Interview with artist Caroline Lees, winner of The Sunday Telegraph Watercolour Competition

With her work "Trafalgar Square", a 24in x 34in watercolour, the British artist Caroline Lees won the first place at The Sunday Telegraph Watercolour Competition under the subject The Great British Landscape.

Her work shows part of Trafalgar Square, placing in evidence two of the four lion statues sculpted by Sir Edwin Landseer and set on granite plinths, with the silhouette of London in the background.

The Art Inquirer contacted the artist who kindly attended the request to answer a few questions about her work and her participation in the competition:


TAI How did you find out about the Sunday Telegraph watercolour competition ?

CL I think in the paper. We take the ST. cannot recall, maybe something came up on my email?

TAI What were the reasons that made you want to enter the competition ?

CL Simply that I had this big watercolour (24 x 34”) which I was fond of and needed to get some air. I am rather short of w/cs just now. And only one or two of UK available for such a competition.

TAI The subject of the competition was The Great British Landscape. When talking about landscape, one usually thinks about countryside, fields, lakes, mountains, etc.
However you have decided to participate with a watercolour portraying two lion statues on Trafalgar Square with a London silhouette in the background. Why ?

CL We moved down here to London 12 years ago from deepest countryside. I absolutely love Trafalgar Square and have done six or more paintings (inc oils) of the lions since coming down here. Not much rural stuff round here to paint anyway!

TAI What was your reaction when you received the news that you were the winner ?

CL Astonishment, usually I never win anything. Also delighted and the hope that I might at last sell it! When framed it is a bit too large for most people.

TAI Has the fact of winning this art competition already led to any contacts, or do you think it will show results in the future ?

CL Well, it sold, straight away. But the main difference is that I have had congratulations from lots of people and those that already have my paintings are very pleased as it backs their choice.

TAI How important do you think that these initiatives are for artists, especially for emerging ones ?

CL Very, as it is so important in this game that your name gets known. However there is one comment I would like to make. Why do they never put the sizes in? That is so important, but they never do.

Caroline Lees attended life drawing at Colchester School of Art, trained at the Corcoran Gallery School of Art in Washington DC and attending master classes in oils and advanced drawing at the Slade School of Art in London.
Her work has been exhibited and is part of collections worldwide, as well as featured in publications.

Recently the artist had an oil painting of a rural English scene accepted for this years Summer Exhibition at The Royal Academy.

Painting on the Edge 2011

Submissions for the 9th Annual Painting on the Edge are open until June 3, 2011 11:59 pm PDT (Pacific Daylight Time).

Painting on the Edge is an open, international, juried exhibition of original paintings, drawings and printmaking in any media, open to all living artists worldwide.
Photographs, giclées, posters and any other type of mechanical reproduction will not be selected.

Submited artwork must conceived and executed solely by the entrant, without the supervision of an instructor, and completed within two years of the entry deadline.

All work must be for sale and priced in Canadian funds with intent to sell. A commission of 35% will be retained by the FCA on all sold work. Artist’s price must include this commission.

There's a participation fee of CAN$25.00 per work (non-members must add CAN$5.00 per work) and each entrant can participate with up to three works.

Selected works will be exhibited between August 16 and September 4, 2011

Make sure that you read the rest of the submission guidelines before entering your works.

Painting on the Edge is organized by the Federation of Canadian Artists.

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Extending from prehistory to the present day, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History is a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, as illustrated by the Museum's collection.

Since its start in 2000 that curators, conservators, and educators from the Metropolitan Museum continue to dedicate a great deal of their time researching and writing the Timeline, continuously developing its scope and complexity, reflecting the most up-to-date scholarship.

The Timeline of Art History is is indexed by chronology, geography, theme, and subject, encompassing four main categories:

World Maps and accompanying regional maps that can be used within a selected region or time period.

Timeline that includes a chart of time periods, representative works from the museum's collection and a historical overview that permits visitors to compare art from around the globe at any time in history.

Thematic Essays focusing on specific themes in art history, such as artistic movements and periods, archaeological sites, empires and civilizations, recurrent themes and concepts, media, and artists. Each thematic essay is complemented with links to related themes and timelines.

Works of Art are placed in a comprehensive chronological, geographical, and thematic context. Each image can be enlarged for closer scrutiny and is accompanied by supporting material, including when available, links to technical glossaries on CAMEO and artist biographies from Oxford Art Online.

A General Index providing a more direct search and a Bibliography comprised of over 3000 Metropolitan Museum of Art publications, complement this invaluable art resource.

Funded by the Heilbrunn Foundation, New Tamarind Foundation, and Zodiac Fund, the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History is an invaluable reference and research tool for students, educators, scholars, and anyone interested in the study of art history and related subjects.

Visit this page to know the names of those who have contributed to this project.

Art in the Square Delray Beach 2011

Art in the Square is to take place on October 29th -30th, 2011 in Delray Beach, Florida. This event is produced by RPG Productions, LLC. to support local art programs and Make-A-Wish Foundation®. During this event Old School Square Cultural Arts Center will be transformed into an outdoor art gallery with works of some of the best artists and craftsmen both from South East and from around the country. Art in the Square will be a juried event with awards ranging from $400 to $3000.

On display will be: ceramics, drawings, fabrics, glass, graphics, jewelry, metalwork, paintings, pastels, photography, printmaking, sculpture, wood and mixed media. This event is expected to attract many collectors and dealers as well as national and regional media as well, as trade publications. Art in the Square will take place in the beginning of the holiday shopping season and is expected to bring in a lot of shoppers.

For artists who wish to participate, a $17 fee and a $100 deposits are required. The deposit is to be returned if not accepted. 12x12 booths are available for $400. You can find out more by going to the RGP Production, LLC website. A $50 discount on the booth is offered to members of NAIA (National Association of Independent Artist), Palm Beach Artists Guild, South Florida Artists Association, and Women in the Visual Arts Inc.

During the promotional period frequent show updates and artist profiles will be circulated to media outlets as well as emailed to a combined email subscription list of over 47,000 industry professionals, art collectors and artists. All this will ensure a widespread coverage of the event and artists participating in it.

Art in the Square will be advertised through: Palm Beach Post, Sun-Sentinel, New Times Magazine, radio, television, street banner advertising, street flyer distribution in strategic downtown locations, and billboard advertising.

RPG Production will continuously post updates and will heavily promote artists on Facebook, Twitter and ArtFestivals4You.com.

Visit this page to sign-up for the Art in the Square Delray Beach 2011 and to learn more about the festival.

This article was written by the artist and guest writer Armada Volya

Serralves em Festa! - 40H Non-Stop (Party at Serralves!)

Serralves em Festa! (Party at Serralves!) is the major contemporary arts festival that takes place in Portugal, lasting for 40 consecutive hours and including activities for all ages, all families, and for the whole family.

From 8 a.m. Saturday, May 28, to midnight on Sunday, May 29, Serralves will host more than 240 events, including Cinema, Video, Installation, Photography, Performance, Music (Improvised, Pop Rock, Electronic, Experimental, Jazz, DJs), Contemporary Dance, Acrobatics, Contemporary Circus, Sound Objects Circus, Theatre (Street Theatre, Theatre for Children, Puppet Theatre), Exhibitions, Workshops, Guided visits, and a range of activities for children and families.

Admission to all activities is free and the access to Serralves em Festa! will be made through Avenida Marechal Gomes da Costa (main gate of the Serralves Foundation).

Check this page for more useful information about the event or call 808 200 543.

In 2010, Party at Serralves! received more than 102,000 visitors during its 40 hours.

Armada Volya - Guest Writer for The Art Inquirer

The Pennsylvania based Ukranian artist Armada Volya is the first guest writer for The Art Inquirer.

An art expert, artist/craftswoman who works in several media, as well as knowing the works of several artists, Armada will contribute to the continuous progress and innovation of this blog.

With this new step, The Art Inquirer manifests its intention of being a reference in the art world as a reliable, informative and constantly updated resource.

Armada is the author of the blogs From the World of Art and Armada Volya's Art Corner.

El Museo del Barrio honours Mario Testino

Mario Testino, one of the world's most acclaimed celebrities and fashion photographers, will be presented with the El Museo's lifetime achievement award.
Especially created by the artists of Asprey of London, the sterling silver tray engraved with the 35 signatures of his dearest friends and coleagues, will be held to the photographer by Kate Winslet during the El Museo del Barrio New York gala 2011 to be held on Thursday, May 26, at Cipriani 42nd Street, New York.

The award celebrates Mario Testino's 30-year artistic career, not only as the celebrated photographer but also as the human being who has supported many charitable causes.

Born in Lima, Peru, in the year of 1954, Mario Testino moved to London in 1976 after completing his studies. The he pursued a career in photography that led him to work with some of the most famous fashion magazines such as Vanity Fair, Vogue and V.
Testino has contributed to the portfolios of leading fashion brands and haute couture houses, including Estée Lauder, Lancôme and Versace.

Celebrity subjects have most famously included Diana, Princess of Wales and her sons; actresses such as Emma Watson, Julia Roberts, Kim Basinger; models including Claudia Schiffer, Elizabeth Hurley, Kate Moss; performers Janet Jackson, Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue, among others.

The photographer has published nine books of his work and edited another dedicated to Peruvian art and artists.
His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world.

Chaired by Yaz and Valentín Hernández and Alex González and Raúl Martínez, El Museo del Barrio's 2011 Gala will benefit New York's leading Latino institution El Museo del Barrio (also known as El Barrio).

El Museo is a center of cultural pride on New York’s Museum Mile, holding a permanent collection of over 6,500 objects spanning more than 800 years of Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino art includes pre-Columbian Taíno artifacts, traditional arts, twentieth-century drawings, paintings, sculptures, and installations, as well as prints, photography, documentary films, and video.

The museum is also a dynamic artistic, cultural, and community gathering place, with cultural celebrations, and educational programs.

Art Takes London 2011

Art Takes London 2011 is an art contest open to all artists around the world, with particular focus on emerging ones, who are 13 years of age or older as of the date of entry (minors under the age of 18 may enter online by providing their parent or legal guardian’s e-mail address).

The organizers are looking for innovative works including: Painting, Sculpture, Illustration, Design, Photography, Film, Video, Performance, Installation, Sound, New Media.
Conceptual proposals are also welcome.

Those who wish to participate in Art Takes London 2011 can do it by using the online submission form. Price for entry is $10 per image, you can submit 8 or more images for a flat rate of $79 (maximum of 20 images).
Each entry must be the original work of the entrant, and entrant must be the sole owner of the copyright of such entry.
Refer to this link to learn more about the submission rules.

All online applicants will receive an online portfolio and the entries submitted by the Initial Deadline (11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 27, 2011) will be eligible for the People's Choice Award (judged entirely online and does not affect the selection of the Grand Prize winner).
Portfolios will be fully editable through the use of a password (you can change/add images and modify your bio) until the deadline.

All entries, including those submited by the Final Deadline (Eastern Time on Friday, June 3, 2011) will be eligible for the Grand Prize.
Note that submissions after the Initial Deadline are not eligible for the People's Choice Award and are subjected to a Ten Dollar ($10.00) late entry fee.
Any entries and/or payments submitted after the Final Deadline will be automatically void.

A panel of judges (Alexis Hubshman, founder of SCOPE Art Fair, Jason Goodman, founder of 3rd Ward, and Daria Brit Shapiro, Head Curator of Artists Wanted) will select one artist to be awarded the Grand Prize consisted of $10,000 total cash ($5,000 budget to produce new work to be presented at SCOPE London 2011, where the winner will receive a feature spot, and a $5,000 cash prize), a publicity campaign around your work in both London and New York and an online feature promoting your work internationally.

The public will cast their vote and the highest rated portfolio will receive the People's Choice Award: $2,500 cash and an online feature promoting your work internationally.

Six selected Category Award Winners will receive inclusion in a printed catalog that will be distributed at Scope London, as well as an online feature gaining exposure to hundreds of thousands of art enthusiasts.

top 50 runners-up will receive online features, gaining worldwide exposure.

Art Takes London 2011 is presented by Artists Wanted and Scope Art Show.

“Caravaggio, il corpo ritrovato” - Symposium in Avezzano, Italy

One of the most celebrated painters of all times, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is not only admired because of his masterpieces, but also for the obscurity sorrounding his life that has awaken the curiosity of art historians through time.

Caravaggio was quite probably one of the most controversial characters of his time.
His successful romantic life, quarrels, the problems with justice (on May 1606 Caravaggio was accused of murder and fled from Rome to Naples, Sicily and Malta to escape the price that had been placed on his head), conclude in misterious circumstances in one day of July 1610 in Porto Ercole, but his body was not found and his death remains involved in mistery.

Produced by Doclab (authorship of Patrizia Marani and directed by Marco Visalberghi) for the National Geographic Channel HD, the documentary "Caravaggio, il corpo ritrovato" follows step by step the unveiling of an important scientific discovered wit the collaboration of Giorgio Gruppioni, antropology teacher at the Università di Bologna; Elisabetta Cilli, geneticist at the Università di Bologna; Antonio Moretti geology teacher at the Università dell’Aquila; Maurizio Calvesi, the most acredited Caravaggio's Italian biographer and art history teacher at the Università La Sapienza di Roma.

After several scientific exams, DNA comparisons and historiacal researches, the team os scholars believes that the bones kept in an ossuary in a church crypt in Porto Ercole, after reportedly being exhumed in 1956, are of a man who died in about 1610, aged between 38 and 40.

During the symposium organized by L’Associazione Culturale Etereoarte, the Liceo Scientifico “V. Pollione”, the Liceo Classico “Torlonia”, and Liceo Artistico “Bellisario", a team of researchers will illustrate the methodology and the contribution of modern scientific tecniques to help to come to a conclusion about this enigma.

The team will be constituted by: Antonio Moretti; Marco Visalberghi; Gianluca Ferrini (geology teacher Università dell’Aquila); Domenico Mancinelli (Facoltà di Scienze Università dell’Aquila); Emidio Di Carlo (art historian in Aquila).

The “ Caravaggio, il corpo ritrovato “ will take place on the 27th of May (9h30) in the mutimedia hall of the Cinema Astra in Avezzano, Italy.

In 2009 The Art Inquirer started to present to its readers a series of videos about famous artists. Watch the first episode about the life and art of Caravaggio.

Weekend With the Masters Workshop & Conference 2011 (Monterey, California)

Now in its third year, Weekend With the Masters is an internationally renowned art event that offers an enlightening experience through contact with some of the most famous fine artists worldwide.

Presented by the American Artist magazine, this year's edition will take place in the Portola Hotel & Spa at Monterey Bay, California (September 7 through 10, 2011).

During the official four days of the event - Sunday is considered an extra day - several workshops and demonstrations will provide instruction on art techniques approaches to certain themes and subjects. Lectures and panel discussions conducted by the masters themselves will give you insightful ideas for your next art project and even for your artistic career.

A series of special and evening events will take place, starting on Wednesday, September 7, where after the opening reception ((6:30PM-9:30PM), David A. Leffel will kickoff the first official night of Weekend With the Masters by moderating a panel discussion titled “The Objectivity & Subjectivity of Art: Is Beauty Really in the Eye of the Beholder?”
His panelists include Richard Schmid, Jacob Collins, Rose Frantzen, George Gallo, Daniel Gerhartz, Quang Ho, and a curator from the de Young Museum, in San Francisco.

On September 8, the notable painter and instructor Richard Schmid, keynote speaker at Weekend With the Masters, will conduct a live portrait demonstration of Los Angeles artist Alexey Steele, at the same time engaging in conversation about various topics related to the current and future state of representational art.

Attendants will not want to miss the event on Friday evening, September 9, when Quang Ho and Daniel Sprick will carry a side-by-side painting demonstration of the same model, where both artists will show how they convey their particula interpretion of the same model and depict it using their techniques and artistic approaches, both realistic but different, either resulting in a more expressionistic result or in a tightly controlled contemporary realism influenced by an Old Master-like technique.

On Semptember 10, a special fund-raising silent auction that will include drawings, paintings, DVDs, books, and art materials donated by master instructors, local organizations, and event sponsors—will be donated to the California Art Club’s Mentor Program, which provides opportunities for artist-members under the age of 30 to connect with and learn from their signature members.

Although Weekend With the Masters officially ends on Saturday, September 10, participants will have the opportunity on Sunday (9AM-12PM) to have a painting they created during the event critiqued by one of the instructors and receive individualized feedback.
Scott Burdick, Quang Ho, Susan Lyon, Dan McCaw, and Dan Thompson are the five instructors leading this ending critique.
Twenty seats will be available on each session for those who want to observe but not participate.

The registration for the Weekend With the Masters Workshop & Conference 2011 is available online until the event dates or until the workshops are full, and are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
You may consult this page to learn more about participant information and FAQs.

If you are really interested in participating, The Art Inquirer advises you to read everything carefully, take notes and sign up the Weekend With the Masters e-mail updates.

Read about the Weekend With the Masters Intensive: New York, taking place in June.
This article contains excerpts from original texts (c) Interweave

3D Mapped Projection on St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral

St. Patrick's Old Cathedral 3D Projection (artist: Jeff Grantz) from Materials & Methods on Vimeo.

Part of the Flash:Light art project, included in the Festival of Ideas for the New City, the façade of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, NY, was used for a 3D mapped projection animation produced by Bluewhale Studios in collaboration with Materials & Methods.

Sponsored by Audemars Piguet, The "Equation of Time" animation was created by Jeff Grantz (Materials & Methods) and explored the notions of time passage, culminating with a animated larger-than-life transparent time piece replicating Audemars Piguet Signature movements

Images of the event and a video of "Let Us Make Cake" can be seen here.

The Making of Flash:Light - Nuit Blanche New York

The Making of "Flash:Light" from Nuit Blanche New York on Vimeo.

This video shows a synopsis of Flash:Light, a featured project of the New Museum's Festival of Ideas for the New City, co-produced by Jeff Grantz of Materials & Methods and curated by Anna Muessig of Nuit Blanche New York.

The project took place on Mulberry Streeet and Bowery, NY, with the collaboration of several artists and technicians who made their best to provide a remarkable artistic experience to the public, namely through 3D mapped projections, site-specific installations, light and sound.

International Museum Day 2011

Established in 1977 and celebrated worldwide around the 18th of May, the International Museum Day aims to increase the public awareness about the role of museums in developing society.

Museum and Memory is the theme for the 2011 edition, showing how museums collect and transmit the individual and collective memories of our communities through objects.

These objects, many of them rare and in need of special care and conservation, are expressions of our natural and cultural heritage, fundamental witnesses of our identity.

To preserve the transmission of this cultural heritage to future generations, the International Council of Museums has initiated close institutional partnerships with other organisations that feel concerned by these questions and share ICOM’s preoccupation for the preservation of memory: the UNESCO “Memory of the World” programme, the Co-ordinating council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA), the International Council on Archives (ICA), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

During the International Museum Day 2011, museums around the world will organise several activities and will be open extended hours, often with free entrance.
On this page you can scroll down and have a glimpse of what will be on offer in the several continents.

IMD 2011 will focus on the African continent whose cultural contribution to the world is often unknown and deserves to be promoted.

Art Day at The Overland Inn Museum with Live Models in Victorian and Edwardian Clothing

Located in McCutchenville, Ohio, the once McCutchen Inn was built in 1829 by Col. Joseph McCutchen with the purpose of serving as a stagecoach stop on the Harrison Trail, a formerly Indian Trail that extended from the Scioto River at Columbus, Ohio and continued north to Lake Erie, later expanded by General Henry Harrison to accommodate his troops during the War of 1812

After serving as a hotel and an apartment building, the Inn was acquired in a state of deterioration by the Wyandot County Historical Society in 1964.

Three years volunteer work from the community transformed the building into a museum dedicated to stagecoach, where visitors can delight in the quaint structure furnished with antiques donated by residents of Wyandot County and sorrounding ones, as well has having a glimpse of the nineteenth century travel throughout Ohio and America.
To enhance the experience, the reception and bar room where travelers registered to spend the night is still original.

With the financial support from current and former Wyandot County residents, businesses and organizations, including money collected by McCutchenville school children, and help from volunteer workers, The Overland Inn Museum went through a major renovation that started in 2002 and stretched out over a four-year period.

On June 10, 2007, more than 500 people traveled to McCutchenville, Ohio, for the grand reopening of the Inn.

Now thanks to an idea conceived by the museum's curator Janet Engle, The Overland Inn Museum will hold on Saturday, September 24, 2011 (10h00 am - 12h00 pm) a drawing and photography session.

Entitled Art Inn-spiration, it will feature live models dressed in Victorian and Edwardian clothing and still life arrangements from the museum’s collection, all in period surrounding.

Participants will be able to sketch with dry media and photograph as much as they wish.

The vacancies are limited and the registration form must be sent by September 12, 2011.
A small fee of $5 applies.

An exhibition of the works completed by the participants will be held next year at a date yet to announce.

The Overland Inn Museum boasts an impressive collection of textiles, including weavings, embroideries, laces, and quilts from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
It also provides workshops that offer its visitors the chance to travel to the pass and experience the American culture and life of their ancesters.

Caroline Lees with "Trafalgar Square" is the Winner of The Sunday Telegraph Watercolour Competition

After the announcement early today of thirteen finalists, the judges of The Sunday Telegraph watercolour competition, under the theme The Great British Landscape, have selected the overall winner together with another three finalists.

The winning work is a 24in by 34in watercolour entitled "Trafalgar Square" by the British artist Caroline Lees. The painting depicts the Trafalgar Square with the silhouette of London in the background, placing in evidence two of its four lion statues sculpted by Sir Edwin Landseer and set on granite plinths .

These are the Finalists of The Sunday Telegraph's Watercolour Competition, but who is the winner ?

When The Sunday Telegraph launched its Watercolour Competion under the theme The Great British Landscape in the begining of February, it stated in its terms & conditions: "The winner will announced and their work published in The Sunday Telegraph on Sunday, April 24, 2011."

As the readers of The Art Inquirer know, the selection of the winning watercolour was first postponed to the 8th of May due to the high number of entries in the compettion, then again to the 15th of May "due to moving news stories ."

Today is the 15th of May and the news that we have from the newspaper at this time is about the 13 finalists from its watercolour competition and their paintings .

We continue not knowing who is the winner of The Sunday Telegraph's The Great British Landscape watercolour competition, unless it's mentioned on the printed edition and not online at the time of the publishing of this article.

Andy Warhol's Self-Portrait (1963-1964) sold for $38 million at Christie's

After the recent financial crisis that also affected the art market, the major auction houses have assisted since the recovery to continuous records. A sign that high-end and insightful art collectors continue to have the means to acquire valuable artworks and believe that art will continue to be a good investment allied to an aesthetical value.

The recent evidence is Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale, which took place in New York on the 11th of May and realized $301,683,630 (£184,026,630/€211,178,100), with 95% sold by lot and 99% sold by value.
In this sale, where only three of the 65 works on offer failed to sell, a total of seven new world auction records were established.

Cy Twombly, whose Untitled from 1967 realized $15,202,500; contemporary artist, Urs Fischer, whose Untitled (Lamp/Bear), realized $6,802,500 – six times the artist’s previous world auction record; Richard Diebenkorn, for Ocean Park #121, from 1980 which brought in $7,698,500; Anselm Kiefer, whose Dem Unbekannten Maler (To the Unknown Painter) from 1983 realized $3,554,500.
The sale of Cindy Sherman’s Untitled color coupler print from her 1981 Centerfold series was not only a world auction record for Sherman, but represents a new world auction record for any photograph, thus setting two world auction records for the same work.

But the highlight of this evening sale was Andy Warhol's Self-Portrait, an acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, in four parts overall: 40 x 32 in. (101.6 x 81.3 cm.) that the Pop artist completed between 1963 and 1964 and was bought for $38,442,500 (buyer's premium included), establishing a new world record for a portrait by the artist.
Acclaimed in every Warhol monograph and exhibition catalogue as his first seminal self-portrait, it was part of the Barron Family collection and was sold be Florence Barron who had commissioned the work for $1,600 nearly half a century ago, making payments on an installment plan.



All eight works by Warhol offered at auction were sold for a combined total of $90,988,000, including another self-portrait, a synthetic polymer and silkscreen ink on canvas 106¾ x 106½ in. (271.2 x 270.5 cm.) painted in 1986, previously belonging to Anthony d'Offay, London.

Another relevant result for Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale (sale 2440 of May 11, 2011) was Mark Rothko's Abstract Expressionist masterpiece from 1961, Untitled #17, having achieved $33,682,500.

Buyers (by lot / by origin) were 61% American, 23% European, 3% Asian and 13% other.

FIMFA Lx11 - International Festival of Puppetry and Animated Forms

Organized and produced every year since 2001 by the puppet company A Tarumba-Teatro de Marionetas, the International Festival of Puppetry and Animated Forms – FIMFA Lx is one of the most important festivals of puppetry and theatre in Portugal.

Retaining an international recognition, FIMFA Lx brings to its public a programme that combines the newest technologies with the most traditional ones, namely by executing experimental and contemporary projects using basic techniques, making of confront and innovation a characteristic of this festival.

By presenting a big diversity of techniques (shadows, objects, full-view manipulation, visual theatre, installations, etc), the festival aims to introduce different styles of puppetry and show an artistic transversality between the different artistic areas.

The FIMFA Lx11 includes several shows performed by renowned artists and companies, such as "Traversées" - Théâtre de l’Entrouvert, France; "Jerk" - Gisèle Vienne, Dennis Cooper & Jonathan Capdevielle, France; "Capuchinho Vermelho XXX" - Teatro de Marionetas do Porto, Portugal; "Hunger" - TinkerTing, Norway.

Street performances and small form shows will also take place during the 2011 edition of FIMFA Lx. The public will have the opportunity to watch performances by The Flying Buttresses (UK) - "Hodman Dodmanott and Sally Forth"; Whalley Range All Stars (UK) - "Brain Wave"; Limite Zero (Portugal) - "Teatro Dom Roberto"; Babok (Netherlands) - "Nap"; Laurent Bigot (France) - "Le Petit Cirque – cirque d’ objets sonores"; among others.

The historical documentary "Turnabout: The Story of the Yale Puppeteers" (USA) will be shown at the Cinema São Jorge (movie theater) on May 24 (21h30), after which will take place a conversation with Dan Bessie, author and director.
"Na Rua do Açúcar" is a short film that can be viewed at the Museu da Marioneta on May 22 (16h00-18h00).

Flip Books, Object Theatre in Public Spaces, Boogies: Puppet Manipulation, and Pinocchio could have been a toothpick..., are the workshops included in the FIMFA Lx11 programme.

A book fair containing a selection of Theatre, Puppetry and Animated Forms books can be visited at the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II Bookshop.

During 26 days, the public will be able to enjoy the artistic perfomance, shows, workshops and other activities presented by near 23 companies and creators from Germany, Belgium, Spain, Finland, France, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom and Portugal.

The FIMFA Lx11 takes place in Lisbon between May 12 and June 6, 2011.
For more info you can e-mail info@tarumba.org or call (+351) 21 242 76 21.

Vessel International Curatorial Workshop 2011

Vessel, an independenent non-profit space inaugurated on April 14 and devoted to contemporary art, has announced an International Curatorial Workshop that will offer the opportunity to 14 young curators from around the world to work with internationally renowned curators, dealing with many challenging issues of theoretical and practical aspects of curatorial research.

Participants will be divided in groups and will work with different curators from Committee and with the staff to build particular projects on case studies.
The core of these case studies will be comprised of varying exercises dealing with secondary material concerning the curatorial practice in relation to the overarching exhibition made in a certain geographical area.

The course aims to raise awareness and reflect about the role of the curator, as well as promoting research projects in the filed of contemporary visual culture.
Other objectives include setting up working platforms that will enable participants to develop further curatorial works and expand the networking between young creators of the visual art scene, thus stimulating the international circulation of cultural projects.

Among several subjects, the 3-day intensive workshop will focus on the influence that the state of the world and social relations have in art and how the curator can use art to interact with society, emphasizing on the evolution of curating as a profession and its essential role in social and cultural redefinition.

The Vessel International Curatorial Workshop will take place between the 28th and 30th of May, 2011, and will be held by the Scientific Committee of Vessel composed of Charles Esche, Ilaria Gianni, Cecilia Guida, Denis Isaia, Viktor Misiano, Marco Petroni, Roberto Pinto along with the curators of the space Viviana Checchia and Anna Santomauro.

Interested applicants from any nationality may apply. No study certificate and academic degree required. The workshop will be delivered in English, for this reason at least an intermediate level of English is required.

Applications whould be sent by e-mail until May 15, 2011.
There's a €300 participating fee to cover all the expenses for meals and residency including a double-bed hotel room.

Make sure that you read the rest of the submission guidelines before submiting your application.

Vessel is located at Via Guido De Ruggiero n. 6, Bari.
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and Apulia (Puglia), Italy.

Flash:Light by Nuit Blanche New York 2011: images of the event and "Let Us Make Cake" video

On May 7 Nuit Blanche New York presented Flash:Light, a major art event that took place on Mulberry Street and Bowery, NY.

Now you can watch some of images from the event that gathered the general public and art lovers in this part of the city.
















The video "Let Us Make Cake", a 20-minute loop projection-mapped footage resulting from the collaboration between Nuit Blanche New York and Light Harvest Studios, was shown on the 174-foot façade of the New Museum (235 Bowery).

Let Us Make Cake (New Museum, NYC) from Nuit Blanche New York on Vimeo.

The video "Equation of Time" by Jeff Grantz, an architectural projection mapping showing the Audemars Piguet Signature movements, is expected to be available for viewing in the next few days.

The Art Inquirer wishes to thank Anna Muesig for her generous collaboration.

"Gabinete de Anatomia" Exhibition at Fundação Arpad Szenes - Vieira da Silva

Included in the commemorations of the centennials of the University of Lisbon and its Medical School, the Arpad Szenes-Vieira da Silva Foundation and the Medicine Museum of the Medical School from the University of Lisbon have put together a compilation of anatomical drawings by Vieira da Silva and Arpad Szenes, and from the collection of the Medicine Museum, including anatomical drawings recently catalogued during the investigation project «image in science and art» from the Philosophy Center of Sciences from the University of Lisbon.

Created by Professor Henrique de Vilhena, teacher of artistic anatomy at the Escola de Belas Artes de Lisboa (Fine Arts School of Lisbon) and founder of the Instituto de Anatomia da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa (Anatomy Institute of the Medical School from the University of Lisbon), the collection of drawings from the Medicine Museum is comprised of scholastic drawings completed by its students between the years of 1905 and 1938.

Although the live model lessons took place at the Fine Arts School, it was in the Anatomy Institute of the Medial School, due to its proper facilities, that the study of the dissected body would take place.

Between the students under the instruction of Professor Henrique de Vilhena, one can find names such as Guilherme de Santa-Rita, Calvet de Magalhães, Dórdio Gomes, Frederico Ayres, Carlos Bonvalot, Helena de Bourbon e Menezes, Jorge Valadas, Norberto Correia, Estrela Faria, José Tagarro, almost all of them represented in this exhibition.

Passionate about anatomy, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva was by her personal option Henrique de Vilhena's pupil at the School of Medicine, quite probably during the years of 1926-27 according to dates found on her drawings.

The exhibition is divided in 4 sections: 1. Anatomy of Desire - anatomical drawings by
Arpad Szenes; 2. Fractioned Body - anatomical drawings by Vieira da Silva; 3. Head and Whole Body - anatomical drawings from the Medicine Museum; 4. Trunk and Limbs - anatomical drawings from the Medicine Museum.

Besides the drawings from the two referred collections, "Gabinete de Anatomia" also shows two sets of feminin and male nude drawings from the authorship of Arpad Szenes, one with distinct scholastic characteristcs, probably completed at the Academy of Budapest where he was a student of József Rippl-Rónai (Rippl-Rónai József in its native form) during the 1910s; the other one was completed between 1928 and 1932, possibly in Paris and after already knowing Vieira da Silva.

The exhibition also includes a series of preparatory drawings by Arpad Szenes for one of his most celebrated works: «Le Couple»

Curated by Manuel Valente Alves, with the support of the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian and of the University of Lisbon, "Gabinete de Anatomia" can be visited at Fundação Arpad Szenes - Vieira da Silva (10h00-18h00 Mon-Fri) between May 6 and July 3, 2011.
Closed on Tuesdays and holidays.

When will the winner of The Sunday Telegraph Watercolour Competition be announced ?

When The Sunday Telegraph launched their watercolour competition under the theme "The Great British Landscape", it was mentioned that the winner would be announced on 24 April 2011. However the excuse of a high number of entries caused to move the eventual announcement to the 8th of May, according to information from an official source.

This Saturday, May 7th, The Art Inquirer was contacted by the same source and can advance first hand that "due to moving news stories" the results of the watercolour competition are now being moved to next Sunday, May 15th 2011.

If you have entered this competition, The Art Inquirer would like to know how do you feel about these consecutive postponements.

Flash:Light by Nuit Blanche New York. Today on Mulberry Street and Bowery

Part of the Festival of Ideas for the New City, occurring between the 4th and the 8th of May, the art event Flash:Light presented by Nuit Blanche New York, will feature a series of artistic projects on Mulberry Street, NY, today May 7 at 8pm.

The façade of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral will be the canvas for a 3D mapped projection entitled "Equation of Time" conceived and supervised by multi-media artist Jeff Grantz .
Sponsored by Audemars Piguet, it will show an animated larger-than-life transparent time piece replicating Audemars Piguet Signature movements.

The premiere of Civilization in 3D, a groundbreaking video installation by Marco Brambilla, will be projected above the alter inside of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral.

Civilization by Marco Brambilla from CRUSH on Vimeo

Originally commissioned by the Standard Hotel in New York, Civilization presents a boldly reinterpreted tableau of Dante’s Divine Comedy echoing stained glass window imagery.

During the Midnight Organ Program in the cathedral, Rashaad Newsome will perform "Herald", the second of Newsome’s four-part series in which the artist pursues the status of King of Arms, then conducting a haunting musical performance, juxtaposing hip-hop culture with religious space and featuring the church’s choir and organ, while a video collage is projected overhead.

Contemporary composers Aaron Siegel, Mudboy and Matt Marble will perform their work live until 3:00 a.m. on one of the only remaining full pipe organs in New York City, while Pilottone will present a performance and intervention.

The Let Us Make Cake projection-mapped footage on the 174-foot façade of the New Museum (235 Bowery), resulting from a collaboration between Nuit Blanche New York and Light Harvest Studios, will show scale models of the New Museum ranging in size from 11 inches to 11 feet by dozen emerging and established artists. Let Us Make Cake will run on a 20-minute loop from 8:00pm Saturday night to 2:00am Sunday morning.

Flash:Light is co-produced by Jeff Grantz of Materials & Methods and curated by Anna Muessig. The other names are: Ethan Vogt – Managing Director; Ken Farmer – Creative Director; Tom Peyton – Director of Operations; Pepin Gelardi – Director of Design; Katrina Albright and Ryan Beaucher - Production Coordinators; Natasha Jen - Nuit Blanche New York Identity; Jeff Sisson - Website Design.

The site map and the project locations can be consulted on this link.

"Picasso and Marie-Thérèse: L’amour fou" at Gagosian Gallery

Following an ongoing exploration of Picasso’s principal themes, Gagosian Gallery brings to the public an exhibition curated by distinguished Picasso biographer John Richardson and Marie-Thérèse’s granddaughter, art historian Diana Widmaier Picasso, who is currently preparing a catalogue raisonné of Picasso’s sculptures.

Showing more than eighty works from 1927 to 1940, some previously unseen in the United States, the "Picasso and Marie-Thérèse: L’amour fou" exhibition brings together the paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints inspired by one of Picasso’s most ideal models and enduring passions.

A fully illustrated catalogue with a new biographical essay by John Richardson, together with Diana Widmaier Picasso’s descriptive essay exploring Picasso’s portraiture and containing dozens of never before published photographs of Marie-Thérèse from the family archives, accompany the exhibition.
Elizabeth Cowling, Professor Emeritus of History of Art at Edinburgh University and co-curator of the historic exhibition “Matisse Picasso” (2002-03), has contributed an essay that examines the dissemination of images of Picasso’s sculptures through the art journals of the period.

The exhibition is open until June 25, 2011 and is presented under the direction of Valentina Castellani and installed in a dynamic transformation of the 21st Street gallery by architect Annabelle Selldorf.

Marie-Thérèse Walter (July 13, 1909 – October 20, 1977) was the French mistress and model of Pablo Picasso from 1927 to about 1935, and the mother of his daughter, Maya Widmaier-Picasso.
She is protagonist in the painting "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" (Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur), which as set world record for a work of art sold at auction (without inflation adjustments and exchange rate fluctuations).

You can read an interview that Diana Widmaier Picasso gave to The Daily Beast about the exhibition and the famous relatives she never knew.

Photography by Rob Mckeever

The National Portrait Gallery presents Hoppé Portraits: Society, Studio & Street

Since February the National Portrait Gallery (London, UK) is showing a retrospective of one of the most important photographers of the first half of the twentieth century: Emil Otto Hoppé.

Featuring 150 works, some of them previously unseen, the exhibition includes Hoppé’s strikingly modernist portraits of society figures and important personalities from the worlds of literature, politics and the arts, such as George Bernard Shaw, Margot Fonteyn, Albert Einstein, Vita Sackville-West and members of the royal family.

This is also the first exhibition to combine Hoppé’s extraordinary photographs of the famous with those he made outside the studio, in the street.

E.O. Hoppé (14 April 1878 – 9 December 1972) was born in Munich and resident in Britain from 1902, where he began photographing professionally in 1907.

The Hoppé Portraits: Society, Studio & Street exhibition can be visited until 30 May 2011.

You can enter a free competition where you can win one night’s accommodation and breakfast for two people, a copy of the Hoppé Portraits catalogue (RRP £30) and a pair of tickets for our forthcoming photographic exhibition Glamour of the Gods: Hollywood Portraits (7 July - 23 October 2011).

Image above: Tilly Losch by E.O. Hoppé, 1928
(c) 2011 Curatorial Assistance, Inc./E.O. Hoppé Estate Collection

CHA 2011 Summer Conference & Trade Show

The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont IL, will host Craft & Hobby Association's CHA 2011 Summer Conference & Trade Show during July 19-21 (pre-Conference sessions starting July 18th).

Counting with 250 exhibitors and over 100 product categories that include art materials, card-making and stationary supplies, craft supplies, dollmaking supplies, embellishments, jewelry & beading Supplies, craft kits, scrapbooking, yarns & fibers, floral products, glassware, modeling compounds and home decorating supplies, the event attracts some of the worlds leading craft exhibitors.

Wholesale suppliers and exhibitors have in the CHA 2011 Summer Conference & Trade Show a chance to show their latest products and innovations, while retailers and other professionals can find new products for their clients, often at promotional prices, turning this event into a business opportunity for everyone involved.

The programme will include seminars, workshops (applies to Buyer Badge type only, space is limited) , keynote presentations and demos.
A Conference and Trade Show badge was created to permit unfettered access to the Trade Show floor, conference programs, and events.

A special Craft Fusion Center, located on the Show floor, will bring exhibitors and buyers together to capitalize on the mixed-media theme, where they will explore the several effects that a variety of materials combined in non-traditional ways has to offer, as well as the latest mixed-media and color trends from the experts in the field, among other things.

The registration for the CHA 2011 Summer Conference & Trade Show opens on May 5.

Both Scrolls of "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" by Huang Gongwang (黃公望) at the National Palace Museum

The National Palace Museum (Taipei, Taiwan) has announced plans for a major exhibition where for the first time in centuries the two parts of the handscroll 'Dwelling in the Fu-ch'un Mountains' (Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains) will be reunited after the unique work had been torned in two.

Painted by Huang Gongwang (黃公望, 1269-1354), original name Lu Jian (陸堅) between the years of 1347 and 1350, the handscroll depicts an idealized panorama of the Fuchun Mountains, west of Hangzhou.

At 82 years of age, Huang presented it to Taoist Master Wuyong (無用師)) as a gift in 1350.

A century later the scroll is acquired by Ming Dynasty painter Shen Zhou (沈周, 1427–1509) who sent the painting to a calligrapher for inscription. However the calligrapher's son seized the painting which, after a few changes of hands, reemerged on the market at a much higher price. Unable to afford the price, there was nothing Shen Zhou could do except to make a copy of the painting himself.
The imitation was given by Shen Zhou to his friend Fan Shunju (樊舜舉) who began to search for the authentic.

When he found it, he bought it at a hefty price and invited Shen Zhou to inscribe on it. Shen Zhou then noted down at the end of the scroll the story of how the painting was lost and found.
A copy that is also well acclaimed and is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Over the following centuries, the painting had come to know several owners, including Wu Zhengzhi (吳正志) who left it to his third son Wu Hongyu (吳洪裕).
Wu Honyu cherished the painting so much that when he went on refuge during the invasion of the Manchu, he only brought the painting and a copy of the Thousand Character Classic (千字文) by Master Zhiyong (智永法師), leaving all other valuables behind.

Hongyu decided to have the two works burned, so that he could bring them to the netherworld.
Fortunately his nephew Wu Jing'an (吳靜庵) rescued the painting, which was however already aflame and torn into two.

The first and smaller piece, measuring 51.4 cm, was subsequently renamed The Remaining Mountain or Shenshan Mountain (剩山圖) and after passing through the hands of numerous collectors is now in Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou.



The second, comprised of 6 pages totaling 636.9 cm in length, went through the hands of several high-level Qing Dynasty officials, including Gao Shiqi (高士奇) and Wang Hongxu (王鴻緒), before landing in the Imperial Palace.



Named the Master Wuyong Scroll (無用師卷), was in the opinion of Emperor Qianlong, who prided himself in his connoisseurship, a conterfeit. A mistake that was only corrected in 1816, during the reign of Emperor Jiaqing.
This piece was eventually brought to Taiwan after the Kuomintang lost the civil war and is now kept in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

The "Landscape Reunified: Huang Kung-Wang and the 'Dwelling in the Fu-ch'un Mountains' Scrolls" special exhibition will also include other works by Huang, works by his mentors and works that he influenced in the National Palace Museum collection, as well as the "Shenshan Mountain" scroll held by the Zhejiang Museum, and other calligraphy and paintings borrowed from the Beijing Palace Museum, the National Museum of China, Shanghai Museum, Nanjing Museum and the Yunnan Provincial Museum.

Included in a series of educational activities, calligraphers and painters from China and Taiwan will be invited to visit the birthplace of this painting-Fuyang City, Hanzhou of Zhejiang Province-to create new water and ink paintings on the theme of "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains."

The "Landscape Reunified: Huang Kung-Wang and the 'Dwelling in the Fu-ch'un Mountains' Scrolls" exhibition is an historical event not to be missed and a chance to know more about the artist who was orphaned at an early age and exceptionally gifted as a youth, mastering the Chinese classics at an early age.