London Art Fair 2012

Wiping the Sahara Desert - Hanae Utamura

 The London Art Fair opens its doors today at the Business Design Centre in Islington, with the participation of 100 galleries and 1000 artists.

Future Map

Camilo Echeverri Roldan

 In its 14th year Future Map, the strong brand that showcases the most talented graduates from the University of Arts London, hosts its new exhibition with the hottest rising stars in the fields of fashion, fine art, photography and digital media. This year's Future Map is taking place at the Zabludowicz Collection in London, with the participation of more than 30 artists. See all the participations here

From 12 January to 5 February, 2012

Jing Jing Cao

Jon Anders Gulbrandsen

Emma Hancock

Pip Jolley

Iyvone Khoo

Mariya Kotova

Lulu (Lu) Liu

Giovanni Martins

Oliver Ruuger

Issey Miyake Animated

The following short animated film with drawings by Michael Crawford is featured in the big exhibition titled Irving Penn & Issey Miyake: A Visual Dialogue, still running at the 21_21 Design Sight Museum in Tokyo. Excellent, amusing and a true piece of art. You can read the full exhibition report here

Enjoy:

Make-Up

Francesco Vezzoli

A Palazzo Gallery in Brescia is currently hosting Make-Up, a new hot exhibition dealing with aesthetic beauty and its transformations. Twelve famous artists give their own interpretation to the meaning of beauty, with 2D and 3D works, experimenting with cosmetic cut-outs and allegorical abstractions on famous or unknown faces, finally resulting to an esoteric purification, beyond the mainstream standards.
The participating artists are: Maurizio Anzeri, John Bock, Dr.Lakra, Lothar Hempel, Jamie Isenstein, Alan Reid, Markus Schinwald, John Stezaker, Sue Tompkins, Ryan Trecartin, Vedovamazzei and Francesco Vezzoli.
Curated by Mariuccia Casadio
The exhibition will last by the 11th March, 2012

                      Both images above by MaurizioAnzeri

Desire (2011), Lothar Hempel

Audrey Hepburn (2011), Vedovamazzei

Francesco Vezzoli

All images courtesy of A Palazzo Gallery

Un Peu de Terre Sur La Peau...

Terhi Tolvanen, Zig - zag, 2007, collier © photo : Francis Willemstijn

The new forthcoming exhibition at the Contemporary Space of Les Arts Decoratifs museum is dedicated to avant-garde ceramic jewellery.
Unlike traditional jewellery, the traditional craft of the goldsmith, since the 1970s contemporary jewellery has become a field of experimentation at the frontiers of art, design and the artistic crafts. In this exhibition, eighteen French, Swiss, German, Finnish, Swedish and Taiwanese, artists are proposing a new and personal vision in their work. Although some pieces were conceived in reference to the history of jewellery, they can be made with the most diverse materials, using every possible assemblage process, in function of the techniques, symbols and the culture during a given period.

Conceived by the Fondation Bernardaud 

14 March–19 August 2012

Yasar Aydin, Let me, collier, 2008 © photo : Yasar Aydin

Peter Hoogeboom, Satanic cuff, 1996,
bracelet © photo : Henni van Beek

Tiina Rajakallio, Purity, collier, 2008 © photo : Tiina Rajakallio

From the left: Marie Pendariès, La Dot, 2008, installation, 2008
© photo : Marie Pendariès/Gésine Hackenberg, Kitchen Necklace, collier et plat
© photo : Corriette Schoenaerts/Shu-Lin Wu, Girandole-Mokume # 2, boucle d’oreille, 2010
© photo : Hsiao-Yin Chao

Willemijn de Greef, Spakenburg, collier © photo : Frans Kup

From the left: Christoph Zellweger, Seeds, objets
© photo : Corne Bastiaansen/Andi Gut, bague © photo : Gedusa Arndt

From the left: Peter Hoogeboom, Shaoxing Chrysanthemum, broche,
2008 © photo : Francis Willemstijn/Evert Nijland, Rococo, collier, 2009
© photo : Eddo Hartmann

All images courtesy of Les Arts Decoratifs

Azzedine Alaia in the 21st Century

Entitled Azzedine Alaia in the 21st Century, the new exhibition of the Groninger Museum in Netherlands dedicated to the work of the famous Tunisian designer. Following the couturier's last exhibition in 1998 in the same museum, the current displays some of his most fantastic creations of the last decade.

The exhibition will last by the 6th of May, 2012

Steve McCarry Exhibition

Birmania, 1994

Macro museum in Rome presents a great retrospective exhibition for the work of legendary photographer and reporter Steve McCurry. 200 of his iconic photos from his 30-year carreer are hanging in big transparent igloos, as a sort of nomadic village in a special installation, giving the chance to the visitor to enjoy several breathtaking images of the famous artist’s collection from different countries, civilizations and ethnic groups. The Kuwait oil fields, the flaming Twin Towers on the September 11^th, the Sri Lanka fishers and the iconic green-eyed Afgan girl portrait from the super-famous cover of the National Geografic  are some of the masterpieces exhibited along with recent, never shown before images.

The exhibition will last by April 29^th, 2012.

Sri Lanka, 1995

Afgan girl, 1984

Japan, 2008

India, 2007

Kuwait, 1991

Burma, February 2011

Exhibition detail by Tommaso Martelli

All images courtesy of Macro museum

Trompe L' Oeil: Imitations, Pastiches et Autres Illusions

Emaille garbage by Josef I de Hesse Darmstad 174801752

 Trompe d' oeil as its names indicates is an illusion, a trick of the eye. The new forthcoming exhibition of the Musee des Arts Decoratifs deals with this special artistic technique that was extremely popular during the 18th and 19th centuries. Through an eighteen - month period exhibition, the Study gallery of the museum has gathered several selections of never seen before works from its storerooms like wallpapers, floorboards, images, paintings and jewellery with rare motifs and precious materials.

From the 2nd of February 2012 until November 2013

Man sitting on a cafe terrasse - Gunnar Larsen, 1973

Walpaper with persian faience imitation print by Desfosse & Karth, 1872

Wallpaper, Etablissments Leroy, France, 1910-11

Wallpaper, Manufacture Desfosse & Karth, France, 19th century

Aquarelle design, Elias Baeck, Germany, 1740

Serigrafies, Roman Cieslewicz, France, 1974

Satin, glass and pearl necklace by Francois Lesage for Chanel, 1983

Armoire surrealiste by Marcel Jean, France 1941

All images courtesy of The Musee des Arts Decoratifs

Boo Ritson

Boo Ritson is a multitalented artist and photographer from England. Inspired by American pop culture, Ritson recreates common stereotypes using thick emulsion paint to cover her models and objects and taking pictures of them while the paint is still wet. Her characters are quite familiar: the cop, the hooker, the beauty pageant, the cowboy, the air hostess; so common and yet so extravagant, after her intervention on her living mannequins. Except showing her work in great exhibitions worldwide, she has collaborated with various artists like indie-rock band The Maccabees, with super-brand Jil Sander for its F/W 2011collection shown in Garage magazine and various art collectors.

Boo Ritson is showing her current work titled D is for Donut at the Southampton City Art Gallery by January the 2nd, 2012.