Artist Martha Russo @ BMoCA - coalescere Exhibition

Martha Russo: coalescere

Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art

March 31 – June 12, 2016

Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA) presents coalescere, the first museum solo exhibition by abstract sculptor and installation artist Martha Russo. coalescere explores the progression of Russo’s work, with sculptural pieces created over the course of the past 25 years as well as a series of new works and large-scale, site-specific installations.

The exhibition title, which is from the Latin “come together,” reflects Martha Russo’s interest in bringing together her diverse body of work, allowing visitors to explore the themes and forms that carry throughout her oeuvre. The title also speaks to the nature of her newest works, which feature thousands of individual elements pieced together to create unexpected and surprising new forms.

Martha Russo’s organic, abstract sculptures and installations not only push the boundaries of clay but also clearly illustrate how integral the materiality of the ceramic process is to her conceptual practice. She playfully references a multiplicity of sources and processes, including anatomical, botanical, and oceanic elements, the biomorphic forms of Antoni Gaudi’s process, and notions about the cycle of burgeoning and decay on a cellular level. The works on view bring to light Martha Russo’s interest in creating sculptures and installations that invite the visitor to look closely and explore, a process that is at the heart of her studio and exhibition practices.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is nomos, a large-scale, curvilinear installation that Martha Russo has been working on for the past 25 years. Featuring over 20,000 abstracted porcelain tendrils, the work encourages viewers to look closely at the varied forms, textures, and colors. By providing the viewer with reference points that are nearly recognizable, yet just beyond identification, the artist invites a closer engagement with the work.

Rather than providing a chronological cataloguing of Martha Russo’s work, coalescere features new and old works interspersed throughout the galleries, drawing attention to seminal turning points in her artistic evolution. Early small-scale, visceral works, such as chicken (1994) and trickle (2000) shed light on her study of developmental biology and psychology. These works directly reference internal and external body parts and invite quiet, internal reflection. A new sculpture, phagocytosis (2016) is a conglomeration of thousands of different sized ceramic spheres infused with a plethora of metal elements. The sculpture simultaneously evokes cellular proliferations and the remains of a meteor. The collision and hybridization of natural worlds, both micro and macro, create a dissonance that prolongs the viewer’s interactions with the works.

Martha Russo’s lightness of being (settled) (2016), an ethereal, intricate, monochrome installation, invites viewers to first take in its impact as a large-scale panorama from afar, before stepping closer to observe the details and the many facets that compose the environment. The individual elements start with the detritus from our everyday lives, such as vacuum cleaner bags, egg cartons, cardboard packing materials, old socks, waffles, and burnt toast, among many others. Martha Russo encases each item in porcelain slip thus giving another life to the object. With these materials, she creates immersive and initially unrecognizable environments, encouraging audiences of all ages to think outside of their traditional linguistic framework.

coalescere ultimately presents a process of discovery for both the viewer and exhibiting artist. Martha Russo is re-encountering past works both psychologically and physically, as many of the works require painstaking installation and new considerations in the context of the exhibition space and BMoCA’s historic landmark building. The exhibition looks both backward and forward, and most importantly, is a catalyst for defining and shaping Martha Russo’s future work.

BMoCA publishes a catalog documenting Martha Russo: coalescere. The catalog includes essays by Jeffrey Spahn and Linda Weintraub and an interview with Martha Russo by BMoCA Curator Mardee Goff. 

MARTHA RUSSO

Martha Russo (b. 1962, Connecticut) earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in developmental biology and psychology from Princeton University in 1985. A world-class athlete, she suffered a career-ending injury in 1984 while vying for a spot on the United States Olympic Field Hockey Team. After recovering from surgery, Martha Russo was attracted to the physical nature of sculpture. She studied studio arts in Florence, Italy in 1983 and continued studying ceramics at Princeton University. In 1995, she earned her Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She lives in the mountains northwest of Boulder, Colorado with her husband and two children.

Martha Russo exhibits her sculptures and installations nationally, most recently at The Santa Fe Art Institute, Denver Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, and with the Allan Stone Gallery, New York. Through the social and politically based art collective, Artnauts, Martha Russo has shown her 2-dimensional works in 230 exhibitions in 17 countries. In addition to her studio practice, Martha Russo is currently a Visiting Lecturer at University of Colorado, Boulder and has taught Fine Arts at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design in Lakewood, Colorado for 19 years.

Martha Russo is represented by the Claudia Stone Gallery in New York and Goodwin Fine Art in Denver.

BMoCA - Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art

1750 13th Street, Boulder, Colorado 80302

www.bmoca.org

Conceptual Art in Britain 1964 – 1979 @ Tate Britain, London

Conceptual Art in Britain 1964 – 1979
Tate Britain, London
12 April – 29 August 2016

Conceptual Art in Britain 1964-1979 will show how artists working in Britain transformed the nature of art. This exhibition will trace the course of this pivotal movement from its origins in the mid-1960s through to the late 1970s, bringing together 70 works by 21 artists. It will demonstrate the radical, thought-provoking and politically-engaged nature of this defining period in art history.

Conceptual artists made ideas the essence of their art. This exhibition will position conceptual art not as a style but rather a game-changing shift in the way we think about art, how it is made and what it is for. Conceptual art emerged during a time of political and social change. Surveying a period which spanned Harold Wilson’s first Labour government to the election of Margaret Thatcher, it will show how conceptual art drew its material and content from the real world. The exhibition will showcase how conceptual artists took art beyond its traditional boundaries and questioned how it was defined. Seminal works will include Michael Craig-Martin’s An Oak Tree 1973 – a glass of water on a glass shelf, alongside a text suggesting possible meanings of the work – and Roelof Louw’s Soul City (Pyramid of Oranges) 1967 – a pile of fruit from which visitors are invited to take a piece.

Conceptual artists often employed theory and philosophy to produce work that invited analysis and enquiry rather than purely contemplation. Influential figures such as Art & Language, Keith Arnatt, Richard Long, Bruce McLean and Stephen Willats prioritised ideas, concepts and artistic process over material form. The exhibition examines how artists questioned the nature of art and addressed issues of society, politics and identity, including Victor Burgin’s critique of modern consumerism, Possession 1976, Mary Kelly’s examination of the mother-child relationship in her Post-Partum Document 1974-8, and Conrad Atkinson’s Northern Ireland 1968 - May Day 1975 1975-6, which uses photography and text to represent different points of view in the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The exhibition features the work of such artists as Sue Arrowsmith, Braco Dimitrijević, Barry Flanagan, Hamish Fulton, Margaret Harrison, Ed Herring, Susan Hiller, John Hilliard, John Latham, Bob Law and David Tremlett. It will also provide a unique chance to see over 250 archival objects rarely on public display. The exhibition will frame a multiplicity of voices and positions, revealing the key role played by British art schools such as Saint Martin’s School of Art, the Royal College of Art and Coventry School of Art in the formation of a ground-breaking generation of artists. Seminal exhibitions at the Tate Gallery, Whitechapel Gallery and ICA will also be explored. Conceptual Art in Britain 1964 –1979 will trace the course of conceptual art to demonstrate its intrinsic engagement with the spirit of its time, and reveal its implications for the art of today.

The exhibition is curated by Andrew Wilson, Curator Modern and Contemporary British Art and Archives, with Carmen Juliá, Assistant Curator Contemporary British Art. It is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue by Tate Publishing and a programme of talks and events in the gallery.

TATE BRITAIN
www.tate.org.uk

JC Ruggirello @ Galerie Papillon, Paris

JC Ruggirello

Galerie Papillon, Paris

18 mars - 30 avril 2016

JC Ruggirello est un artiste pour lequel les expériences sur les matériaux sont à l’origine du travail. Il observe, manipule et invente des techniques qui font apparaître des formes.  Les objets et les images prennent ainsi un autre sens et révèlent un monde sensoriel singulier. 

Des oeuvres réalisées dans différents medium : une vidéo, des dessins aux formes abstraites découvertes au fil de l’expérience, des céramiques trouées puis traversées par un fil de bronze, des figures géométriques en branche d’acacia, ces œuvres dialoguent entre elles malgré les différentes textures, entrent « en sympathie » selon l’expression de l‘artiste. A travers cet ensemble, JC Ruggirello construit un monde et son origine. 

On remarque un intérêt particulier pour le classicisme comme dans ces branches d’acacia, aux épines saillantes dont la pureté et la violence conjuguées résonnent avec certaines figures de la peinture ancienne.

Ainsi dans la vidéo, composée de quatre écrans superposés, on voit du lait couler sur des jambes nues et lisses évoquant la statuaire. L’angle de vue marque l’opposition entre la verticalité du corps et l’instabilité du liquide blanc qui ruisselle et se répand sur le sol, point de contact avec le pied. 

L’artiste est un sculpteur d’objets, d’espaces, de sons et d’images. Il découvre, assemble, et dévoile d’autres dimensions de la sculpture, à travers la ligne et le mouvement, en basculant habilement l’horizon établi.

JC RUGGIRELLO en 1959 à Tunis, vit et travaille à Paris. Après des études à l’Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Marseille et un passage à la Hochschule für Bildende Kunst de Hambourg en 1980, JC Ruggirello construit son univers artistique autour de la vidéo, des installations sonores et de la sculpture. Depuis le début de sa carrière JC Ruggirello expose extensivement en France ainsi qu’à l’étranger (Swiss Institute, New York; Centre d’Art Contemporain, Neufchâtel, Suisse ; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon ; Frac Aquitaine, Bordeaux, Le creux de l’Enfer, Thiers ; Musée de Nantes). En 2000 le FRAC Marseille ainsi que le Centre d’Art Contemporain de Neufchâtel lui consacrent une exposition personnelle. Après une sélection de la vidéo « Fade » pour Rome Film Festival, Cinema XXI Rome, Italie en 2013, « Fade » donne lieu à un screening à la Fondation d’entreprise Ricard en 2015. 

Ses oeuvres ont intégrées des collections publiques et privées importantes, telles que le FRAC Bourgogne, le FRAC Aquitaine, le FNAC, le Musée de Rennes, le Fonds communale de Kruishoutem, Belgique, le FRAC PACA et le Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes. 

GALERIE PAPILLON

13 rue Chapon, 75003 Paris

galeriepapillonparis.com

H. Craig Hanna: Peintures et Dessins, MNHA - Musée national d'histoire et d'art, Luxembourg

H. Craig Hanna: Peintures et Dessins
MNHA - Musée national d'histoire et d'art Luxembourg
Jusqu'au 26 juin 2016

H. Craig Hanna 

Zola in Yellow Crocs

2013

Encre et acrylique sous Perspex

Collection particulière

© Laurence Esnol Gallery

H. Craig Hanna 

Arrangement of Dancers

2014

Encre et acrylique sous Perspex

Collection du Musée national d'histoire et d'art Luxembourg

© MNHA | Laurence Esnol Gallery

Laurence Esnol Gallery a le plaisir d’annoncer la première exposition muséale du peintre H. Craig HANNA au Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art Luxembourg (MNHA), jusqu'au 26 juin 2016. L'exposition Peintures et Dessins prolonge l’acquisition de Arrangement of Dancers par le MNHA en 2015. L’exposition présente une cinquantaine d’oeuvres réalisées au cours de ces quinze dernières années. 

Pour la première fois, l’oeuvre du peintre américain H. Craig HANNA fait l’objet d’une exposition au sein d’un grand musée national. Peintures et Dessins réunit des oeuvres majeures de ces quinze dernières années, dont la plupart issues de collections privées et exceptionnellement prêtées pour l’occasion. Le MNHA invite à découvrir toute l’étendue de la maîtrise technique de l’artiste, des huiles sur bois aux dessins, en passant par les peintures sur perspex qui ont fait sa renommée.

Parmi les oeuvres exposées figurent les emblématiques Zola in Yellow Crocs (2012), Laurence with Blue Glove (2012), American Girl (2007), ainsi qu’Arrangement of Dancers (2014), acquis par le MNHA en 2015. L'exposition consacre également une section aux dessins de H. Craig HANNA, et met en valeur les sketchbooks que l’artiste emporte partout avec lui.

H. Craig HANNA est né en 1967 à Cleveland aux Etats-Unis. Dessinateur virtuose autant que génie de la couleur et de la composition, sa technique lui a valu d’être qualifié de «jeune Maître» par d’éminentes instances du monde de l’art. L’oeuvre de H. Craig HANNA a déjà été sélectionnée à deux reprises par la National Portrait Gallery de Londres. Après avoir vécu à New York, Malte et Londres, il vit aujourd’hui à Paris. H. Craig HANNA est représenté en permanence et en exclusivité par la Laurence Esnol Gallery.

H. Craig Hanna: Peintures et Dessins

Catalogue de l'exposition aux éditions Michèle

L’exposition Peintures et Dessins est accompagnée d’un catalogue publié aux éditions Michèle. Préfacé par Michel Polfer, directeur du MNHA, il inclut également des textes de Claire Van Cleave, historienne de l’art, Christopher Mooney, journaliste et critique d’art, ainsi que de la galeriste Laurence Esnol.

A lire aussi, paru aux Editions Somogy en 2009 : 232 pages, 230 illustrations, relié sous jaquette :

Sketchbook by H. Craig Hanna, 2009

Musée National d'Histoire et d'Art, Luxembourg
www.mnha.lu

Sony Cameras F55 and F5

Sony’s F55 and F5 improved with new CineAlta products adding speed to the 4K production workflow

(c) Sony

Sony’s next generation of CineAlta products provides enhanced features for production professionals now shooting in 4K RAW with large sensor cameras; handling large files can be done easily while maintaining the highest levels of image quality.

The new products include an upcoming RAW recorder, the AXS-R7 for the F55/F5 and higher-speed AXS memory cards. These are complemented by the newest firmware (Version 8) for the F55 and F5, continuing Sony’s development and support of the CineAlta platform by adding new features and capabilities directly based on user feedback.

“These new technologies answer the question of ‘why shoot in 4K 16-bit RAW’? And, demonstrate Sony’s commitment to the F5 and F55’” said Ainara Porron, Marketing Manager, Cinematography, Sony Professional Solutions Europe. “Working in 4K RAW and High Dynamic Range (HDR) opens up new creative possibilities for production professionals who are not prepared to compromise on image quality.”

New RAW Recorder

Compared to previous Sony 4K recorders, the new recorder doubles 4K RAW recording from 60 FPS up to 120 FPS from the F55 camera. For shooting at higher frame rates, the recorder captures 2K RAW at up to 240 FPS from the F55 and F5, for playback with 10x super slow motion. 

With the recorder, 4K shooters can take advantage of RAW cache recording at 23.98p for up to approximately 30 seconds while in standby mode, an important feature in documentary or wildlife production where capturing spontaneous action is required.

The new recorder is designed for rugged field performance. A metal filter separates and seals the recorder’s ventilation shaft from the electronics to prevent the entry of dust and water. The recorder’s camera connections are more secure, with a large top bracket that accepts four widely spaced 1/4-inch screws.

AXS Memory 

The additions to the CineAlta line also include new high-performance versions of Sony’s AXS memory cards (1TB and 512 GB capacities) with sustained read and write speeds of 4.8 Gbps, and 44 minutes at 59.94p or 22 minutes at 120 FPS. The dual-slot recorder also accepts current A-series of AXS media, but the new cards are designed to support the write speeds required for 4K RAW 120 FPS recording for those who require that level of performance.

PMW-F55/F5 Firmware Version 8

The latest firmware update (Version 8) for the F55 and F5, upgrade license installed, enables support for XAVC 4K Class 480 recording at 23.98p, 24p, 25p and 29.97p. Leading third-party vendors already support XAVC 4K Class 480, for those creative professional requiring a higher data rate version of XAVC. 

“These newest additions and updates to our CineAlta platform are all the direct result of user feedback,” Porron added. “It’s no longer about simply delivering a product. It’s about delivering the right products that can grow with a customer and fit within a workflow that is constantly evolving as production requirements change.”

Planned availability is as below:

• AXS-R7 New RAW recorder: Summer 2016

• AXS-A1TS48 Media (1TB): Summer 2016

• AXS-A512S48 Media (512 GB): Summer 2016

• Firmware version 8: Summer 2016

More details will be announced at NAB.

Kim Simonsson, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki - Little Prince And Moss People

Kim Simonsson

Little Prince And Moss People

Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki

March 11 – June 3, 2016

Little Prince and Moss People is a series of ceramic sculptures by KIM SIMONSSON (b. 1974) portraying denizens of a parallel reality. Wearing voodoo masks, his feathered creatures are members of a tribe blessed with the power of flight. The all-white boy represents the figure of the Little Prince, who dons a helmet as he embarks on his phantasmagorical adventures in outer space. The huddle of hand-crafted moss people creates a stark contrast to the pure white sculptures.

Kim Simonsson electrostatically transfers nylon fiber to the surface of the sculptures, where it forms a layer resembling moss. The sculptor’s touch is visibly imprinted on the surface, creating dappled effects as the light catches in the moss-like folds. The nylon fiber and hand-crafted effect add new dynamism to the customarily smooth, glazed surface of Kim Simonsson’s sculptures. Some of his sculptures are encrusted in a cauliflower-like surface; others are decked in feathers. Kim Simonsson renews the traditions of ceramic art by combining the vocabulary of classic marble sculpting with computer games and other elements of popular culture. This is the first exhibition to also feature a bronze sculpture by Kim Simonsson.

KIM SIMONSSON graduated as a ceramics major from the University of Arts and Design in 2000. He was chosen as Finland’s Young Artist of the Year in 2004. He is an internationally active artist whose works are found in Finnish and foreign collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art. Kim Simonsson lives and works in Fiskars. 

GALERIE FORSBLOM

Lönnrotinkatu 5 / Yrjönkatu 22, 00120 Helsinki

www.galerieforsblom.com

Tiina Mielonen, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki - Bloom

Tiina Mielonen: Bloom

Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki

March 10 – April 3, 2016

TIINA MIELONEN (b. 1974) borrows motifs for her paintings from postcard scenery and travel brochures. Bloom is a series of works based on Parisian parks in springtime, notably Parc Monceau with its colorful history. Claude Monet is said to have painted there, and the park was also once even the site of a massacre. Tiina Mielonen presents familiar themes in a surprising, psychedelically alienated form. There is a cinematic, complicated tension between the artificially constructed and natural elements in her compositions: personal memories collide with moments of transcendence of reality in a theatre-like, minimalistic space.

Tiina Mielonen paints her landscapes on Plexiglas. The shininess of the oil paint creates a floaty, immaterial effect. Her forceful brushstrokes endow the landscapes with a feeling of transience. As paint dries quickly on Plexiglas, Tiina Mielonen plans her compositions carefully beforehand and paints them rapidly in one session. The artist manipulates form and color, abstracting the motif to such a degree that the original source is no longer recognizable.

TIINA MIELONEN graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Art in 2003 and has taken part in numerous exhibitions abroad. She has held artist’s residencies in Paris, Rotterdam and Mazzano Romano in Italy. Her works are found in major Finnish museums such as the Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the Amos Anderson Art Museum. 

GALERIE FORSBLOM

Lönnrotinkatu 5 / Yrjönkatu 22, 00120 Helsinki

www.galerieforsblom.com

photokina 2016: Imaging unlimited - New concept, new campaign

Photokina 2016
Cologne
20 - 25 september 2016

A good eight months prior to photokina, the leading international trade fair for the entire photo, video and imaging branch, the organisers present a new concept and a new campaign for the show. Under the claim of 'Imaging unlimited', photokina should continue developing into a content and solution-oriented event. "photokina stands for the unlimited possibilities of imaging. Thanks to smartphones and tablets, new target groups of image enthusiasts are arising which we want to reach with the concept", according to Katharina C. Hamma, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH. "The concept exploits the full potential of the imaging branch and offers chances for sustained growth in the changing imaging environment." The Photoindustrie-Verband e.V., co-organiser of photokina, is just as convinced. "With the reorientation and the focus on future-related themes and strategic growth areas of the industry, we have set the course for the expansion and reinforcement of photokina as a leading international show", says Christian Müller-Rieker, managing director of the association. The concept is initially visible in the form of the new advertising campaign, which convinces with a fresh and dynamic presence. The colour world and the key visual express this with strong visuals. The new presence can already be seen online at www.photokina.com. The new advertising presence is flanked by PR measures, social media promotions and events that have already been presented in an attention-getting fashion in the city of Cologne prior to the trade fair.

Photography and filming take place everywhere and all the time these days. Anyone with a smartphone, a tablet or, of course, a camera can record his world without limits in unusual and exciting images. photokina expresses precisely this with 'Imaging unlimited' and the new key visual. The colour world in red and cyan lends the event a dynamic, fresh appearance. The two colours contrast one another and generate maximum brilliance and colour effect through this contrast. The field of tension underlines the limitlessness of the "Imaging unlimited" claim. The campaign and the claim were developed and realised by the Webguerillas agency in Cologne.

In order to communicate the new concept of photokina to a broad public and make the show a more intense experience, events in the city and at photokina, as well as new themes are planned. In live performances, in the Copter World or the Action Hall, visitors have the possibility to themselves become part of "Imaging unlimited" and try out new camera, film and photo technologies and techniques. The theme of moving images becomes an area of focus in the context of a short film festival and through cooperation with influencers from the branch, for example, AlexiBexi, familiar from YouTube. The city of Cologne will also celebrate the show with a photokina festival in the form of photo promotions, workshops and major projections.

PHOTOKINA
www.photokina.com