Art Of The Day Weekly
#105 - from 16 October 2008 to 22 October 2008
IN THE AIR
Eve nude in Mchigan
« We are not against the word «Love» and we are not against freedom of speech», the sheriff of Roseville explained in 2005. He thus justified the order given to artist Edward Stross to erase the word «Love» he had added, without being authorized, on his own mural painted in 1997 in the small town of Michigan. The mural is a personal copy of the Creation of the world by Michel-Angelo. A recent release from the Associated Press tells us the Supreme Court of Michigan has just decided in favour of the municipality. Stross should erase the word Love he had written in honour of Lady Di. On the other hand, the court has authorized Eve to go topless (the naked breasts of Adam’s companion had triggered off the rage of the municipal council and the painter had been forced to hide them). For once, American Puritanism leads the way for Europe’s libertine outlook: a few months ago, at Palazzo Chigi, Italian Prime minister Berlusconi had covered the breast of Truth unveiled by time…
Edward Stross' mural painting, breasts uncovered, in an article in the Detroit News
EXHIBITIONS
In Vuillard's intimacy
KARLSRUHE – He was an eminently Parisian artist, and at the same time hardly so mundane. Edouard Vuillard did indeed paint portraits of the high society and socialized with the avant-garde of the Revue blanche. But the greater part of his work is a celebration of intimate apartment scenes, often in small format, in which his mother - with whom he lived all his life- often appeared, sewing. The Staatliche Kunsthalle has brought together 120 works that cover all his artistic periods, from the nabis beginnings with Sérusier up to the pastels that depicted his neighbourhood at place Vintimille, shortly before his death in 1940. The complete series of the 12 colour lithographs from the series «Landscapes and interiors», done in 1899, is there as well. The exhibition benefited from loans from major institutions such as the musée d’Orsay as well as from numerous private collectors.
Dufy in all directions
PARIS – We had not seen him so well for over half a century: Raoul Dufy will now enjoy the first complete retrospective since his death in 1953. The musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris has met the challenge by reuniting 120 paintings and 90 graphic works from all over the world. The institution has the faculties to take care of that: it possesses his undoubtedly most famous work – the 250 rings on plywood panels in his Fée Electricité, a hymn to progress he made in 1937. His booming Fauve beginnings in 1906-1907 are obviously represented, as well as the relentless collaboration with the cloth manufacturers: samples and even items of clothing are exhibited next to the sketches. The urgent taste for colour penetrates all Dufy’s career, marked by work in loops: the ports, the boat races, the musicians or the black cargo ships give way to series. Drawing notebooks, hangings, ceramics or pieces of furniture complete the portrait of a polymorphous and generous artist: in 1952, he ceded the amount of the Great Painting Prize, awarded at the Biennale of Venice, to his colleagues Vedova and Lapicque.
Futurism will blow its one hundred candles
PARIS – Guess what anniversary this is: an exhibition as complete on Futurism could only be imagined if there is something to celebrate. Connoisseurs will find it right away: it was in 1909 that Marinetti, the prophet of movement, published his manifesto. In Paris and in French: the Figaro, which was not averse to iconoclasm, published it on its front page. The exhibition at the Centre Pompidou closes before the centennial (20 February 2009) that will actually be celebrated at its second venue, in Rome, at the Scuderie del Quirinale. What Marinetti really asked that we revere was progress, technology, speed, the bustling and motorized city – and surely not the moonlight or museums! Boccioni, Balla, Soffici as well as Duchamp, Picabia or Gleizes devoted themselves personally. The «only» French Futurist artist, Félix Del Marle, has his a place in the retrospective, aimed at giving life to a key moment in futurism: the exhibition in February 1912 at the Bernheim-Jeune gallery. The near totality of the 34 paintings shown then have been brought together again.
AUCTIONS
A pair of Mintons pâte-sur-pâte olive-brown vases, ‘Venit et Fugit’ 1892, signed L. Solon, 53.5 cm. Estimate: $200,000-300,000. © Christie’s
The explosion of pâte-sur-pâte
NEW YORK – Only twenty-nine lots are concerned, and one will have to go across the Atlantic Ocean to see them. But these details do not stop true amateurs: Christie’s will put up for sale a very beautiful ensemble of «pâte-sur-pâte» ceramics from the English manufacturer Minton, at Rockefeller Center on 21 October. Created between 1872 and 1910, they reflect the Art nouveau aesthetics and above all the genius of Marc-Louis Solon, who developed the process at Sèvres: it consists in creating a décor in relief by superimposing various fine layers of liquid clay, and having each dry before applying the next. At the end of this creative process (which could last for months), the fact of cooking the piece gave it a relief similar to that of cameos. Solon was «poached» by the leaders of Minton, at Stoke-on-Trent, and there perfected his technique, producing vases in shades of pink, cobalt, chocolate, decorated with cherubs, ancient characters and flowers. These pieces experienced a continuous inflation: while the more recent ones are still more or less affordable (estimates starting at 4 000 $), a masterpiece from 1891, a pair of vases with an olive-brown background, could go for more than 300 000 $.
ARTIST OF THE WEEK
Julio Le Parc: light in a box
He is one of the popes of optic and kinetics art, defended for nearly half a century by the Denise René gallery. Argentine artist Julio Le Parc, born in 1928, knew the pure light of the Andes, in Mendoza, before settling in Buenos Aires and then in Paris. Founder of the GRAV (the Group of research on visual art) with Morellet and Yvaral, among others, he became famous early when he was awarded the Great Prize of Painting at the Biennale of Venice in 1966. The galerie Lelia Mordoch has filled its space with darkness and brought together the light boxes of the sixties. The sources of light cross one another while being constantly filtered by the diaphragms. The emotions of stroboscopy, experienced in technology class in high school, relived in large format …
BOOKS
The Etruscans and their cousins
The Universe of forms, the famous collection founded by André Malraux, has been rejuvenated. The format has been updated, that is made more compact, the bibliogra- phies have been updated and a prelude has been added. Nothing else has really been changed and that is undoubtedly a good idea! When we dive into the volume on the Etruscans, which we owe to Bianchi Bandinelli, one is of course charmed by the erudition, the remarkable iconography and by the attention given to cultures other than the Etruscans, in particular those of Sardinia or southern France like the Picenians and the Dauniens. But the real shock comes from the text. We are so used to neutral descriptions, bordering on boredom and without any life to them, placing all forms of creation at the same levell, that we are seized by the forthrightness of the style. The author places detailed descriptions (for example on the technique of filigree) next to very definite positions(on the artisans in the region of Campania in the IVth century B.-C. : « The result often borders with disaster: they try uselessly to hide a fundamental inexperience by small discoveries »).It is a shame the typography is so tight and light, which hinders a passionate reading.
IN BRIEF
BOGOTA-The contemporary art fair ArtBo will be held from 16 to 20 October 2008.
BRUSSELS-A new biennale is entering the landscape of contemporary art: the one of Brussels, organised by the Flemish community, held from 19 October 2008 to 4 January 2009.
GRASSE-The international museum of the perfume industry will reopen its doors on August 18 October 2008 after four years of hard labour.
LONDON-The 2008 edition of Frieze, the contemporary art fair, will be held from 16 to 19 October 2008. At the same time, the event named "So feucking French" tries to impose French artists on the British scene by dedicating various exhibitions to them at the Village Underground.
LONDON-Parisian gallery owner Yvon Lambert opens a space in the English capital on 16 October, at Hoxton Square, in front of the White Cube gallery.
LONDON-Kounter Kulture, the latest fair to appear on the London contemporary art scene, will be held from 5 to 19 October 2008 at the Truman Brewery.
ROME- The International Antique Biennale (Biennale internazionale d'antiquariato) will be held from 17 to 26 October 2008, with the participation of 50 international art
ON ART-OF-THE-DAY.INFO
This week, do not miss
SALON D'AUTOMNE
PARIS -An international crossroads on contemporary creation, from martial arts to photography, the Salon d'Automne will be held from 16 to 26 October at the Espace Auteuil. It will host a delegation of Egyptian artists and will pay a tribute to one of its major figures, painter Georges Arditi.
GUIMET
PARIS -The musée Guimet presents for the first time in Europe a fragile Shintoist masterpiece: the paintings on screens and sliding partitions from the sanctuary of Konpira-san, located on the island of Shikoku.
RODIN
PARIS -Rodin and Freud had at least one point in commun: their taste for Antique art. The Rodin museum shows how this passion developed and confronts major works from their respective collections, Greek statuettes to Egyptian portraits.