EXPOSICION DE PINAS

EXPOsición de PiNAS

An International Art Exhibition

Davao City’s Museo Dabawenyo cordially invites you to the opening reception forEXPOsición de PiNAS on Friday the 16th of December 2011 from 3.00pm on. The exhibit runs through January 2012.

The Bahaghari Gallery is open from Monday to Saturday from 9.00am to 12.00pm and from 1.00pm to 6.00pm, with free admission. The Museo Dabawenyo is located along Magallanes St., at the back of the Sangguniang Panglungsod Building.

EXPOsición de PiNAS is an international group art exhibition that endeavors to produce innovative collaborations among emerging contemporary artists with exclusive representation from different countries in America, Canada, New England, France, Italy, India and the Philippines. This large presentation of a highly diverse set of works is seen via the medium of print reproductions of the individual original art pieces. The historic Museo Dabawenyo, situated in the heart of the Durian City of the Southern Philippines, offers an environment adapted to the varied creations and styles that exhibit organizers target to expose to the local and international art scenes.

A compelling combination between painting and photographic prints gives the visitors an exciting overview about modern creations, amplified through the possibility of personal exchanges with the present artists. Davao City’s ‘Museum of the People’ is the ideal venue to host this first edition of this international art presentation and inter-cultural exchange. This local event with worldwide participation and multi-media mileage is made possible through the initiative of home-grown travelling visual artist Victor ‘Bong’ Espinosa.

Living in the highly fluid milieu of our times – at once culturally diverse and rapidly changing – means it is important that the arts of these contemporary environments embrace and reflect these realities. This project hopes to demonstrate the strength of collective voices in deciding the future of neighborhoods, cities, nations, societies, juxtaposed with highlighting the importance of intimate conversations and compassionate social interactions.

In line with contemporary modes, this exhibit has generated interest, participation and awareness using social media, and the organizers will continue utilize this online network of artists and friends to keep the conversation going.

EXPOsición de PiNAS showcases the innovative approaches of artists, as well as circulates fine art exhibitions to large and small institutions such as the exhibit venue Museo Dabawenyo. Covering a broad and dynamic range of art and cultural concepts, it exposes the viewer – fellow artists, students and art collectors alike – to genres, artistic identities and art movements from all over the globe. See you there and see you online!

IMMACULTE: THE CONCEPTION OF LYDIA VELASCO

“Mother and Child” masterworks

By Cid Reyes

The birth of a new art gallery named Galerie Artes is launched with an initial offering titled “Immaculate,” opening on Saturday, December 10. The theme references the Blessed Virgin Mary’s immaculate conception, she being born without the stain of original sin. The Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, exactly nine months before the Nativity of Mary. Thus embracing the theme, and inspired by the Yuletide season, Lydia Velasco’s recent works embody the classic subject matter of Western art, the Mother and Child theme.

Impressive is Velasco’s continuation of a tradition initiated by the late Galo Ocampo who first indigenized the theme with his iconic “Brown Madonna.” In a visual and affectionate strategy, Ocampo rendered the Blessed Mother as a Filipina, resplendent in her brown skin, garbed in kimono and patadyong, emblazoned with the flaming rays of anahaw fans. Frail and gaunt, the child Jesus astride on her hips, is a portrait of humanity at its starkest and divinity at its humblest. While not a direct influence, Ocampo emerges as a primordial stimulus to Velasco’s own nativistic Mother and Child works.

Better known for her expressionistic renditions of earthy Filipino women, with their massive frame, limbs and extremities, Velasco rings the emotional register by heavily weighing on the tender relationship between the two figures clasped or twined together. The bodily gestures, by turns needy and protective, seem caught in unguarded moments.

The title painting “Immaculate” is a dramatic unveiling of the Child Jesus, swaddled in sinamay–weave, flaring in angel–wings. Blue, which is the color associated with the Blessed Mother, is a buoyant spread of hue in the background. “Yakap” and “Kalinga” are both a luxuriance of emotion, with both figures bathed in preternatural light. Velasco’s quality of light is always in a state of tension between darkness and radiance.

In the progression of age through the years, the Lord as toddler is depicted in “Pangaral” in a very real household that, with its chequer-board tiles, a curiously staring cat and an open window, alludes to a Dutch interior painting.

Taken as a whole, Velasco’s “Immaculate” works are another manifestation of the artist’s deeply empathetic and rapturous relationship with the Mother and Child theme, which constantly renews her art even as the theme remains ever inexhaustible.

Opening Reception will be on December 10, 2011 7 pm. The show will run up to January 10, 2012. Artworks will be on display at Galerie Artes , located at the Ground Floor, Nueve Uno Bldg. 91 Xavierville Avenue . Loyola Heights, Quezon City. Email addresses: galerie.artes91@gmail.com; galerie.artes@yahoo.com.

LUIS SANTOS: EXPOSITION

LUIS SANTOS: Exposition

10 December 2011 - 08 January 2012

Pairing the overused model of a skull with his compulsion to perfect, Santos transforms the upstairs gallery into a laboratory full of photorealistic specimens. Meticulously calculating every brush stroke, he reproduces every curve and indentation of these scientifically accurate images against monochrome backgrounds. He goes to the extreme of literally presenting reality as is, void of any distractions or adornments. Straightforward and direct, Santos refreshingly presents no need to impart strong messages about the world at large. Instead, in his quiet and non-intrusive manner, he invites us to return to the simple and obvious, and yet the typically forgotten.

This exhibition will be on display until 08 January 2012 and coincides with 12 Days of Xmas that is concurrently on view in the Main Gallery.

To find out more, please visit our website www.manilacontemporary.com

[SEA] TERRITORIES OF THE REAL AND UNREAL

[SEA] TERRITORIES OF THE REAL AND UNREAL: Photographic practices in contemporary Southeast Asian Art Curated by Adeline Ooi and Beverly Yong

ARTISTS

Amanda Heng (SG)

Angki Purbandono (ID)

Davy Linggar (ID)

Gina Osterloh (PH/US)

Isa Lorenzo (PH)

Ismail Hashim (MY)

Julia Sarisetiati (ID)

Kornkrit Jianpinidnan (TH)

Lena Cobangbang (PH)

Manit Sriwanichpoom (TH)

Paul Kadarisman (ID)

Poklong Anading (PH)

Steve Tirona (PH)

Wimo Ambala Bayang (ID)

Yee I-Lann(MY)

Zhao Renhui (SG)



[SEA] TALKS SERIES

A day of talks will be held on Saturday, 10 December 2011, 10AM - 5.30PM

Guided tour: Adeline Ooi, Beverly Yong;

Speakers: Patricia Levasseur de la Motte, Zhuang Wubin

[for registered participants]

For more info, or to register for the guided tour and talks, please
contact Ms. Mala at +6281215500083 or info@langgengfoundation.org

RE:VIEW 2011

RE:VIEW 2011

4:00 pm

Saturday 10 December 2011

Gallery Indigo

BenCab Museum

Km. 6 Asin Road, Tuba, Metro Baguio

OCCUPY WALL STREET GROUP LOOKS TO OPEN ARTS SPACE

Occupy Wall Street group looks to open arts space

The movement’s Arts and Culture committee is in discussions to find a multi-purpose space to use for studios and exhibitions

By Helen Stoilas. Web only

Published online: 24 November 2011

NEW YORK. A group within the Occupy Wall Street movement is in discussions to find a multi-purpose, indoor arts space, which is to be used for “studio space, rehearsals, concerts, storage, performances, exhibitions, teach-ins, film screenings, art classes for children, sleeping, etc”, according to its website. The Arts and Culture committee of the New York City General Assembly, the protest group behind the movement, is planning to use shared office space on Wall Street with other Occupy groups, and is considering another offer from the arts blog Hyperallergic to borrow space in its Brooklyn offices, among other options.

“After the troubling Zuccotti Park eviction [of the protesters’ camp on 15 November] we were afraid that the group may not have the resources to continue their work,” says Hrag Vartanian, the editor of Hyperallergic, which has covered the protests closely since they started two months ago. “Regardless of how we might feel about specific projects or objectives of the arts and culture committee, we think what they are doing is important.” Vartanian has invited the group to use his space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, free of charge, saying he thinks it is “in keeping with the mood of the times that those of us with resources think of ways we can share them with those who may not have the same level of access. From our perspective, the need for generosity and empathy is at the root of Occupy Wall Street.”

The group discussed the offer on 22 November, and while a consensus had been reached on moving into the shared office space on Wall Street, options for a multi-purpose arts space are still being explored.

The arts and culture committee is one of the largest groups in the Occupy Wall Street movement and has been at the heart of the protest from the outset, helping to organise actions, design puppets and posters, and create works inspired by the protesters’ ideals. A few exhibitions in public galleries have already taken place of art produced by protesters or inspired by the movement. Among these is an evolving window installation at the non-profit organisation, Printed Matter, which is set to close on 26 November, and the display “This Is What Democracy Looks Like” at NYU's Gallatin Galleries, which also closed earlier this month. The exhibition “Occupied” at the independent bookstore Bluestockings on Allen Street runs until 8 December.

Read full article here.

12 DAYS OF XMAS

Featuring works by Bjorn Calleja, Valeria Cavestany, Mariano&Haraya Ching, Pardo de Leon, Dina Gadia, Eugene Jarque, Leeroy New, Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, Mac Valdezco, Marija Vicente, Ryan Villamael, MM Yu, Reg Yuson

Christmas is a season of bright lights, colorful decorations, door to door carols, family gatherings and gift giving. It is usually associated with moments of warmth and togetherness. Manila Contemporary carries this forward and challenges the norm as we offer an alternate version of this familiar festivity. Providing no boundaries in medium or theme, artists are made to explore the endless possibilities of their craft and are left to create according to their own sentiments for the occasion. Linked by a common thread of merriment and as a toast to the past, we prepare for another chapter of endless possibilities.

This exhibition will be on display until 08 January 2012 and coincides with Exposition that is concurrently on view in the Upstairs Gallery.

To find out more, please visit our website www.manilacontemporary.com

FABRICATIONS

Patricia Perez Eustaquio in Fabrications at MCAD

Silverlens Galleries represented artist Patricia Perez Eustaquio will be amongst the featured artists De la Salle College of St Benilde's Museum of Contemporary Art and Design's exhibit Fabrications.

The exhibit will run from Dec 9, 2011 - Feb 25, 2012.

DOES ART NEED BANKERS?

Does art need bankers?

As Italy’s new technocratic government struggled to its feet, 100 financiers, entrepreneurs, collectors, curators, dealers and academics gathered in Florence for a private conference on the future of art and finance

By Robert Hewison. Web only

Published online: 24 November 2011

Not since Damien Hirst cleared £111m from his solo Sotheby’s sale as Lehman Brothers went down in September 2008, setting off the financial crisis that still afflicts us, has there been a more powerful conjunction of art, money and events. Last month, as Italy’s new technocratic government struggled to its feet, 100 financiers, entrepreneurs, collectors, curators, dealers and academics gathered at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence for a private conference on the future of art and finance. The Governor of the Bank England, Mervyn King, senior figures from the European Central Bank, the US Federal Reserve, the Swiss National Bank, the CEO of Sotheby’s, Bill Ruprecht, former Guggenheim Director Thomas Krens, now running his own Global Cultural Asset Management, were just some of the influential people prepared to spend 24 hours sharing their financial wisdom and their concern for art.

The cue was, appropriately, a striking new show at the Palazzo Strozzi, “Money and Beauty. Bankers, Botticelli, and the Bonfire of the Vanities”. Its blunt opening statement, “No Bankers. No Renaissance”, was a suitable subtext to the forum organised by the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation’s dynamic director, James Bradburne. The show elegantly told the story of the rise of Florence as a financial centre and its parallel flowering as a centre for art. There was no doubt here about the meeting of art and money, but the glowering portrait of the doomed priest, Savonarola, was a reminder that the Medici faced their crises too. Florence invented the letter of exchange, a complex financial derivative and a way to get round the Church’s view that making money out of money was usury—a thought powerfully resonant today.

Since this was a closed conference under Chatham House rules, I can’t report who said what, but just as Florence is no longer the cultural and financial powerhouse it was in the 15th century, there was concern that today financial and cultural power is on the move from the West to the East. China has become the largest market for art, both indigenous and Western, but the Gulf, India, Singapore, and Taiwan also have cash and cultural power. There was much debate as to whether financial centres necessarily became cultural centres, but the consensus was, in the words of one delegate who certainly knew what he was talking about, “art tracks money and power”. Abu Dhabi’s plans may be on hold, but there is no doubt about the rise of China.

Read full article here.

FATHER OF PHILIPPINE MODERN ART HONORED

Father of Philippine Modern Art Honored

THe Edades Projects with support the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Office of Pangasinan Governor Amado T. Espino, the Philippine Star and Universal Harvester, Inc presents “Edades: From Freedom to Fruition” an exhibition on the life and works of National Artist VIctorio C. Edades (1895-1985) as painter, architect and educator. Unknown to many, he was an OFW who worked in the salmon canneries of Alaska, as furnace operator and dishwasher in girls' dormitory and amateur boxer so he could support his studies at the University of Washington, Seattle USA for 9 years.He was also an early environmentalist planting native trees wherever he stayed,advocating a simple lifestyle and was a passionate tennis player till he passed away.

The exhibition, to be held at the Main Gallery of the Cultural Center of the Philippines from December 2, 2011 to January 7, 2012 showcases some 40 works (sourced from government and private collections from Manila to Davao and Pangasinan) made by Edades between 1926 to 1981, some of which were never exhibited before.

The exhibition also includes the works of Edades’ former students in UST, now distinguished artists in their own right such as Antonio Austria, Manuel Baldemor, Norma Belleza, Charito Bitanga,Danny Dalena, Angelito Antonio,Jaime de Guzman, National Artists Ang Kiukokand Jerry Elizalde Navarro, Veronica Lim, Ramon Orlina, Leon Pacunayen, and Rhoda Recto.

dades was a graduate of Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Washigton. In 1928 he came home and began to embark on a mission to see Philippine Art move away from its parochial isolation that was 50 years behind, and changed the direction of Philippine painting towards mainstream international culture.

dades served as the head of Department of Architecture in 1930 which he helped organize and later in 1935 introduced the Liberal Arts program which led to a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, its curriculum patterned after the American curricula, which set new standards for art education in the country.

Edades taught at UST for 30 years (from 1930 to 1966) where he encouraged his students to have a thorough knowledge of history at the same time, a keen awareness of the progress of art in other countries that created an environment for modern art to flourish.

Edades: from Freedom to Fruition” is part of a series of events and activities, called the Edades Projects in honor of the country’s Father of Modern Art which was launched last July 29, 2011 in Adition Hills, San Juan, Edades’ one-time residence, dubbed as Edades Tea Party.Edades Projects is a collaboration of Liongoren Gallery, Institute of Studies for Asian Church and Culture and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. For inquiries contact 9124319/4393962/9643496.

DEGAS ON SHOW AT ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS HAS GOVERNMENT INDEMNITY WITHDRAWN

Degas on show at Royal Academy of Arts has government indemnity withdrawn

An advertisement in a London newspaper listed the drawing as “for sale” while the exhibition is running

By Martin Bailey. Web only

Published online: 23 November 2011

London. A Degas at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) has had its government indemnity withdrawn, following enquiries by The Art Newspaper. The charcoal drawing of the Dancer, 1880-85, is currently in the “Degas and the Ballet” exhibition (until 11 December).

Dancer has been on display as lent by Trinity House, a London and New York dealer. On 22 November, Trinity House ran a large advertisement in the London newspaper the Daily Telegraph, stating prominently that the drawing is “currently on loan to the Royal Academy” and “available for sale”. The work was also featured on the home page of Trinity House’s website. It, like the rest of the hundreds of millions of pounds worth of art in the Degas show, is covered by UK government indemnity.

However, the advertisement contravened UK government guidelines, which forbid owners or dealers “to capitalise” on the public display of indemnified works of art. Following our enquiry, the RA immediately informed Arts Council England, which administers the indemnity system, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. After its initial contact with Trinity House, the RA told The Art Newspaper that the advertisement for Dancer had been “a genuine misunderstanding on the part of the owner” and “the work is no longer for sale”.

Read full article here.

SLOVENIA GETS A SECOND TASTE OF NATIONAL ART

Slovenia gets a second taste of national art

Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova opens this month

By Richard Unwin. Museums, Issue 229, November 2011

Published online: 22 November 2011

Slovenia’s new Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (MSUM) is due to open in the capital on 26 November. Its planned October launch was delayed by a range of factors, including changes in the coalition government. A new branch of Ljubljana’s Moderna Galerija, MSUM will be based in a former Yugoslav army barracks.

Read full article here.

CULTURE DOESN’T PAY, COA FINDS IN AUDIT OF CCP

Culture doesn’t pay, COA finds in audit of CCP

By Leila B. Salaverria

Philippine Daily Inquirer

4:11 am | Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

Filipino talents may be sweeping the world stage, but back home their countrymen are not really coming in droves to theater shows, the Commission on Audit (COA) has found.

In its latest audit report on the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the COA said the CCP failed to meet its targeted audience count for 2010, which was a similar finding in previous years.

This affects the CCP’s ability to fulfill its mandate, which includes making Filipinos aware of their cultural heritage and encouraging them to take part in preserving, promoting, enhancing and developing it, according to the COA.

The CCP stages plays, musicals, dance shows like ballet and folkloric performances, film showings, art exhibits, poetry readings, storytelling sessions and the like.

It generates income from operations, contributions from the private sector and from other local and foreign sources. It also receives a subsidy from the national government.

Less than stellar turnout

The COA cited figures from 2007 to 2010 to highlight the less than stellar turnout at CCP events.

In 2010, the expected audience count was 510,252, but the actual turnout was just a little over half that—292,755 people for 757 performances, or an average 387 persons per audience.

In 2009, the expected turnout was 468,820 for 812 performances. But only 248,548 people came. In 2008, the audience count was expected to reach 514,704 for 778 performances, but only 273,633 attended. In 2007, the expected turnout was 514,672 but only 255,496 people turned up for the 742 performances.

27 % paying customers

The COA further found that a little over half of the 292,755 people who attended the theater in 2010 came on complimentary or nonrevenue tickets. Only 27 percent were regular paying customers, while 29 percent were discounted patrons.

From 2007 to 2009, the number of nonrevenue customers also made up half or more than half of the audience. For 2009, 60 percent were nonpaying, while in 2008, 50 percent were nonpaying. In 2007, 55 percent were nonrevenue tickets.

Losses in revenue

Because of this, the CCP was hard-pressed to come up with much needed revenue.

“The high ratio of nonrevenue/complimentary audience and discounted tickets against the regular paying audience indicated losses in revenues of the Center. Coupled with the shortfall in target audience count, the ability of the Center to generate corporate funds for its operations was adversely affected,” the COA said.

Missed income target

It also pointed out the CCP did not generate its target corporate income for the past years, as seen in its statement of income and expenses.

For instance, its projected income for 2010 was P152.59 million, but actual income was P113.834 million. It also incurred deficits from 2005 to 2009, ranging from nine percent to 45 percent of its projected income.

This shows there is a need for the CCP to improve its financial performance so that it could sustain its operation and existence, the COA said.

“For the past years, the center was heavily dependent on national government subsidy to continue as an operating entity. As a corporation, it is incumbent that it generates sufficient income to sustain its operations and attain its mandate,” it said.

It recommended the CCP review its policies for ways to sustain its operations from its corporate revenues.

It also said the CCP should improve its marketing and administrative strategies for programmed performances.

The CCP, it noted, was amenable to the suggestion.

* * * * * * *

The purpose of posting this article is that the Cultural Center of the Philippines needs support by watching many shows. We urge, especially the Filipinos, to patronize the Filipino arts and culture.

Maraming salamat po, pagpalain po tayo ng Poong Maykapal at mabuhay tayong lahat.

WORLD TRADE CENTER ARTIST RESIDENCY ENDING

World Trade Center artist residency ending

Four artists who have used one of the unfinished office buildings as studio space will have to move out at the beginning on next year

By Bonnie Rosenberg. Web only

Published online: 22 November 2011

New York. Silverstein Properties’s unofficial artist-in-residence programme at Seven World Trade Center is coming to a close at the end of the year.

The deal began in 2002 with video artist Marcus Robinson, who approached real estate developer Larry Silverstein when construction on the building began. From that moment, Robinson was granted special access to the site and later, in exchange for free studio space, the artist provided promotional film cuts for the company.

The expansive area is currently divided among four artists. including Diana Horowitz, Jacqueline Gourevitch and Robinson, all of whom create work inspired by the site at Ground Zero.

Read full article here.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH “OUR” ANTIQUITIES?

What should we do with “our” antiquities?

US museum directors wrestle with the long-term consequences of artefacts acquired without watertight provenance

By Erica Cooke. Museums, Issue 229, November 2011

Published online: 17 November 2011

One year on from the collapse of the five-year trial in Rome of Marion True, the former antiquities curator of the Getty, the directors of US museums that possess antiquities collections and the curators who are responsible for them face a multitude of challenges, one of which is the potentially negative publicity surrounding claims for the restitution of artefacts. An ordeal by trial in an Italian court is another (True was in the dock charged with conspiring to receive antiquities that had been illegally excavated and exported). In June 2010, it emerged that the public prosecutor’s office in Rome was undertaking a preliminary investigation into another American curator of antiquities, Michael Padgett from Princeton University Art Museum, along with former New York antiquities dealer Edoardo Almagià and two other co-defendants.

Although the Padgett case has gone quiet, the issue of museums’ complicity in looting, especially from Italy but increasingly from nations around the world, refuses to go away. The recent publication of Chasing Aphrodite (which focuses on decades of Getty acquisitions) reignited the debate, especially in the US. The book’s authors, Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino, were widely quoted as saying: “For the past 40 years, museum officials [in the US] have routinely violated the spirit, if not the letter, of the Unesco treaty [designed to prevent looting], buying ancient art they knew had been illegally excavated and spirited out of source countries.”

So where does this leave museums with antiquities collections? Will curators work in a climate of fear, worried about their professional reputations or foreign prosecutions over past acquisitions? What will they do with collections, many of which contain objects without watertight provenance? At worst, some fear that antiquities collections could be sidelined, with directors and their trustees reluctant to invest in or research them.

Others, however, feel that the worst is now over, and that a new spirit of international co-operation is beginning to blossom. Perhaps in a show of confidence, the Cleveland Museum of Art reinstalled its collection of Greek and Roman art in 2010, and the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston is renovating its ancient coin and jewellery galleries, says its director, Malcolm Rogers.

Read full article here.

SHINING THROUGH

SHINING THROUGH

25 Nov. – 12 Dec. 2011

Renowned glass sculptor Ramon Orlina’s latest show at the Art Verite on the second floor of Serendra at Bonifacio High Street, brings his art to an even higher level after the completion of his outstanding monument, the Quattro Mondial, at the UST grounds. Although there is no clear juncture before and after this unique achievement, there is in his latest work, however, a new sparkling elan, a fresh release of self-confidence, and a joyous surge of creativity in the glass art that he has now unquestionably mastered.

Orlina’s art is home grown. He did not have to travel abroad to realize his dream to be a glass artist; he started in the Philippines where, after 30 years, he has achieved his national and international identity as the master of the art of glass in our time.

This show is curated by Ruel Caasi.

Shining Through recent works by Ramon Orlina opens 25 November, Friday 6:30 pm at Art Verite’ 2C - 05, 2F Shops at Serendra, Bonifacio High Global, Taguig City, Philippines. The show runs until 12 December 2011.

For inquiries, contact us at +63 29151982 or email us info@artverite.net

HOW TO BUY A DAMIEN HIRST FOR £7.50

How to buy a Damien Hirst for £7.50

Online venture s[edition] will sell limited edition digital works by contemporary artists

By Charlotte Burns. Web only

Published online: 17 November 2011

LONDON. Artists including Damien Hirst, Isaac Julien, Shepard Fairey and Wim Wenders have created limited edition digital works for a web platform, s[edition], that launches today in London.

The works are available to buy and download for display on mobile phones, iPads and computers. Each edition is numbered and authenticated with a certificate signed by the artist. Prices range from £5 to £500, and will increase as editions sell out, rising to around £1,000 according to Harry Blain, the site’s chairman and cofounder.

Blain, formerly the director of London’s Haunch of Venison gallery and now co-director of the Blain|Southern and Blain|Di Donna galleries, is leading the venture with Robert Norton, the former chief executive of Saatchi Online and head of e-commerce at AOL Europe. “It’s an idea I’ve been playing around with since the early 1990s when we were looking at CDs, but the technology was simply not there then,” says Blain. He calls the concept a “21st-century adaptation of woodcuts and etchings. Artists are just using the media available to them to reach a larger audience”.

Read full article here.

CHRISTMAS TAKE-OUT

Take your Pick. Pay. Take Home in

Galleria Duemila’s “Christmas Take-Out”

Galleria Duemila presents “Christmas Take-Out,” as its Yuletide season exhibition on Friday, December 2.

The show features over a hundred artworks, with the participation of National Artists, established and emerging artists. The concept is “Take your Pick. Pay. Take Home”. It is a revolving show which allows art patrons to immediately enjoy the artworks they have chosen. Both in styles and prices, the artworks range widely to accommodate a variety of taste and budget.

Among the participating artists are National Artists Arturo Luz, Bencab, J. Elizalde Navarro, Presidential Merit Awardees Juvenal Sanso and Betsy Westendorp, Augusto Albor "Gus", Darby Vincent Alcoseba; Lester Amacio, Marcel Antonio, Cezar Arro, Rey Aurelio, Ivi Avellana -Cosio, Virgilio "Pandy" Aviado, Maximino Balatbat, Perfecto "Jun" Baloloy, Flor Baradi, Norma Belleza, Elmer Borlongan, Arnel Brillantes, Elmer Caballero, Ben-Hur Cabana, Angel Cacnio, Henri Cainglet, Imelda Cajipe-Endaya, Norberto "Lito" Carating, Valeria Cavestany, Rodelio Cerda, Florence Cinco, Charlie Co, Joey Cobcobo, Allan Cosio, Mideo Cruz, Melvin Culaba, Don Reich De Dios, Demetrio Dela Cruz, Reynaldo Dela Cruz, Camille Dela Rosa, Ramon Diaz, Randalf Dilla, Augusto Elopre, Van Cleef Emnacen, Oscar Floirendo, Carlos Garcia, Mark Andy Garcia, Ramona Gaston, Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi, Melvin Guirhem, Allain Hablo, Jose Ibay, Raul Isidro, Raul Jorolan, Lianben Lao, Rico Lascano, Raul Lebajo, Lindsey James "Lindslee" Lee, Julie Lluch, Marilyn Magpantay, Ivan Faizal Macarambon, Red Mansueto, Perfecto Mercado, Dennis Miguel, Fernando Modesto, Dennis "Sio" Montera, Raffy T. Napay, Edgar "Aruzi" Nucum, Justin “Tiny” Nuyda, Yuan Mor'o Ocampo, Leonardo Onio, Ramon Orlina, Joie Pabilando, Jaime Jesus Pacena II, Rafael Pacheco, Vincent Padilla, Julian Paguiligan, Neil Pasilan, Impy Pilapil, Nick Pongan, Rodolfo Ragodon, Cid Reyes, Jemina Reyes, Omi Reyes, Risa Recio, Roberto M. A. Robles, Warlen Rodriguez, Rodolfo Samonte, Reynaldo Samson, Jerson Samson, Arturo Sanchez, Juvenal Sanso, Eduardo "Ed San" Santos Jr., Mauro "Malang" Santos, Ronald Salazar, Anastacio "Tassilver" Silverio, Brave Singh, Kim Hamilton Sulit, Dexter Sy, Jose "Bogie" Tence-Ruiz, Glory Abueva Tobias, Kristoffer Tolentino, Boy Valino, Jericho Valjusto Vamenta, Lydia Velasco, Roy Veneracion, Socorro Villanueva, Waldz Villanueva, Nestor Vinluan, Edwin Wilwayco, Rodney Yap, Jophel Botero Ybiosa, Jr., Luis "Junyee" Yee, Jareds Yokte, and Phyllis Zaballero.

The exhibition runs till December 30. Galleria Duemila is located at 210 Loring Street 1300 Pasay City, Metro Manila. Telephone Nos. 831-9990 / 833-9815. Email address: gduemila@gmail.com; Website: www.galleriaduemila.com.

A CENTURY-OLD MONUMENT HIGHLIGHTS ABU DHABI’S AMBITION

A century-old monument highlights Abu Dhabi’s ambition

There is a fascinating resonance between the wild, ambitious idealism that once inspired Tatlin’s tower, and the 'remarkable, miraculous, limitless possibility of thinking' that has inspired the development Saadiyat Island

By Henry Hemming. Web only

Published online: 17 November 2011

ABU DHABI. The most interesting work of art on show at Abu Dhabi Art 2011 is not for sale, it could hardly be more prominent, and yet most visitors give it no more than a passing glance.

Just beyond the main entrance to the Manarat Al-Saadiyat is one of the earliest surviving models of Russian artist Vladimir Tatlin’s The Monument to the Third International, conceived between 1915-20. Though the original disappeared long ago, this ten-foot-tall model was built in 1967 by the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, using extant plans and photographs. The New York-based dealer Tony Shafrazi had the idea of bringing it to Abu Dhabi Art 2011.

What makes the piece so compelling is the relationship between it and its current location. There is a fascinating resonance between the wild, ambitious idealism that once inspired Tatlin’s tower, and what Shafrazi called the “remarkable, miraculous, limitless possibility of thinking” that has inspired the development of Abu Dhabi and in particular Saadiyat Island, now home to Abu Dhabi Art.

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EDADES: FROM FREEDOM TO FRUITION

Victorio Edades at CCP

(The Philippine Star) Updated November 28, 2011 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The Edades Projects — with support from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Office of Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino, the Philippine STAR, and Universal Harvester Inc. — presents Edades: From Freedom to Fruition, an exhibit on the life and works of National Artist Victorio Edades as painter, architect and educator, which opens on Dec. 2 at the Bulwagang Juan Luna (CCP Main Gallery) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Roxas Blvd., Pasay City. The show runs until Jan. 7, 2012.

The show features some 40 works (sourced from government and private collections from Manila to Davao and Pangasinan) made by Edades between 1926 to 1981. It also includes the works of Edades’ former students in UST such as National Artists Ang Kiukok and Jerry Elizalde Navarro; Antonio Austria, Manuel Baldemor, Norma Belleza, Charito Bitanga, Danny Dalena, Angelito Antonio, Jaime de Guzman, Veronica Lim, Ramon Orlina, Leon Pacunayen, and Rhoda Recto.

Edades: From Freedom to Fruition is part of a series of events and activities called Edades Projects in honor of the country Father of Modern Art, which was launched last July 29.

For inquiries, call (632)912-4319, (632)439-3962 or (632)964-3496 or e-mail edadesprojects@gmail.com.

LOVE ME

PAEA’s LOVE ME EXHIBIT AT CCP

The Philippine Art Educators Association (PAEA), through the leadership of Orlando P. Abon of St. Mary’s Academy of Pasay City, in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), will open its biennial exhibit entitled Love Me (Learning to Own & Value Environment & Mother Earth) on December 2, 2011, at the CCP Main Theater Lobby, and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor hallways at 2pm.

This exhibit aims to instill among children care for the environment. Participants are children ages 6-18 years old from the public and private schools. It showcases art works using different media, ideas and styles expressing their understanding of current issues as well as the values they have imbibed through visual art.

The exhibit will be on view until January 1, 2012. For more information, please call CCP Visual Arts at (632)832-1125 loc. 1504-1505.

CHRISTO’S OVER THE RIVER GETS FEDERAL APPROVAL

Christo’s Over The River gets federal approval

Artist says final plans to wrap the Arkansas River answer opposition’s concerns over environmental impact

By Helen Stoilas. From Web only

Published online: 07 November 2011

DENVER. Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s plans to wrap the Arkansas River in southern Colorado were finally approved today by the Bureau of Land Management after more than two years of review and public debate. If the artist secures the final permits from Colorado agencies, the temporary work will go on display between Salida and Cañon City for two consecutive weeks, starting at the earliest in August 2014.

Over The River, the latest project proposed by the contemporary artist who famously wrapped the Reichstag in 1995, will see a 42-mile stretch of the river covered by 5.9 miles of fabric panels. “We’re elated. The only thing that is missing is that Jeanne-Claude is not here to enjoy it—she would be up in the air with happiness,” said Christo over the phone today. He was on route to Washington, DC, where he will give a press conference on Tuesday announcing a gift to the National Gallery of Art, including works related to the project.

The work has seen furious opposition from local groups, which say it will have a negative impact on the region’s environment and wildlife. The Bureau of Land Management released a report that answers these concerns with a series of mitigation measures, which Christo will also be responsible for funding. According to the bureau, the artist’s organisation for the project, named OTR Corp, will fund a “habitat improvement project and water developments” that will allow the sheep access to other water sources while the project is up. The artist will also take measures to lessen the impact on migratory birds and eagles. And while fishing access in the immediate area of the project will be “significantly impacted” in the short term, the Bureau of Land Management says it will not be disrupted in the rest of the canyon. Traffic, boating and access to recreation areas will also be monitored.

“This is the first time in history that the government has done an impact study like this for a work of art, it’s normally only done for building, bridges, airports, or mining project,” said Christo. He also says it’s the first time that a book has been published for a work of art that does not exist, referring to the 1,686-page report published by the government, which he says cost $2.5m to research. “Critics have never written about a painting before it’s been painted, or a sculpture before it’s been sculpted”.

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THE PROBLEM WITH AUTHENTICATING WARHOL

The problem with authenticating Warhol

While some fear the negative effects of the closure of the vetting board, others say its role was not essential

By Charlotte Burns. From News, Issue 229, November 2011

Published online: 07 November 2011

Works by Andy Warhol are due to take centre stage in this month’s contemporary art auctions in New York (7-9 November). An estimated $114m worth of art, comprising 49 works, ranging from $20,000 to $19m, will be sold; works by Warhol will represent 11% of the evening sale material. Their success, or failure, will act as a barometer for the health of the contemporary market at a time when fears of a new recession are looming.

There is, though, a twist in this month’s test of the Warhol market following the announcement that the Andy Warhol Foundation will dissolve its authentication board at the beginning of 2012.

The board, which has come under fire for its controversial decisions (see box), has acted as the sole arbiter in authenticating Warhols for the past 16 years. Some fear the negative effects of its closure. It leaves “the Warhol market adrift,” says Anders Petterson, the founder and managing director of ArtTactic. “This ship is too big to be left to free float. Despite the fact that the board was often criticised for its decisions, it acted as an anchor for a complex market characterised by large production volumes, extensive use of appropriation-based techniques and various degrees of the artist’s involvement in the final product.”

While the move “is bound to cause some type of confusion in the market in the short-term”, says Oliver Barker, the deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Europe and its senior international specialist in contemporary art, he feels that the closure is ultimately “more an inconvenience than a major commercial disaster”.

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LEONARDO’S SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD REDISCOVERED IN NEW YORK

Leonardo’s Saviour of the World rediscovered in New York

The work was assumed lost until it turned up in an American private collection

By Martin Bailey. From Features, Issue 227, September 2011

Published online: 31 October 2011

After New York conservator Dianne Dwyer Modestini had removed the varnish and overpaint, the picture’s quality and style convinced the scholars. A technical examination also supported the attribution. Pentimenti, such as a change in the thumb of the hand of Christ raised in blessing, were further evidence.

The attribution is fully accepted by Syson and National Gallery director Nicholas Penny. “We felt that it would be of great interest to include it in the exhibition as a new discovery,” a gallery spokesman told us.

The roll call of specialists who accept the attribution includes Carmen Bambach, Andrea Bayer, Keith Christiansen and Everett Fahy (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), David Alan Brown (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC), Mina Gregori (University of Florence), Maria Teresa Fiorio (Raccolta Vinciana, Milan), Pietro Marani (Politecnico, Milan), David Ekserdjian (University of Leicester) and Martin Kemp (University of Oxford). Some have dated it to the end of Leonardo’s period in Milan (1498-99) and others to Florence (1500-06). So far, Italian specialist Carlo Pedretti is the only scholar to have questioned the attribution.

Where has the painting been for five centuries—and how did it emerge? By the 17th century, it belonged to Charles I. It went to the Duke of Buckingham in 1688 and was sold in 1763 by his descendants as a Leonardo. The painting disappeared and surfaced in 1900, attributed to Bernardino Luini, when it was bought by collector Sir Francis Cook.

Tancred Borenius, in his 1913 catalogue of the Cook collection, described it as a “free copy after Boltraffio”, although Sir Herbert Cook added a dissenting note, ascribing it to a “contemporary painter of Leonardo’s School”. Sir Herbert was an Italian Renaissance specialist, so it is curious that he never subjected the picture to further scrutiny.

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NO PUNNING ON PUTIN

No punning on Putin

Fourth Moscow Biennale shows fewer political works

By Sophia Kishkovsky. From Web only

Published online: 01 November 2011

MOSCOW. “Rewriting Worlds,” the fourth Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (22 September-30 October), displayed unintentional synergy with Russia’s bizarre political scene, opening just two days before prime minister Vladimir Putin announced he would be rerunning for the presidency. The announcement at a congress of United Russia, the dominant Kremlin-controlled party, plunged Russia’s intellectual and ruling elite into debates about whether the move signifies a return to the late Soviet-era stagnation of general secretary Leonid Brezhnev, or whether it offers much needed stability on the path to modernisation.

The announcement coincided with the opening on 24 September of one of the biennale’s special projects, “Media Impact: International Festival of Activist Art”, held at Artplay Design Center, Moscow’s latest arts and design hub on a former factory site. Several works on display at Artplay were among the few in the biennale to reflect the current economic and political climate, including P.I.G.S., 2011, by Paris-based artist collective Claire Fontaine, a map of the debt-ridden countries of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain assembled out of 360,000 matches that were burned at the end of the biennale, and Earth Report, 2010, a series of mini-installations by South Korean artist Kijong Zin, which focus on the geopolitical and ecological threats of globalisation.

The other half of the main exhibition was held in an exhibition hall at TSUM, a luxury emporium. Mercury Group, which owns TSUM, has a controlling stake in Phillips de Pury. Disappointingly, anticipated events such as the arrival of Ai Weiwei, the Chinese dissident artist, who was invited to attend, did not materialise.

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ANGER OVER LOUVRE’S PLAN TO CLEAN A LEONARDO

Anger over Louvre’s plan to clean a Leonardo

Specialists fear artist’s “smoky finish” effect may be harmed

By Gareth Harris. From News, Issue 229, November 2011

Published online: 01 November 2011

Paris. Conservators approach works by Leonardo da Vinci at their peril for fear of creating a storm—especially in France. The Louvre’s latest attempt to conserve a masterpiece by the artist, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, 1508, has yet again sparked a wave of debate about cleaning paintings, even if they are dirty and discoloured.

The proposal to clean the work was first mooted at a two-day conference held at the Louvre in June 2009, attended by key Leonardo scholars such as Martin Kemp, emeritus professor at the University of Oxford. “The event at the Louvre was a genuine scholarly exercise. The work is tricky; there are some rather nasty scars and very ugly, discoloured retouching,” he says. “It’s not just a question of cleaning off the dirt but ensuring that the internal colour balance is not disturbed.”

Previous restoration attempts have also proved controversial. According to our sister paper Le Journal des Arts, the Louvre abandoned plans to conserve the work in 1994 because the solvents used to remove varnish risked damaging the paint layers beneath. In autumn 2010, the Louvre decided to try again, this time backed by a scientific committee made up of specialists, including Larry Keith of the National Gallery in London, who last year restored Leonardo’s The Virgin of the Rocks (around 1491-1508). Vincent Pomarède, the project leader and keeper of paintings at the Louvre, said that the aim was “to solve the problem of the thick varnish that pulls on the paint layers, creating an uneven surface”. Pomarède’s solution involves thinning the layers applied in the 19th and 20th centuries, leaving a film of varnish eight to 12 micrometres thick, rising to 25 micrometres across the faces of the figures.

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