Latest news with #artExhibition
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
National Gallery of Australia exhibition Cézanne to Giacometti traces origins of Australian modernism
A century ago, the shadow of the Second World War was stretching across Europe. Four artists made their escapes, in their own ways, toward an island on the other side of the world. They brought an artistic revolution with them. Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack, Inge King, Lina Bryans and Marcella Hampel are four of the 35 artists featured at the National Gallery of Australia's newest exhibition, Cézanne to Giacometti, which traces the origins of Australian modernism. It pairs Australian works like those created by Hirschfeld-Mack, King, Bryans and Hampel with a collection from Museum Berggruen — marking the first time the German collection has been shown in Australia. This collection includes works from renowned modernists Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Paul Klee and Alberto Giacometti. Nicolas Berggruen, the son of collector Heinz Berggruen, fostered the Museum Berggruen's partnership with the NGA on this project. "As the Berggruen Museum collection journeys around the world, its stop at the exceptional National Gallery of Australia is a tribute to the enduring inspiration of Europe's great modern masters," he said in a statement. "We're honoured to bring these works into dialogue with the National Gallery's remarkable collection and the vibrant cultural landscape of Australia." The exhibition seeks to trace the genealogy of Australian modernism back to its roots in Europe, showcasing the movement's founders, its foothold in Australia and the artists which facilitated the cultural exchange. It is open until September this year. Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack was a budding artist of the famous Bauhaus school of design in Germany, under the mentorship of Paul Klee, when the rise of the Nazi Party dictated his part Jewish heritage would make it impossible for him to obtain permanent employment. He left Germany in 1936 for Britain but was deported during the war to Australia as a German enemy alien, and interned in camps in rural New South Wales and Victoria — where he made works using Bauhaus colour theory and printing techniques. Hirschfeld-Mack was finally released in 1942, and stayed to teach art at Geelong Grammar School in Victoria. National Gallery Curator of International Art David Greenhalgh, who is the lead NGA curator on the exhibition, calls Hirschfeld-Mack "really key" to bringing the Bauhaus "spirit" to Australia. Mr Greenhalgh notes how Hirschfeld-Mack applied modernist techniques to the Australian environment, a focus other Australian modernists would also take up. "There's always this response to the Australian environment in that digesting modern art and outputting something new. Similar influences can be found in the works of Inge King — born in Germany to a Jewish family and forced to flee in 1939 — as well as Marcella Hempel and Lina Bryans. Hempel emigrated after the war, whereas Bryans was born in Germany to Australian parents. Mr Greenhalgh says Canberrans can see King's influence on Australian modernist art just by walking around the city — her sculptures influencing what Canberra looks like. "Living in Canberra, you see Inga King sculptures all across public spaces. And they're really sleek, minimal, welded metal sculptures, mainly. But it embodies this Bauhaus spirit." He adds the Australian modernists as a whole have continued their artistic conversation "all the way up to the present day". "Modern art isn't something that happened a long time ago," he said. Mr Greenhalgh says while the immigration of European artists marked one avenue to fostering Australian modernism, it is not the only one. "I would see a major part of this story as that, I guess, Australian tradition of as a young person travelling overseas," he says. "So many Australian artists took a year or two, and they would travel overseas, and often to Europe." That is where Australian artists like Rosemary Madigan would learn European modernists technique, and come back to apply them to Australian landscapes. "There's a real sense of hybridity — a sense that Australian artists go over to Europe and they don't just pick up influence from, say, a singular artist, but they actually pick up influence from a really wide range of sources. And there's not that siloed thinking around it." He also said while there are many examples of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander modernist works, these were not included in the exhibition as they draw on First Nations culture "without looking to Europe". National Gallery director Dr Nick Mitzevich added in a statement that, "While the physical distance between Europe and Australia is great, the personal and artistic connections between artists of both continents bridges this distance." Director of the Neue Nationalgalerie, with the Berggruen Museum, Klaus Biesenbach, said: "As you explore Cézanne to Giacometti, I encourage you to engage with each artwork not just as an isolated piece but as part of a larger conversation — a dialogue that spans continents and generations."
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Lifestyle
- The Guardian
‘Emotion and history through color': the activism of Tomashi Jackson's art
While the Black artist Tomashi Jackson was pursuing her MFA from the Yale School of Art in the 2010s, she had a revelation about how our perception of color works. While studying color theory, she had gone back to the basics, rereading foundational texts from her art education – Jackson realized that the way these books talked about color resembled how Americans talk about race. 'I was seeing a lot of similarities in the way color phenomena is described as compulsory,' she said in an interview, 'as against one's will, and potentially discomforting or panic-inducing. Concepts of color are experienced as chromatic, and they are also social.' These insights into color theory occurred within larger explorations Jackson was making at the time into what she called 'the machinery that was surrounding me' – that would include the education system, the way public space is conceived of in America, and larger historical narratives around racial justice. Jackson's particular way of synthesizing all of these ideas into striking works of art can currently be experienced at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, for the artist's mid-career survey Across the Universe. Going back to 2023, this major show has toured Denver, Philadelphia and Boston, landing now in Houston for almost an entire year. The paintings and mixed media pieces in Across the Universe tend to be built around large chunks of bright primary colors, overlaid with intricate networks of texture and soft-focus human faces. The striking works radiate energy and exuberance, bringing to mind such disparate artistic practices as urban muralism and abstract expressionism. Jackson's bold use of color has been a hard-won, lifelong process – she recalls grappling with color for as long as she can remember. 'Trying to understand how color responds to itself has been a lifelong fascination of mine,' she said. 'There's so much that translates about emotion and history through color. We who have grown up looking at paintings in our communities are all invited to consider what color means.' The striking visual choices that are present in Jackson's art intersect with her deep research into the ongoing struggle over civil rights for Black people in America. Her pieces often bear titles referencing court cases and other historic developments for Black Americans, such as the 2016 work Dajerria All Alone (Bolling v. Sharpe (District of Columbia)) (McKinney Pool Party). Titled for a court case argued by Thurgood Marshall that helped desegregate public schools in the United States, the piece is covered in ephemera from Marshall's lengthy battle to integrate schools; it also recognizes the 2018 assault of 15-year-old Dajerria Becton by a police officer during a Texas pool party, offering images related to her life. 'I felt like my responsibility was to discuss public narratives,' Jackson said. 'I was trying to find ways to make a contribution to our history, since so much has already been done.' As a part of her engagement with the historical record, Jackson frequently uses reclaimed materials, such as brown paper bags, bits and pieces from democratic elections, and even gauze – it's a practice that dates back to the years while Jackson was in art school and pursuing her bachelor's degree. 'While I was in this highly competitive art school environment, I was given this huge bolt of gauze that had been salvaged from an old Johnson & Johnson factory. I decided that I would make all my work using that.' The use of these materials dovetailed with Jackson's choice to step away from using any color at all, as she processed her feelings around pigments. As Jackson recounted, when she first attended Cooper Union in 2005, she abandoned all use of color, instead first grappling with the material reality of objects as they were. 'I didn't feel like I had an instinctually responsive relationship that made me feel like I understood what I was doing with color,' she said. 'So for a number of years I didn't allow myself to use any color. I started to try to figure out how to work with materials as I found them and not impose anything through adding color.' These inquiries eventually brought Jackson to consider the relationship between cultural memories and the everyday disposable items that will remain in the earth for hundreds of thousands of years. 'When I left Cooper Union and came up to Massachusetts, I focused on what I had learned about collective memory and waste management,' she said. 'What is the nature of collective memory that's been passed on for millennia? What relationship does that have with plastics and Styrofoams that are presented for public use as disposable, but that ultimately outlive us all?' One of the pieces that distinguishes this iteration of Across the Universe from previous versions is the inclusion of the major work Minute by Minute. A reference to The Doobie Brothers' 1978 album of the same name, the mixed media piece includes family photographic prints, a hand-crafted walnut awning, and pieces of marble. It is in part a tribute to Jackson's late mother, Aver Marie Burroughs, who used to listen to the album with the artist. Jackson's mother gave the artist her compact disc of the album when Jackson moved from Los Angeles to the Bay Area to pursue artistic studies, and it's now one of the few concrete items that Jackson has in memory of her mother. The show also features video of Jackson's drag king alter ego, Tommy Tonight, whom she has previously embodied in order to perform the Doobie Brothers' Minute by Minute in a tribute to her mother. 'I now understand that he emerged out of grief for my mother's illness and eventual passing,' she said. 'Our last iteration of the show allowed me to learn more about the history of drag performance as art historically born of grief – a celebration of grief. So that character has a whole video room unto himself.' For Jackson, Across the Universe is a homecoming of sorts – although she spent the majority of her childhood in southern California, she was born in Houston and traces her family history through the migration story from Texas to the west coast. Having a mid-career full-circle moment is both the culmination of one story and the start of another one. 'I was conceived in 3rd Ward of Houston and born there, and I was later taken to southern California and raised there with my maternal family. It feels like a miracle that Contemporary Arts Museum Houston has agreed to host this show. It's literally been a lifelong dream.' Tomashi Jackson: Across the Universe is on show at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston from 30 May to 29 March 2026
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Widow and sons honour celebrated Brazilian photographer Salgado, day after his death in France
An exhibition of art by his son in Reims in eastern France on Saturday turned into a tribute ceremony for Sebastião Salgado, the Brazilian photographer and environmentalist who died a day earlier. His widow, Lélia Wanick Salgado, and the couple's two sons were among those paying tribute to the celebrated artist, whose work captured both the suffering and dignity of people across the globe. (AP Video by Boubkar Benzabat )
CTV News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Award-winning Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado dies at age 81, his institute says
Photographer Sebastiao Salgado waves to photographers during the presentation of his exhibition, 'Kuwait: A Desert on Fire', at the Galleria Meravigli, in Milan, Italy, Oct. 20, 2017. Salgado, known for his long-term projects and images of nature and humanity, died at age 81, the Instituto Terra confirmed on Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
12 Highlights From The New Vima Contemporary Art Fair, Cyprus
Rusudan Khizanishvili, Pink Mountains and The Carpet, shown by Tbilisi-based gallery, Window Project at Vima art fair, Cyprus Vima, the first international contemporary art fair in Cyprus, was a thrilling experience for the island and visiting collectors, curators and art lovers alike, both for the edgy location in a former wine warehouse by the sea and for the high quality of artwork. The art fair which opened last week in Limassol (May 16-18, 2025), showcased 27 invited local and international galleries, presenting over 100 artists from more than 20 countries. The inaugural edition of Vima was a great success with more than 4,000 visitors and brisk sales of artworks that ranged from €800 to €80,000. Within the art fair's opening hour, a Liliane Lijn collage had sold for €10,000 at Sylvia Kouvali's booth. And three booths completely sold out by the end of the fair. Vima Art Fair, Cyprus The invitation-only art fair included galleries selected by an expert committee: Alexandros Diogenous (Founder of Pylon Art & Culture and Co-founder of Limassol Art Walks), Tasos Stylianou (Director and Co-founder of Limassol Art Walks), Maria Varnava (Tiwani Contemporary, Lagos, London) and Andre Zivanari (Founder and Director of Point Center for Contemporary Art, Nicosia). Complementing the fair was a talks program, live music, performances and The Posterity of the Sun, a special exhibition by Paris-based curator Ludovic Delalande. And there were a number of off-site exhibitions and events running alongside the fair across Limassol and the country's capital, Nicosia. Jennifer Douzenel, Shadow Time at Vima Art fair With a focus on contemporary art from Cyprus and its neighboring countries, Vima also featured international galleries who show artists from the region. Vima (Bήμα), which in Greek means 'step' but also a 'platform,' aims to encourage interaction between the fast-growing art community in Cyprus and its neighbors. Drone shot of the Vima art fair venue The venue was exceptional: a former wine warehouse with panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea that carries rich historical importance. Initially constructed in 1947 as part of the SODAP winery (the Cooperative Organization for the Distribution of Viticultural Products), it played a key role in processing grapes from the Limassol and Paphos regions. As operations gradually shifted to more modern facilities, the building was left to deteriorate. Its recent reinvention as a space for an art fair symbolizes a powerful revival—bridging Cyprus's industrial heritage with its growing cultural and artistic landscape. A Liliane Lijn collage that sold for €10,000 at Sylvia Kouvali's booth, on the first morning of Vima Of the 27 fair participants, Vima 2025 showed ten Cypriot galleries, including commercial, not-for-profit and artist-run spaces. Because the participants were carefully selected and the fair is small in comparison to more established international art fairs, the quality of art exhibited was uniformly good. Here is a selection of highlights to show the eclectic range of work. Seen by Maria Stathi, Nicosia, Cyprus Art Seen by Maria Stathi booth, Vima Former longtime director of Anthony Reynolds Gallery in London, Maria Stathi established her own gallery in Cyprus's capital ten years ago. She chose four female artists for her booth: two Cypriots, one Greek and one British. Marina Genadieva, Vicky Pericleous, Amy Stephens and Vassia Adamou Vanezi re-imagined the politics of space, place and identities using paintings, prints and sculpture. Breeder, Athens, Greece Socratis Socratous, Untitled (What the sea can_t see) at The Breeder booth, Vima It was no surprise to see the well established Athens gallery The Breeder at the fair. The gallery evolved from The Breeder magazine (launched in 2000), which successfully created a dialogue between Greece and the international centers of contemporary art. Powerful works by Cypriot artists Maria Hassabi and Socratis Socratous and Greek artist Maria Joannou made Breeder a standout booth. Nicosia, Cyprus On the left, Diatopos Art Space, Vima Art Fair Political prisoners' letters printed on ceramic tiles created by Klitsa Antoniou displayed on the floor of this booth stopped visitors in their tracks. Historical notes from Marco Polo, Rosa Luxembourg, Martin Luther King Jr. and Antonio Gramsci, the Italian Marxist philosopher jailed in 1926 by Mussolini, appear alongside letters from more recent detainees like Turkish novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan who was incarcerated in 2016 after the failed coup in Turkey, accused of 'attempting to overthrow the government.' Britt & Mayhew, The Hague, Netherlands A tapestry at Durst, Britt & Mayhew at Vima Run by a curator and art critic, this Dutch gallery is committed to helping artists from different national backgrounds to further develop their practice. At Vima, they presented work by Mexican artist Alejandra Venegas and Dutch artist Paul Beumer who both share a fascination for nature and landscape. Gallery, Limassol, Cyprus Artist Mariandrie Chrysostomou with her work I Love the Way You Wear Your Skin (detail) at Vima art fair It was hard to miss the fun, eyecatching pink sculpture I love the way you wear your skin made of taffeta by Mariandrie Chrysostomou. Her work was presented along with a range of pieces from large-scale paintings and works on paper to text-based and mixed media pieces by Fikos, Stella Kapezanoueins, Danae Patsalou and Lefki Savvidou. Gallery, Limassol, Cyprus Sculptural wall works by Nicosia-based artist Leontios Toumpouris made for a compelling solo show. And his narrated essay, Skipping Time could be heard outdoors outdoors in the special exhibition The Posterity of the Sun. Wheels, London, UK and Athens, Greece Kyriakos Kyriakides shown at the Hot Wheels booth, Vima Lace-covered vintage objects by Kyriakos Kyriakides, including a rocking horse and vintage TV were the focus of Hot Wheels' booth. Also on show were works by Greek painter Anastasia Pavlou and Cypriot sculptor Maria Toumazou. Athens, Greece Kalfayan Gallery, Athens at Vima This established gallery has a keen focus on Greece, the Balkans and the MENA region and aims to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western visual culture. The Vima booth presented works by Antonis Donef, Farida El Gazzar, Maria Loizidou, Angelos Merges, Edward Sacaillan, Panos Tsagaris and Antrea Tzourovtis. A collage by Antonis Donef and hand-woven mesh-covered Confessional Room by Maria Loizidou were standouts. Beirut, Lebanon Majd Abdel Hamid, Marfa gallery Beirut at Vima art fair, Cyprus Working with local and regional artists to produce and present idea-based projects that engage with Beirut's diverse contemporary art scene, Marfa brought fascinating works by Majd Abdel Hamid, Tamara Al-Samerraei and Seta Manoukian to the fair. Project Space, Dubai, Paris Katya Muromtseva at Nika, Dubai at Vima A stunning blue watercolor procession of women by Katya Muromtseva was a standout at Nika's booth. The gallery champions the work of female artists and curators and focuses on practitioners from the Global South and underrepresented regions. Also on show were works by Mirna Bamieh, Nika Neelova and Adrian Pepe. Kouvali, London, UK/Piraeus, Greece Sylvia Kouvali's booth at Vima art fair Greek gallerist Sylvia Kouvali's first gallery was in Istanbul but she now has spaces in London and Piraeus, near Athens. She has always been a keen supporter of artists from the eastern Mediterranean. Acrylic works by Thanasis Totsikas, who currently also has a show at the London gallery (until 31 May) made for a strong presence at Vima. One of Greece's most prominent artists, he represented his country at the 47th Venice Biennale of Art with his work Totsikas-Ducati (1997). in Line – Art Space, Nicosia Valentinos Charalambous, Talisman at the Stand in Line booth, Vima Art Fair A solo show of works by the still active 96 year old Cypriot ceramic artist Valentinos Charalambous was a joy to see. The booth was like a mini museum retrospective show of ceramic sculptures, along with the artist's very recent works in bronze. A larger version of the wonderful ceramic wall sculpture Talisman was also on show in The Posterity of the Sun show. Alpha C.K. Art Gallery, (Nicosia), Art Seen by Maria Stathi (Nicosia), The Breeder (Athens), CALLIRRHOË (Athens), Diatopos Art Centre (Nicosia), The Edit Gallery (Limassol), eins (Limassol), Eleftheria Tseliou Gallery (Athens), ΓΚΑΡΑΖ art space (Nicosia), Galerie Tanit (Beirut, Munich), Hot Wheels (Athens, London), Kalfayan Galleries (Athens, Thessaloniki), korai project space (Nicosia), Marfa' (Beirut), Nika Project Space (Dubai/Paris), The Office Gallery (Nicosia), pop/off/art (Baku), Stand in Line Art Space (Nicosia), Sylvia Kouvali (Piraeus, London), Takeover (Beirut), The Third Line (Dubai), Thousand Julys (Nicosia), Tiwani Contemporary (London, Lagos), Window Project (Tbilisi). The Posterity of the Sun exhibition with Nefeli Papadimouli's Dreamcoat work in the foreground at Vima Art Fair Vima Art Fair's launch Curatorial Project was a site-specific presentation in the venue's vast outdoor space. Curated by the Paris-based curator Ludovic Delalande, the group exhibition presented innovative perspectives from his recent time in Cyprus. The Posterity of the Sun (the title is from Albert Camus's novel, La Posterite du Soleil) featured works of 18 artists from the Eastern Mediterranean region, including recognized international artists such as Simone Fattal, Ali Cherri, Christodoulos Panayiotou, Nefeli Papadimouli, and others, with some works created as part of a residency hosted by Vima for this fair's edition. The impressive and varied show explored the sun as both a vital and volatile force. Through site-specific installations, the project reflected on the lasting resonance of place, memory, and light. A standout piece was Nefeli Papadimouli's gorgeous Dreamcoat installation, six suspended costumes and paintings depicting the solar cycle. Vima Art Fair was co-founded by Edgar Gadzhiev, Lara Kotreleva and Nadezhda Zinovskaya who agree that 'the timing for a fair feels right [as] local galleries are already doing incredible work to promote artists, encourage dialogue and engage viewers. We want Vima to build on these efforts, further contributing to the broader growth of Cyprus's cultural infrastructure and art market.' The next edition of Vima Art Fair will be Spring 2026.
