an avid writer, journalist, architect, and painter. His work reflects a contemplative relationship in which art and theory are constantly in dialogue. In 1960 Cordeiro’s work could be seen in the international show Konkrete Kunst in Zurich.

CARLOS CRUZ-DIEZ (BORN 1923)

Venezuelan-born artist, illustrator, and designer Carlos Cruz-Diez rose to prominence in his home country primarily as a graphic designer and illustrator for the private sector and the newspaper El Nacional. After a brief stay in Barcelona in 1955, Cruz-Diez became interested in revitalizing abstract art. Upon his return to Venezuela in 1957, he opened his own artistic and graphic design studio.

In Venezuela, his artistic work evolved from being largely language-based to having a greater emphasis on the transformative qualities of color and geometric abstraction. Beyond painting, Cruz-Diez started experimenting with installation and kinetic art, moving the vibrancy from the canvas to the three-dimensional plane. Cruz-Diez has lived in Paris since 1960.

GEGO (1912–1994)

German-Jewish printmaker, sculptor, and architect Gertrud Louise Goldschmidt, best known under her moniker Gego, completed her studies in architecture in Stuttgart prior to fleeing the Nazi regime in 1939. In Venezuela, Gego continued to pursue architecture and furniture design, which gradually led to an interest in fine arts.

In the 1950s, alongside holding teaching positions, Gego turned to abstract drawing. She developed this further in the 1960s by employing materials such as steel wire, paper, and iron to create three-dimensional drawings that both defined volume and revealed the work’s construction. Perhaps her most important works are the Reticulárea, web-like installations of wire that placed abstraction in specific relation to its direct environment.

GYULA KOSICE (1924–2016)

The artist, poet, and theoretician Gyula Kosice was born Ferdinand Falk in Košice – at the time a Hungarian town, now part of Slovakia. He came to Buenos Aires as a four-year-old and was given the name Fernando Fallik upon arrival. In his twenties, he took the name of his home town.

Kosice became a pioneer of Concrete and Kinetic art, working with new materials such as luminous neon gas and water. He was also one of the founders of the magazine Arturo, one issue of which was published in 1944.

In the following years he co-founded the artist group Madí. Madí urged artists to let the principles of the movement permeate all artistic disciplines (music, dance, theatre, literature, architecture, and so on). The emphasis was on movement, development, and diversity. They wanted to free themselves from the strictures of expression, representation, and signification embodied by the older art. In 1960 Kosice participated in the exhibition Konkrete Kunst in Zurich and in 1964 he was commissioned to create Argentina’s pavilion for the Venice Biennial.

JUDITH LAUAND (BORN 1922)

Judith Lauand is a Brazilian printmaker and painter currently residing in São Paulo. Lauand began her education in printmaking and painting at the Escola de Belas Artes in Araraquara in the 1940s and finished in 1950. Lauand is the only woman to have joined the Grupo Ruptura, the São Paulo Concretist movement.

Lauand’s early work explores a combination of linear and geometric shapes, whereas her later work can be seen as more analytical. With the influence of Grupo Ruptura, Lauand’s style from 1954 onward gravitated toward structural lines and optical illusions. She was part of the Exposição Nacional de Arte Concreta in São Paulo and also participated in the exhibition Konkrete Kunst in
Zurich in 1960.

Judith Lauand, Concreto 61 (Concrete 61), 1957 © Judith Lauand / Bildupphovsrätt 2018

RAÚL LOZZA (1911–2008)

Raúl Lozza was an artist, graphic designer, writer, and theoretician. He was one of the founding members of the group Contrapunto in 1943 and the art editor of the group’s eponymous magazine. Shortly thereafter he was also involved in forming the Marxist Asociación Arte Concreto-Invención in 1945. The group admired Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg’s purist aesthetics. Here he was also one of the editors of the group’s periodical.

Together with Juan Alberto Molenberg he developed coplanar painting. Freestanding planar objects were assembled using metal wires in compositions that floated in front of the underlying wall. In 1947, Lozza and his brother Rembrandt V. D. started their own movement, which they called Perceptismo. They launched the manifesto of the movement in 1949 and published a magazine under the same name from 1950 to 1953.

TOMÁS MALDONADO (BORN 1922)

Tomás Maldonado is an artist, graphic designer, and theoretician born in Buenos Aires but living and working in Milan since 1967. He was a co-founder of Asociación Arte Concreto-Invención in 1945, a group that admired Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg’s purist geometric abstractions. Group members created paintings on irregularly shaped canvases and panels and broke away from traditional painting’s illusionist relationship to the frame as a window on another reality.

By the end of the 1940s, Maldonado returned to the orthogonal format. The Marxist-oriented Maldonado had a revolutionary and utopian artistic vision. He also wanted to apply his principles to other areas of society and began working in industrial design. In 1951 he founded the magazine Nueva Vision (1951 – 59). Following an invitation from Max Bill in 1954, he started teaching at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm, Germany. Eventually he led the school for a few years. After focusing on writing, teaching, and researching for many years, he began painting again in 2000.

JUAN MELÉ (1923–2012)

The painter, sculptor, and critic Juan Melé was born in Buenos Aires but was part of the international art scene for many years. Melé joined the Asociación Arte Concreto-Invención in 1946, and created coplanar paintings and paintings with irregular frames.

A travel grant took him to Europe, where he studied under Sonia Delaunay and Georges Vantongerloo. He also traveled around Europe and in Zurich he came into contact with Max Bill and other Concrete artists. Back in Buenos Aires, he co-founded Grupo Arte Nuevo in 1955. He also started teaching art and writing art criticism. Between 1961 and 1986 he primarily lived and worked in New York, but from 1990 onward he divided his time between Buenos Aires and Paris.

Juan Melé, Marco recortado N° 2 (Irregular Frame N° 2), 1946 © Juan Melé

JUAN ALBERTO MOLENBERG (1921–2011)

Juan Alberto Molenberg, born in Buenos Aires, was a member of Asociación Arte Concreto-Invención and participated in a number of exhibitions held by the group. Molenberg is considered to have invented the so-called coplanar artwork in 1946, along with Raúl Lozza. By joining together individual flat geometric objects on a common plane, he solved the problem of the artwork as an illusory space within the unifying outer frame.

In the 1950s he collaborated with the journal Contemporánea. Molenberg also worked as a graphic designer and illustrator who specialized in packaging and logotypes.

HÉLIO OITICICA (1937–1980)

Hélio Oiticica studied painting in Rio de Janeiro under Ivan Serpa. From 1955 he participated in Grupo Frente’s exhibitions and he joined the Neo-Concrete Movement in 1960. With monochromatic paintings that hung freely from the ceiling of the exhibition space, he challenged the two-dimensionality of the picture plane. Oiticica developed ideas centered on activist and complex art presented in social contexts, such as in collaboration with residents of Rio’s favelas.

In 1960 Oiticica’s work could be seen in the exhibition Konkrete Kunst in Zurich. After the military coup in Brazil in 1964 he went into exile in New York. Oiticica wrote in an intricate Portuguese-English inspired by Concrete poetry and influenced by Inca aesthetics and popular culture; he also made films, sculptures, and architectural installations. The installation Tropicália was first shown in 1967 at the Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro and two years later in a solo exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London. In 2017, his work was shown in a retrospective touring the United States, entitled To Organize Delirium.

ALEJANDRO OTERO (1921–1990)

Venezuelan painter and sculptor Alejandro Otero started out as a student of Agricultural Studies in the city of Maracay. In 1939, Otero began studying painting, sculpture, and stained-glass art at the Escuela de Arte Plásticas y Artes Aplicadas de Caracas. After finishing his studies in 1945, Otero traveled to Paris on a state scholarship. During this period, he joined the group Los Disidentes. He developed and eventually formalized the abstract geometric painting style he began to work with in the late 1940s.

He would call his later works Colorythms. These works showcase a rhythmic interplay between lines and colors based on an organic practice in which he attempted to achieve a form of unity. Together with Calder, Vasarely, Léger, and Soto, Otero was involved in the art for Carlos Vilanuevas’s newly constructed Caracas University Campus.

LYGIA PAPE (1927–2004)

Brazilian artist and filmmaker Lygia Pape was part of
the Rio-based Grupo Frente before she signed the Neo-Concrete Manifesto in 1959. An early example from the Frente period is the series Relevo (Reliefs), for which painted surfaces were joined to create geometric shapes in relief and incorporate the wall in an optical rhythm.

Pape worked in a wide range of techniques, often in parallel, such as painting, woodcut, sculpture, film, and performance. In 1960 Pape’s work was included in the international exhibition Konkrete Kunst in Zurich. She tested boundaries and experimented with materials, at times in provocative ways like when she showed Caixa das baratas (Box of Cockroaches) in 1967, three years after the military coup, in an exhibition arranged by her friend Hélio Oiticica. In Livro da Criação (Book of Creation, 1959) viewers were invited to create their own narratives based on the loose parts of the book.

Lygia Pape, Pintura, 1954–1956 © Projeto Lygia Pape. Courtesy Projeto Lygia Pape and Hauser & Wirth

RHOD ROTHFUSS (1920–1969)

Carlos María (Rhod) Rothfuss was an artist and theoretician from Montevideo, Uruguay. He moved to Buenos Aires in 1942, where he joined Argentinian avant-garde circles. In an article about the problem of the frame in contemporary art published in the magazine Arturo, Rothfuss argued that the irregular canvas was the solution to the problem of the inability of painting to break away from illusionism. The edge of the canvas, he suggested, should interact with the painting’s inner composition and be an active part of the work.

Rothfuss participated in Asociación Arte Concreto-Invención’s first two exhibitions before he started the group Madí in 1946 with Gyula Kosice and Carmelo Arden Quinn. In the second half of the 1940s, Rothfuss created sculptures with mobile elements.

LUIZ SACILOTTO (1924–2003)

Born near São Paulo, Luíz Sacilotto enrolled in the Escola Profissional Masculina in São Paulo at the age of fourteen, later continuing his painting studies at the Escola Técnica Getúlio Vargas until 1943. While working as a technical designer at architecture studios, he co-founded Grupo Expressionista in 1945, through which he cemented his expressionistic style. He departed from this when joining Grupo Ruptura in São Paulo 1952.

Sacilotto developed his painting style primarily by experimenting with geometric shapes on canvas, all with the title Concreção and an individual number. His sculptures take on a monochromatic and linear approach to geometric abstraction, achieving the effects of an optical illusion.

MIRA SCHENDEL (1919–1988)

Mira Schendel was born in Switzerland and was raised a Catholic in Italy despite her family’s Jewish roots. In 1939, she lost her citizenship and was forced to flee to Sarajevo. She returned to Italy in 1946, only to move to Brazil three years later. From 1952 onward she lived in São Paulo, where she explored non-representational forms of expression in painting, sculpture, and drawing without belonging to any specific group.

Schendel had studied philosophy and was interested in theology, metaphysics, phenomenology, and Zen Buddhism. Many of her works explore how the line influences and activates the surrounding empty space. From the early 1960s onward, thin, translucent rice paper was a recurring element in Schendel’s work. In the series Droguinhas (Little Nothings) (1964 – 66) it was twisted into three-dimensional lines that challenge the very notion of drawing.

Mira Schendel, Sem título (Objeto grafico) (Untitled (Graphic Object)), 1973 © The Estate of Mira Schendel / Courtesy Hauser & Wirth

IVAN SERPA (1923–1973)

Ivan Serpa lived and worked in Rio de Janeiro and was one of the founders of Grupo Frente (1954 – 57). With its freer attitude, Grupo Frente stood in opposition to the São Paulo-based Grupo Ruptura’s more rationalistic interpretation of Concretism. Prior to that, Serpa had worked as an art therapist for psychiatric patients. He held art courses at the newly opened Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro and taught painting, sculpture, and theory to a growing number of interested people of different ages, including professional artists.

Of the fifteen artists in Grupo Frente, all but four had been taught by Serpa at some point. Serpa participated in the São Paulo Biennale on several occasions and the first time it was held, in 1951, he received the Young Artist Award. The following year his work was shown at the Venice Biennale.

JESÚS RAFAEL SOTO (1923–2005)

Jésus Rafael Soto studied at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Artes Aplicadas de Caracas in 1942 and became the director of the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Maracaibo, Venezuela, in 1947. In 1950 Soto moved to Paris, where he began to explore kinetic experiences, perception, and movement in his works. In 1958 Soto made Vibraciones, a kinetic mural with wires that seemed to move as audiences passed by. Soto became interested in the notion of “dematerialization,” presenting artworks beyond the Morbergconfines of space and time.

Throughout his career he sought to actively involve spectators, resulting, in the late 1960s, in his Penetrables, where the spectator is invited to move through the plastic strips that form the installation. He participated in Le Mouvement at Galerie Denise René in 1955, in Konkrete Kunst in Zurich in 1960, and in the exhibition Rörelse i konsten at Moderna Museet in 1961.

JOAQUÍN TORRES-GARCÍA (1874–1949)

Joaquín Torres-García was a central figure in the Latin American art scene. He moved from Montevideo to Catalonia with his family when he was young. In Barcelona he met Pablo Picasso, as well as Joan and Julio González. He also worked on glass windows for Antoni Gaudí’s large church project.

After living in New York, Italy, and southern France, he moved to Paris, where he was introduced to Neo-Plasticism by Theo van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian. He also tried to start a Constructivist movement in Madrid shortly before returning to Montevideo in 1934. That same year, a large retrospective exhibition comprising over two hundred of his works was held in Montevideo. The following year he founded Asociación de Arte Constructivo (AAC), and from 1936 to 1943 he published the art review Círculo y Cuadrado.

Torres-García wanted to bridge the gap between classical and modern art with his work. He brought together the abstractions of Constructivism and American pre-Colombian art and took these ideas in a new direction, which he called Constructive Universalism. He continued to propagate his ideas though the studio Taller Torres Garcia that he directed from 1944 onward.

RUBEM VALENTIM (1922–1991)

Rubem Valentim was born in Salvador da Bahia and grew up in São Paulo. Traces of his birthplace’s African heritage can be seen in his colorful paintings, woodcuts, and sculptures. Their geometric visual language incorporates ritualistic symbols and totems that are characteristic of Afro-Brazilian culture.

Valentim was a trained dentist but he took up painting and later completed a degree in journalism. He was a self-taught artist and member of a group that worked toward the artistic renewal of Bahia. After moving to Rio de Janeiro in 1957, Valentim was awarded a travel scholarship in 1962 that enabled a long sojourn in Europe. He returned to his homeland in 1966, invited by the art school in the newly established capital city Brasilia. In 1998, a part of Parque de Esculturas at the Museum of Modern Art in Bahia was dedicated to his memory.

FRANZ WEISSMANN (1914–2005)

Franz Weissmann was born in Austria but moved to Brazil at the beginning of the 1920s. In 1939, he began studying art and architecture at Rio de Janeiro’s Escola Nacional de Belas Artes. Weissmann obtained Brazilian citizenship in 1948 and taught sculpture at the Escola do Parque in Belo Horizonte from 1944 to 1956. In 1955 he joined the Rio-based Grupo Frente and exhibited with them. In 1959, he signed the Neo-Concrete Manifesto and participated in the exhibition Konkrete Kunst in Zurich in 1960.

In the early 1960s, Weissmann went on numerous journeys to Asia and Europe, returning to Rio de Janeiro in 1965. His first abstract works were influenced by Max Bill, but throughout his production he alternated between abstraction, expressionism, and informalism. He experimented with the transformation of different forms, and used iron, stainless steel, zinc, plaster, and aluminum, as well as color, to create visual effects. He was awarded the sculpture prize at the fourth São Paulo Biennale in 1957 and in 1972 he participated in the Venice Biennale.

ANATOL WŁADYSŁAW (1913–2004)

Anatol Władysław was born in Warsaw, Poland, but emigrated to Brazil in 1930 at the age of seventeen. Formally trained as an engineer, he became interested in painting through studying the work of his contemporary Lucy Citti Fereirra.

Prior to joining the São Paulo-based Grupo Ruptura in 1952, Władysław’s paintings showed a more figurative, Impressionistic style. In contrast to his fellow Ruptura peers, Władysław’s emphasis in painting was not on structure, but rather on color. Although there are similarities in how he tackled geometric abstraction, Władysław distinguished himself by employing warm, organic colors. His alliance with Grupa Ruptura was short-lived; in 1954 he left due to his “emotional temperament.” His stylistic and personal outlook in relation to the Ruptura movement has made it difficult to place him within the context of Brazilian art history.

Ellsworth Kelly

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Editorial

Ellsworth Kelly American Artist, 1923–2015

Ellsworth Kelly (May 31, 1923 – December 27, 2015) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker associated with hard-edge painting, Color Field painting and minimalism. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques emphasizing line, color and form, similar to the work of John McLaughlin and Kenneth Noland. Kelly often employed bright colors. He lived and worked in Spencertown, New York.

Since the beginning of his career, Ellsworth Kelly’s emphasis on pure form and color and his impulse to suppress gesture in favor of creating spatial unity have played a pivotal role in the development of abstract art in America. A major influence on Pop Art, Minimalism, hard-edge and color field painting, Ellsworth Kelly’s best-known works are distinguished by sharply delineated shapes flatly painted in vivid color, such as Colors for a Large Wall (1951). His abstract paintings are inspired by the interplay of light, space, and color in the architecture around him. In contrast, Kelly’s automatic drawings feature delicate outlines of bodies and flora.

Considered a pioneer of hard-edge painting, Ellsworth Kelly is best known for his crisp nonrepresentational works, intensely colored and radically simplified. His early training in the applied art program at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, was interrupted by his induction into the army in 1943. Art Historian E. C. Goossen has speculated that Kelly’s assignment to a camouflage battalion provided him with invaluable lessons about the interaction of form and shadow in space, which were applied later in his collages, paintings, and sculpture.

After studying for two years at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Kelly went to Paris in 1948 to attend the École des Beaux-Arts until 1950. In France he encountered the works of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Jean Arp, and Piet Mondrian. His figurative work subsequently gave way to increasingly abstract paintings in which curvilinear and rectilinear forms suggest fragments of visual phenomena such as architectural elements and shadows.

In 1950 he began to explore the random selection of color and form by using collages, composed of torn details of his drawings, as the basis for his paintings. While in France Kelly also produced grid paintings built on modular and serial systems. By 1952 these concerns were expressed in large multipanel paintings in which each panel was a module of color. Kelly’s concern with color as form was thus established.

After returning to the United States in 1954, Kelly worked with large single biomorphic shapes in black and white. Primary colors reappeared in his paintings after 1957, either in double or triple variations or singly in contrast with white, as in Blue on White [SAAM, 1969.47.63].

National Museum of American Art (CD-ROM) (New York and Washington D.C.: MacMillan Digital in cooperation with the National Museum of American Art, 1996)

Ellsworth Kelly Green Curve (State I) 1988One-color lithograph

Image/paper size: 37 1/2 x 84 inches (95.2 x 213.4 cm)
Edition of 15, 6 AP
Signed ‘Kelly’ and numbered lower right

SELECTED WORKS

Dark Gray Curve

Ellsworth KellyDark Gray Curve 1988Two color lithograph on Arches Cover paper

Image/paper size: 26 x 84 inches (66 x 213.4 cm)
Frame size: 28 7/8 x 86 7/8 inches (73.3 x 220.7 cm)
Edition of 25
Signed “Kelly’ and numbered lower right in graphite

Untitled (Purple State I)

Ellsworth KellyUntitled (Purple State I) 1988One color lithograph on Arches 88 paper

Image/paper size: 51 x 46 inches (129.5 x 116.8 cm)
Edition of 18
Signed, numbered and dated lower right

Green

Ellsworth KellyGreen 2001One-color lithograph on Rives BFK white paper

Image/paper size: 48 1/16 x 36 inches (122.1 x 91.4 cm)
Edition of 45
Signed ‘Kelly’ and numbered lower right in graphite

Red-Orange (Rouge-Orange)

Ellsworth KellyRed-Orange (Rouge-Orange) 1964-65Lithograph on Rives BFK white paper with deckled edge

Image size: 18 1/8 x 25 1/8 inches (46 x 63.8 cm)
Paper size: 23 3/4 x 35 1/4 inches (60.3 x 89.5 cm)
Edition of 75
Signed “Kelly” lower right, numbered lower left; Titled, dated, numbered and inscribed ‘Axom 6’ on reverse in graphite

Blue Yellow Red

Ellsworth KellyBlue Yellow Red 1990Three-color lithograph on Rives BFK white paper with deckled edge

Image size: 30 1/16 x 30 1/8 inches (76.4 x 76.5 cm)
Paper size: 37 1/8 x 36 1/8 inches (94.3 x 91.8 cm)
Edition of 80, 25 AP
Signed lower right and numbered lower left

Two Blacks and White

Ellsworth KellyTwo Blacks and White 2000Lithograph on Rives BFK white paper

Image/paper size: 30 1/16 x 30 1/16 inches (76.4 x 76.4 cm)
Edition of 46
Signed ‘Kelly’ and numbered lower right in graphite

Small Red Curve

Ellsworth KellySmall Red Curve 2012One color lithograph on Rives BFK paper

Image/paper size: 17 7/16 x 12 1/2 inches (44.3 x 31.8 cm)
Edition of 100
Signed and numbered lower right in graphite

Blue curves

Ellsworth KellyBlue curves 2013One-color lithograph

Image/paper size: 14 1/16 x 10 inches (35.7 x 25.4 cm)
Edition of 50
Signed ‘Kelly’ and numbered lower right in image

Red curve

Ellsworth KellyRed curve 2013One-color lithograph

Edition of 50
Signed ‘Kelly’ and numbered lower right
Image/paper size: 30 1/8 x 22 inches (76.5 x 55.9 cm)

Small Blue Curve

Ellsworth KellySmall Blue Curve 2012One color lithograph on Rives BFK paper

Image/paper size: 17 7/16 x 12 1/2 inches (44.3 x 31.8 cm)
Edition of 100
Signed and numbered lower right in graphite

Red Curve (Black State)

Ellsworth KellyRed Curve (Black State) 1999Lithograph on Rives BFK white paper

Image/paper size: 10 x 7 5/8 inches (25.4 x 19.4 cm)
Edition of 55
Signed lower left and numbered lower right

Untitled (for Obama)

Ellsworth KellyUntitled (for Obama) 2012One-color lithograph

Image/paper size: 14 1/16 x 10 inches (35.7 x 25.4 cm)
Edition of 150
Signed ‘Kelly’ and numbered lower right in image

Concorde II (State) from The Concorde Series

Ellsworth KellyConcorde II (State) from The Concorde Series 1981Etching and aquatint with plate tone on Arches Cover paper with deckled edge

Image/plate size: 16 3/4 x 12 3/16 inches (42.5 x 31 cm)
Paper size: 32 3/4 x 25 1/8 inches (83.2 x 63.8 cm)
Frame size: 34 3/4 x 27 1/4 inches (88.3 x 69.2 cm)
Edition of 18
Signed lower right and numbered lower left in graphite

Concorde IV from The Concorde Series

Ellsworth KellyConcorde IV from The Concorde Series 1981-82Etching with aquatint on Arches Cover paper with deckled edge

Image/plate size: 16 x 12 1/2 inches (40.6 x 31.8 cm)
Paper size: 34 1/2 x 25 7/8 inches (87.6 x 65.7 cm)
Edition of 18
Signed lower right, numbered lower left in graphite

Concorde V from The Concorde Series

Ellsworth KellyConcorde V from The Concorde Series 1981-82Etching with aquatint on Arches Cover paper with deckled edge

Image/plate size: 10 1/4 x 8 5/16 inches (26 x 21.1 cm)
Paper size: 26 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches (67.3 x 54 cm)
Edition of 18
Signed lower right and numbered lower left in graphite

Cul de Sac

Ellsworth KellyCul de Sac 1984One-color lithograph on Arches 88 paper

Image size: 35 5/8 x 49 3/8 inches (90.5 x 125.4 cm)
Paper size: 42 5/8 x 56 5/8 inches (108.3 x 143.8 cm)
Edition of 25
Signed, numbered and dated

String Bean Leaves III (Haricot Vert III)

Ellsworth KellyString Bean Leaves III (Haricot Vert III) 1965-1966Lithograph

Image/paper size: 35 5/8 x 24 1/2 inches (90.5 x 62.2 cm)
Edition of 75
Signed ‘Kelly’ lower right, numbered lower left in graphite

Leaf V From the series Twelve Leaves

Ellsworth KellyLeaf V From the series Twelve Leaves 1978One-color lithograph

Edition of 20
Signed, titled and numbered ‘Kelly Leaf V AP 5/9’ lower right in pencil
Image/paper size: 30 x 42 inches (76.2 x 106.7 cm)

Leaf X

Ellsworth KellyLeaf X 1978Lithograph

Image/paper size: 30 x 42 inches (76.2 x 106.7 cm)
Edition of 20
Signed ‘Kelly’, numbered and titled lower right

Leaves

Ellsworth KellyLeaves 1978One-color lithograph

Image/paper size: 30 x 42 inches (76.2 x 106.7 cm)
Edition of 30
Signed and numbered ‘Kelly AP 7/9’ lower right in graphite
(Inventory #29110)Inquire

Leaf III

Ellsworth KellyLeaf III 1978Lithograph

Image/paper size: 30 x 42 inches (76.2 x 106.7 cm)
Edition of 20
Signed ‘Kelly’, numbered and titled lower right
(Inventory #26503)Inquire

Sunflower II

Ellsworth KellySunflower II 1995-2004Lithograph on Rives BFK wove paper

Image/paper size: 37 x 29 inches (94 x 73.7 cm)
Frame size: 40 1/4 x 32 1/4 inches (102.2 x 81.9 cm)
Edition of 60
Signed and numbered lower right in graphite
(Inventory #30610)

Wild Grape Leaves II

Ellsworth KellyWild Grape Leaves II 2004Lithograph

Image/paper size: 23 x 31 inches (58.4 x 78.7 cm)
Edition of 60
Signed and numbered lower right in graphite

Source:

https://www.krakowwitkingallery.com/artists/ellsworth_kelly/ https://www.moma.org/artists/3048

Agnes Martin Fine art artist

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Editorial

Born on a farm in rural Saskatchewan, Canada, Agnes Martin immigrated to the United States in 1932 in the hopes of becoming a teacher. After earning a degree in art education, she moved to the desert plains of Taos, New Mexico, where she made abstract paintings with organic forms, which attracted the attention of renowned New York gallerist Betty Parsons, who convinced the artist to join her roster and move to New York in 1957. There, Martin lived and worked on Coenties Slip, a street in Lower Manhattan, alongside a community of artists—including Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly, and Jack Youngerman—who were all drawn to the area’s cheap rents, expansive loft spaces and proximity to the East River. Harbor Number 1 (1957), one of Martin’s earliest New York paintings, combines the geometric abstraction of her earlier Taos work with the newfound inspiration of the harbor landscape, evident in her choice of blue-gray palette.

Over the course of the next decade, Martin developed her signature format: six by six foot painted canvases, covered from edge to edge with meticulously penciled grids and finished with a thin layer of gesso. Though she often showed with other New York abstractionists, Martin’s focused pursuit charted new terrain that lay outside of both the broad gestural vocabulary of Abstract Expressionism and the systematic repetitions of Minimalism. Rather, her practice was tethered to spirituality and drew from a mix of Zen Buddhist and American Transcendentalist ideas. For Martin, painting was “a world without objects, without interruption… or obstacle. It is to accept the necessity of … going into a field of vision as you would cross an empty beach to look at the ocean.

In 1967, at the height of her career, Martin faced the loss of her home to new development, the sudden death of her friend Ad Reinhardt, and the growing strain of mental illness; she left New York, and returned to Taos, where she abandoned painting, instead pursuing writing and meditation in isolation. Her return to painting in 1974 was marked by a subtle shift in style: no longer defined by the delicate graphite grid, compositions such as Untitled Number 5 (1975) display bolder geometric schemes—like distant relatives of her earliest works. In these late paintings, Martin evoked the warm palette of the arid desert landscape where she remained for the rest of her life.

Agnes Bernice Martin (March 22, 1912 – December 16, 2004) was a Canadian-born American abstract painter. Her work has been defined as an “essay in discretion on inward-ness and silence”. Although she is often considered or referred to as a minimalist, Martin considered herself an abstract expressionist. She was awarded a National Medal of Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1998.

Source: https://www.moma.org/artists/3787

Diseño contra el pánico: soluciones para combatir el coronavirus y la desinformación

Por

Editorial

Diseño contra el pánico: soluciones para combatir el coronavirus y la desinformación

El diseño ha proporcionado soluciones contra la propagación de las epidemias en la historia y esta no es una excepción, pero con criterio. Arquitectura, arte y ciencia se unen para dar un mensaje: la desinformación es la peor de las pandemias.

ESPERANZA BALAGUER

5 MAR 2020 – 07:17 EST

El coronavirus, llamado en términos médicos COVID-19, todavía no ha sido declarado pandemia, pero su expansión imparable por todo el mundo hace crecer la paranoia alimentada por el ciclo diabólico de las noticias. Las imágenes de ciudades enteras en cuarentena, aeropuertos cerrados, supermercados vacíos y la cancelación de los eventos internacionales empezaron en Asia, continuaron por Europa, con Milán como centro neurálgico, y amenazan ahora a Estados Unidos. El futuro apocalíptico de las películas de ciencia ficción se palpa en esos lugares.

Desde Leonardo Da Vinci en el siglo XV hasta la actualidad, los diseñadores han buscado soluciones para prevenir la propagación de las plagas con ideas que reflejan las fobias y los miedos humanos más profundos. Pero que también crean una estética de la pandemia, ya sea con hospitales de campaña levantados en tiempo récord, mascarillas como código de vestimenta obligatorio o aparatos de alta tecnología como drones y mapas interactivos de su avance. O el curioso caddie –un híbrido entre el Papa-móvil y el sillón Retreat Pod, de Roger Dean– con el que evacúan a las personas con síntomas de coronavirus en los aeropuertos de China.

Pronto nos podríamos ver todos ataviados con el escudo Be A Batman (“sé un Batman”), creado por el arquitecto chino Sun Dayong a raíz de la aparición del coronavirus. Es un accesorio futurista inspirado en los murciélagos, una de las posibles fuentes del COVID-19, cuyas temperaturas corporales aumentan mientras vuelan, lo que les permite sobrevivir a pesar de tener la enfermedad.

Dayong, confundador del estudio Penda, ha utilizado un material de fibra de carbono para crear una membrana corporal que se cuelga como una mochila. Tiene una película de PVC con unos cables incrustados que calientan el plástico a una temperatura lo suficientemente elevada para matar al patógeno.

Este traje de protección es todavía un prototipo, pero su creador espera encontrar un patrocinador y ofrece sus servicios de forma gratuita. Después de contener una epidemia, piensa que el escudo se podría actualizar con la tecnología de Google Glass, o simplemente usarse como un “espacio móvil privado único para las personas”.

La cuarentena es, por el momento, el método más eficaz y más antiguo para luchar contra virus como el de Wuhan. Leonardo Da Vinci, tras sobrevivir a las plagas bubónicas que azotaron Milán entre 1484 y 1485, diseñó una ciudad futura de tres niveles que eliminaba los barrios abarrotados y separaba el comercio, la vivienda y el transporte. Nunca se llegó a construir.

Fue el primer proyecto de planificación urbanística pensado con ideas de higiene y prevención de enfermedades. Ya en el siglo XIX, la tuberculosis impulsó la construcción de sanatorios, como el famoso Paimio, del arquitecto finlandés Alvar Aalto en el sudoeste de Finlandia. En esta ocasión, China ha logrado una hazaña de la arquitectura y la ingeniería de cuarentena defensiva con la construcción en diez días de un hospital de 34.000 metros cuadrados y mil camas en Wuhan, epicentro del brote. Y espera abrir el segundo para 1.500 enfermos en los próximos días.

Una realidad distópica de humanos con sus propios rostros impresos en unas máscaras es el efecto que provoca la creación de Danielle Baskin. Diseñadora de producto, emprendedora y artista visual a partes iguales de 32 años, ha inventado estos accesorios que permiten desbloquear los teléfonos que funcionan por reconocimiento facial y seguir utilizándolos mientras se lucha contra el virus.

Cuando un tuitero le preguntó si era una broma, Baskin contestó: “Si. No. No estamos seguros. Los virus no son una broma. Lávate las manos cuando puedas. Y vacúnate cuando puedas”. Los ha probado en el modelo N95, uno de los antifaces más comunes, pero no estarán disponibles durante la actual crisis vírica por la imposibilidad de cubrir el alto número de pedidos que ha recibido.

La desinformación es la verdadera amenaza

Un chiste parecen las múltiples soluciones caseras que los ciudadanos lucen estos días por las calles de las principales urbes del mundo. La crisis del coronavirus ha agudizado el ingenio. Cuentas de Instagram como la neoyorquina Subway creatures o la china Shanghai Observed recogen los modelos más disparatados hechos ad hoc que se ven estos días en las calles.

El miedo irracional al coronavirus ha llevado al diseñador y artista germano-namibio Max Siedentopf, residente en Londres, a crear una docena de retratos provocativos con personas ataviadas con mascarillas hechas con ropa interior, una hoja de lechuga, una botella de plástico o una compresa.

Bajo el título Cómo sobrevivir a un virus global mortal, Siedentogf pretende ofrecer “soluciones útiles para usar objetos cotidianos simples para protegerse”. Una crítica a la desesperación por comprar máscaras, a pesar de que los médicos hayan advertido de su eficacia limitada. El mensaje, con el que el artista pretendía “sacarnos de nuestra zona de confort”, no ha sido recibido como esperaba y Siedentogf ha tenido que pedir disculpas a las decenas de personas que escribieron sintiéndose ofendidas por este trabajo.

Aun así, lo más útil en estas circunstancias es no dejarse llevar por el pánico. La desinformación es la amenaza real. Con los precedentes de respuestas mal calculadas en casos como el VIH o el ébola, los investigadores de la Universidad de Johns Hopkins de Baltimore (Maryland) han desarrollado un mapa donde se puede seguir en vivo la propagación de la epidemia. Su objetivo es impulsar la comprensión científica y aumentar la percepción pública del riesgo: de los 95.748 casos totales detectados hasta el momento de la publicación de este artículo, 53.422 se han recuperado.

Con este enfoque, el Museo Americano de Historia Natural de Nueva York organizó dos exposiciones: Epidemia (1999) y Cuenta atrás para cero (2015-2017) sobre el desarrollo de las pandemias buscando neutralizar los temores, fomentar la empatía con las víctimas y la importancia de la ciencia. En definitiva: el diseño, la crítica, el arte y la ciencia unidas en un solo mensaje: que no cunda el pánico.

Fuente: https://elpais.com/elpais/2020/03/05/icon_design/1583399807_555942.htm

Coronavirus Protection Suit Concerns.

Por

Editorial

Premier Art Fairs in Cologne, Buenos Aires, Dallas Postponed Over Coronavirus Concerns

With more and more governments across the world calling for large-scale gatherings of people to be canceled and postponed in face of the continued spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19), three major art fairs—one in Buenos Aires that is considered to be among Latin America’s premier fairs; one in Cologne, Germany, that is a destination for collectors; and one in Texas—said they would postpone this year’s editions.

Art Cologne, the world’s oldest art fair, said it would postpone this year’s edition until November 19–22. It had originally been slated to run April 23–26. The fair was to convene more than 170 galleries from around the world.

“The health of all trade fair participants is our top priority,” the fair said in a statement. While the government that oversees Cologne had banned gatherings with more 1,000 until April 10, the fair said it was postponing this year’s edition because its organizers were expecting the ban to be prolonged.

In a statement sent to ARTnews, the organizers of arteBA, the fair in Argentina’s capital, said that they had no choice but to postpone the upcoming main fair and its satellite event, “Utopia 2020,” both scheduled for April 16–19, after the government of Buenos Aires suspended all major gatherings. ArteBA said that each year the fair receives around 90,000 visitors during its run.

The arteBA statement reads, “The measure is in line with the recommendations of authorities and specialists and with the efforts that the main actors of the art world are making on a global level in the face of this problem.… The organizers of arteBA stress that their first priority is to ensure the well-being and health of all those who are in one way or another linked to the fair, especially in an extremely delicate context such as the current one.”

ArteBA said it did not immediately have new dates, and that the timing for this year’s fair would be determined “once the conditions for the fair to run in an absolutely safe way.” The statement added that “special consideration” would be given to the “opinions and interests” of the participating exhibitors, sponsors, artist-run spaces, and more that contribute to the fair.

The organizers of the Dallas Art Fair in Texas also said that it would postpone the upcoming edition. Originally set to run April 16-19, it will now take place October 1–4. The fair said it would honor all tickets that had been purchased for the April dates.

In a statement, Kelly Cornell, the Dallas Art Fair’s director, said “While the decision was not made easily, the health and wellbeing of the Dallas Art Fair’s gallerists, visitors, and staff are our top priority and the fair must make every effort to contain the spread of the virus.”

Across the world, several art fairs have also recently called off their scheduled editions running this month and next, including the L.A. Art Book Fair and Paris Photo New York, which said on Wednesday, March 11 that they would not go on as planned.

Source: https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/dallas-art-fair-arte-ba-postponed-coronavirus-1202680860/

Monday, March 16, 2020 – 7:11pm

To minimize health risks during the coronavirus outbreak, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes is closed until further notice. We have canceled or postponed public programs and rentals through mid-May. School hands-on workshops, tours and teacher training are cancelled or postponed throughout March, April and mid-May.

Keep up-to-date on developments on our website and on our social media pages.

Thank you for your support.

Saturday, March 14, 2020 – 10:00am

To minimize health risks during the coronavirus outbreak, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes is closed until further notice. We have canceled or postponed public programs and rentals throughout March. School hands-on workshops, tours and teacher training are cancelled or postponed throughout March and April.

Keep up-to-date on developments on our website and on our social media pages.

Thank you for your support.

Thursday, March 12, 2020 – 4:40pm

While the situation with the coronavirus COVID-19 is rapidly evolving, our highest priority is the health, safety, and well-being of our staff, visitors and LA Plaza community.

We are committed to following the recommendations of local health officials, including the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

To minimize health risks during the coronavirus outbreak, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes is taking the following measures:

• Our galleries and LA Tienda museum gift store will close to the public beginning March 16 until further notice.

• We have increased the cleaning and disinfecting of our facilities and have ample prevention supplies on hand, including sinks with soap, hand sanitizers, and tissues.

• LA Plaza’s public programs and rentals through March are cancelled or postponed. Programs will be rescheduled and/or livestreamed as appropriate.

• Guided School Group Visits, Hands-on Workshops and Teacher Trainings are cancelled for the months of March and April.

• Our staff will be on a limited work schedule.

If you have already purchased tickets for any of our paid events, you will receive a separate notification via email with additional information related to your reservation.

We appreciate your understanding and collaboration as we respond to this public health challenge. Please be assured that we are assessing new developments in this rapidly evolving situation, in order to assure the safety of our community and visitors.

Last updated: March 14, 2020, 3:20 p.m.

Argentina

ArteBA, which was slated to take place in the country’s capital city from April 16–19, postponed its upcoming edition after the government of Buenos Aires suspended all major gatherings. The fair was also forced to postpone its satellite event titled “Utopia 2020.” ArteBA did not immediately provide new dates for its event, but said in a statement that it would be decided with “special consideration” of the “opinions and interests” of the participating exhibitors, sponsors, and other contributors.

Austria

Several museums in Austria have closed, and others have said they would allow only 100 people at any given time. The Albertina, the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, the Kunsthaus Wien, the Leopold Museum, and all three locations managed by the Belvedere said on March 11 that they would remain closed until further notice. The Museum der Moderne Salzburg and the Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna said they would stay open and admit only 100 visitors at a time in accordance with the government’s ban of indoor gatherings of more than 100 people.

Brazil

While coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the country, no major museums or fairs have altered their programming. The SP-Arte fair has confirmed that it will go on as planned, running from April 1–5.

China

China, where the coronavirus was first recognized, has been among the countries most deeply affected by the outbreak. Museums, biennials, and fairs took prompt action, closing their doors within days after it became clear that it was becoming difficult to contain the pathogen.

The National Art Museum of China in Beijing, the Guangdong Art Museum in Guangzhou, and the Union Art Museum in Wuhan are among the institutions that have closed their doors indefinitely. China’s UCCA Center for Contemporary Art was forced to postpone three exhibitions as a result of officials’ recommendations. The He Art Museum, a new private museum located in the Shunde district of Foshan, in Guangdong Province, also said it will postpone its grand opening, originally set for March 21.

Gallery Weekend Beijing, which was scheduled for this month, decided it would delay its 2020 edition, with tentative plans to hold it in mid-April—and to potentially cancel altogether, if conditions have not improved by mid-March. Meanwhile, the March opening of Beijing’s X Museum, a 26,000-square-foot private museum from collector Michael Xufu Huang and businesswoman Theresa Tse, was postponed. And the inaugural edition of CAFAM Techne Triennial, which had been slated to open February 20 at the CAFA Art Museum in Beijing, was postponed last month, with no new opening date announced. The Design Shanghai fair, which was slated for March, has been moved to late May.

France

French president Emmanuel Macron has warned that the outbreak of the coronavirus in his country “will last weeks and perhaps months.” In response, the government has banned all gatherings of more than 5,000 people. Though that does not apply to museums, one of the world’s biggest museums briefly closed: the Louvre in Paris, whose staff made the decision to shutter the museum for several days to discuss how best to respond to the coronavirus’s spread. The museum reopened after France’s Minister of Culture and Ministry of Health assured staff that is safe to continue to run business as usual, though it said on March 4 that it would no longer accept cash for tickets so as to prevent the virus from spreading within its staff. On March 9, the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay said they would stay open, but their workers would limit the amount of people who could visit at a given time.

On March 14, the Louvre in Paris announced that it would close indefinitely. The Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie are among the other major institutions that have also closed.

Denmark

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebaek will be closed through March 27, and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen will be shuttered until at least March 30. The number of cases in Denmark rose over 300 on March 11.

Germany

Art Cologne, the oldest art fair in the world, announced that it would postpone this year’s edition until November. It had been set to take place from April 23 to 26, with some 170 galleries participating. Berlin’s state-run museums also announced closures.

The Berlin State Museums—a group that includes the Altes Museum, Gemäldegalerie, Pergamonmuseum, Neue Nationalgalerie, and Museum für Fotografie—said that they would be closed from March 14 onwards. The Jewish Museum and the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin have also announced closures.

The Haus der Kunst in Munich will be closed until April 20, and the Museum Ludwig in Cologne will be shuttered through April 19.

Hong Kong

In what some have said could be a boon for business in the territory, Art Basel Hong Kong canceled its 2020 edition entirely. The fair instead offered some galleries the opportunity to sell their wares via an online viewing room, where sales will be live from March 20 to 25 with preview days on March 18 and 19. Public museums in Hong Kong were among the first to be forced to close in January. In response to the crisis, Sotheby’s has relocated its modern and contemporary Hong Kong sales to New York in April.

On March 11, several public museums—including Hong Kong Museum of Art and Hong Kong Heritage Museum—partially reopened.

Ireland

The Irish Museum of Modern Art said that after, the museum closed to visitors on March 12, it would remain shuttered through at least March 15.

Italy

Museums in northern Italy experienced closures in February but began reopening in early March. Affected institutions included the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and ARTnews Top 200 collector François Pinault’s Palazzo Grassi, both in Venice; the Fondazione Prada in Milan; and the Castello di Rivoli in Turin. The Duomo di Milano also closed temporarily, and the Venice galleries Alma Zevi and Victoria Miro were impacted as well. The Venice Architecture Biennale announced on March 4 that it would postpone its 2020 edition, originally scheduled to open in May, until August. After some museums in Italy’s Lombardy region briefly reopened in early March, they shuttered once again, as part of an order from the country’s government to close all institutions. Among the institutions to close was Rome’s Scuderie del Quirinale, which was opened a blockbuster Raphael show in early March, only to shutter it days later. Many galleries in the country’s northern region—including Cassina Projects, Massimo De Carlo, and Monica de Cardenas—were forced to close. Monitor, which has spaces in Rome and Pereto, closed its locations and had to delay the opening of an exhibition at its Lisbon location.

Japan

Institutions across Japan have said they would be closed until mid-March. Among them are the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, the Kyoto National Museum, and the National Museum of Art in Osaka. Blum & Poe gallery was forced to postpone several exhibitions in its Tokyo space and adjust its hours of operation. Tokyo’s National Museum of Western Art, which will remain closed through March 16, was set to open an exhibition of major loans from the National Gallery in London on March 3.

Netherlands

The European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht had said that it would go on as planned from March 7 to 15, even after three exhibitors—Wildenstein and Co. (of New York), Fergus McCaffrey (New York), and Galerie Monbrison (Paris)—dropped out. The fair, which convened some 280 galleries, said in a statement that it would increase “precautionary measures, such as additional all-day cleaning services and distribution and placement of hand sanitizers at the fair.” On March 11, after the Art Newspaper reported that an exhibitor tested positive for the virus, the fair closed several days early.

On March 12, major museums in the Netherlands announced temporary closures. The Rijksmuseum and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam said they would remain closed until March 31. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Mauritshuis Museum in the Hague will also be shuttered through the end of March.

South Korea

In response to what South Korean president Moon Jae-in has called “a grave turning point” for the country, the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, and the National Museum of Korea, all of them located in Seoul, have been closed until further notice. Gyeongbokgung Palace, one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions, has suspended all official guided tours “until further notice,” according to the palace’s website.

Spain

Spain’s Ministry of Culture and Sports ordered 13 national museums—including the Prado, Reina Sofía, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid—to close on March 12. These institutions, however, are providing some online offers for visitors. The Thyssen-Bornemisza created a virtual tour of its exhibition “Rembrandt and Portraiture in Amsterdam, 1590–1670” that can be accessed online, and the Prado posted a 20-minute talk, given by its director, Miguel Falomir, on Tintoretto’s Christ Washing the Disciples’ Feet.

United Arab Emirates

Art Dubai has postponed its 2020 fair, which was originally scheduled for late March. A new opening date has not been set, though the fair has announced it will organize a program in the city during the event’s planned dates. The Sharjah Art Foundation will postpone an arts summit slated to run from March 21–23 until further notice; its exhibition spaces will continue to remain open during regular public hours. Other Emirati arts organizations, including the Jameel Arts Centre, the Alserkal Avenue organization, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, have not yet announced any plans to close or cancel events.

United States

No major American institutions have temporarily shuttered yet in response to the coronavirus, though many are beginning to take precautions. Nearly a dozen New York museums reached by ARTnews—including the Guggenheim, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Morgan Library & Museum, and the Frick Collection—said that they are monitoring the situation closely. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Getty Trust has formed a coronavirus task force to keep its employees, volunteers, and visitors safe; the institution has also canceled all employee travel to Italy, China, and South Korea. The city’s Museum of Contemporary Art has established a task force as well, and the Art Institute of Chicago has limited staff travel. Meanwhile, the fairs held in New York during Armory Week—the ADAA Art Show, the Armory Show, the Independent, and the Spring/Break Art Show—went on as planned, albeit with more sanitizer than usual.

In mid-March, news of the first major exhibition postponements starting coming in. Gagosian and Pace Gallery, both in New York, indefinitely delayed their planned exhibitions of works from the Donald Marron collection, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. said a blockbuster with work by Genoese Baroque artists would not happen in May as planned.

On Mach 11, the L.A. Art Book Fair, which was scheduled to take place at the Geffen Contemporary space of L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art from April 3 to 5, was canceled. That same day, Paris Photo New York, which had been set to run from April 2 to 5 at Pier 94, announced that it would would be postponed, with new dates to be announced as soon as possible.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art became the first major New York institution to announce that it would close temporarily in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the virus. Starting on Friday, March 13, the museum will close all three of its locations. At the time the news broke, the museum had not announced a reopening date. The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Jewish Museum, and the New Museum were also among those who announced closures. In Boston, four museums—the Harvard Art Museums, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts—also announced that they would indefinitely close.

Three mega-galleries also said they would temporarily close some American locations. David Zwirner has plans to close two out of three of its New York spaces, Hauser & Wirth will close its New York and Los Angeles galleries, and Pace Gallery will shutter its New York flagship.

The Dallas Art Fair in Texas said that it would postpone its 2020 edition, which had been scheduled from April 16–19. It plans to take place from October 1–4, honoring tickets purchased for the April dates.

The Getty Museum and Getty Villa in Los Angeles announced that they would be closed beginning March 14. The museum said in a statement issued on March 12 that “given the fluidity and uncertainty of the current crisis, Getty cannot determine the duration of the closure at this time.”

On March 18, Frieze New York announced that it would cancel its 2020 edition, scheduled for early May, and that it would begin work on its 2021 edition.

Curatormagazine.com

Por

Editorial

Curatormagazine.com

Meaghan Ritchey’s long and wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Daniel A. Siedell, an art historian and curator living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

At The Curator, we “seek to encourage, promote, and uncover artifacts of culture” by publishing reviews, critiques, poems, and personal stories. Tell us about your work as a museum curator (e.g. your many years of observing artists’ studio practice, organizing exhibitions, and managing an art museum collection).

I create space. As an art historian, I create historical space that allows the artists, curators, and critics in the past to come alive as human beings and restore the integrity of their work as responses to a particular historical moment. As an art critic, I create imaginative space for a work of art to be experienced through my sentences. And as a curator, I create a literal (exhibition) space for art to breathe in front of a viewer.

When people think of fine art activity in the US, the coasts come to mind—especially Los Angeles and New York. How did working in Nebraska for many years affect your curatorial philosophy?

I turned my somewhat marginalized location into an advantage. I was given the freedom at the Sheldon Museum of Art at the University of Nebraska to experiment, and so, I could offer artists the space to take risks, to explore aspects of their work that their dealer in New York or LA couldn’t allow them to take in their gallery shows. I knew I had a beautifully designed museum with well-proportioned exhibition spaces, and with a respected permanent collection of 19^th and 20^th century American art to serve as an historical context, I could give artists a lot to work with.

My contemporary art project spaces functioned like a back-room laboratory, allowing me to experiment, to explore approaches to work that I might not have been able to try on the coasts, where the pressure to conform is great because the sheer density of competitors. I didn’t have much funding to do these projects, but that also became an advantage, allowing me to fly under the radar screen of my director and board, and if I could raise a little extra money here and there, I could purchase even more freedom.

So what does all that mean for an artist’s relationship to a gallery/museum, respectively?

When the art world crashed in 2008, it revealed that artists have to take control of all of the decisions involving their work, that they cannot simply assume that a gallery or dealer can take care of all of the decisions made outside the studio while the artist only has to care about making their work. It’s the artist’s business to learn the business of art, to learn how art as an institutional practice (and sociological dynamic) works, and to think through every aspect of the life their work will have if it leaves the studio and goes out into the world. The decisions an artist makes outside the studio are just as important as those she makes inside.

How does your interaction with an artist evolve from your initial encounter with their work, to studio visit, and then to the realization of a museum exhibition?

My particular way of working with artists is deeply personal. I have to like the artists I work with—respect who they are as human beings, and how they approach their work as artists. There is also usually something about their work that pushes up against my approach to art that tests my understanding of artistic practice, and poses a question that I want to answer through their work. I also want to work with an artist who’s interested in my approach to their work, who believes that my approach enriches their practice. How we collaborate might take different forms: a publication, an acquisition, artist’s lecture, participation in a group or thematic show, or a solo project. I hope that years down the road the artist will consider our project to be somehow significant in her development, not only as an artist, but as a person.

You’ve spent a lot of time in artists’ studios. What have you observed? How are studio practices formative?

Although an artist is free do and make anything in the studio, she has a responsibility to do something. And that requires tremendous discipline and the willingness to ask the most fundamental questions. Each day she goes into the studio asking: “Who am I?”—”Who am I in relationship to this blank canvas, to the world outside the studio, to Nature, History, or a God who judges me?” In addition, the artist has to ask another closely related question, “What kind of artist am I?” And often that entails discovering of what kind of artist they don’t want to be. As the artist leaves the studio at the end of each workday, she has answered those questions, whether she knows it or not, at least for that day. And most artists, I think, know it. They also know that they have to answer those same questions again, tomorrow.

Given the nature of their work, then, most artists I’ve worked with have developed a set of intentional practices and habits, spanning the profound to the mundane, the complex to the simple, that give a liturgical form to their work. These are very similar to the liturgies and spiritual disciplines of various religious traditions that include a sensitivity to their lived space, meticulous attention to their materials, certain postures, and, I might add, contemplation and meditation: a willingness to spend long hours just sitting in a chair looking at their work. Like the spiritual disciplines, these studio practices create the space to be active and passive, proactive and receptive. The artists I’ve worked with know that being an artist is much more than producing certain artifacts, it’s about becoming a certain kind of human being.

Before I got to know fine artists well, before I wanted to know how/why they made what they made, I encountered artwork like it just always “was”, or something. I didn’t consider how it was made (e.g. where it came from, the difficult spatial restrictions, material costs—all of these variables). I had no empathy for the conceptual difficulty of setting out to make something that no one has ever made before! Once artistic practices and processes are understood, it opens up a type of appreciation. A curator can help with that.

I think that’s right. Being human means dealing with limitations. I think that the overly romantic idea that somehow creativity only takes place when you’re free of restrictions keeps a lot of good art from entering the world—or, perhaps, it actually prevents a lot of bad work from entering the world…What makes the existence of art in the world so remarkable is that it comes at great cost, sometimes through enormous challenges, but almost always through the slow drip of inconveniences, frustrations, and self-doubt.

This is why I am fascinated by what happens in the studio as the artist devotes her life to making artifacts that have no apparent use in the world, artifacts that are often ignored and misunderstood, especially in the church. Artists lean into that fear that every human being has—that the work we do doesn’t matter.

I’m attracted to artists who, on a daily basis, are making the commitment to be a particular kind of artist, in spite of the challenges and the limitations of their life situation—artists who have the faith to keep doing what they’re doing. They don’t have it all worked out—doubting their sanity and the wisdom of their choices. But in faith, they go to the studio and work. In the process they’re strengthening my faith in art, offering me assurance, and serving as a means of grace to me as I struggle with the wisdom of devoting my life to looking at smelly pigments smeared on a scrap of canvas amidst all of the very difficult challenges and responsibilities in my life.

You sound like an artist.

My work as an art historian, curator, and critic is my studio practice. I’m working with artists because I’m searching for my own answers, trying to put some balm on my own wounds, find something to cling to that can clarify my relationship to God and the world. Artists often function as my spiritual directors, and they’re not even aware of it. Artists don’t make work to express what they already know about themselves and the world; they make work to explore what they don’t know. My work as a curator is similar.

Why did you write God in the Gallery?

I wrote it as a theological reflection on my passion for modern & contemporary art. But instead of beginning where most Christian approaches to art do, in the seminar room or lecture hall, I began where I was living: neck deep in the art world—in artist’s studios, organizing exhibitions, and writing catalog essays. I live my life in the church as someone who devotes his life to modern art, and I live out my vocation as a curator in the art world as a Christian. I wanted to give voice to the richness and complexity of that experience, which I hoped would be an encouragement to other outliers like me.

What about your training permitted you to move freely in and out of what were seemingly dichotomous worlds?

I fear that if I’d read H.R. Rookmaaker’s Modern Art and the Death of a Culture as an undergraduate I’d have been forced to either give up art or give up my faith, quite frankly. I’ve spent a lot of time on the campuses of Christian colleges and universities and I observe a tremendous need for art history and art criticism. Art students get theology and philosophy, but they need history—modern art history. Art is an historical concept before it is a philosophical one.

What’s the first step in addressing this? And separately, what can universities do to foster conversation between fine arts students and business students so that the folks can, at a young age, understand what it means to be patrons?

Modern art history has to be taught, and taught by someone who loves it—not uncritically, swallowing it feathers and all. But presented in a way that reveals that it’s the living tradition within which every artist works today and that God is at work in and through it.

In addition to art history, Christian listeners can be developed by putting students in front of works of art—not just those in art museums, but those works that their fellow students are making. Christians move too quickly from the particular to the abstract, from the specific work of art they encounter to theological and philosophical categories like “Beauty” that, in reality, do violence to the integrity of the work of art and the artist who made it.

Most Christians who claim to like art like the theological and philosophical categories—they like art in “theory.” They are much less able to express their love of art in and through particular artifacts. But art doesn’t exist as an abstract category. It exists as this painting and that sculpture; this drawing and that performance. And I think this has relevance not just for art, but also as a means to help the church do what the church does, glorify God and love their neighbor.

Moreover, that nursing or business student who is comfortable standing in front of a work of art, not only gains insight into and empathy for the challenges of making art but might also become more inclined to go to art museums and see the humanity in those works that hang on the wall, or sit on pedestals, or move on the screen before them, and be changed in the process.

History & Mission

Founded in 2008 by Alissa Wilkinson through Makoto Fujimura’s International Arts Movement, The Curator showcased that organization’s commitment to the intersection of arts and faith. As founding editor Alissa Wilkinson put it, The Curator was designed to be

aggressively omnivorous, which would merrily ignore the established periodical wisdom of “timeliness” and simply go after culture in an exuberant, wide-ranging celebration of the best things humans make and do.

Over the years, though five editors have come and gone, though The Curator has sometimes slowed its publication schedule, and sometimes ceased outright, the mission has remained the same: to celebrate the best things humans make and do.

Contact Us
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Send an email to [email protected].

You can become a fan of The Curator on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Curator Interview Questions

Por

Editorial

Interview Questions for Curators

1. What do you like about our current displays? What improvements would you make?

Shows preparedness and creativity.

2. Explain how you negotiate a loan or purchase terms. What planning goes into that process?

Demonstrates negotiation skills.

3. Describe your experience with researching pieces and maintaining catalogues.

Shows thoroughness and organization skills.

4. When planning a display, what tasks do you handle? What do you delegate? How do you facilitate teamwork?

Demonstrates management skills and job expectations.

5. How would you promote our events and exhibitions? Use examples from your most successful event to support your answer.

Shows marketing skills.

Biennale Wynwood

Por

Editorial

Biennale Wynwood es un evento creado por un equipo de gente comprometida con el arte, que en su primera edición reúne a artistas de excelente trayectoria internacional de 25 países, con el propósito de resaltar la diversidad cultural que caracteriza a la ciudad de Miami.

Es un espacio extraordinario para apreciar y adquirir obras de alto nivel internacional en el que artistas y visitantes tendrán la oportunidad de relacionarse con coleccionistas y amantes del arte, con Arquitectos y Diseñadores de Miami, y con el Cuerpo Diplomático y Político de la ciudad.

La primera edición de Biennale Wynwood se realizará del 2 al 5 de abril de 2020, en el Distrito de Arte de Wynwood

Programación durante los días de exhibición:

Gala VIP de Inauguración de Biennale Wynwood, jueves 2 de abril de 7:00 a 10:00 pm.
Noche Diplomática, viernes 3 de abril de 7:00 a 10:00 pm
Encuentro con Asociación Interamericana de Diseñadores y Arquitectos, sábado 4 de abril de 7:00 a 10:00 pm
Charlas con personalidades del medio artístico y político en Miami, Domingo 5 de abril de 1:00 a 4:00 pm.

Abierto al público en el siguiente horario: viernes 3 y sábado 4 de abril 10:00 am a 10:00 pm. y domingo 5 de abril 10:00 am a 6:00 pm.

Dirección: 145 NW 36 Street, Miami Florida 33127

Para más información, visita www.biennalewynwood.com.

Síguenos en Instagram @biennalewynwood

Juliana Barrios presenta su nueva canción

Por

Editorial

Juliana Barrios presenta “La canción del Wassapp”

La intérprete y compositora colombiana, nominada al Latin Grammy, lanza el tema “La canción del Wassapp”. “Tiene un ritmo tropical con un toque urbano”, afirmó la artista sobre su flamante creación, que cuenta con humor una historia de amor frustrado.

“La canción del Wassapp” ya está disponible en plataformas como Spotify y Apple, y cuenta con su correspondiente videoclip en Youtube.

Este es el tercer tema que Juliana da a conocer en los últimos meses: los otros fueron “Sin tu amor no sale el sol” y “Quiéreme”. “La canción del Wassapp” fue compuesta por Juliana, y producida por los prestigiosos músicos Fredy Camelo y Ahmed Barroso.
Juliana nació en Cali, Colombia. Es graduada de Berklee College of Music, de Boston. Radica en Miami. Enlace para escuchar la canción en Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2QDGSYFZhxulqGS0odEPxj?si=lZqU6Xq0S6CSZ4pXlo9EmwEnlace para ver el videoclip de “La canción del Wassapp” en Youtube: https://youtu.be/cgDTl639jWc

Juliana online: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julianabarrios_music/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliana.barrios.54
www.julianabarrios.com
Ficha técnica de “La canción del Wassapp”:
Letra y música by Juliana Barrios @julianabarrios_music
Producción musical: Fredy Camelo/Ahmed Barroso
Ingeniero de mezcla: Shafik PalisIngeniero de Master: Michael Fuller
Editora: Mangabiche Music LLC
Portada: Deviento & papel @devientoypapelVideo: Mangabiche Music LLC

at the Sandrell Rivers Theater

Por

Editorial

Cultural Arts Partnership Program at the Sandrell Rivers Theater (CAP@SRT). Through a competitive process, this program allows new and upcoming artists and arts organizations to present their work at the Sandrell Rivers Theater. We are starting this season with 4 relevant projects:

MUSIC: “10,000 Strong Black Leadership Summit” by The Circle of Brotherhood; March 28, 2020, at 6 p.m. One evening of dynamic black leaders and Entrepreneurs from different industries. Together under one roof, one mind, one vision. To empower our community economically. Followed by a comedy show, music concert, and networking mix & mingle.
THEATER: “Unfold: The Pride Plays” (The Silver Tongues Stages) by Ricky J. Martinez; Apr 2 and 3, 2020, at 8 p.m. A collection of three Latino-centric, LGBTQ2 case studies realizing the complexities of our “identity decade.”
DANCE: “Boys Will Be Boys” by Randolph Tyrone Ward, Jr.; May 1, 2020, at 6:30 p.m., and May 3, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. Dance work that dissects and investigates the effects of toxic masculinity on American boyhood.
THEATER: “The Short and Short of It” by Bruce Karp; Sept. 11 and 12, 2020, at 8 p.m., and Sept. 13, 2020, at 3 p.m. Several short comedies and dramatic plays that will touch on many facets of human interaction, family dysfunction embracing LGBTQ, social, family, HIV, homelessness, kindness, and friendship themes, and even some Hip Hop.

Attached find our press release with additional details. I can also provide more info, photos and arrange interviews with any of the 2019-2020 awardees, if you’d like.

Do you think Art Miami Lifestyle may be interested in attending and covering any of these performances? There will be some great inspiring stories, as well as photo opportunities, that I know would be meaningful to our community.

I will follow up in a few days to see if you might want to attend. Thank you very much!

Rommel Arellan-Marinas │ Associate Artistic Director

Fantasy Theatre Factory at the Sandrell Rivers Theater

6103 NW 7^th Ave, Miami, FL – 33127

Web: ftfshows.com

Phone: 305-284-8800 EXT 467

Cellphone: 786-715-1581

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Participating Artists Concrete Matters

GERALDO DE BARROS (1923–1998)

MAX BILL (1908–1994)

ALUÍSIO CARVÃO (1918–2001)

WILLYS DE CASTRO (1926–1988)

LYGIA CLARK (1920–1988)

WALDEMAR CORDEIRO (1925–1973)

CARLOS CRUZ-DIEZ (BORN 1923)

GEGO (1912–1994)

GYULA KOSICE (1924–2016)

JUDITH LAUAND (BORN 1922)

RAÚL LOZZA (1911–2008)

TOMÁS MALDONADO (BORN 1922)

JUAN MELÉ (1923–2012)

JUAN ALBERTO MOLENBERG (1921–2011)

HÉLIO OITICICA (1937–1980)

ALEJANDRO OTERO (1921–1990)

LYGIA PAPE (1927–2004)

RHOD ROTHFUSS (1920–1969)

LUIZ SACILOTTO (1924–2003)

MIRA SCHENDEL (1919–1988)

IVAN SERPA (1923–1973)

JESÚS RAFAEL SOTO (1923–2005)

JOAQUÍN TORRES-GARCÍA (1874–1949)

RUBEM VALENTIM (1922–1991)

FRANZ WEISSMANN (1914–2005)

ANATOL WŁADYSŁAW (1913–2004)

Ellsworth Kelly American Artist, 1923–2015

SELECTED WORKS

Dark Gray Curve

Untitled (Purple State I)

Green

Red-Orange (Rouge-Orange)

Blue Yellow Red

Two Blacks and White

Small Red Curve

Blue curves

Red curve

Small Blue Curve

Red Curve (Black State)

Untitled (for Obama)

Concorde II (State) from The Concorde Series

Concorde IV from The Concorde Series

Concorde V from The Concorde Series

Cul de Sac

String Bean Leaves III (Haricot Vert III)

Leaf V From the series Twelve Leaves

Leaf X

Leaves

Leaf III

Sunflower II

Wild Grape Leaves II

La desinformación es la verdadera amenaza

Premier Art Fairs in Cologne, Buenos Aires, Dallas Postponed Over Coronavirus Concerns

Curatormagazine.com

Top 5 curator interview questions with detailed tips for both hiring managers and candidates.

Interview Questions for Curators

1. What do you like about our current displays? What improvements would you make?

2. Explain how you negotiate a loan or purchase terms. What planning goes into that process?

3. Describe your experience with researching pieces and maintaining catalogues.

4. When planning a display, what tasks do you handle? What do you delegate? How do you facilitate teamwork?

5. How would you promote our events and exhibitions? Use examples from your most successful event to support your answer.

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