The Notorious and The Darling

Lisa Solber inside the Artist's Studio- NEW VIDEO

2009-12-16T17:42:00.000-08:00

Curators Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayari Announce Whitney Biennale Artists

2009-12-11T13:40:00.000-08:00

Gmurzynska Gallery gets hit by US Marshals and “Rambo” at Art Basel Miami Beach

2009-12-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

On December 2, at 10:30 am, before the fair doors opened about a dozen US Marshals rushed to Art Basel Miami to reclaim four paintings from Gmurzynska gallery’s booth: a Degas Jockeys, a Miró abstract from the 1920s, a Léger and an Yves Klein, an estimated worth of $6 million dollars. The ArtNewspaper reported “The story behind this dramatic move is a lawsuit that opposes Edelman Arts Inc “as assignee for XL Speciality Insurance Company” and Gmurzynska gallery. In his original complaint, according to court documents, Edelman accused Gmurzynska of damaging a Ryman painting, Courier I, 1985, which was on consignment from Edelman Arts Inc to Gmurzynska. He claimed $750,000 in damages. He said that the seizure resulted from a judgement “entered by the New York courts in the matter of insurance misinformation”. The court made a default judgement of more than $767,400 to be paid by the gallery to Edelman.” Edelman said the artworks would be auctioned by the U.S. Marshals to pay XL, Edelman Arts and lawyers’ fees, with any surplus going to Galerie Gmurzynska.
Although the private federal court order caused much of a scene, peering in the back half of the gallery was actor and stuntman, Stallone, who was exhibiting his paintings for the first time ever. Two of paintings sold later for $40-50,000, with one famous buyer casino owner, Steve Wynn.

Cai Guo-Qiang Presents Retrospective and Hangs Out at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum

2009-11-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

Cai Guo-Qiang Presents Retrospective and Hangs Out at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum

TAIPEI.- The Taipei Fine Arts Museum presents a retrospective exhibition for the artist called “indispensable to this world” by The New York Times. Cai Guo-Qiang has left his mark on various cities and countries, from Fujian to Shanghai, from China to Japan, and from New York to the world. His work expresses a kind of metaphysical thinking derived from Eastern philosophy and modern cosmology. Known worldwide for his gunpowder-based works and large-scale installations, Cai became the first Chinese artist to hold a solo exhibition, I Want to Believe, at the Guggenheim Museum, New York in 2008.

check out more of the article on artdaily.org

It Came from Brooklyn Concert Series

2009-10-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

It Came from Brooklyn Concert Series

Celebrating the Guggenhiem's 50th anniversary. Check it out pre-Halloween evening.

Artwork by Mike Paré, 2009

The Queen & Love

2009-10-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

LONDON.- An exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace next year is set to challenge the popular image of Queen Victoria. Opening in March 2010, Victoria & Albert: Art & Love will focus on the period of Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert, from the time of their engagement and the Prince’s untimely death in 1861. Through 400 works from across the entireent in 1839 to the Royal Collection, including paintings, drawings, photographs, jewellery and sculpture, Queen Victoria emerges as a romantic and open-minded young woman, a far cry from the dour widow of 40 years with which we are so familiar.

The exhibition is the first ever to examine the couple’s shared enthusiasm for art, as well as their individual tastes. For Victoria and Albert, art was an important part of everyday life and a way they expressed their love for each other. Around a third of the objects in the exhibition were exchanged as gifts between the couple to mark special occasions. They range from the simple and sentimental, such as a beautiful set of jewellery in the form of orange blossom, to superb examples of early Italian painting, including Bernardo Daddi’s The Marriage of the Virgin, given by the Queen to the Prince for his birthday in 1846.

Jonathan Marsden, Deputy Surveyor of The Queen's Works of Art and the exhibition’s chief curator said, ’This exhibition will overturn the popular image of Queen Victoria and reveal an energetic, passionate young woman who delighted in the company of artists, musicians and performers, and who idolized the opera and ballet stars of the time.

‘Commissioning and exchanging art was at the very heart of Victoria and Albert’s relationship. Such a shared enthusiasm for collecting has not been seen at any other stage in the history of the British crown.’

Victoria & Albert: Art & Love, The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace
19 March – 31 October 2010.

Marilyn Minter this weekend!!

2009-10-20T15:39:00.000-07:00

Regen Projects is pleased to announce an exhibition of works by New York artist, Marilyn Minter. For her debut at Regen Projects, Minter presents a series of decadent paintings, photographs and her new filmGreen Pink Caviar. On view at Regen Projects II is a series the artist categorizes as the Mouth series, where tongues and lips lick, suck and drool candy–like substances. These works implicate the viewer as a voyeur in Minter's unattainable fantasy. As mouths push lusciously colored materials up against glass, the glass becomes a screen and the viewer, the object these mouths defiantly drive up against. The velocity of this movement is the ultimate jouissance blurring the boundary between pleasure and pain, attraction and repulsion. Throughout Minter's oeuvre, the artist seeks to imbue our fantasies with reality, showing the viewer that the human condition itself does not permit perfection and the notion of the ideal is impossible to obtain.

Also on view at Regen Projects II are paintings and photographs from the Pam series in which Pamela Anderson is the subject. Originally a project commissioned for Parkett Magazine, the artist works to obscure the distinction between art and advertising, using the language of both mediums to create a vocabulary that is her own. Portrayed in her natural state, the actress is depicted in an unconventional way. In Minter's works she is both vulnerable and glamorous. Evoking commercially sexualized depictions of femininity, Minter investigates the possibilities and limitations of photography through a lens of beauty.

Minter's film Green Pink Caviar, will be on view at Regen Projects as well as two moving image billboards on Sunset Boulevard that will play the film once an hour for the duration of the exhibition. Drawing upon the same subject matter depicted in the Mouth series, the video simulates painting with the tongue. Slurping and squirting these fluids become abject liquids, both visceral and foreign. Curator Joshua Shrikey writes:
"Minter shows us unruly bodies that cannot fit within our culture's carefully drawn lines: greedy, excessive bodies that ooze and leak and are marked by too much sweat, too much makeup, too much hair, too much grime. These works are about our private ruminations and self-scrutiny; they reveal bodies that, compared to the fantasies that bombard us daily, seem to be in a state of constant eruption."
(New Work:Marilyn Minter. Written by Joshua Shirkey. San Francisco: San Francisco Museum of Art, 2005. Published in conjunction with the exhibition "New Work: Marilyn Minter" shown at the San Francisco Museum of Art.)

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Minter has been the subject of numerous museum and gallery exhibitions worldwide. She was included in the 2006 Whitney Biennial and featured on a series of billboards throughout New York City in conjunction with the exhibition. Her work is the subject of current solo exhibitions at the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio and The Cannery in Murcia, Spain.

For further information please contact Heather Harmon, Jennifer Loh or Brad Hudson at (310) 276-5424.

Regen Projects and Regen Projects II
633 N Almont Drive and 9016 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Tel. (310) 276-5424 Fax. (310) 276-7430
www.regenprojects.com

MARILYN MINTER
October 24 – December 5, 2009
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 24, 6 – 8 pm
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm

I just can't put my finger on it...well Da Vinici did!!

2009-10-14T17:47:00.001-07:00

Apparently a painting purchased by Canadian Art collector, Peter Silverman, on behalf of a Swiss friend, purchased the beauty of "Profile of the Bella Principessa", from New York gallerist Kate Ganz at $19,000 back in 2007, for which she had also purchased at auction for around the same price. Unfortunately, what they thought was just a 19th century painting, neither party 't realize was that there was a significant fingerprint that has now made the painting possibly worth $150 million dollars. As forensic art experts investigated this small fingerprint, which could be Leonard's index or middle finger, was matched as the same fingerprint on another master painting. Well, sure enough, through many x-rays and scans and lab visits, let the truth be told, she's a lovely muse of Mr. Da Vinci.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2097092

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Frankencamera!!! They've created a monster!!!

2009-10-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

NPF has it bad for the RED camera, but NPR recently released a story on a new camera that will change the face of digital photography. A few computer scientists from Standford University discovered a way to photograph images no matter the lighting and exposure...forget all the light meters and strobes... you can catch the real lights and contrasts...forget your brights being blown out or your darks being black holes, the camera's sensors pick up dual images of each contrast and combines them into one lovely lit photo. So forget playing with levels and saturation in post... Professor Marc Levoy projects, "Our goal is not to make a product. Our goal is to try and push traditional camera makers to incorporate more of these flexible ways of producing images in their cameras." It will take a few more years to develop a solid system, but the camera allows you to create as many applications into the system just like an i-phone and photoshop all in one. click the photo for the report from NPR or watch the video below from Standford University.

Stiletto Stoners

2009-10-14T17:07:00.001-07:00

Stiletto Stoners

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Marnie Weber ART talk at MOCA

2009-10-14T16:36:00.000-07:00

Art Talk
MARNIE WEBER
Thursday, October 15 at 6:30pm
Ahmanson Auditorium
MOCA Grand Avenue

On Thursday, October 15 at 6:30pm artist Marnie Weber will discuss her work
and the blurred line between performance and visual art and the place where
make-believe and fantasy come to life.

FREE
INFO (213) 621-1745 or education@moca.org
www.moca.org

Inspired by the remarkable growth of the museum's holdings through gifts and
purchases over the past decade, Collecting History: Highlighting Recent
Acquisitions surveys recent acquisitions to MOCA's world-renowned permanent
collection, with a particular focus on the last five years. While some of
the works on view have been featured in MOCA exhibitions, many others are
exhibited for the first time. Collecting History remains on view at MOCA
Grand Avenue through October 19, 2009.

www.patrickpainter.com

Irving Penn dies at 92; a giant of photography -- latimes.com

2009-10-07T19:26:00.001-07:00

Irving Penn dies at 92; a giant of photography -- latimes.com

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Today from the MET

2009-10-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

TODAY FROM THE MET

2009-10-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

Charles Clifford (Welsh, 1819-1863)
Principal Doorway of the Carthusian Monastery, Burgos, 1853
Albumen silver print from paper negative; Image: 13 3/8 x 11 3/16 in. (33.9 x 28.4 cm) Mat: 28 x 22 in. (71.1 x 55.9 cm) Frame: 32 x 26 in. (81.3 x 66 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gilman Collection, Purchase, Alfred Stieglitz Society Gifts, 2005 (2005.100.65)

It's getting OLD at the NEW...

2009-10-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

Last chance to see great exhibitions at the NEW MUSEUM in NYC...

Intersections Intersected: The Photography of David Goldblatt at the New Museum a collection of 50 years of South African society. From his older works of black and white to his present day color images, Goldblatt transcends his social responses and documentary photography as a question of history to compare change and future acts of changes.
Closes Oct 11

Emory Douglas: Black Panther

Black Panther, 1969
Offset lithograph
22 7/8 x 15 in (58.4 x 38.1 cm)
Collection Alden and Mary Kimbrough
© 2009 Emory Douglas / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Dorothy Iannone: Lioness

Also closing at the New Museum Oct. 18

Echo: Eight San Francisco Artists Respond to Surrealist Masterworks

2009-10-05T21:23:00.001-07:00

Gallery Reception

October 08, 2009
6:00 to 8:00 pm

Echo is the first exhibition at Frey Norris Gallery to exhibit the important Surrealist masterworks in the gallery's Annex alongside artwork from the contemporary gallery. We have suggested a painting or sculpture by eight important Surrealists to eight of our Bay Area artists and asked them to respond or invent around the resonances between their own interests and the content and ideas in the historical piece. The result will be pairings, one historical with one new piece, that synthesize art from 1939 to 2009. This project highlights the often misunderstood or overlooked ideas of the historical artists, demonstrating their foresight in creating art that projects a timeless power and mystery. Similarly, the pairings present contemporary artists with a challenge, creating a bridge that will measure their visions against artwork by some of the most storied artists of the last century.

Participating San Francisco Bay Area artists are Susannah Bettag, Kate Eric, Rodney Ewing, Michal Gavish, Joshua Hagler, Dana Harel, Hayv Kahraman and Mary Anne Kluth. These will appear with Surrealist artworks by Leonora Carrington, Max Ernst, Leonor Fini, Gunther Gerszo, Wilfredo Lam, Wolfgang Paalen, Dorothea Tanning and Remedios Varo. A wide range of objects, including paintings, drawings and mixed media sculptures will be included in the exhibition.

The Letters- Vincent Van Gough

2009-10-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

This summer I had the privilege to walk the streets of some of Vincent Van Gough's paintings, eat at the lowly cafe of La Nuit in Arles, and was welcomed into his asylum in St. Rimes, and in just a few short days, Oct. 7, The Letters from Vincent Van Gough will be released as an exhibition at the Van Gough museum in Amsterdam and will be published as a series of six volumes of text. This is an extraordinary look into the mind of Van Gough, explaining the different time periods of his life, his career as an art dealer to his intentions of being a clergyman. His letters are also a wonderful philosophy of his artwork and lifestyle. Although some of his letters have been published in the past decade or two, however some where edited out. This is the first time the whole collection of his illustrations and writings will also be released free of charge on the web until Oct. 7 that www.vangoghletters.org .

Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten and Nienke Bakker (eds), Vincent van Gogh: the Letters. The Complete Illustrated and Annotated Edition (Thames & Hudson), six volumes and a CD with complete text versions in French and Dutch, 2,180 pp, £325 until 31 December; thereafter £395 (hb) ISBN 9780500238653

The exhibition: “Van Gogh’s Letters: the Artist Speaks”, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (9 October-3 January 2010). www.vangoghmuseum.nl. Another selection of his letters will be shown in “The Real Van Gogh: the Artist and his Letters”, Royal Academy, London (23 January 2010-18 April 2010).

Koons+Joannou= NEW

2009-09-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

Dakis Joannou Collection Comes to the New Museum
Jeff Koons to Curate the Exhibition

New York, New York…The Dakis Joannou Collection will come to the New Museum in late February 2010. Artist Jeff Koons will curate the exhibition which will take over the entire Museum. This is the first time that Joannou's collection will be seen in the United States.

Dakis Joannou - a New Museum Trustee based in Athens - has worked closely with artists and curators over three decades to assemble an unparalleled collection of iconic works of art that reflect his distinctive passion and fervor. Curated exhibitions from the collection have been presented at Joannou's Deste Foundation in Athens since the late 1980's. The collection contains major holdings of works by Pawel Althamer, Maurizio Cattelan, Nathalie Djurberg, Urs Fischer, Robert Gober, Jeff Koons, Chris Ofili, Charles Ray, Kiki Smith, and Kara Walker, among many others.

Koons and Joannou have had a close association and friendship for nearly three decades, and a large concentration of Koons' work from all periods is at the center of the collection. Engaging Jeff Koons as a curator reflects the kinds of ongoing conversations with artists that have inspired and animated Joannou's collection from the start. In this role, Koons' curatorial and artistic vision will bring a fresh perspective to the collection and to the works on view.

The Dakis Joannou Collection has previously been shown at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Kunsthalle, Vienna; and the MUMOK, Vienna.

This presentation inaugurates a new exhibition series at the New Museum, "The Imaginary Museum," which will periodically showcase leading private collections of contemporary art from around the world, providing the opportunity for rarely seen great works of art to be accessible to the public, while experimenting with adventurous curatorial formats.

Check out www.newmuseum.org

Thanks New York Magazine...

2009-09-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

Art 21 : trailer for Season 5

2009-09-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

Although Reading Rainbow is officially over, I can't wait for PBS' Art 21 Season 5 to premiere this October. Great interviews with artists Mary Heilmann, William Kentridge, and Yinka Shonibare MBE, and so many more. Eventually I'll be hosting outdoor screenings and pot luck discussions at our Echo Park manor of past Art 21 episodes and interviews- (once we get our movie screen built). But Thank You OH SO MUCH PBS for contributing to contemporary art... and growing old with me.

Warhol Paintings Kidnapped-Maroon Colored Van

2009-09-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

Prominent art collector, Richard L. Weisman reported to the LAPD on September 3, that several paintings by Andy Warhol were lifted from his home in Los Angeles. The abduction of Weisman's Warhol collection was a clean heist of eleven large canvas paintings. The LA times reported, "Police have no immediate leads or suspects other than a vague description of a maroon-colored van that, according to a witness, might have been in the driveway about the time of the theft." There is a $1 million dollar reward for the recovery of the collection, so when you're on the road- pay attention to any suspicious Art Theiving maroon colored vans- cause this ain't no Amber Alert, these are Warhols.

For more information Los Angeles Times
Andy Warhol
"The Athletes" 1970's series

Missing from the collection

Hot Bod: Mapplethorpe and Michaelangelo

2009-09-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

At the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy in a tremendous exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe's nude, still life, and portraiture photography is presented as a complementary influence from that of Michaelangelo's famous drawings and sculptures. For the first time, the museum is displaying contemporary fine art and photography in conjunction with the old master's works, integrating the relationship of the iconic and perfected sculpture of David.

The exhibition's conversation of photography and sculpture as mediums, but the main focus on the evaluation of form is a mere glimpse of two artist speaking one language of art. From the exhibition, Mapplethorpe’s own words explicitly state his thought in this regard: “I look for perfection in form … I am trying to capture what could be sculpture”. Both artist have achieved a sense of balance and beauty in their craft allowing traditional and formal art training to succeed in a contemporary time. Moreover, the photographer himself confessed his fascination for the art of Michelangelo, even stating: “If I had been born one hundred or two hundred years ago, I might have been a sculptor, but photography is a very quick way to see, to make sculpture”.

Exhibiton closes September 27th, but check out the video to get a close look .

The Perfection in Form.

Artist Bruce Nauman skywrites over Pasadena

2009-09-17T11:41:00.001-07:00

Artist Bruce Nauman skywrites over Pasadena

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Before You Lose Your Head

2009-09-16T14:29:00.001-07:00

...And before it's too late, head to the Brooklyn Museum this weekend!! The closing exhibition of UK-Nigerian Artist, Yinka Shonibare MBE, generates a vibrant approach to discussing the social colonization and collisions of the Western World and those of his bi- cultural influences. Shonibare's headless installation provides a sense of violence and humor while investigating the relativity of racial history and stereotypes. So if you're in Brooklyn- Shonibare is not to be missed!!!

Check out the behind the scene photos of the Yinka Shonibare MBE's installation on Flickr: Brooklyn Museum Installation

Also currently on view at the Newark Museum of Art is a special commission by Shonibare in celebration of the Museum's Centennial, entitled Party Time: Re-imagine America. This major site-specific installation, set in the mahogany-paneled dining room of the Ballantine House, will be on display until March 1, 2010.

More of Yinka Shonibare MBE's exhibitions can be seen at James Cohan gallery

Walker and Wire

2009-09-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

If you liked tv series "The Wire", here is a nice video slide of artist Kara Walker's pieces accompanied with "Down in the Hole" theme song.

when the stars align, there will be light

2009-09-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

Upon my return to Los Angeles, I'm so eager to rendez vous in the art of gallery jaunting and Artwalks. This coming weekend is pretty much jam packed with all my favorites, artists who showed within the past 2 years are all in rotation and are in the September limelight. There is much to celebrate and congregate about, the energy is far more vibrant these days at openings. With a bittersweet feeling, head to Bergamot Station for a full load of openings, free wine, scenesters of all sorts, but always a good time.

Showing at Richard Heller gallery- Charlie Roberts.

Showing at Patrick Painter- West Gallery : Francesca Gabbiani

If you wander midtown head to Ace Gallery and Regen Projects to see cinematic and illuminating works by Melanie Pullen and Doug Aitkin.
ACE GALLERY
Melanie Pullen
The Jumping Soldiers (Soldier Series), 2008
Transparency in Lightbox
60" (H) x 120" (W) | Edition of 3

A taste of the Past to tell of the Future- Zeitgeist: Marilyn Minter

2009-09-10T09:57:00.001-07:00

During the month of September, we pain the end of summer days. However for the Artworld...tis the season. For the upcoming Fall 2009 opening kickoff, I would like to start with our first course by remembering "the spirit of the times", the beautiful and fruitful taste of Marilyn Minter's Green Pink Caviar.

Her exhibition at Salon 94, New York this past summer was not only translated in the accomplishment of what she calls "photoreplacement" paintings, but her video project (ad for her show), which was featured in Times Square, was alone a conception of tasteful luxury and fashionable aesthetics. It reflected and rocked the ironic pallet of our economic values, which allows us to salivate and savor the times that we are in, hoping that it has inspired the sybarites of art, and a standard of what is to come this Fall. Don't worry there will be a Marily Minter exhibition coming to LA in October at Regen Projects.
So enjoy her video because it taste oh so good!!

Stay tuned, as this upcoming Fall I will be evaluating not only the beauty of art that is daring, but the epicurean taste of collectors and artist conspiracies, here at The Notorious and The Darling.

Video courtesy Salon 94 and artist.