Sunday, July 17, 2011

Art News

Clemente Exhibit        in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS, MO.- The Saint Louis Art Museum presents: Francesco Clemente's High Fever, which brings together a series of nine dark and mysterious woodcuts that explore the beauty, pleasure and pain of love by contemporary Italian artist Francesco Clemente. Influenced by the mysticism of India, Clemente conveys both the sensual and spiritual aspects of love, including childbirth and motherhood. Clemente exploits the natural grain of his woodblocks to dramatic effect, allowing it to become part of the repertoire of expressive marks found in each of the compositions. The grain and the dark tones of the ink reference the Northern European history of the woodcut. Born in Naples in 1952, Clemente taught himself to paint after finishing high school.  The exhibit will be on view July 15 through October 9, 2011.


Chinese art in Denver
 DENVER, CO.- This fall, visitors to the Denver Art Museum (DAM) will get a rare look inside China’s artistic history through two special exhibitions. Xu Beihong: Pioneer of Modern Chinese Painting and Threads of Heaven: Silken Legacy of China’s Last Dynasty explore this mysterious and ceremonial country during two time periods—the latter years of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), and the subsequent formation of the Republic of China during the early to middle 20th century. Xu Beihong offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the full spectrum of work by the 20th century Chinese artist who is widely recognized as the father of modern Chinese painting. One of the first Chinese artists to study in Europe, Xu revolutionized painting in China by drawing influence from both the East and West.
 
Soulful Stitching in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Stunning, colorful, patchwork quilts known as kawandi and made only by craftswomen living in the little known Siddi communities of Africans in India are on display at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) as part of its exploration of how traditional practices are adapted over decades throughout the African Diaspora. The exhibition presents over 30 quilts of a variety of styles and techniques and also the compelling story of the Siddis, descendants of East African slaves, sailors and merchants who currently live in the highlands of the KarantakaSiddis) in India” opened at the Museum of African Diaspora Friday, July 15, 2011. The traveling exhibition consisting of 32 quilts will be on view until September 18, 2011.

Drawing by Charlotte Rossmann

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Art News: Artist Cy Twombly Dead at 83

Art News: American artist Cy Twombly is dead. He died in Rome at the age of 83.  The artist had been battling cancer for several years.  Cy Twombly was born in Lexington, Virginia on April 25, 1928.
Cy Twombly belongs to the group of internationally acknowledged artists. The Cy Twombly Gallery opened in Houston in 1995, which was designed by the architect Renzo Piano in co-operation with the artist.

Cy Twombly lived and worked in Rome and Gaeta, Italy, as well as in Lexington, USA. His son, Cyrus Alessandro Twombly is also a painter.

Twombly's paintings are in-between drawing and painting. Many of his paintings of the late 1960s are reminiscent of a school blackboard on which someone has practiced cursive. His paintings of the late 1950s, early 1960s might reference a long term accumulation of graffiti such as one would see on a bathroom wall. Twombly had at this point discarded representational subject-matter, citing the line or smudge with its own history as its proper subject.  This trend continued in abstract art and influenced many young painters of the time. 

In a 1994 retrospective of Twombly's work, the curator described it as “influential among artists.".

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