Galerie Michael opens its fall season with an Exhibition by Artist Alumni from the Florence Academy of Art

With a private evening reception on Thursday, September 15, Galerie Michael opened its doors for the inaugural exhibition of recent paintings and sculpture by artist alumni from the Florence Academy of Art (FAA) in Italy. The exhibition showcases twenty-two artists in the academy’s west coast debut whose works are reminiscent of the European masters of the Renaissance. Technically exquisite and thematically exploring mythological storytelling and a play on life, death, narcissism and the supernatural the exhibition highlights traditional craftsmanship, observation from nature and studio expertise that these artists continue.

In his opening speech gallery owner Michael Schwarz expressed his lasting commitment in presenting the works of the artists of the Florence Academy and respectfully spoke of the integrity, stimulating artistic discourse and dedication that these young artists have offered since his first visit to the academy in Florence. Equally proud of the collaboration and launching of the exhibition program was FAA founder Daniel Graves and executive director Susan Tintori who shared insights of the academy’s history and mission.

Invited guests flocked to the gallery opening delighted to meet several of the artists in person and to view the expansive new art display firsthand. During the evening clients and artists mingled in the upstairs galleries filled with impressive figurative paintings, still lifes and life size bronze sculptures. Off to an exciting new art season the exhibition continues on view through October 15, 2011.

A fifty page full color catalog is available.

Galerie Michael
224 N. Rodeo Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Mon – Sat: 10:00am to 7:00pm
Sun: 12:00pm to 6:00pm

Stolen Art Information

From The FBI Website: It’s like stealing history. Art and cultural property crime—which includes theft, fraud, looting, and trafficking across state and international lines—is a looming criminal enterprise with estimated losses running as high as $6 billion annually. To recover these precious pieces—and to bring these criminals to justice—the FBI has a dedicated Art Crime Team of 13 special agents, supported by three special trial attorneys for prosecutions. And it runs the National Stolen Art File, a computerized index of reported stolen art and cultural properties for the use of law enforcement agencies across the world. Please note: U.S. persons and organizations requiring access to the National Stolen Art File should contact their closest FBI Field Office; international organizations should contact their closest FBI Legal Attaché Office. FBI Top Ten Art Crimes - Iraqi Looted and Stolen Artifacts - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft - Theft of Caravaggio's Nativity with San Lorenzo and San Francesco - Theft of the Davidoff-Morini Stradivarius - The Van Gogh Museum Robbery - Theft of Cezanne's View of Auvers-sur-Oise - Theft of the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Murals, Panels 3-A and 3-B - Theft from the Museu Chacara do Céu - Theft of Van Mieris's A Cavalier - Theft from E.G. Bührle Collection, Zurich Initiatives & Background - Art Crime Team - National Stolen Art File - Jurisdiction/Legislation Report Stolen Art - Submit a Tip Online - Contact Your Local FBI Office - Contact Your Nearest Overseas Office Protect Your Treasures - Advice from an Art Theft Expert Other Resources - Interpol Stolen Works of Art - Museum Security Network - International Council of Museums - More

Trail for Selling Fake Art

The trial of four people accused of selling fake artworks from the fictional "Werner Jägers collection" began this week in Cologne, promising to bring to light new details of the nefarious operation that ensnared actor and art aficionado Steve Martin and other international collectors. The case, concerning one of the most audacious forgery rings in recent times, revolves around 44 forgeries that the quartet sold as original works by artists including Heinrich Campendonk, Max Pechstein, Fernand Léger, and Max Ernst — to the tune of between $20 million and $50 million.

According to the BBC, German prosecutors plan to call over 160 witnesses over 40 days at trial. Judgment Read more here...

Every Picture Has a Story

By Tom Teicholz

For 30 years, Michael Schwartz has owned and operated Galerie Michael, an art gallery on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, building, in his own words, “museum-quality collections, one work at a time.” Works by Picasso, Dali, Goya and Miró adorn the walls for the current exhibition on Spanish masters.

With a staff of 24, many of whom hold fine-arts degrees and are called curators, Schwartz would be happy to sell you a work of art. But he would prefer to tell you a story first because what Schwartz really wants to do is enchant you.

I’ve known a few art dealers in my time, and much the way poker players have a tell, dealers have a “sell.” Some dealers sell status and exclusivity — as if you are joining a club; others make a more mercenary pitch, appealing to one’s sense of value, investment savvy and greed; for others, the sell is more aesthetic, with a focus on the artist’s technique, or on occasion

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The First Modern Catalogue of an Art Collection:

Q&A with Curator Louis Marchesano
By Jessica Portner on August 17, 2011 under Collections, Exhibitions, Getty Research Institute

In the 1700s, the seeds of a new style of presenting works of art—both on the wall and on the page—were planted by a German prince.

I talked with Louis Marchesano, curator of prints and drawings at the Getty Research Institute, about the prince and his story, which is told in the exhibition Display & Art History: The Düsseldorf Galley and Its Catalogue, closing Sunday. He explained how the bold ideas of an influential group of royal art collectors, patrons, and artists influenced how we experience and learn about art today.

read more here...

Van Gogh in Saintes-Maries

In 1888, Van Gogh spent some time in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the South of France. Van Gogh was living in Arles at the time and on May 28, 1888 he wrote to his brother Theo saying, “I expect to make an excursion to Saintes-Maries, and see the Mediterranean at last.” By the first week of June Van Gogh was in Saintes-Maries where he marveled at the sea and its colors. He completed two paintings of the sea both shown below. In a letter to his brother Theo from June 4, 1888 he wrote,

“I am at last writing to you from Stes-Maries on the shore of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean has the colours of mackerel, changeable I mean. You don’t always know if it is green or violet, you can’t even say it’s blue, because the next moment the changing light has taken on a tinge of pink or gray.”

In addition to the two seascapes, Van Gogh also painted: View of Saintes Maries, Three White Cottages in Saintes Maries, Street Scene in Saintes Maries and, probably

Read more here...

Stealing the Mona Lisa

Exactly 100 years later, a documentary film uncovers new insights into the theft of the masterpiece.
by David D'Arcy

New York. On 21 August 1911, someone entered the Salon Carre of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, removed the Mona Lisa from the wall, unfastened the clamps holding the panel to its frame, and walked off. A painstaking police investigation followed, as newspapers fumed over such a brazen theft. Police failed to capture the thief until he tried to sell the painting in Florence more than two years later.

Read more here...

Recent Art Thefts in America

Recent Art Thefts in America including a Rembrandt Sketch!

Artist Lucien Freud Died at 88

(CNN) -- Artist Lucian Freud, known for his thick application of paints in painstakingly created, highly stylized portraits, has died at the age of 88, his publicist said Thursday. He died Wednesday night of an unspecified illness at his home in London.

"My family and I mourn Lucian Freud not only as one of the great painters of the twentieth century but also as a very dear friend," said his longtime dealer William R. Acquavella in a written statement. "As the foremost figurative Read more here

Dali Opera in Madrid

MADRID. An opera based on the life of Salvador Dalí and his wife Gala has finally been previewed in Madrid, seven years after its planned debut. “Yo, Dalí” (I, Dalí) opened at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in June. It will premiere at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in October.

The four-act opera retells significant moments in the artist’s life, with its main theme being his relationship with his wife, whom he met in Paris in 1929. The opera also encompasses ...
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Miro: Femme et Chien Devant la Lune

Miro, Joan; Woman and Dog Before the Moon, 1936; Pochoir; #911392

From the portfolio published by Adlan, Barcelona. Miró executed this work for his friends in the group Adlan (Amigos de la arte Nuevo – Friends of the new art), a group devoted to modern Spanish art and architecture, and one the groups to organize the monographic show of Picasso in Spain. According to Dupin, Kandinsky and Hélion also contributed work for portfolios sponsored by the group.

This screen-printed pochoir, from an original gouache (pictured right) dating from the same year, is one of several works in this medium executed by Miro in the years leading up to the Spanish Civil War, each dealing more directly with the effects of the war. It prefigures Miro’s response to the massacre at Guernica, a large painting which hung with Picasso’s famous canvas in a show of solidarity with their home country.

Pochoir is a print medium akin to silkscreen, in which stencils formed in zinc sheets demarcate mostly flat color fields with strong edges. Many of his pochoirs were executed during his “savage” period, beginning in 1934 as the political situation in Spain began to deteriorate. Dupin, in his catalogue raisonne produced with the artist, notes the pochoir created for D’aci I d’alla (pictured left) stating “the violence of the pure tones harmonizes with the cruel distortion of the forms translating the feeling of terror gripping the bodies at the approach of the great disturbances which have been threatening.”

Miro left Spain in 1936, after the outbreak of civil war in July, and remained away until 1940. While he had been living primarily abroad for some time, he was unable to return to his homeland in Catalonia. Caught without a studio, and distressed at his exile, he was a steady supporter of the antifascist movement in general, though he never joined the Communist or other party.

Since 1934 his work was populated with increasingly distorted depictions of the extreme anxiety and distress of those oppressed by the oncoming civil war. But it was not until 1936 that his work began to exhibit a more direct approach to events. Femme et Chien Devant la Lune was one of the earlier manifestations of a contorted citizen wailing to the sky, of the type later to be seen in his own and Picasso’s work during the war. The bold, flat fields of color were emblematic of both his work of the period and the physical considerations of the medium. That they were intended to evoke an emotional response to the situation is emphasized by the next pochoir he created.

Aidez l’Espagne (pictured above) appeared in Cahiers d’Art 12, nos. 4-5, and art review which in the face of the impending crisis devoted multiple issues to Spain. This issue featured a poem on Guernica by Éluard and Picasso’s Songe et mensonge de Franco (Dream and Lie of Franco), and was to raise funds for the Republican forces. Miro’s contribution is a pochoir in the style of Femme et Chien Deavant la Lune, in a more hopeful vein, and was accompanied by Miro’s hopes against the disaster for his country. His handwritten caption for the print read: “In the present conflict I see the decrepit forces of the fascists, and on the other side the people, whose vast creative resources will five Spain a strength that will astonish the world.”

If Femme et Chien Devant la Lune is reflected stylistically in Miro’s other pochoir, perhaps the ultimate compositional corollary his canvas painted in what amounted an international display Spanish artists against fascist Spain. The Reaper, created in 1937 for the Spanish Republican Pavilion at the Paris World’s Fair, was lost after the exhibition. It is similar in tone to Picasso’s Guernica, which was created for the same solidarity exhibition. It depicts a Catalan peasant with flailing arms and contorted visage whose sickle represents at once his labor, growing communist tendencies and, as a modified scythe, a symbol of death. It is one of his most unequivocally political statements, and an important indicator of the impact the events in Spain had on the artist despite his absence.

Cryptic: The Use of Allegory in Contemporary Art with a Master Class from Goya

Cryptic: The Use of Allegory in Contemporary Art with a Master Class from Goya May 20–August 14, 2011
Summer 2011 Exhibition at The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis

Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
3750 Washington Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63108

The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAM) is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition called Cryptic: The Use of Allegory in Contemporary Art, with a Master Class from Goya. This exhibition will feature the work of six contemporary artists—Folkert de Jong, Hiraki Sawa, Allison Schulnik, Dana Schutz, Javier Tellez, and Erika Wanenmacher—paired with works by Spanish master Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. Organized by CAM and curated by Santa Fe-based independent curator Laura Steward, the exhibition will run from May 20 through August 14, 2011, and be accompanied by a CAM-produced publication and series of diverse public programs.

Cryptic explores the way contemporary artists make use of allegory—a figurative mode of representation conveying meaning other than the literal—in a wide variety of media. The juxtaposition of recent works with examples from two series of prints by Goya, the Caprichos and the Disparates (also known as the Proverbs), is intended to prompt consideration of how artists over the years have "encrypted" difficult, uncomfortable, and often socio-politically loaded meanings within allegory and continue to do so in the present day. Particularly in light of recent global events, this exhibition offers a timely exploration of the role that contemporary artists play as commentators on the world around us.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746–1828) created masterpieces in painting in the 18th and 19th centuries, and is recognized today as both the last of the great old masters and the first "modern" artist. He is celebrated variously for work ranging from disturbingly unflinching depictions of the horrors and tragedies of the Napoleonic wars to the wildly imaginative and richly allegorical engravings featured in Cryptic.

Folkert de Jong (Dutch, b. 1972) is best-known for large-scale figurative sculptures rendered in polyurethane foam and paint that offer a biting, yet coded, critique of social mores, war, and religion in a manner not dissimilar to Goya's work made 200 years prior.

The video works of Hiraki Sawa (Japanese, b. 1977) have the quality of a daydream, infusing everyday scenes with uncanny, magical traces that prompt viewers to consider the numerous poetic meanings of quotidian phenomena. In Trail (2004), for example, silhouettes of exotic animals and even a Ferris wheel infiltrate non-descript domestic interiors such as bathroom sinks and window sills as an allegory for the extraordinary things that might underpin seemingly ordinary situations.

Allison Schulnik's (American, b. 1978) strange, agitated paintings reflect her background in animation, but privilege the sculptural aspect of paint through their densely impastoed surfaces. Her gothic, figurative works, such as a bizarre and mesmeric still-life with flowers—a classic symbol of the fleetingness of life—suggest the more sinister and foreboding aspects of contemporary life.

Dana Schutz (American, b. 1976) is one of the leading figurative painters to emerge in the past decade, and is represented in this exhibition with various works, including one of the "Self-Eaters" of the mid-2000s. She has described these works as allegories of self-sufficiency, particularly in painting itself.

Javier Tellez's (Venezuelan, b. 1969) video Letter from the Blind for the Use of Those Who See (2007) recalls the ancient Indian allegory of six blind men variously describing an elephant by filming six actual blind New Yorkers as they encounter a live elephant for the first time. Tellez turns the typical reading of the old allegory—that a single point of view is insufficient to understand something—on its head, and reveals instead the value and complexity of an individual experience.

Finally, Erika Wanenmacher (American, b. 1955) makes a sincere use of witchcraft in works across various media. Like many artists throughout history, she uses allegory in a metaphysical sense, prompting consideration of the way art offers an understanding of the world that transcends the logical, the physical, and the material.

Interestingly enough this is exactly what Salvador Dali did when he created his version of Goya's Los Caprichios, both series available at Galerie Michael for amazing values.

Original Blog: http: 2 buildings 1 blog

A Picasso comes to the Palestinians

Security guards keep close to the "Buste De Femme" by Pablo Picasso. It's on loan from a museum in the Netherlands.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• "Buste De Femme" was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1943; it's housed in the Netherlands
• It's being displayed for one month in the West Bank city of Ramallah
• Picasso used his art to express his feelings about the Spanish Civil War
• Art specialist says the work has much to say about today's divide in the Middle East

Ramallah, West Bank (CNN) -- In a small showroom in the West Bank city of Ramallah, two Palestinian security guards carefully watch over a masterpiece by one of the most famous artists in modern history.

The "Buste De Femme," painted by Pablo Picasso in 1943, is estimated to be worth $7 million. It was borrowed from the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, by the International Academy of Art Palestine for a monthlong display in the West Bank.

Khaled Horani, art director of the academy, says the project took two years of negotiations, preparations and overcoming some political obstacles.

"This is the first time in history where a masterpiece of Picasso comes to Palestine in the occupied territories and also the first time we are going to show a masterpiece to the Palestinians," Horani told CNN.

While Horani acknowledges that just some 20 kilometers (about 12.4 miles) away, there are many contemporary masterpieces in Jerusalem museums. He is quick to point out the limitations for art lovers who live in the West Bank.

"It's not accessible for Palestinians from the West Bank to go there and see the artwork," making reference to Israeli security restrictions. "This raises the questions around the political situation and art in general and its accessibility," Horani said.

Painted just a few years after the Spanish Civil War, the "Buste De Femme" one of Picasso famous paintings. The Spanish artist wanted to express his feelings about the bloody war that had torn apart his homeland.

The painting took a 24-hour journey from the Netherlands to the West Bank

Professor Lynda Morris of Norwich University College of the Arts in England and a specialist on Picasso, compared it with the political situation in the West Bank.

She said Picasso strived to understand both sides of the Spanish Civil War, and that holds lessons for today. "... Probably in the West, we know much more of the Israeli side more than the Palestinian side, and the importance to begin to address that balance," Morris told CNN.

Twenty feet away in an adjacent room of the academy, the special packing crate for the painting has been put on exhibit as well with the shipping label "From Eindhoven to Palestine" displayed prominently.

"This is the smallest museum and this box will be part of the exhibition," Horani told CNN in an advance preview of the painting.

He said the painting's 24-hour journey from the Netherlands to the West Bank was documented as it made its way to Tel Aviv. It was then escorted by an Israeli security firm to Qalandia checkpoint and then on to Ramallah.

The painting exhibition, which officially opened its doors to the public on Friday, was attended by Palestinians and international art lovers.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad went to the opening. He said the painting would go back to the Netherlands taking with it a little bit of the region with it.

"Destination Palestine, by itself, is of great significance to us," Fayyad said. "It is really moving to see this great work of Picasso is here and this portrait goes back to Eindhoven and part of Palestine will be with it," Fayyad told CNN after touring the exhibition.

"This is really a big thing.
--Christine Hadid, Palestinian architect

Art connoisseur Ola Abu Gharbieh said seeing the work in the West Bank made her proud.

"Palestinians are artistic. They are fond of art, and they had the chance and opportunity to bring such a universal and international work of art here in Palestine, and I wish to have similar experiences in the future."

Christine Hadid, a Palestinian architect and a self-avowed art lover, said the exhibit helped break through common stereotypes people hold about Palestinian society.

"This is really a big thing. We can show the world we can do something like this. Our life is not only focused on war and on all the bad things that happen to us while we are living in closure" Hadid said.

"This breaks all closures to Ramallah and Palestine. Maybe next time we will have a masterpiece by another artist -- Van Gogh or someone else. It's a first step for bigger events hopefully."

James Franco's Invisible Art....

James Franco isn't profiting from his invisible art (from cnn.com)

James Franco’s venture into the invisible art business appears to be taking off, but he's not getting any money from it.

The star with an unreal number of titles has teamed up with artistic duo Praxis to open the Museum of Non-Visible Art (MONA), an institution “composed entirely of ideas.”

On its website, MONA describes itself as “an extravaganza of imagination, a museum that reminds us that we live in two worlds: the physical world of sight and the non-visible world of thought," which "redefines the concept of what is real." The museum goes on to add that "Although the artworks themselves are not visible, the descriptions open our eyes to a parallel world built of images and words. This world is not visible, but it is real, perhaps more real, in many ways, than the world of matter, and it is also for sale.

A variety of invisible pieces are available via Kickstarter, where $20 will yield an invisible sculpture by Praxis, and $50 will find a 19th century garment from James Franco’s imaginary film “Red Leaves” on your doorstep. Or rather, a card describing the 19th century garment from Franco’s film since the costume itself can be seen only in one's imagination.

“You will not receive a painting or a film or a photograph in your mailbox. What you will receive is something even more fascinating: The opportunity to collaborate in an act of artistic creation,” says MONA’s Kickstarter page. “You will receive a title card with a description of a piece of art, as well as a letter of authentication.”

Presumably these invisible pieces aren’t purchased with invisible money, and while Franco’s rep confirmed to CNN that the actor did agree to contribute some non-visible art, he hasn't seen any money from the project, which so far has garnered $12,577 through Kickstarter.

The other items from Franco that are up for grabs are the imagined short film “Red Leaves” and a full-scale steamboat from the movie. The film is in the $25 and up category and also comes with a PDF copy of the museum's catalog, while the steamboat is in the $100 and up category, which in addition to the title and description card comes with an invitation to a November 2011 after-party.

Picasso’s Sleeping Mistress, German Art Add $99 Million to London Auctions

A Pablo Picasso painting of his mistress Marie-Therese Walters and a collection of German art from 1960's to 1970's may add as much as 60 million pounds ($99 million) to London's June Art Auction.

Picasso's Canvas "June fille endormie", Showing Marie-Therese Walters snoozing on her folded arms, is estimated to fetch 9 million pounds at Christies International. The Group of 59 German contemporary works has an upper estimate of 47.5 million pounds at Southey's.

Owners of the valuable 20th century trophies have become more confident about .... Click here to read the rest of the article.

Renoir descendant's Visit wows crowed at fundraiser

Rembrandt Research Project ended

"Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings" have been will have a much-reduced final volume.

The Rembrandt Research Project (RRP) is to be closed down, although it is tantalisingly near to finishing its full catalogue. After 42 years of work, five volumes of the Courpis of Rembrandt Paintings have been published, the most recent last October (Springer Publishing 1,200 Euro's). There was to have been one more detailed volume, but this has been dropped.

In meticulous detail, the Courpus provides entries on 240 paintings which have been accepted as works by Rembrandt, along with 162 doubted or rejected works. This leaves 80 works which have not yet been catalogued, a quarter of the oeuvre. Read more here

Article by Martin Bailey

List of looted antiquities finally released

Ministry admits 54 objects were stolen from the Egyptian Museum : Read about it

Major Picasso exhibition begins U.S. tour

"The 176-work exhibit also highlights Picasso's depictions of his numerous
mistresses and muses, including Dora Maar, a the French surrealist
photographer."
Major Picasso exhibition begins U.S. tour