November – December 2010


Architectural Blue: An Exhibition of Cyanotypes by Robert A. Schafer Jr.

New Delhi: Robert Schaefer, professionally a trained architect, was attracted to photographic processes invented in the 19th Century. He was particularly interested in the blueprint techniques in architecture which later came to be known as the cyanotype process. Whilst he came to India in 2009, Robert Schaefer's photographed the buildings designed by Le Corbusier for Chandigarh, which he had studied as a student of architecture. Schaefer also took snaps of the Parliament Library in Delhi and other pieces of architecture like Jantar Mantar, Humayan's Tomb, Qutab Minar Tower, the Taj Mahal and Fathepur Sikri. These images embody an intriguing interplay of two mediums of architecture and photography which Schaefer put under the theme of India. He has chosen to print them with the cyanotype process because of the relationship the resultant colour of the cyanotype holds for India its significant role in mythology, the potent indigo of textiles as well as the relationship that India has to 19th Century photographic processes.

The exhibition organized at Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan features these photographs of the architecture of Delhi, alongside pictures taken in Germany, setting up an interesting dialogue within Schaefer's body of work. His photographs of Corbusier's city was on view at the Government Museum and Art Gallery in Chandigarh from 11th to the 17th November, 2010.

As part of the two exhibitions organized by the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi, a series of related events took place from 17th to24th November, 2010.




Art Basel Miami Beach 2010
Art Kabinett: 21 Exhibitions Curated by Galleries

Miami: This year's Art Kabinett program at Art Basel Miami Beach 2010, taking place December 2  5, 2010, will include thematic group exhibitions and solo shows from both emerging artists and historical figures.

For Art Basel Miami Beach 2010 the Selection Committee has chosen 21 galleries to present Art Kabinett - separate areas within the booths of the Art Galleries sector, providing a space to exhibit solo shows and thematic group exhibitions, spotlighting on the curatorial skills of the gallerists.

The 21 projects in this sector of the show feature a wide array of artists, ranging from emerging artists such as Valentin Carron, Nathan Hylden and Markus Schinwald to historical figures like Otto Muehl, Franz Erhard Walter and Richard Diebenkorn. Group shows include the exhibitions “Marx & Modernism: The New Europe? and “Zaha Hadid and Suprematism?.




14th Annual Boston International Fine Art Show

Boston: Galleries from London, Paris, Madrid, New York and across the United States will offer more than 3,000 original works of both traditional and contemporary fine art at The 14th Annual Boston International Fine Art Show (BIFAS), which takes place Thursday - Sunday, November 18-21, 2010 at The Cyclorama, Boston Center for The Arts. The show opens with a Gala Preview on Thursday, November 18 proceeds from which will benefit Boston Symphony Orchestra. The weekend show hours are Friday 1:00-9:00pm, Saturday 11:00am-8:00pm and Sunday 11:00am-5:00pm. Weekend tickets are $15 online or at the door, under 12 free. All special programmes, panels and guest speakers are free with admission.




Art as rehearsal at Shanghai Biennale

Shanghai: The Shanghai Biennale, the city's largest celebration of contemporary art, has proved to be a crowd-puller, according to China Daily.

The art festival's eighth edition, titled 'Rehearsal', which opened on Oct 23, explores the mechanics of artistic creations. It will run till the end of January.

More than 6,000 people visited the biennale, four times the number of visitors on any other day.

This year, organizers have drawn art lovers' attention away from paintings, installations and videos and toward the working process of their creations, according to Gao Shiming, one of the three curators of the biennale.

The event features 47 artists (or artists' groups) from 21 countries and regions, including movie directors such as Wang Xiaoshuai and Tsai Ming-liang.

Among the works on display is one by Verdensteatret, an art group from Norway. They present a complicated hybrid piece combining installation and performance art with a live concert.

At Rockbund Art Museum, the exhibition By Day By Night not only showcases the works of nine artists, but also includes a lecture every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening, by artists and the museum's curators.

Meanwhile, the first edition of the Nanjing Biennale began on Oct 28 in the neighboring city of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province. It will display the works of acclaimed Chinese artists such as Zhou Chunya, Zhang Xiaogang and Zeng Fanzhi, alongside those of graffiti artists from Western countries.

The Nanjing Biennale will run at the Nanjing Museum of Art till Nov 25.




20th Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair

Olympia: The Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair at Olympia, has stepped into its 20th year this year.

The 2010 edition of the Fair runs from 15th  21st November. Set in elegant backdrop of UK, the Fair will expectedly be attracting over 22,000 visitors, comprising 140 exhibitors from across the UK. It also features in the annual, pre-Christmas, social calendar.

Supported by the country's two most important trade associations, the British Antique Dealers' Association (BADA) and The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers (LAPADA), every exhibitor has been approved by a panel of experts which include some of the UK's top dealers. The Fair is also a participator in National Antiques Week 2010 which runs concurrently.

'Head of a Woman with Gold Earrings' (1878-80), oil on canvas by John Singer Sargent was on sale for £1.7million, at the Trinity House

Strachan Fine Art has a signed oil on panel, 'A Girl on a Marble Garden Seat Playing a Lyre' by Millet. 'Frank' Millet was a writer, sculptor and designer. He died on the Titanic, where he was last seen helping women and children into lifeboats.

The Fair will also showcase some choicest antique furniture. David Hansord brings an outstanding example of a Celonese sprial design ebony and specimen wood table, 1830, on sale for £95,000.




Art Scribes Award

New Delhi: The Shrine Empire - Art Scribes' Residency Programme is intended to promote young contemporary art writers in/from India through a writing competition amongst art writers, which later would be scrutinized by a panel of renowned art critics, curators and gallerists.

This programme is a part of Shrine Empire Gallery's efforts to build up links between intelligent art practice and informed art writing. Also, with this project, the gallery aims to upgrade the standard of professional art writing by providing opportunities to art writers and testing their abilities in the various facets of curatorial practice, in an international institution like the Gwangju Museum of Art.

JohnyML, a Delhi based art critic and curator, will carry out the role of the Project Head in the Art Scribes Residency Programme.

Five top entries from the competition will feature in the website of Shrine Empire Gallery.

A second round of writing will be conducted with the top five contestants. The winning writer gets a chance to attend the International Residency program at the Gwangju Art Museum for a period of one month. It will be held in September 2011.




Art Toronto registers booming sales

Toronto: The 11th edition of Canada's only modern and contemporary international art fair concluded in November, 2010. The organizers were delighted over its good attendance and great sales.

During its four day run, collectors, curators and dealers converged at Art Toronto to experience work by modern masters as well as discover contemporary art by emerging international and Canadian artists.

Red dots peppered the walls as galleries boasted significant sales. The trend continued into the final minutes Monday evening as collectors rushed to snap up works before the Fair wrapped up.

The interest in the fair was evident not only in sales but also in the excellent reception of Art Toronto's cultural programme of talks, tours and special installations.