Merton D. Simpson Gallery Present Angels: Chained and Unchained by Purvis Young - posted by Florida Fine Art Gallery

Merton D. Simpson Gallery is pleased to announce the reopening of the gallery since the passing of the gallery's founder, Merton D. Simpson in March of 2013.

The gallery will reopen with a selection of major works by Purvis Young entitled Angels: Chained and Unchained from the collection of Daniel Aubry on November 13, 2013 from 6-8pm.

A selection of African artwork from the Merton D. Simpson Gallery collection will also be on display.

This exhibition is on view from November 7th through January 2, 2014.

Read more about Merton D. Simpson Gallery Present Angels: Chained and Unchained by Purvis Young, 11/7-1/2 - BWWVisual ArtsWorld by www.broadwayworld.com

Merton Simpson Gallery


Merton D. Simpson Gallery is pleased to announce the reopening of the gallery since the passing of the gallery's founder, Merton D. Simpson in March of 2013.
The gallery will reopen with a selection of major works by Purvis Young entitled Angels: Chained and Unchained from the collection of Daniel Aubry on November 13, 2013 from 6-8pm.
A selection of African artwork from the Merton D. Simpson Gallery collection will also be on display.
This exhibition is on view from November 7th through January 2, 2014.

Read more about Merton D. Simpson Gallery Present Angels: Chained and Unchained by Purvis Young, 11/7-1/2 - BWWVisual ArtsWorld by www.broadwayworld.com

Merton D. Simpson Gallery is pleased to announce the reopening of the gallery since the passing of the gallery's founder, Merton D. Simpson in March of 2013.
The gallery will reopen with a selection of major works by Purvis Young entitled Angels: Chained and Unchained from the collection of Daniel Aubry on November 13, 2013 from 6-8pm.
A selection of African artwork from the Merton D. Simpson Gallery collection will also be on display.
This exhibition is on view from November 7th through January 2, 2014.

Read more about Merton D. Simpson Gallery Present Angels: Chained and Unchained by Purvis Young, 11/7-1/2 - BWWVisual ArtsWorld by www.broadwayworld.com

Merton D. Simpson Gallery is pleased to announce the reopening of the gallery since the passing of the gallery's founder, Merton D. Simpson in March of 2013.
The gallery will reopen with a selection of major works by Purvis Young entitled Angels: Chained and Unchained from the collection of Daniel Aubry on November 13, 2013 from 6-8pm.
A selection of African artwork from the Merton D. Simpson Gallery collection will also be on display.
This exhibition is on view from November 7th through January 2, 2014.

Read more about Merton D. Simpson Gallery Present Angels: Chained and Unchained by Purvis Young, 11/7-1/2 - BWWVisual ArtsWorld by www.broadwayworld.com

Happy Thaksgiving - by Florida Fine Art Blog

"Freedom from Want" Norman Rockwell 1943

From the Norman Rockwell Museum website; 

In his January 1941 address to Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt articulated his vision for a postwar world founded on four basic human freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. In the spring of 1942, Norman Rockwell was working on a piece commissioned by the Ordnance Department of the U.S. Army, a painting of a machine gunner in need of ammunition. Posters of the gunner, titled Let’s Give Him Enough and On Time, were distributed to ordnance plants throughout the country to encourage production. But Rockwell wanted to do more for the war effort and decided he would illustrate Roosevelt’s four freedoms. Finding new ideas for paintings never came easily, but this was a greater challenge. “It was so darned high-blown,” Rockwell said, “Somehow I just couldn’t get my mind around it.” While mulling it over, Rockwell, by chance, attended a town meeting where one man rose among his neighbors and voiced an unpopular view. That night Rockwell awoke with the realization that he could paint the freedoms best from the perspective of his own hometown experiences using everyday, simple scenes such as his own town meeting. Rockwell made some rough sketches and, accompanied by fellow Post cover artist Mead Schaeffer, went to Washington to propose his poster idea.

The timing was wrong. The Ordnance Department didn’t have the resources for another commission. On his way back to Vermont, Rockwell stopped at Curtis Publishing Company, publisher of The Saturday Evening Post, and showed his sketches to editor Ben Hibbs. Hibbs immediately made plans to use the illustrations in the Post. Rockwell was given permission to interrupt his work for the magazine—typically one cover per month—for three months. But Rockwell “got a bad case of stage fright,” and it was two and a half months before he even began the project. “It was a job that should have been tackled by Michelangelo,” he said in a New Yorker interview three years later.

The paintings were a phenomenal success. After their publication, the Post received 25,000 requests for reprints. In May 1943, representatives from the Post and the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a joint campaign to sell war bonds and stamps. They would send the Four Freedoms paintings along with 1,000 original cartoons and paintings by other illustrators and original manuscripts from The Saturday Evening Post on a national tour.

Traveling to sixteen cities, the exhibition was visited by more than a million people who purchased 133 million dollars in war bonds and stamps. Bonds were sold in denominations of $25, $100, and $1,000, and each person who purchased one received a set of prints of the four paintings. In addition, the Office of War Information printed four million sets of posters of the paintings. Each was printed with the words “Buy War Bonds.” They were distributed in United States schools and institutions, and overseas.

The Four Freedoms are now part of the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum and reside in their own specially designed gallery space, inviting visitors to reflect on their inspiring message.

Norman Rockwell Museum website

I had posted this picture years ago but did not know all the background. What a great story.  Happy Thanksgiving! GL

Glenn's Guide to Art Basel 2013 - by Florida Fine Art Blog

Art Week Miami time again!  It's amazing when I think of growing up with so few cultural venues and exhibitions in my own backyard and now we have the entire global art world descending on South Florida.  What a change.  Are you going this year?  You should.

This is the fourth edition of my Art Basel Guide and also the first year I will be missing everything since it all started with Art Miami back in the early 90’s.  I am unable to be in Miami during Art Week so this year’s guide will be more of a wish list, a guide to where I would have liked to have gone.  

Much more after the fold...

Art Around The Web - Google Art Project - by Florida Fine Art Blog

I have been meaning to post this for some time now.  Google has embarked on a fantastic mission of cataloging the world's museums and all the artwork they contain.  And I don’t mean take a few grainy pictures and post them on a website.  Google Art Project is the most ambitious online art community ever built.   

The museums are laid out using Google street view technology so you can "virtually" walk through the halls of the museum's going from one piece of art to the next.  And the image of each piece is taken with such high resolution that you can zoom in to see great detail.   In fact you can get much closer to the paintings than a guard at the museum would ever let you stand.  Try zooming into one of Van Gogh’s pieces and you can see every hair on every brush stroke. 

The work is cataloged and each piece has a general description, short history of the piece, and a Google map link that tells you where the piece can be found.  Very friendly layout, easy to navigate and you never get tired of zooming into the work.  Another great feature is you can “favorite” works of art and build your own online collection.  Save your collection for future reference, use your saved collection to give a slideshow lecture, share with online friends or just post your collection for all the world to see.   


You can search with several categories including: artist, museum, type of work, date, and country. The search results are displayed in a slideshow format.  This enables you to search across numerous collections to find artworks that fit your parameters of interest.  So for example you can search across all the participating museums for works created in the year 1889 or search for all the art created by Henry Moore or search for all the paintings of a "beach" or "small children" or how about all abstract paintings or all paintings from Spain. The search possibilities are fantastic.

There is a section of “Art Talks” with well-known art historians with subjects like, “Look like an Expert”. 

And Google is just getting started.  Imagine walking around Art Basel from the comfort of your home.  Or broadcasting an artist’s opening for the world to see.  How about a taste generator to alert you to selections of work you may not know but fit your personal taste?  So many possibilities. 

So far there are over 46 museums and over 32,000 artworks online and Google Art is available in 18 languages.  Google continues to announce new partnerships and already has commitments with over 151 new museums.  
Bravo Google!   
Here are some links;
Google Art Project website here
Google Art Project Posts here
Engage Article here
Wikipedia Art Google info here

It’s funny to me, friends and family complain about all the advertising and monitoring that Google does.  I have a completely different take.  I am amazed by all the free tools Google has given me.  My email address and email service, getting directions and checking the traffic on I-95 every morning on Google maps, house shopping with street view, finding the right hotel with the perfect beach on Google earth, searching the web and finding answers to anything, storing my important documents on Google drive, Google docs where I view, create and edit documents, my calendar, my address book, my web browser, Picasa web to store all my family pictures, this blog site, Google translate and now the ability to virtually walk around Museums and see artwork I may never have seen.  And so far I have paid $0 for these tools.  Remember when software cost money?  So what if they do some targeted advertising?  For all those tools I think it’s worth it!  If someone has to take over the world, I’m cool with Google doing it. GL 

NYT - National Gallery Acquires a van Honthorst Masterwork - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

The National Gallery of Art has acquired “The Concert,” a 1623oil by Gerrit van Honthorst, to bolster its Baroque holdings.

National Gallery Acquires a van Honthorst Masterwork 

New York Times

By CAROL VOGEL

Published: November 21, 2013 

Although the National Gallery of Art in Washington has a rich collection of old master paintings, it has none by Caravaggio. “In principle, we’d love to have a Caravaggio,” said Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., the curator of Northern Baroque painting at the museum. “But there are more maybe-a-Caravaggios out there. If something came on the market that really was by him and of the quality we’d want, it would probably be well out of our price range.” 

Instead, Mr. Wheelock set out a few years ago to illustrate the profound influence that Caravaggio had on artists in 17th-century Europe, as his style, characterized by diagonal light and dramatic shadows, traveled north with Dutch and Flemish artists who had visited Rome. 

In 2009, for example, the museum bought “Bagpipe Player,” a 1624 canvas of a man shown in profile with his instrument, by the Dutch master Hendrick ter Brugghen, from a group of old master dealers who had purchased it at a Sotheby’s auction in New York for $10.2 million. 

Now the National Gallery has further enriched its collection by recently acquiring “The Concert,” a monumental 1623 painting (over 4 feet high by nearly 7 feet wide) by the great Dutch painter Gerrit van Honthorst. “We never anticipated that anything of this quality would be available,” said Mr. Wheelock, who first saw “The Concert” in a back room at Adam Williams Fine Art in Manhattan. 

Although neither he nor the dealer Adam Williams would say what the museum paid for the work, experts in the field suggested that the price was around $20 million. 

“It’s not often in your career you can say that something is the best picture ever painted by an artist, but in this case I can,” said Mr. Williams, who said he had jointly purchased the work with Anthony Speelman, a London dealer, after Mr. Speelman saw it in Paris. It had resided in a chateau in Burgundy since the early 19th century, he said.

Continue Reading NYT Article 

 

Pinion Gallery at Hotel Mimo / Art Basel - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Pinion Gallery  The Hotel Mimo is hosting a show of work by a group of International Artists.  Curated and hosted by David McLeish.  December 5 -8 with an Artist Reception  Friday the 6th from 7 - 9:30pm.

The show and hotel is right down the street from the new PAMM museum and is a great stop when in the area.  GL

"Video of the Week" - Lost Wax Casting - by Florida Fine Art Blog

Video of the Week
Lost Wax Casting

Earlier this week I posted an article about the sculpture "La Florida" give as an award for the Florida Artist Hall of Fame.  The bronze sculpture is made using the lost wax casting method. Years ago I was lucky enough to watch this bronze sculpture process at the Foundry of Art Massimo del Chiaroin in Pietrasanta, Italy. Pietrasanta is one of the sculpture capitals of the world and I was there visiting Nilda Comas while she was at her studio working.  The foundry uses the same process and even some of the same materials as in ancient times.  Once I observed the process and the skilled craftsmen I have never looked at sculpture the same way again. GL

Foundry of Art Massimo del Chiaroin website
Nilda Comas Bronze Sculpture

John F. Kennedy Official White House Portrait - by Florida Fine Art Blog

 

John F. Kennedy Official White House Portrait

On this 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination I wanted to highlight this portrait which has always fascinated me.  Painted posthumously in 1970 by Aaron Shikler, a famous American portrait artist.  The painting has a haunting quality and created quite a stir when first released.  The image of a world leader looking down with hands folded broke from the centuries old tradition of a strong forward facing portrait of a man with arms by his side, looking forward with power and confidence.  The eyes of Kennedy are not even seen as if to convey his distance from us and the defeat of his rule.  It's an appropriately shockingly sad image.  One that makes the viewer ask what is wrong with this man, what happened?  Jacqueline Kennedy personally selected Shikler and gave her approval of the finished work.  GL


President John F. Kennedy was a lifelong supporter and advocate of the arts, and frequently steered the public discourse toward what he called "our contribution to the human spirit." Kennedy took the lead in raising funds for the new National Cultural Center...
...Two months after President Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, Congress designated the National Cultural Center (designed by Edward Durell Stone) as a "living memorial" to Kennedy, and authorized $23 million to help build what was now known as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. (from the Kennedy Center Website)

Below are quotes from President Kennedy on the Arts;

"Art is the great democrat, calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color."

"If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him."

"Above all, we are coming to understand that the arts incarnate the creativity of a free people. When the creative impulse cannot flourish, when it cannot freely select its methods and objects, when it is deprived of spontaneity, then society severs the root of art."

"To further the appreciation of culture among all the people.  To increase respect for the creative individual, to widen participation by all processes and fulfillment's of art - This is one of the fascinating challenges of these days."

"The life of the artist is, in relation to his work, stern and lonely. He has labored hard, often amid deprivation, to perfect his skill. He has turned aside from quick success in order to strip his vision of everything secondary or cheapening. His working life is marked by intensive application and intense discipline."

"The highest duty of the writer, the composer, the artist is to remain true to himself and let the chips fall where they may."

Beck's Beer Announces Results of 'State of the Arts' Study - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Beck's Beer, the most popular German beer brand in the world and longtime friend of the arts, today announced the results of the inaugural Beck's State of the Arts Study.

The study examines American attitudes toward art and the manner by which it is consumed. The overarching insight is that young adults (aged 21-29) are more likely to bypass the traditional gatekeepers of art – museums and galleries – and to have a more expansive view of art than their older peers. 

The study was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Beck's Beer, from July 29-31, 2013, among 1,916 adults ages 21 and older.

The Beck's State of the Arts Study found that young adults overwhelmingly value art, and are embracing a variety of art forms, ranging from traditional to modern and experiential. But art exposure is increasingly less conventional in the age of social media and perpetual photo sharing. Young adults don't limit their intake to museums and galleries. They are accessing art through new venues and mediums. The study found:

• 82 percent of young, adult Americans (aged 21-29) agree that art is a valuable cultural institution.
• 81 percent of young, adult Americans (aged 21-29) are regularly exposed to art, versus only 60 percent of older Americans aged 30 or older.
• Young, adult Americans appreciate graffiti/street art more than their older peers; 70 percent of 21-29 year-old Americans believe that graffiti and street art should be hanging in art museums and galleries. Less than half of Americans age 30 or older agree.
• For 33 percent of young, adult Americans (aged 21-29), it has been at least one year since their last museum or gallery visit, and a full 19 percent have never visited an art museum or gallery in their lifetime.
• Americans aged 21-29 tend to consume art via the Internet (52 percent through the internet, non-mobile device, 51 percent on their smartphone/tablet), while Americans aged 30 or older are more likely to consume art with a visit to a gallery or museum than via smartphone or tablet.
• 50 percent of Americans aged 21-29 regularly consume art organically, on the street or by walking around, whereas only one-third of older Americans say the same.
• Adult Americans as a whole appear to believe that high-quality art does not need to be expensive. Sixty-eight percent believe they do not need to spend a great deal of money (more than $1,000) on a quality work of art. Sixty-four percent report having spent $100 or less on a work of art.

"Beck's has been participating in the arts for more than 25 years, using our label as a canvas to bring new and unique works of art to beer drinkers," said Chris Curtis, brand manager, Beck's Beer. "Our State of the Arts Study reveals that adult Americans have an extremely healthy appetite for art. Much like how they consume books, music, TV and movies, adult Americans are increasingly bypassing the traditional gatekeepers to experience art."

Other findings from the survey include:

• Many adult Americans still want to see classic works of art, despite prioritizing non-traditional art channels. When those who have not seen at least one of these famous works of art in person were asked to choose which they would most want to see in person, da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" was the winner, selected by 34 percent. The Mona Lisa was followed by:
  • Michelangelo's "David" (27 percent)
  • Monet's "Water Lilies" (15 percent)
  • Banksy's "Balloon Girl" (6 percent)
  • JR's "Inside Out Project" (4 percent)
  • Basquiat's "LNAPRK" (2 percent)
• Among all adult Americans, paintings were the most preferred art medium; 30 percent of adult Americans deem it their favorite. Photography came in second, at 16 percent. Photography was followed by:
  • Sculpture (8 percent)
  • Drawings (5 percent)
  • Graffiti/Street art (3 percent)
  • Video (3 percent)
  • Graphic design (2 percent)
  • Other medium (1 percent)
  • No preferred medium (32 percent)

Beck's Art Labels
Each year for more than 25 years, Beck's has transformed its beer bottles into art canvases for aspiring and established artists alike. This year, beginning in July 2013, Beck's turned over its labels to an eclectic mix of musicians, designers, performance artists and photographers, who each created a piece of original artwork. For more details, please visit Beck's Art Labels media site or Facebook.com/BecksBeer.

About Beck's Beer
Beck's is the most popular German beer brand in the world and a champion of independent thinking. All Beck's beers are brewed according to the German Purity Law of 1516 using only four natural ingredients. 

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States between July 29-31, 2013 among 1,916 adults ages 21and older, by Harris Interactive via its QuickQuery® omnibus product on behalf of Beck's Beer. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For more information on the full findings, contact Dave McNamee at (646) 274-3635 or dmcnamee@hlgrp.com.

SOURCE Beck's Beer

'Unique contribution' to FAU campus - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Felecia Chizuko Carlisle's "Ee-glee's gate" was created specifically for the Schmidt Center Gallery 

Public Space at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. (Photo by Jonathan D. Marcus)

'Unique contribution' to FAU campus

By Jonathan D. Marcus

A provocative new art installation in Boca Raton creatively blends a bold, architecturally inspired design with the subtleties of light and shadow.
Miami-based artist Felecia Chizuko Carlisle's "Ee-glee's gate" occupies a portion of the Schmidt Center Gallery Public Space at Florida Atlantic University's Performing Arts Building.

The work is the first offering of the "southXeast: Contemporary Southeastern Art" show. The complete exhibit will be displayed at the school's University Galleries early next year.

"It's definitely a unique contribution," said Rod Faulds, University Galleries' director and "southXeast" co-curator. "Like any art, you might not get it the first time you see it. You need to immerse yourself in it."

The piece has dozens of white-painted wooden slabs that span between two corridor walls like a suspended castle or cathedral. This frame, which was inspired by the architectural and mathematical concepts of Gothic cathedrals, contains four projectors that each cast images of 16 tracings on both walls. The images make use of light and shadow, which transition into different geometric patterns over time.

"I just want the people who use this space on a regular basis to have a different experience of it," Carlisle said. 

Continue reading here

Spotlight On: “La Florida,” The Florida Artists Hall of Fame sculpture - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

“La Florida,” the Florida Artists Hall of Fame sculpture by Enzo Torcoletti. Photo courtesy of 

Florida Division of Cultural Affairs

Today The Florida Council on Arts and Culture will be voting on inductees into the Florida Artist Hall of Fame for 2014.  The Hall of Fame is the highest honor given to an artists in Florida.  We as a council review applications and then meet to discuss and vote on inductees.  Our recommendations are sent to the Secretary of State for review and then for final approval by the Governor.  The article below has some background on the award and on the statue/sculpture given to each artist inducted. I have also included a few pictures of the induction ceremony which takes place every spring in Tallahassee during "Heritage Days". GL

From CultureBuildsFlorida.Org

Posted on March 19, 2013

by Tim Storhoff

Induction into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed upon creative individuals by the state of Florida. When three artists are inducted into the Hall of Fame on March 20, they will have a plaque in their honor added to the Florida Artists Hall of Fame Wall on the Plaza Level in the rotunda of the Capitol Building and receive a sculpture of La Florida by Florida sculptor Enzo Torcoletti.

The state legislature established the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1986 and sought someone to produce the award that would be given to inductees. The following year, Mr. Torcoletti was contacted about the project and began working on potential designs for the sculpture.

 Secretary Ken Detzner, Chairman Lochrie, Frank Thomas and Chairman Billie 2013

Continue Reading 

Civil War painting going up for auction in NYC - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

"Sunday Morning in the Camp of the Seventh Regiment near Washington, D.C., in May 1861" by Sanford Robinson Gifford

Miami Herald

A painting by Sanford Robinson Gifford made while he served in the Union Army could bring as much as $5 million at auction.

"Sunday Morning in the Camp of the Seventh Regiment near Washington, D.C., in May 1861" could set a new auction record for the Hudson River School artist on Dec. 5, Christie's auction house said. The presale estimate is $3 million to $5 million.

The seller is The Union League Club in New York City, which acquired it directly from the artist in 1871. It is one of four major paintings Gifford made of the Civil War as a Union soldier. 

The current auction record for a Gifford work is $2.1 million, set at Christie's in 2005 for his "Fire Island Beach."

"Sunday Morning in the Camp of the Seventh Regiment" hung in the Oval Office of the White House when it was on loan there from 1976 to 1989.

The oil painting, measuring 16 inches by 30 inches, has been exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Gifford served three tours of duty in the Union Army as a member of the 8th Company of the 7th Regiment, the New York State National Guard. The regiment was among the first President Abraham Lincoln called to defend the Capitol.

The painting depicts soldiers gathered on a grassy field on the outskirts of Washington as a clergyman preaches from a podium draped with the American flag. The Capitol, the Potomac River and the unfinished Washington Monument are visible in the background.

The Union League Club is selling the work to raise funds for improvements to its landmark Park Avenue clubhouse. It was founded in 1863 to help preserve the Union. The club's contributions include helping erect the Statue of Liberty and the Lincoln Monument in Union Square. Members have included prominent civic, state and national leaders. Today it is a social club that focuses on public affairs.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/19/3764560/civil-war-painting-going-up-for.html#storylink=cpy

 

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/19/3764560/civil-war-painting-going-up-for.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

Give Miami Day / November 20th - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Give Miami Day 
November 20th

Give Miami Day is a unique, 24-hour online giving event that allows individuals in our community an opportunity to build a greater Miami by making a charitable gift to a local nonprofit. All gifts will be processed through GiveMiamiDay.org.

The Miami Foundation and its partners have committed an initial monetary pool as incentive dollars to match a percentage of contributions received during Give Miami Day.

On 12/12/12, the inaugural Give Miami Day sparked a movement that had never been tested in our community before. Almost 5,000 donors gave more than $1.2 million to 300 nonprofit organizations that tirelessly serve Greater Miami. In 2013, we will take that spark and reignite the new, philanthropic Miami.

A great chance to give to your favorite Miami organization!  

Continue to website here

 

Haute Living / Zaha Hadid: The World’s Brightest Architecture Star Lights Up Miami - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Zaha Hadid

In the "City of Towers" at the Zaha Hadid Design Gallery in London

Zaha Hadid: The World’s Brightest Architecture Star Lights Up Miami 
Haute Living / by Hadley Henriette

From the article - One Thousand Museum condominium tower in downtown Miami.  The tower will stand out in Miami’s skyline and is ZHA’s first residential tower in the Western Hemisphere. With a maximum of two units per floor, beginning at 4,600 square feet and going up to 10,000, the flow-through units with sunrise and sunset views will be spectacular and spacious.
The building’s design will push Miamians’ concept of modernity to the limit, but they appear to be an eager audience to explore their edges. In addition to smart home technology, high-speed elevators and a bank-style vault, residents will enjoy custom kitchens by Gatto Cucine, closets by Molteni & C and touches like Zaha Hadid Design doorknobs.

The building and its common spaces, which include a spa, wellness center, indoor pool and lobby, will feature ZHA’s classic undulating lines and lack of right angles as well as a signature scent which will be created by 12.29. Any number of Hadid’s designs, including the vases she made for Allesi or furniture for B&B Italia will be right at home here. “I think it’s quite flexible,” she says of the spaces. “Of course, it would be very nice if you could incorporate some of these pieces, which are more fluid, but it’s not actually necessary.” 

The One Thousand Museum project is setting the city abuzz with the prospect of getting it’s own ZHA oeuvre. “We simply haven’t yet had a residential tower designed by an architect of Hadid’s caliber in Miami, nor have we seen the level of amenities that this extraordinary building will provide,” says Mayi de la Vega, CEO and Founder of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty in South Florida.

 One Thousand Museum

Despite all the praise, Hadid has her feet firmly planted on the ground. She’ll do any kind of building as long as she feels it is a boon to society. “At the end of the day, space is supposed to enrich your life. Those of us who are lucky, have a home,” she says. “The public domain is very important [to me] because not everybody has luxurious places to live. That’s why schools libraries, theaters and museums should be very interesting.”

Please read the whole article found here 

Downtown Miami is quickly becoming the most modern downtown with the most compelling public and private projects in the US.  My wife Christine and I were able to see some of Zaha Hadid's newest models at the convention center during Art Basel week a few years ago.  Christine feels Zaha is the most courageous architect working today. The fact that Christine is currently working on a small project two blocks away from Zaha's new project in downtown Miami is very exciting for her.
The article by Haute Living has some good bio information as well as fantastic photographs of some of Zaha's latest projects. GL

In 1913, A New York Armory Filled With Art Stunned The Nation - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Marcel Duchamp's Cubist-inspired Nude Descending a Staircase was famously 

described by one critic as "an explosion in a shingle factory." Philadelphia Museum of Art

In 1913, A New York Armory Filled With Art Stunned The Nation 

NPR News

The 1,400-work exhibition gave many Americans their first look at what avant-garde artists in Europe were up to. It was the biggest art show New York had ever seen and challenged ideas about artistic "progress."

One hundred years ago in New York City, nearly 90,000 people came to see the future of art. The 1913 Armory Show gave America its first look at what avant-garde artists in Europe were doing. Today these artists are in major museums around the world, but in 1913, they were mostly unknown in America.

Boasting 1,400 works — from artists such as George Braque, Mary Cassatt, Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, and many, many more — it was the biggest art show New York had ever seen. Today, the New York Historical Society is celebrating the Armory centennial with artworks from the original exhibition.

Normally used to store arms and train troops, the 69th Regiment Armory on East 25th Street was an odd venue, but it was big enough to hold it all. "There were lots of comparisons in 1913 of the Armory Show being a bomb from the blue, so the Armory is not inappropriate," says curator Kimberly Orcutt.

The avant-garde show raised hackles. The most controversial work was Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase. Everyone had an opinion about it, including former President Theodore Roosevelt, who compared it to a Navajo rug he had in his bathroom.

Americans were not used to looking at abstract art. And the Duchamp — painted in ochres and browns a year before the Armory Show, was Cubist — splintering a profile figure so it seems to be in motion. The painting provoked critiques of all sorts, including cartoons and poems.

"It was called a bundle of slats, an explosion in a shingle factory," says curator Marilyn Kushner.

Viewers were puzzled; with all those fragments, where was the nude? But they lined up to see it, and the other avant-garde works. Some 87,000 people came to the Armory show. Rich collectors and dealers had seen such art in Europe, but this was the first time the masses got to see — and react to — the new ideas.

Article and Audio file found here 


Work that the general public now deems a masterpiece was misunderstood and rejected 100 years ago when first seen.  Today walking around the fairs during Art Basel week in Miami it seems the instillation pieces get the most negative reaction from the public. The negativity comes from a lack of understanding of the new form.  Any time an artist or art movement breaks new ground fear of the unknown is common. But given time and context and the art becomes revered for all the reasons it was first rejected.   

February 2014 the Armory show will celebrate 100 years with an exhibit of the old and the new. GL

 

Auction Record Results - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Artist Francis Bacon's 'Three Studies of Lucian Freud' is seen during a 

press preview at Christie's Auction House in New York. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Global art market sizzles with $142 million Bacon sale

Patricia Reaney / Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The record breaking $142.4 million sale of Francis Bacon's "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" shows confidence in the art market and that the very wealthy see it as a safe haven for their money, experts said on Wednesday.

Bacon's 1969 three-panel painting, the most valuable ever sold at auction, was one of 10 world record prices set at Christie's Tuesday evening sale of post-war and contemporary art. The New York event achieved the highest auction total in art market history with $691 million in sales.

Jeff Koons' sculpture, "Balloon Dog (Orange)" fetched $58.4 million, the highest auction price for a work by a living artist.

Read Full Reuters article here

 

This file photo provided by Sotheby's shows "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)" by Andy Warhol. 

A Warhol Sells for $105 Million at Auction

Denver Nicks / Time

A 1963 painting by iconic pop artist Andy Warhol was sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $105 million Wednesday, breaking the previous record for a Warhol painting set at $71.7 million  in 2007.

Read more from Time here

 

Nice NY Times article by Roberta Smith about the new record prices found here

 

Art museum visits help doctors understand feelings - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

 Mariah Quinn (right), assistant professor of medicine and associate program director for the 

residency in internal medicine, leads her class of medical residents in an exercise at the Chazen Museum of Art.

Art museum visits help doctors understand feelings
by Susannah Brooks





Though often perceived as omnipotent healers, doctors are merely — and importantly — human. At the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Mariah Quinn uses art to help medical residents reflect on their professional identities, emotions and cognitive processes.

"Medical education is evolving to help physicians understand how to listen to and manage their own thoughts and feelings," says Quinn, director of humanism in medicine for the Department of Medicine. "I like to utilize art and the museum environment to provoke medical residents to approach thoughts and feelings that might be difficult to access otherwise."

Art in a hospital helps humanize a clinical environment during a time of uncertainty and fear. Some studies show how it can help patients heal faster.

In Quinn's course "Communication and Humanism in Medicine," bringing medical residents to UW-Madison's Chazen Museum of Art helps them develop skills and explore the emotional side of their work. They'll take these skills back to a patient's bedside.

"The art objects and the museum environment contribute to our ability to look at themes like vulnerability, uncertainty, caring for dying patients, and bias with more courage," says Quinn. "In this environment, they don't have to fear making mistakes; they can take risks. We discuss topics that can be very uncomfortable and provocative for many people."

Read the full article here

Donate Today to US Veteran Artists Going to Art Basel Week - posted by Forida Fine Art Blog

Please Donate Today!

From my friend/artist/gallery owner/foundation director David Mcleish; 

I am actively trying to raise funds to get these two - gentlemen to Miami from Jacksonville, for the MiMO Basel art exhibition on December 5th, so it is time sensitive. You have no idea what this means to them. You will be donating hope - and healing. They have worked very hard to overcome so much and deserve a chance. Please forward this to anyone who might be in a position to be of assistance. You will not regret giving to these to men. As some of you know they have given so much they have fought very hard for our country and are currently fighting to maintain their life back home, and a few bucks will make their dreams come true. Please click link below and forward this off to anyone to whom you feel might be in a position to assist. Thank you for your time and donation. Grateful, David

 

Link to Donate here

Contact David Mcleish at

david@piniongallery.com

386-679-0924

 

 

Art Talk with Martin Z. Margulies - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

RSVP for Art Talk here

Margulies Collection website here

Boca Raton Museum of Art - Dulce Pinzón: The Real Story of the Superheroes - posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Maria Luisa Romero from the state of Puebla works in a 

laundromat in Brooklyn. She sends home $150 a week.

Dulce Pinzón: The Real Story of the Superheroes
Boca Raton Museum of Art
October 8, 2013 - December 29, 2013

 
What is a hero? What is a superhero? In a series of oversized photographs, Dulce Pinzón seeks to shine a light on the quiet heroes who make sacrifices for the good of others. For the artist, the countless Mexican and Latino immigrant workers in New York City, who every week send a portion of their modest income back to family members in Mexico, seemed like the perfect example of the unnoticed hero.

In her words: "The principle objective of this series is to pay homage to these brave and determined men and women that somehow manage, without the help of any supernatural power, to withstand extreme conditions of labor in order to help their families and communities survive and prosper."

 NOE REYES from the State of Puebla works as a delivery boy in 

Brooklyn New York. He sends 500 dollars a week

For the exhibition, Pinzón selected 20 workers, dressed them in costumes of popular American and Mexican superheroes that corresponded to their employment, and photographed them going about their usual work day. She identifies each by name along with their hometown, the number of years they have been working in New York City, and the amount of money they send back to their families each week.

Boca Raton Museum of Art Website found here
Dulce Pinzón website found here

I really enjoyed this show and the idea behind the artists work.  We all know superheros they just don't wear a cape everyday. For me its my wife.  She is the bravest, strongest and most dedicated person I know.  The images helped me see how superhero stories are just allegories meant to show us how we should behave.  We should all act with a sense of selflessness like our favorite superheros. GL

ELIZABETH and ENRIQUE ALONSO from the State of Puebla work as food servers

in New York. They send 400 dollars a week