Culture
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Jeff Koons and The Art Mill
Jeff Koons: A Retrospective at The Witney Museum of American ArtRealizing that the exhibition is nearly over, I finally got around to publish the photographs I took over the summer. The artist in question, Jeff Koons, was not a particular favorite, but I must admit that this exhibit changed my mind.Sort of.When I left the Whitney, I had a new appreciation, and respect, for Mr. Koons‘ obvious skills of taking the everyday objects that we utilize: toasters, sponges, vacuums, teapots, and highlighting them as objects of art. The Inflamables, are pieces of the artist’s work that are well recognized and appreciated – on a global scale. And I must admit, they are fast becoming favorites of mine. Many of those pieces brought a smile to my face. And eventhough I know how banale they were, I also admired their obvious usefulness.
The retrospective ends at The Whitney Museum on October 19th, but travels to the Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris from November 26, 2014–April 27, 2015) and to the Guggenheim Bilbao on June 5 – September 27, 2015.Donny J. Deutsch and companyJeff Koons, Inflatable Bunny Rabit, and Flowers, 1979Jeff Koons, New Hoover Celebrity IIIsJeff Koons, Bear and Policeman, 1988, polychromed woodJeff Koons, Teapot, from the series Pre-New, 1979Left: Jeff Koons, Pink Panther, 1988, porcelainJeff Koons, Michael Jackson and Bubbles, 1988, porcelainJeff Koons, Buster Keaton, 1988Jeff Koons, Ballon Venus (Magenta) from the series Antiquity, 2008 – 12.Images by High End Weekly™ – All Rights Reserved -
Q&A with Pablo Picasso’s Grandson
Last week, on a muggy day that felt like last year’s summer, I left my office a little after 3 in the afternoon to scurry down to the Sofitel Hotel which is located a few steps away from the heart of the city, a place otherwise known as Times Square. It was there that I was to preview, and later on, interview the grandson of Pablo Picasso, Olivier Widmaier Picasso. Picasso has a grandson who is also an artist? No, not quite. Although he understandably have a real flair for exquisite art, the 54-year-old Parisian, who was trained as a lawyer, is the author of many books about his celebrated grandfather. He is also a journalist, who is getting ready to release a documentary on Picasso later this year. “Revealed” a new photography exhibition that is currently on display at the lobby of Sofitel New York, is curated by Oliver Widmaier Picasso. All 30 individual photographs were chosen by him, from the archives of Paris March, a weekly french newspaper. These intimate snapshots offer a unique window into the lives of blue chip artists like Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, Jeff Koons, Keith Haring, and of course, Pablo Picasso.High End Weekly™: First of all, congratulations on this exhibition. In “Revealed” one recognized a solid group of global artists, that I myself have admired for decades. How did you come to the initial idea or realization of selecting them?Olivier Widmaier Picasso: Softel and Paris March came to me and offered this unique opportunity to create an energetic ensemble in a very candid manner. Some of these artists are seen in the privacy of their living rooms, others are seen on the streets. The idea was to create an exhibit which portrait those solitary artists, at times, playing with the camera. Some of the artists are a little shy, a little passive even. Other artists like Pablo Picasso, Jeff Koons, Salvador Dali are quite the opposite. Looking at the photographs, it become clear that they are playing with the camera, they found the photographers a bit amusing. One gets the sense that they are showing the photographers what they want them to see. They want to project that they are in control of the situation. Are they revealing themselves? You be the judge.“Reveled” a photography exhibition curated by Oliver Widmaier PicassoFrom left: French filmmaker Henri-Georges Clouzot, and Pablo PicassoHEW: Have these pictures been shown to the public before?OWP: Of course, they were originally published in Paris Match, but what’s unique about this exhibit is that they have never been shown together in the way that you see them here. Working with my team, it was important to have the juxtaposition of the images right. We wanted to show all the artists together in a way that make the entire tableau “complete”. There are elements of surprise here and there. And at other times, you can easily see the relationship that they have with each other.René Magritte, and his candelabra, 1965“This is a more innovative way
to showcase individual art to people.
We are so use to going to museums,
or galleries in order to enjoy art.
This exhibit is a new way to show people
a moment of creation, and the intimacy of the artists.”
Olivier Widmaier PicassoHEW: Is there a story behind this curated group of photographs? As the storyteller that you are, was that your intention when you were putting it all together?OWP: I was ready to be discreet behind the power of each picture. I felt quite honored really when I was asked to put the exhibit together. At the same time, my team and I did not want to betray the situation. When you have great artists like Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Keith Haring as the subjects, when putting it all together, I felt that somehow, I was part of each of their history. It was a proud moment for me.The lobby of Sofitel New YorkJeff Koons“… you also have people who arelooking for emotion – at any price.Even if it is a small price, for a small drawing.”Olivier Widmaier PicassoOWP: You have to be a storyteller. Having a background in television, I’m very aware of the fact that people love a good story. And so in this case, I was thinking we have to make a novel (Smile). Because you know, these artists were very important artists at the beginning of the 20th century, and right until our time.Salvador Dali pausing with Frederika: “The Queen of Venus”, 1965Think about it. It’s quite extraordinary knowing that there is over 110 years of art between these artists. 110 years! So surely they all have a tremendous story to tell. There are some happy stories, there are some sad stories as well. When you think about Keith Haring… His story is very touching. Here we see him in the photograph as a simple guy, casually dressed. Perhaps he did not realized it at the time how his legacy, his artwork was going to morph to a high magnitude. His story symbolizes a link to AIDS, especially during the 1980s. Keith Haring was so close to the public, he was such a popular artist, even though he had a short career.Olivier Widmaier Picasso’s latest book – Picasso: Portrait In Time“It was not only aboutthe artists being the subject,but it’s about the photography as well.And so with these multiple layers,you have to be innovative,and careful at the same time.”Olivier Widmaier PicassoHEW: What do you think about the globalization of art?
OWP: It’s a big question, because today in the art market where you have all those auction sales, you have the urgency from new clients. The point is, most people want to buy a “record”. What do I mean by that? Most people don’t want to buy the painting. They want to buy the most expensive painting available for that particular artist, the one which will hold the highest record price. And on the other side, we know that the art world is made of artists, experts, historians, curators, specialists, journalists that are maintaining the art world, which is also a “scientific world”. Therefore, money is the point, but you have to remind yourself that there is emotion. Humans have emotions. We need more than a car, a plane, a painting. Of course, like I said before, you have people who are looking at the “record”, but you also have people who are looking for emotion – at any price. Even if it is a small price, for a small drawing. Having said all that, I’m quite optimistic. Quite optimistic about the art world.Photo credit High End Weekly™All rights reserved -
Who Made It To Frieze This Year?
Simon de Pury at Frieze VIP previewFrieze New York 2014 edition sported a glittering array of 190 galleries from 28 countries including global powerhouses David Zwirner, Larry Gagosian, White Box, and Hauser & Wirth as well as emerging galleries temporarily-housed in brilliantly lit, spacious booths . While visitors could arrive at Randall’s Island by car, subway or bike, the most appealing mode of travel is the 20-minute ferry ride up the East River from East 35th Street, a ride akin to taking a ferry to Venice’s biennale. In addition to enjoying paintings, sculpture, and photography from contemporary stars, visitors could spend hours enjoying artist talks, sound installations and special projects.
A bucolic setting made my visit to Frieze feel like a mini-vacation. Site-specific works looped across the grass, and, even on the water. Marie Lorenz, a NY based artist, created a handmade boat that transported guests around Randall’s Island’s shoreline. 50 guests at a time could paddle around together-enjoying the city from an unusual viewpoint.Another playful theme appeared in the form of Allen Ruppersberg’s pop-up, ‘Allen’s Grand Hotel’-allowing a very selected clientele the chance to stay in one of two rooms-the Jesus Room and/the Bridal suite. The tenants, the winners of a phone lottery system, paid $350 per night, but had to be locked inside the rooms for security reasons, until early the next morning (dinner, of course, was included. The original ‘hotel’ was installed in a Los Angeles playhouse in 1971. Day time visitors could could stop for a drink in the ‘lobby’ during the 4-day fair. Adding to the pleasure of viewing extraordinary works of art (Richard Prince, Eric Fischel, Louise Bourgeois, Paul McCarthy, etc.,) there were amazing people-watching opportunities-especially during the VIP preview: A-list actors, stylish collectors , editors, and curators.When energy flagged, visitors could refuel at tempting pop-up restaurants: Momofuku Milk Bar, Frankies Spuntino, and the Fat Radish were favorites. And artist designed T-shirts could be purchased in a mylar-covered lounge. Not-to-be missed in 2015.
British celebrity artist, Tracey Emin at FriezePhilanthropist Sherry BronfmanStacey EngmanLeft: Donna Karan’s daughter,Gaby Karan, and her friendRenowned art advisor Kim HeirstonJoan Jonas’ work shown at the Wilkinson GalleryLondon dealer Amanda WilkinsonStriking art works at Frieze: Paul Mccarthy’s “Snow White” at Hauser & WirthLeft: Golden Shoes by HAns Peter Feldmann at Galleria Massimo Minini. Right: New York Art dealers, Ellen Donahue and Ronald SosinskiAl’s Grand Hotel'(1971) re-created with Public Fiction, 2014Dinning opportunities at Frieze New YorkText and photos by Rose HartmanAll rights reserved -
Chic Ideas for Photo Grouping
Like music, photography holds you in the moment. Maybe that’s why I like it so much.
That is also why I enjoy my annual visit to Aipad – one of the world’s most revered photography events, which ends today at 6pm at the Park Avenue Armory. The show opened last Thursday, April 10th, and today is your last chance to see over 80 of the world’s leading fine art photography galleries who are presenting an assortment of photo-based art, videos, and new media. I saw so many good examples of picture grouping at the opening gala, that it brought to mind the times I get involved in a project by hiring a picture hanging company. And so here are some valuable tips for those of you who enjoy those DIY projects.
Frame grouping doe’s have to be tedious, and you do not always have to hire a company to do it. In fact, at my place, every single art piece that are hung were done by yours truly. To keep things fresh, and exciting, there are many different types of picture groupings you can do. The best stories are told by a fun hodge-podge grouping of frames. This is what I mean.
Add different frames, textures, prints, colors and sizes to really make an impact. Depending on the type of display will make your spacing of the frames different.
If you are making an asymmetrical and eclectic grouping you can make your spacing more random and small groupings can be made.
If you want more of a gallery and symmetrical look spacing will be more exact. Once again, it’s all going to depend on what you feel looks good and feels right.When all is said and done, put your creative juices together by mixing things up! And it’s ok to do it all over if it doesn’t’ work the first time. However to take some of the trial and error out, try the excellent sample of picture grouping from Angela Disrud Photography (listed below).
The AIPAD Photography Show
April 10 – 13, 2014, Park Avenue Armory -
At Home with Asian Art
Chinese Porcelain CompanyAsia Week New York is ground zero for Asian Art. Are you in the market for art (some of which are quite affordable) that is inspiring, motivational, or just plain fun to collect? On my third year of covering this thrilling cultural event, I’m finding more and more ways that you can actually use these treasures for your home, and what’s more, be able to pass it on to generations to come.My findings with associating with the gallery dealers have been that I couldn’t find more passionate spirits, who are willing to tell, and guide me to an unparalleled world of the finest Asian Art from Ancient, Contemporary Chinese, Japanese, Southeast Asia, Himalayan, Tibetan, Indian, and Korean Art. Among such dealers, I was particularly drawn by the ambitious collection from Brussels-based dealer, Gisèle Croës. Her exhibition is on view at the Gagosian Gallery on Madison Avenue. Ms. Croës has assembled a superbly beautiful collection of ancient Chinese art treasures, from archaic bronze vessels, earthenware, white-glazed potter jars, to two astonishing large bronze horses, that are quite frankly a true coup de grâce.Among the 47 participating galleries, various auction houses, like Christies, Sothebys, and museums have opened their doors with a range of affordable Asian art, perfect for the novice to the more experienced collectors, and interior designers who want to expand their practice to art consulting. A not so easy task, but certainly one to inspire to.A colorful portrait of an Indian woman at Jadestone Fine Asian ArtMichael C. Hughes eying a rare and important South East Asian tapestry at the Hughes, Koo New York, Mark Murray GalleryCare to spend $300,000 on a Huanghuali yoke back armchair? Backward sloping yoke, China, Late Ming dynasty, 16th century, Huanghuali woodMonumental parcel-gilt bronze figure of a Buddhist guardian, Weituofrom Gisèle CrossAbove: Gisèle Croës’ intensely beautiful and ambitious collection at the Gagosian GalleryGisèle Croës next to her large bronze horse, Eastern Han, 25–220Above: Notable Tibetan sculptures at Carlo CristiLeft: An extraordinary example of the Chinese Fat Ladies at Ralph M. Chait GalleriesSome of the finest Indian art are on display at Prahlad Bubbar’s GalleryRare Money Tree Promises Eternal Happiness and WealthHai Tao Paitings at M. Sutheland Fine ArtsJapan in Black & White, Ink and Clay presented by Joan MirvissRight: A Yueyao Glazed Funerary Jar, Western Jin Dynasty, 265 – 316 ADThe Ik-Joong Kang’s exhibit at Kang Collection Korean ArtMarilyn WhiteImages by High End Weekly™All rights reserved -
Eastern Splendor and the City
ASIA WEEK 2014
Are you ready for a 9-day extravaganza of some of the finest, rarest, and awe-inspiring exhibitions from the East? Starting this Friday, March 14th until the 22nd, Asia Week, now on its sixth year, will take center stage in a city that has already seen its fair share of art during the last few weeks (The Armory Show, The Biennale at the Whitney Museum, Volta, to name a few). However, this mega star of Asian art plans to trump them all by offering its ardent followers with even more dazzling, museum-caliber exhibitions. Over 100 Asian art curators from the nation’s major American museums will make their annual pilgrimage there, for an unprecedented 9-day round of 47 international gallery shows, 19 auction sales and many museum exhibitions and special events.
Art dealers from Australia, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, and the United States have all joined the list this year. They’ve worked together towards a shared goal to weave Asian art into the cultural fabric of New York and to broadcast its unique appeal worldwide.
Asia Week New York exhibitions are open and free to the public, and each reveals the rarest and finest Asian examples of ceramics, jewelry, textiles, paintings, sculpture, bronzes, prints, photographs and jades, representing artistry, ingenuity and imagination from every corner and time period of Asia.
“We are delighted to welcome such a distinguished group of Asian art curators whose enthusiasm and scholarship underscores the importance of Asia Week New York as an important destination for museums,” says Carol Conover chairman of Asia Week New York.
The Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Portland Museum, The Morgan Library, The American Museum of Natural History, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Baltimore Museum, The Mingei International Museum, The Kruizenga Art Museum, The Crow Collection, The Newark Museum, The Samuel P. Harn Museum-University of Florida, Japan Society, The Indianapolis Museum of Art, The Worcester Art Museum, The Burke Foundation, The Cleveland Museum, The Spencer Museum-University of Kansas, The Detroit Institute of Art, The Smart Museum-University of Chicago, The University of Michigan Museum of Art, The Kimball Art Museum, the Yale University Art Gallery, the Berkeley Art Museum, The Cincinnati Art Museum. And from Europe comes The British Museum and The Musée Cernuschi in Paris.
Organized by group, you will find a roundup of exhibitions at the participating galleries right here. According to Ms. Conover, the museum curators attending are from all parts of the country and represent: The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, The Phoenix Art Museum, Rubin Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, China Institute, Asia Society, Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture, The Smithsonian Institution, The Peabody Essex Museum.
To help visitors easily navigate the Asia Week New York’s activities, a comprehensive guide with maps is available at all participating galleries and auction houses, along with select museums and cultural institutions, and online. For the second year, to meet the demands of Chinese collectors, the website is available in Chinese. For more information, visit www.asiaweekny.com.
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The Best Is Yet To Come!
1. Good manners3. The perfect sunglasses6. Artwork from Fernand Léger8. Season tickets to La bohème at The Metropolitan Opera9. Luxurious white sheets for the bed10. A great smile16. Exploring my favorite neighborhood in Paris, Saint-Germain-des-Prés22. A good posture goes a long way. Start practicing if you don’t have oneSources: 4. Red Flower 8. Metropolitan Opera 9. Pratesi 11. Morgans Hotel 13. Aix En Provence 14. Bernard Maisner 15. Park Avenue Armory 16. Saint-Germain-des-Prés 17. La Perla 18. The Metropolitan Museum of Art 19. Pride and Prejudice 20. Azzedine Alaia 21. Dior -
Jewels by JAR, and other Notable Shows at The Met
Jewels by JAR (Joel A. Rosenthal)This Season Most Talked About Exhibits from The Metropolitan Museum of ArtSo much have happened at The Met the last few months. Interwoven Globe opened on September 16th and will run until January 5th, 2014. So there’s really little time for you to go see it, but since the holiday season is upon us, museum hopping is always an open option for many of us. Interwoven Globe is one of three exquisite, must-see exhibits that are featured here on this post. It tells a 300-year-old textiles story of how designs made it from one end of the world to the other through the exchange of goods and culture.I like how the show goes through the history of design, and not just the textile alone. It’s interesting to see how in the 16th and 17th centuries people were preoccupied with other cultures, and were being influenced by them. So the old cliché holds, the more things change the more they stay the same. Materials such as large-scale chintz, flowering trees and exotic flowers were as popular back then as they are now, when it comes to fashion and decoration.Jewels by JAR opened on November 20 and ends on March 9, 2014. All the hype surrounding JAR is true. I’ve seen my share of jewelry expositions all around the globe, but I don’t believe I’ve come across this type of jewelry exposition before. Joel A Rosenthal (JAR) The Harvard educated American moved to Paris in 1978 and opened his namesake business at the fashionable, and opulent Place Vendôme. What makes him so different from most of his contemporaries is his excellent eye, and his genius of being unique in the way that he uses his “pavé technique – the setting of small stones so close together that they seem as a continuous surface of jewels – and uses subtle gradations of color to create a painterly effect.” Throughout his collections, JAR uses his signature jewels in classical flower forms and organic shapes to witty objets d’art. His work set him apart from the others and this exhibit will leave you with some powerful emotions. As for me, I came out of that sensuous Great Hall feeling… breathless.
Ink Art: Past as Present Contemporary China This Met exhibit is located in the museum’s permanent galleries for Chinese Art, however this is a temporary show which opened a few days ago and runs until April 6, 2014. Ink has been a powerful fixture in the Chinese culture, in fact, for more than two millennia, it’s been the principal medium of painting and calligraphy in China. This is a phenomenal exhibit that features about seventy works by thirty-five artists in various media: paintings, calligraphy, photographs, woodblock prints, video, and sculpture. It is set up into four very interesting parts: The Written Word, New Landscapes, Abstraction, and Beyond the Brush.Interwoven GlobeImages by High End Weekly™via iPad Air -
Surrealism at The Carlyle
Salvador Dali, Venus de Milo aux Tiroir (Venus de Milo with Drawers)Blain Di DonnaImage courtesy High End Weekly™Blain|Di Donna had its first historical group exhibition, Dada & Surrealist Objects last Thursday night. This was the first show devoted to this important subject ever presented in any gallery or museum in America, and has been curated in association with the well-known specialist in Dada and Surrealist art, Timothy Baum. The exhibition presents a retrospective overview of all aspects of this subject, and encompasses a full choice of works by every serious creator of objects from both the Dada and Surrealist groups. Chronologically, this exploration begins with Marcel Duchamp, whose invention of the ready made in 1913 gave birth to the separation of found or handmade objects from the more limited world of sculpture, usually confined to plaster, bronze, marble and occasionally carved wood that had previously represented, exclusively, the realm of the third dimension in art.
It continues through Arp, Man Ray (with an assortment of works from his New York, Paris and California periods), Dalí (represented by two works of major importance: Objet escatalogique de fonctionnement symbolique (Le soulier de Gala) and Vénus de Milo aux Tiroirs), Magritte, Giacometti, Calder (two classical works lent by the Calder Foundation), Miró (including a charmingly witty post-war work, courtesy of the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation), Bellmer, Kurt Schwitters, Kurt Seligmann, and an interestingly varied assortment of early works by Joseph Cornell. It also features two of André Breton’s famous “poem-collages”, boxes and book-bindings by Georges Hugnet, and other assorted treasures by Marcel Jean, Oscar Dominguez, Maurice Henry, a mixed media painting by André Masson embellished with sand, a shell and a feather, an interpretation of Alberto Giacometti’s ear by Meret Oppenheim, a painting encased in a hand-carved frame by Yves Tanguy, an intricately collaged bottle by Laurence Vail, as well as many other works rarely seen in public before.The presentation is augmented by a group of vintage photographs by Raoul Ubac depicting various objects created by Surrealist artists for the International Surrealism Exhibition in Paris in 1938: mannequins decorated by Man Ray, Max Ernst and others, and two works by Dalí: The Aphrodisiac Table (with Lobster Telephone) and the environmental phenomenon, Rainy Taxi.
BLAIN|DI DONNA is located at 981 Madison Avenue, NYC (Inside the Carlyle Hotel). The show runs from October 25 – December 13, 2013. Opens Monday through Friday: 10am–6pm
Saturdays November 2, 9 & 16: 10am–6pm. -
Jean Paul Gaultier at The Brooklyn Museum Museum
Jean Paul Gaultier: From The Sidewalk to the Catwalk (Brooklyn Museum of Art)The Boudoir Prince Takes over BrooklynFrom The Sidewalk to the Catwalk is an eye-popping journey that is altogether superbly curated by fashion icon, Jean Paul Gaultier, and famed curator, Thierry-Maxime Lorio. The exhibition is running at the Brooklyn Museum. Last Friday night, I took a trip to Eastern Parkway to discover this exciting, ground-breaking show, and was also enchanted by the stimulating talk between the designer, and the curator. The conversation was deftly led by Wall Street Journal Magazine editor-in-chief, Kristina O’Neill. Jean Paul Gaultier is well-known for his designing Madonna’s infamous cone bra (he spoke passionately about his muse, and how she has been a constant source of inspiration for his work throughout his early career). The exhibit highlights a master couturier ahead of his game, and a front runner of the Haute Couture world and avant-garde fashion.
The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk” is open to the public from October 25, 2013- February 23, 2014. Word of advice: See it! The Brooklyn Museum is located at 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY.Images by High End Weekly™All rights reserved