Artdaily - The First Art Newspaper on the Net

It's no sunday in the park With 'Lempicka'
NEW YORK, NY.- Having dismissed her work as merely decorative, a fierce Italian gives harsh advice to an ambitious young painter: “You need to be a monster,” he brays. “Or a machine.” The painter, Tamara de Lempicka, didn’t take the advice in real life because it was never given. But “Lempicka,” the new Broadway musical about her, which opened Sunday at the Longacre Theater, certainly did, and then some. It’s a monster and a machine. A machine because it argues, with streamlined efficiency, that in her groundbreaking portraits of the 1920s and ’30s, Lempicka forever changed the representation of women in art, and thus changed women themselves. The volumetric flesh, aerodynamic curves and warhead breasts that so titillated Jazz Age Paris became, the show suggests, today’s template for glamazonian feminism. As ... More

'American, born Hungary: Kertész, Capa, and the Hungarian American Photographic Legacy' premieres in Budapest
BUDAPEST.- Last week, the groundbreaking exhibition American, born Hungary: Kertész, Capa, and the Hungarian American Photographic Legacy debuted at the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary, where it can be seen until August 29, 2024. The exhibition will then travel to the United States, where it will be on view at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts from Oct. 5, 2024, to Jan. 26, 2025. Following its run at VMFA, the exhibition will travel to the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York, where it will displayed from Sept. 26, 2025, to March 1, 2026. American, born Hungary: Kertész, Capa, and the Hungarian American Photographic Legacy is the most comprehensive exhibition to examine the geographical ... More

At Carnegie Hall, Weimar is irresistible but vaguely defined
NEW YORK, NY.- In the middle of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s suite of incidental music for “Much Ado About Nothing,” there’s a march meant to accompany Dogberry, William Shakespeare’s comic constable, and his fellow watchmen. Written in the late 1910s, and played by Ensemble Modern at Zankel Hall on Friday as part of the Carnegie Hall festival “Fall of the Weimar Republic: Dancing on the Precipice,” the march stepped along crisply, with dryly officious humor. But it also had an edge of sincere sternness. Cast over the bumptious charm was a hint of the ominous, of a real (rather than satirical) military buildup. The same uneasy combination of optimistic energy and dark clouds characterized Germany during the Weimar Republic, an experiment in democracy that began after the country’s defeat in World War I, in 1918, and lasted until the Nazi ... More

MOCA acquires Karon Davis' "Noah and his Ark"
LOS ANGELES, CA.- Wilding Cran Gallery announcd the acquisition of Karon Davis’ Noah and his Ark, 2018 by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Originally exhibited in MUDDY WATER at Wilding Cran Gallery in 2018, the acquisition of Noah and his Ark, 2018 was made possible by the generous donation of Beth Rudin DeWoody. As a reflection on climate disaster, displacement, and the inadequacy of governmental relief programs, the sculptural installation of Noah and his Ark features a man pulling a woman and young girl in a rickety boat filled with personal possessions. Depicted as though emerging from imaginary waters, Davis’ contemporized figures recall ancient archetypes, reflecting the cyclical nature of recurring environmental disasters. By centering the narratives of communities most deeply impacted by crisis ... More

Major exhibition opens featuring Stan Douglas, Ian Wallace, Jin-me Yoon and more
VANCOUVER, BC.- The Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art opened a seminal exhibition that brings together works by eight contemporary Canadian artists of international acclaim. On display from April 12 until June 22, 2024, Prevailing Landscapes features artists Kim Dorland, Stan Douglas, Tim Gardner, Cameron Kerr, Krystle Silverfox, Ian Wallace, Jin-me Yoon, and Karen Zalamea. Spanning painting, drawing, photography, video, and sculpture, among other media, the collection of over 35 works presents a critical look at historically romanticized perspectives of the Great Canadian Wilderness. The landscape has been a dominant theme within Canadian art history, and it remains a consistent area of inquiry, intrigue, and inspiration for contemporary Canadian artists. As a subject matter, the physical vastness of the landscape has provided ... More

Should we change species to save them?
NEW YORK, NY.- For tens of millions of years, Australia has been a playground for evolution, and the land Down Under lays claim to some of the most remarkable creatures on Earth. It is the birthplace of songbirds, the land of egg-laying mammals and the world capital of pouch-bearing marsupials, a group that encompasses far more than just koalas and kangaroos. (Behold the bilby and the bettong!) Nearly half of the continent’s birds and roughly 90% of its mammals, reptiles and frogs are found nowhere else on the planet. Australia has also become a case study in what happens when people push biodiversity to the brink. Habitat degradation, invasive species, infectious diseases and climate change have put many native animals in jeopardy and given Australia one of the worst rates of species loss in the world. In some cases, scientists ... More

The Brooklyn Museum announces Niles Luther as its first Composer in Residence
BROOKLYN, NY.- Marking a groundbreaking moment in its commitment to transformative artistic encounters, the Brooklyn Museum has welcomed New York–based classical cellist Niles Luther as its first-ever Composer in Residence. During his residency, which is supported by a fellowship from the Ford Foundation, Luther will bring his unique artistic vision to enhance the Museum’s cultural programming by composing original scores, or Art Music, inspired by the collection and exhibitions. This remarkable collaboration advances the Museum’s efforts to deepen the visitor experience and amplify artistic excellence across time and genres. With this innovative role, Luther builds upon his long-standing relationship with the Museum, having performed at the opening reception of Kehinde Wiley’s 2015 retrospective A New Republic and at the Black ... More

Minia Biabiany wins moving image commission
BARCELONA.- The Han Nefkens Foundation - in collaboration with The Museu d’Art Contemporary de Barcelona, MACBA; MUAC, UNAM, Mexico City and The Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach - Moving Image Commission 2024 aims to be a tool for increasing contemporary artistic production in the moving image field. The partnership includes three editions of the Commission, each one will be biennial (starting in 2024) and will have a specific thematic and investigation concept proposed by all the partners. The Commission involves the production of a screen-based video artwork and excludes any type of documentary. Minia Biabiany will be awarded $100,000 for creating a new work. Biabiany was chosen from a competitive shortlist of three finalists by a distinguished jury comprising the directors and curators of each museum and chaired ... More

"Cats, Owls, and Mountains" have taken over the Tokyo art scene
TOKYO.- ”Cats, Owls, and Mountains" have taken over the Tokyo art scene with a remarkable exhibition. Artist Zoia Skoropadenko, the creative force behind the showcase, shares insights into the thematic choices that have captured the imaginations of art enthusiasts. The exhibition is curated by artist Zoia Skoropadenko and features masterpieces by Japanese artist Yokoyama Taikan. This type of exhibition emerges when contemporary artworks are mixed with historical masterpieces from private collections, providing art collectors with the opportunity to combine contemporary art with museum-quality masterpieces on their walls. Skoropadenko has been curating these shows since 2021 around the world. It offers a great opportunity not only to discover contemporary rising stars and established artists but also to uncover hidden gems from ... More

MONA releases digital guide and exclusive in person tours
GLENDALE, CA.- The Museum of Neon Art announced the launch of Community Beacons, a digital guide that highlights signage in LA County that has been preserved in place. This project is grant funded through The National Trust for Historic Preservation and will be available on the Bloomberg Connects app. MONA will host several in-person events to celebrate this launch, including exclusive access to historic locations, historical talks, and meet and greets with business owners and neon preservationists. MONA’s Community Beacons digital guide features historic photographs, video, and audio to highlight the historical signage that The Museum of Neon Art has helped to preserve or advocate for across LA County. The launch of this guide features 5 sites. “It is exciting to use technology to create a guide that expands access to parts of our ... More