Art Basel: There's an App for That -- posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Bridget Carey at the Miami Herald had a article Monday about two new Apps designed for Art Basel week.  The first is for Art Basel itself, with interactive maps, exhibitor lists and artist images and info.  It's basically the whole fair catalog on your iPhone, letting you know which artists are at which galleries with all the important information.  The Collectrium iPhone app is for the satellite fairs.  Designed to make the hunt for art more interactive Collectrium users can snap a photo of a two-dimensional artwork at Art Miami, Scope Miami, Art Asia or Aqua Art Miami, and if the artwork has been logged into the apps database, it will relay details about the artist. For Art Miami, the app also includes a show-floor map.  Collectrium satellite-fair users can browse through exhibits to mark their favorites before arrival; and they can share their favorite art on Facebook, Twitter and via e-mail. 

I will try both Apps to help me get around. 
Search to find Apps - "Art Basel"  and  "Collectrium"
Read the whole article from The Miami Herald here.

Glenn's Guide to Art Basel 2010 -- by Florida Fine Art Blog

 

Art Basel is here.  Every year Miami hosts an art event like none other.  Museum shows, gallery openings, public art projects, parties and dozens of art fairs spread across Miami for one week in December.  The best, most exciting and most famous artists from around the world are all represented, as are all the top galleries and art organizations.  Tens of thousands of art lovers crowd these events and make South Florida the art capital of the world, if only for one week.  I have been going for at least fifteen years, back when it was just one event called Art Miami, and have learned a few tricks to make it more fun.  I also have some advice and observations that I will share for the uninitiated.   I will also try to point out some things not to be missed.

Much More After the Fold

Happy Thanksgiving! -- by Florida Fine Art Blog

Happy Thanksgiving!

The painting above is by Norman Rockwell.  The title is "Freedom from Want"  and was first published in the March 6, 1943 addition of The Saturday Evening Post.   Mr. Rockwell was inspired by FDR's State of the Union speech in 1941.  Freedom from Want was one in a series of four illustrations done to drum up support for the war.  The other three illustrations are; Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Belief and Freedom from Fear.  Mr. Rockwell knew that this depiction of American life was not the average shared experience for most Americans but he worked from a place that, as he put it, "I paint life as I would like it to be."  GL

Norman Rockwell website

Airport Art Galleries -- by Florida Fine Art Blog

Thinking about all the travel that will take place over the holidays and the new and improved hassles that make air travel so stressful, I thought I would point out something that might help relax and enrich your long wait time in the airports. Did you know of the growing trend for airports is to have public art galleries? Usually found before the security check points, airports all over the world are beginning to show world class art exhibitions in dedicated art spaces.


I recently flew to Tallahassee, Florida and found by the baggage claim area a local photography show, Photofest 2010, put on by the Council on Culture and Arts (COCA) for Leon County. Flying back home I discovered there is a gallery in the Fort Lauderdale airport as well. The Lee Wagener Art Gallery is located in Terminal 2 of the airport departure level and showcases local artists, changing them every three months. I looked up their calendar of events and noticed that from January to April of next year a great local Fort Lauderdale photographer, Peter Nolan, will be showing his work.  I’ll have to plan a trip!


Searching for more information about airport art galleries I found two articles and have linked to them below. The first article is found in USA Today and highlights some of the best airport galleries in America. The second article is from an online airport magazine and highlights the best international airports showing artwork. Both have links that will take you to a calendar of events page for more information about upcoming shows at the individual airports.


From the artists' point of view, showing at an airport can offer some real perks. First it is “art in public places” which always looks good on your resume. But most importantly, your work is being shown in a high traffic area to people from all over the world giving you an opportunity for exposure that an artist rarely enjoys.


So the next time you are at an airport and you have some extra time or just need to de-stress, put away the laptop, PDAs and iPhones, get off the uncomfortable gray vinyl seat and seek out the art space!
Happy Traveling… GL


USA Today article
AirTreks article
Lee Wagener Art Gallery website

Art Around the Web -- Thanksgiving and Pilgrim Paintings -- posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

A website maintained by Joyful Heart Ministries has a wonderful collection of images and links to every major American painter and painting with Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims as the subject.  The painting above was done in the early 1900's by Edward Percy Moran and is titled, "Pilgrims Landing".  The list includes such notable American artists as Robert Walter Weir, William Formsby Halsall and Norman Rockwell.

Link to List of Thanksgiving Paintings

"Small Stuff" at Bear and Bird in Lauderhill -- posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

My friends over at Bear and Bird are having what sounds like a great art show, perfect for Christmas Shopping!   Small Stuff is described as a salon style cash and carry exhibition featuring affordably priced smaller artwork by local, national and international artists.  The show runs through January 8th.  The work is all original and one of a kind so get there fast before the show is all picked over!

Bear and Bird website

Bruce Weber: Haiti / Little Haiti at MOCA -- posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), North Miami, will present Bruce Weber: Haiti / Little Haiti from November 19, 2010 through February 13, 2011. This extraordinary exhibition of photographs of Miami’s Haitian community by celebrated photographer Bruce Weber is part of MOCA’s Knight Exhibition Series and includes approximately 75 photographs taken by Weber from 2003 to 2010. Bruce Weber: Haiti / Little Haiti is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, and is curated by MOCA Executive Director and Chief Curator, Bonnie Clearwater.

Link to MOCA show

New American Paintings -- Southern Juried Competition -- posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

The Open Studio Press is accepting submissions for its Southern Juried Exhibition.  The deadline is December 31, 2010 and you can now apply online.  The Open Studio Press sponsors 6 juried competitions per year.  Winners receive full color spreads in their nationally distributed periodical, New American Paintings.  The exhibitions are divided into six different regions (Northeast, South, Midwest, West, Pacific and US based MFA's), each of which is the focus of an annual competition and publication.

This is one of my favorite periodicals and the Southern addition is something I look forward to every year.  I can also confirm that many gallery owners, much more than would admit it, look toward this publication for new artists to represent.  The juror this year for the Southern addition is Dan Cameron who has in the past ten years put together some of the largest and most impressive art exhibitions in the world.  Dan is currently Artistic Director of U.S. Biennial, Inc, a not-for-profit (501c3) organization that produces Prospect New Orleans.

The entry fee is $40 and they require 4 images.  Although being selected is always a long shot, I strongly suggest any mid-career Florida artist to apply.  The exposure and stature of this publication is well worth the $40 submission fee.  GL

Website link to find out more and apply online.

"Video of the Week" -- Jen Stark -- by Florida Fine Art Blog

 

My mother is taking an art history class and we were recently discussing Henri Matisse and his wonderful colorful "cutouts."  Toward the end of Matisse's life he lost the ability to paint so he began making collages using colored paper creating what he called his "cutouts" or "paintings with scissors."  That got me thinking about an artist from Miami, Jen Stark, and the similarities in their work.  Like Matisse, Jen works by cutting colored paper into works of art.  Also like Matisse, Jen chose colored paper out of necessity.  Mattisse chose to cut up colored paper because his hands could no longer hold a paint brush, Jen chose colored paper because it was the least expensive material she could find in the art supply stores.  

Jen Stark has shown her work all over South Florida.  Along with the colorful sculptural cutouts, Jen creates beautiful works with ink pens on paper.  It is the simplicity of Jen's work and her knowledge of composition and color that attract me.  In the video below, first posted on YouTube by Art Street Miami, some of Miami's gallery owners discuss Jen's rise in the local art scene and the possibilities for her future.  If you would like to see more of Jen's work please visit her fun website listed below and check out her latest work this December at Scope Art Fair at Carol Jazzar’s booth #A21 during Art Basel week. GL

Jen Stark website