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Art News Archive
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Gestaltung presents Donation Dora Hartwig
- Dec 07, 2006
The Bauhaus Archiv, Museum für Gestaltung in Berlin presents Donation Dora Hartwig. Josef Hartwig was workshop master in charge of sculpture at the Bauhaus in Weimar. In 2003 his daughter Dora Hartwig made the Bauhaus Archive a generous gift of not only the chess table that her father designed for his famous Bauhaus chess set but also a a large number of important works of art that he had owned. They include extremely rare prints by his Bauhaus colleagues Feininger, Kandinsky, Klee and Schlemmer along with many drawings and a sculpture by Gerhard Marcks.
An item of very special importance is a copy of Max Beckmann’s Apocalypse dedicated to Josef Hartwig. Until he was dismissed in 1933, Beckmann taught with Hartwig at the Frankfurt Art School. The book was produced in a very small wartime print run in 1943. It contained hand-coloured litho illustrations and escaped the attention of the Nazi censors.
The focus of the exhibition is Josef Hartwig's legendary functionalist chess set, developed between 1922 and 1924 at the Bauhaus. The shape of the chessmen was no longer based on historical models but defined solely by their function in the game of chess. The aim was to make the rules of the game easier to understand for everyone, including beginners. “The new chess pieces,” Hartwig wrote, “are made out of simple stereometric bodies – the cube and the sphere. Singly or in combination, their shape indicates how the piece moves on the board, and their volume indicates its value. The pawn and the castle move parallel to the edge of the board as expressed by the cube. The knight moves in an L-shaped rectangular pattern and combines cubes at a right angle. The bishop moves diagonally in relation to the edge of the board as a saltire cut out of a cube. The king moves both at a right angle and diagonally, a small cube superimposed at a 45° angle on a larger one. The queen, the piece that can move most freely, consists of a cube and an orb.” The chess set was made in numerous versions and materials. They are here seen for the first time together – from the early one-offs to the low cost, mass-produced “consumer set”.
"Circular: Maria Lobo"
2006-12-06 until 2006-12-20
Sin Sin Fine Art
Hong Kong, HK Hong Kong
Sin Sin Fine Art is pleased to present Canada-based Maria Lobo’s new collection entitled "Circular". For this collection of new works, Lobo has been inspired by abstract Zen brushwork. The abstract expressionists, splashes of ink are juxtaposed with graphic forms and blocks of color. These contrasts and juxtapositions expand on themes that we have come to recognize in her work. They mirror her constant themes of East and West, order and chaos, peacefulness and challenge. The paintings reflect a struggle to find a balance these themes. This ephemeral effort toward a lively balance continues ceaselessly for many of us in our daily lives.
Lobo states, “It is about traveling through the layers and the finding your place in space and time. The work is East and West reflecting my heritage, history and the multi-cultural world in which we live”.
The collection also combines the techniques and themes that characterize Maria’s work: collage, layering, rendering of negative space*, patterning, transparency of paint and the use of gold and silver leaf.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Maria Lobo’s art training took her to Italy, Spain and the USA. Studying at the University of Santa Clara and the San Francisco Art Institute, she gained degrees in Fine Art and Painting in 1985. Having been part of the San Francisco Hunters Point artists’ community Lobo returned to Hong Kong in 1994 and now spends her time between Vancouver and Hong Kong. Her work has been exhibited internationally.
Lobo has designed a large-scale artwork for the Hong Kong MTRC, which was installed in the Tseung Kwan O Station in Summer 2003.
This exhibition is kindly supported by Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
"El Agua: Bolivian Photographer Gonzalo Contreras"
2006-12-06 until 2007-01-15
Museo Regional de Rancagua
Rancagua, CL Chile
On December 6th, at the Museo Regional de Rancagua - Chile will present the exhibit: El Agua (The Water) by Bolivian photographer Gonzalo Contreras, color photographs, an installation and solarizations printed on canvas. The Museum has selected Gonzalo’s work as part of the FotoAmerica 2006 biennale.Gonzalo Contreras has been a Premiere Portfolio Artist at absolutearts.com since 2004.
Following is an introduction made by Juan Domingo Marinello of the photographer, for the occasion in which he also present his first book.
"This is a fascinating book, which is a result of the society established by Gonzalo Contreras del Solar and his camera, to perpetrate an exciting publishing adventure. The author’s faithful Rollei 6006 has accompanied him for more than twenty years on his lookout for the water in all his forms: rivers, ice, cascades, lakes, fountains, rain, and clouds. It represents a vast and vital scene that occupies around a million and half of cubical kilometers in our planet. Contreras has captured it visiting more than thirty countries, located in three continents.
"The author, from a very early age identified himself with the world of the art. First, he explored into painting, under a strong influence of Vincent Van Gogh. Soon, in search of a more personal expression, in accordance with his traveling personality, he decided to pursue photography. Later on, he studied photography in Mexico and Bolivia.
"Admirer of Ansel Adams’s work, the North American master, he became a diligent student and follower of his technical rules, which did not prevent him to develop an own and personal vision of color, the one he has applied specially in his series on Water.
"These photographs constitute a kind of ecological visual poetry, and they are the language in which “he writes” his experiences. His objective is to show –on an unusual way– what we always see. Being in love with the aquatic universe, the act to photograph is for him a kind of mutation of a first collective meaning. His talent as author always allows the final image to be a harmonious poetic synthesis of the real scene.
"Gonzalo Contreras proposes a humanist view of the forms and lights that water takes, a landscape that –it is noticed in each one of his pictures–, is not indifferent to him. The photographs of this book, which constitute his work from the 80s to date, have been a ductile way to communicate their poetic intuitions, looking for a kind of universal understanding. They represent a documentary and universal testimony of the intimate and solitary relation experienced between the photographer and the scenes that surrounded him. Through each one of these photographs the author lends his eyes to the spectator, attesting through an authorial registry not only the aesthetic visibility, but also emotion. He always captures de image in the culminating point of his idea.
"His photographs can seem casual, but in its true essence, they are difficult to do and require a second look to understand them. Behind these photographs, there are hundreds of hours waiting for one light, one magical moment, that ideal situation, between the limit of the fantasy and the real thing. They have a language that is a little mysterious, which is neither a lexicon nor an alphabet that is in direct contact with our unconsciousness. Contreras lends us other person's eyes for the exercise of the own perception.
"They constitute an intentional fragmentation that leads us to a totality by the footpath that the photographer marks. Gonzalo Contreras raises more questions to us than those that he responds to. As observers, we cannot ask the photographer himself, but we must interrogate his work. In this book, the images fascinate us with more force than their original models when associating our feelings with the proposed visual experience of the author.
"In this work everything is finally condensed in a few seconds of revealing “reality”. The photographer, alchemist apprentice, like all of us pertaining to this brotherhood, has fruitfully tried to make visible what others do not see. Each one of the temporary fragments that appear in this book is the summary of an incessant search of images that manage to reach us emotionally, stimulating our imagination, and that definitively, open a window to offer us new aesthetic and reflection horizons.
"During these last years, Gonzalo Contreras has explored into special techniques, such as the use of infrared film, and especially in the technique developed by Armand Sabattier in 1860, who altered the normal densities of a photographic image giving a touch of light during the development. Also called solarization, it was primitively used for black and white plates. Nowadays, in the case of the color, this effect produces unreal colors and images. The author, helped by the modern digital tools, has obtained a singular mastery in the use of this technique. When using the solarization he modifies the densities of the three basic colors that compose an image, producing surprising chromatic results. Prior to this book, Gonzalo Contreras del Solar made more than twenty exhibitions in Chile and other countries. His work, awarded and recognized, has been published in numerous magazines and sites of the Web."
Juan D. Marinello K.
View more of Gonzalo Contreras' artwork at http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/t/tacomal/.
"Travelling Weave: Works by Eight International Artists"
2006-12-06 until 2006-12-12
Adana State Fine Arts Gallery
Adana, TR Turkey
Monica Zacharias, brazilian artist, will be the Brazil representative in an exhibition of eight international artists in the Adana State Art Gallery, in Adana, Turkey. The exhibition will run from December 6-12 and will include work of the members of international artist group, The Travelling Weave, of which Zacharias is a founding member. This exhibition will be the kick-off event of the 13 Kare Art Festivali, an annual festival sponsored by the Adana Art council. Monica Zacharias has been a Premiere Portfolio Artist at absolutearts.com since 2001.
“The "13 Kare Art Festivali" is a festival that takes place each December in Adana city,” says Safa Bute, a Turkish member of the Travelling Weave, “About 10 years ago there was an accident around Adana. At the accident 13 amateur and professional photographers died. In their memory the Adana Art Council organizes this festival every year. This year, in addition to the Travelling Weave exhibit , there will also be an exhibition of a famous Turkish photographer.”
The Travelling Weave recently had an exhibition at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education in Athens and at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation in Watkinsville, Georgia. The Weave consists of eight artists from Canada, Spain, Italy, Chile, Brazil, Turkey and the United States. The members met at the Florence Biennale in December 2003, where they formed this smaller group and agreed to exhibit in each of their countries. In addition to the two exhibitions in the Athens area, the Weave has also exhibited in Porto Recanati, Italy in 2004.
Zacharias, best known for her acrylic media paintings, will be exhibiting new paintings in Adana. “All the members of the Weave decided they would paint at least one painting relating to the topic of Peace.
For more information about The Travelling Weave, please visit www.travellingweave.org
View more of Monica Zacharias’ work at http://www.absolutearts.com/monicazacharias .
"L'affaire Noel: Works from Four Corners of the Globe"
2006-12-07 until 2007-01-06
L'atelier de la Dolce Vita
Brussels, BE Belgium
L'atelier de la Dolce Vita in Brussels presents during this holiday season - Christmas, painted and told in their own way by 27 artists coming from all over the world. For the upcoming exhibition in which Erika Wain brings in her TRADE WINDS artists - Alicia Hong, Tomas Johansson, Bo Sigvardson, Anna Shesterivoka, Marisa Terron Chavez, Renee Amitai, Eun-kung Choi, Margot Bulitz, Aida Thuresson (making an even 10 artists)- for the month long show. Erika Wain has been active in the Portfolio Program at absolutearts.com since 2004.
Erika Wain states about her work: "I study the human condition; political and natural, introspective and external. My interest is in the forces that create, shape an individual's psyche. The mechanism of the act; the architecture of the mind. I am interested in how it all works, not simply, that it does work. I look to colour and texture to connect the art to reality. I paint to release. I am an addict."
"IMLS Calls for 2007 National Leadership Grant Applications"
2006-12-07 until 2007-03-01
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Washington, DC, USA United States of America
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is accepting grant applications to the agency's 2007 National Leadership Grant (NLG) program. The previously published deadline of February 1, 2007 has been moved to March 1, 2007. Since 1998 National Leadership Grants have supported the innovative thinking that is needed to help libraries and museums meet the changing needs of the American public. They are an important investment in the future of library and museum service. In 2007, these grants will provide an opportunity to explore important research questions, develop and test new models of library and museum service, and help build digital resources.
This year the agency is bringing back its Library and Museum Community Collaboration category. Collaboration grants provide opportunities for libraries and museums to partner with each other and with a host of other community organizations including public broadcasters, schools, universities, cultural and performing arts organizations, and health and social service providers. With this change, the three funding categories for 2007 are as follows:
* Building Digital Resources
* Library and Museum Community Collaboration
* Research and Demonstration
Library applicants may request between $50,000 and $1,000,000; the range for museum applicants is $25,000 to $1,000,000. In addition, collaborative planning grants of $30,000 are for the first time to enable project teams from more than one institution to work together to plan a collaborative project in any of the three categories.
Successful proposals will show evidence that they will have national impact and generate results--new tools, research, models, services, practices, or alliances--that can be widely adapted or replicated to extend the benefit of federal support. Proposals will reflect an understanding of current issues and needs, showing the potential for far-reaching impact throughout the museum or library community. Projects will provide creative solutions to issues of national importance and provide leadership for other organizations.
Applications, guidelines, and examples of successful proposals can be found on the agency's Web site at www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/nationalLeadership.shtm. All applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov. Instructions for completing and submitting applications through Grants.gov are in the guidelines and on the IMLS Web site at www.imls.gov/applicants/grantsgov/nlg07.shtm.
Awards will be announced in September 2007.
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.
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