2012 Armory Show Focus: Nordic Countries with 19 galleries from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland

Armory Show, NYC, March 8-11, 2012: The Third Edition of Armory Focus to features The Nordic Countries

The mission behind ARMORY FOCUS is to shed light on a dynamic arts community. After Berlin (2010) and Latin America (2011) the third edition of Armory Focus will turn its attention to The Nordic Countries. The invitation-only component of The Armory Show, Armory Focus: The Nordic Countries, will feature select galleries from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.

Armory Focus: The Nordic Countries will continue The Armory Show’s mission to provide an annual platform for an under recognized yet thriving arts communities at one of the most important gathering of artists, dealers and collectors in the world, The Armory Show. In recognition of the region’s increasing importance on the global art scene and its vital presence in New York City, Armory Focus: The Nordic Countries will offer a select group of galleries an opportunity to showcase their innovative and exciting exhibition programs in New York City.

Paul Morris, Founding Director of The Armory Show, notes that “The decision to focus on the Nordic Countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, centered around a discussion about an important and thriving art community, yet one that is often under-represented as a region – and the Nordic region is just that. The extensive and overwhelming network of artists, curators, collectors, museums, and galleries attests to the Nordic’s international importance and we want Armory Focus to highlight the region’s contribution to the international art community."

This year, and for the first time, Armory Focus is curated by the esteemed Malmö Konsthall director, Jacob Fabricius. Fabricius will be integral in the selection of the galleries included in Armory Focus: The Nordic Countries in addition to tailoring the aesthetic look of the section. “Nordic or not, the artists and galleries that work in this region deserve our full attention and I am happy to be able to present them in New York and at The Armory Show as part of the focus on the Nordic Region."

Armory Focus: The Nordic Countries – The 19 featured Art Galleries from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland

Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
Martin Asbaek Gallery, Copenhagen
Beaver Projects, Copenhagen
Gallery Niklas Belenius, Stockholm
Galleri Bo Bjerggaard, Copenhagen
Crystal, Stockholm
D.O.R., Oslo
Dortmund Bodega, Oslo
ELASTIC, Malmö
Fruit & Flower Deli, Stockholm
i8, Reykjavik
IMO, Copenhagen
Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Stockholm
Christian Larsen, Stockholm
NOPlace, Oslo
Galleri Susanne Ottesen, Copenhagen
David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen
Galleri Christian Torp, Oslo
V1 Gallery, Copenhagen

The Armory Focus Curator: JACOB FABRICIUS

Jacob Fabricius has curated numerous exhibitions at the Malmö Konsthall since 2005 and was appointed director of this institution in 2008. As director, he initiated many innovative public exhibitions such as the hitchhiking exhibition Auto Stop and Polis Polis Potatismos. Before coming to the Malmö Konsthall, he worked as a freelance curator and associated curator at Centre d’Art Santa Monica, Barcelona. Fabricius has organized numerous exhibitions and public projects such as What is a guy from Leicester, a Swedish girl, a family father and a gay couple doing on a deserted island between Denmark and Sweden? (1997), Art Calls (1997), S-tog (1999), Rent-a-Bench (2002), Sandwiched (2003) and KBH Kunsthal (2005-06). Jacob Fabricius is also founder of the publishing company Pork Salad Press and the newspaper project Old News. He has published more than 50 books, records and CDs; most recently David Robbins’ Concrete Comedy. Jacob Fabricius lives in Copenhagen, DK and works in Malmö, SE.

2012 Armory Fair Show
March 8-11, 2012
Piers 92 & 94 - New York City - USA
Website: www.thearmoryshow.com

Istanbul Biennial 2011 Overview

12th ISTANBUL BIENNIAL 2011

Through November 13, 2011

The 12th Istanbul Biennial opens its doors to art lovers on September 17, 2011 and remain on view until November 13, 2011. Istambul Biennial 2011 is transforming Istanbul into an art platform.

The 12th Istanbul Biennial, ranked among the most important European art events of this year along with the Venice Biennale,is realized under the curatorship of Adriano Pedrosa and Jens Hoffmann. The title is Untitled (12th Istanbul Biennial), 2011.

2011 Istambul Biennial is composed of five group exhibitions and more than 50 solo exhibitions, with a total of more than 500 works. The venue is Antrepo 3 and 5.

The 12th Istanbul Biennial opened its doors to press on September 15, with an official opening ceremony and a press conference. Bülent Eczacıbaşı, chairman of the board of İKSV, gave the opening speech of the ceremony. He said:

“The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts organized the first Istanbul Biennial in 1987. Since then, Istanbul and the biennial have grown, evolved, and gained prominence in concert with one another. The biennial has contributed to the development of Istanbul as a capital of culture and the arts, and Istanbul has received the biennial with open arms, continually renewing the energy of this event with its rich history, contemporary dynamism, and potential. In 1999, the biennial reached 40 thousand people; in 2009 more than 100,000 art enthusiasts attended the biennial and its related events. At the beginning of the 2000s, the number of private museums in our city could be counted on one hand; now we count them by the dozens. Moreover, the number of exhibitions taking place in Istanbul, home to more than 100 art galleries, is rising steadily every year. This increase in the production and consumption of art over the last decade fills us with hope for what we can achieve in the decade ahead. In 2023, when we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic, Turkey aims to be one of the world’s top 10 economies. Our hope is that our cultural industry enjoys a share of this targeted economic growth. A society that reads more books, visits more exhibitions, goes to more concerts and increases its involvement in art and culture activities is a society that will achieve all kinds of targets more easily and quickly.”

Mustafa V. Koç, chairman of the board of Koç Holding, also spoke at the official opening ceremony and press conference on behalf of Koç Holding, which has undertaken the sponsorship of the Istanbul Biennial through 2016.

The official opening ceremony of the 12th Istanbul Biennial was presented by Defne Halman. Thank-you plaques for their contributions to the biennial were given to the Culture and Tourism Ministry of the Republic of Turkey; the pioneer sponsor of İKSV, Eczacıbaşı Holding; the official airline, Turkish Airlines; the official communication sponsor, Vodafone; the official carrier, DHL Express; Özsoy İnşaat AŞ for the implementation of the architectural design; the theme sponsors Hitay Yatırım Holding AŞ and Zorlu Center; and Istanbul Biennial Sponsor Koç Holding. The plaques were presented by Bülent Eczacıbaşı, chairman of the board of İKSV.

After the press conference, curators Jens Hoffmann and Adriano Pedrosa spoke, together with Istanbul Biennial Director Bige Örer, and the curators guided a tour of the biennial exhibition. The biennial artists were present with their work during the press visit.

Besides famous names from the art and business world, more than 4,000 guests, including critics, curators, museum and gallery administrators from international art communities, and up to 400 press members from 50 countries participated in the press conference.

THE TITLE OF THE 12TH ISTANBUL BIENNIAL:
Untitled (12th Istanbul Biennial), 2011

The visual identity and the title of the 12th Istanbul Biennial—Untitled (12th Istanbul Biennial), 2011—reference the work of the Cuban American artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957–1996), one of the most important artists of the contemporary era.

During his life, Gonzalez-Torres exhibited in many solo and group exhibitions internationally, including the 5th Istanbul Biennial, curated by Rosa Martínez. His innovative artistic language was a source of inspiration for the researches conducted for the 12th Istanbul Biennial. But, although his presence is felt in the biennial’s title, themes, and visual identity, none of his works will be exhibited in the 12th Istanbul Biennial.

The curators of the 12th Istanbul Biennial, to remain in line with Gonzalez-Torres’s idea of “Untitled”, developed a critical position toward preconceived notions of the exhibition and did not declare the list of participating artists until the opening. Thus they proposed to prevent any possible pre-consumption of the exhibition. The 12th Istanbul Biennial aims to draw attention to the importance of the exhibition, the primary format of artistic and curatorial expression, in response to the mentality today favoring ancillary events and programming, especially in a biennial context. The biennial is precisely installed in a single, carefully constructed space, Antrepo 3 and 5, in a manner that privileges the display and juxtaposition of the artworks.

THE VENUE OF 2011 ISTANBUL BIENNIAL HAS BEEN DESIGNED BY THE ARCHITECT RYUE NISHIZAWA

RYUE NISHIZAWA PORTRAIT 

Photograph by Nishizwa Takashi Okamoto

The exhibition venue of the 12th Istanbul Biennial is Antrepo 3 and 5, which has hosted the biennial several times since the 4th Istanbul Biennial. The architectural design Office of Ryue Nishizawa transformed the site, dramatically, using steel and drywall constructions to create different-size rooms. During the design process, which started in September 2010, Ryue Nishizawa developed a method to allow visitors to immediately differentiate between the group exhibitions and the solo presentations. The group exhibitions’ walls are painted gray, while the solo presentations’ walls are painted white.

RYUE NISHIZAWA, although still in his 40s, is acknowledged as one of the most important architects in the world today. He founded SANAA (Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates) in 1995 with the architect Kazuyo Sejima. He has maintained the Office of Ryue Nishizawa since 1997. SANAA has won the Pritzker Architecture Prize and the Golden Lion Award of the Venice Architecture Biennial. The firm’s projects have included the New Museum of Contemporary Art (2007) in New York, USA; the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (2004) in Kanazawa, Japan; and boutiques of Christian Dior and Prada in Japan.

THE 12TH ISTANBUL BIENNIAL THEMES

The five group exhibitions of the 12th Istanbul Biennial are titled Untitled (Abstraction), “Untitled” (Ross), “Untitled” (Passport), Untitled (History), and “Untitled” (Death by Gun). Each departs from a specific work by Felix Gonzalez-Torres. More than 50 solo presentations carry further the discussions broached by the group exhibitions.

SPONSORS OF THE 12TH ISTANBUL BIENNIAL

For the 12th Istanbul Biennial, Koç Holding continues its biennial sponsorship, which started in 2007 and encompasses five biennials. Zorlu Center and Hitay Yatırım Holding AŞ contribute as theme sponsors. Arçelik AŞ, Divan İstanbul, Polisan Boya Sanayi, and Ticaret AŞ take part as institutions contributing to the biennial.

Many international institutions, especially The Ford Foundation, the US Department of State, Mondriaan Foundation, British Council, The Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts, and the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs highly contribute to the achievement of the 12th Istanbul Biennial.

The Biennial Companion publication of the 12th Istanbul Biennial includes interviews between the curators and the artists, full explanations of the themes, and full-color photographs. The Biennial Catalogue publication includes texts focusing on the subjects of the exhibition and visuals from the installation. Both are published by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts and Yapı Kredi Publishing with the contribution of Vehbi Koç Foundation.

Besides these contributing institutions, Banvit AŞ, Canan Pak, Ford Otomotiv Sanayi AŞ, Grupanya İnternet Hizmetleri İletişim Organizasyon Tanıtım ve Pazarlama AŞ, Koçtaş, Polimeks Holding, Sema-Barbaros Çağa, Tekfen Eğitim Sağlık Kültür Sanat ve Doğa Varlıkları Koruma Vakfı, Türk Henkel AŞ, and United Colors of Benetton contribute to the biennial as special projects sponsors.

In addition to the institutions stated above, the 12th Istanbul Biennial is realized with the contribution of 21 leading business institutions as biennial supporters.

The 12th Istanbul Biennial is supported by the Promotion Fund of the Prime Ministry and the Culture and Tourism Ministry of the Republic of Turkey, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and the Beyoğlu Municipality.

The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts official sponsors are leading sponsor Eczacıbaşı Holding; official airline Turkish Airlines; official communication sponsor Vodafone; and official carrier DHL Express. Jon Sueda from Stripe has undertaken the publicity campaign and publications of the 12th Istanbul Biennial.

 ISTANBUL BIENAL 2011
 www.bienal.iksv.org

Ordination by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) for sale at Christie's London

On 7 December 2010 in London, Christie’s will offer a masterpiece from one of the most celebrated groups of paintings in European history. Ordination by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) will highlight the Old Masters and 19th Century Art Evening Sale where it will be presented for sale for the first time in over 225 years by the Trustees of the Belvoir Estate. It is expected to realise £15 million to £20 million.

Richard Knight, International Co-Head of Old Masters and 19th Century Art at Christie's, said: “We are honoured to have been entrusted with the sale of Nicolas Poussin's 'Ordination'. One of the Sacraments, 'Ordination' formed part of the set of seven, a commission to Poussin by one of Rome's most celebrated collectors. The pictures, for which there was no iconographical precedent, became a prize coveted by Popes and Kings. Poussin is without question one of the greatest of all French painters whose influence on the development of European Art from the 17th Century onwards cannot be overstated. Like Titian before him and his contemporaries Caravaggio and Velazquez, he developed a personal, innovative and highly rigorous style of outstanding originality.  His work has been deeply influential on generations of artists up to the present day.

The market for the finest Old Masters continues to show great strength. In the past year we have offered masterpieces by such towering figures as Raphael, Rubens and Rembrandt. It is works by such artists as these that have attracted new collectors from around the world, eager to acquire great art of historical importance. We expect wide international interest and excitement from museums, collectors and the art market generally, when Poussin's remarkable 'Ordination' appears in our next sale in London on 7th December.”

A spokesman for the Trustees said: “After careful consideration the Trustees have made the extremely difficult decision to offer at Christie’s one of the 5 remaining works from the Rutland Sacraments. The original group of 7 pictures was acquired by the 4th Duke of Rutland in 1785 but was divided when ‘Penance’ was lost in a fire, and when ‘Baptism’ went to the National Gallery in Washington in 1946. The proceeds released from the sale of the painting will enable us to realise our core aims of securing the restoration and long-term preservation of Belvoir Castle and Estate. The paintings have been on public display at Belvoir for many years and we have been very happy to lend them to the National Gallery for the last 7 years for the public’s greater enjoyment. Following the successful sale of ‘Ordination’, it is our hope that the 4 remaining paintings will go back on public display at the National Gallery in London.”

ORDINATION by NICOLAS POUSSIN (1594-1665) 

This master piece of art is one of five remaining works which once formed the renowned group of Seven Sacraments acquired by the 4th Duke of Rutland in 1785. One of the most celebrated groups of paintings in the entire history of European art it was executed in the 1630s for Cassiano dal Pozzo, a celebrated antiquary and collector in Rome. The group has since been divided; Penance perished in a fire and Baptism went to the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.

Cassiano dal Pozzo was one of Poussin’s first and most important patrons. His commission of the Sacraments saw Poussin painting a series of works showing how the earliest Christians lived and worshipped in ancient times, connecting the everyday present of papal Rome with the epoch of the Caesars. Such a thing had never been done before. Although earlier artists had often made a conscious attempt to show Christ and the Apostles in the dress of their time, none had done it with such an exhaustive attention to detail, and commitment to accuracy. The originality of the series was such that its fame quickly spread far and wide.

When Nicolas Poussin was summoned to France by Cardinal Richelieu to serve as First Painter to King Louis XIII, he acquired an important new patron in Paul Fréart de Chantelou, a Parisian diplomat who was determined to secure for himself and for France another version of the pictures that had brought such glory to Cassiano, to Rome and to Poussin. This second set is that which is now in the collection of the Dukes of Sutherland, and on loan to The National Gallery of Scotland.

The family collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo’s descendants quickly became a ‘must-see’ landmark of the Grand Tour, and when Sir Robert Walpole attempted to acquire the first group of Sacraments for his collection at Houghton Hall – where he assembled one of the greatest collections in European history - they became the subject of one of the first formal export blocks in history; the export license was denied by the Pope himself, resulting in the cancellation of the Walpole sale. The dealer and agent James Byres could only manage to arrange the sale of the pictures to Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland (1754-1787), by having copies painted (allegedly in the space of a single day) and substituted for the originals, so that they could be smuggled out of Italy.

The 4th Duke was forming a collection to rival Sir Robert Walpole’s, with the advice of none other than Sir Joshua Reynolds, who undoubtedly supported the Duke’s interest in the first group of Sacraments. Reynolds would have known them well from his travels in Italy. When the original seven Rutland Sacraments arrived in London in 1786, they created a stir. King George III expressed a desire to see the 4th Duke’s triumphant new acquisition, and it was Sir Joshua Reynolds who had the privilege and the pleasure of showing the Rutland Poussins to the King, at the Royal Academy in 1787.

The Seven Sacraments took pride of place in the collection at Belvoir Castle not long after their acquisition by the 4th Duke, and hung there almost without break well into the 21st century. One of them, Penance, perished in a fire; another, Baptism, was acquired by The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 1946. The remaining five were lent to the landmark exhibitions, Poussin: Sacraments and Bacchanals at The National Gallery of Scotland in 1981, and Nicolas Poussin, 1594-1665, at the Grand Palais in Paris and the Royal Academy in London, 1994-1995, and have been on loan to The National Gallery, London, since 2003.

Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) is recognised as one of the greatest and most influential artists in European art history. Born in France, he moved to Italy in the 1620s where he spent most of his life championing a renaissance in Classical painting at a time when Baroque was the most common style. Having moved to Rome, Poussin soon found wealthy patrons and established an impressive reputation. In 1640 he was summoned by Louis XIII and returned to France as First Painter in Ordinary to the King. He executed a number of prestigious works but quickly grew tired of the jealousy inferred on him by competing artists, returning to Rome in 1643 where he remained until his death.

Christie's London
Old Masters & 19th Century Art Evening Sale
7th December 2010
London, King Street