Category Archives: 20th Century Italian Art

Masterpiece London 2017 – Introduction

Masterpiece London 2017, South Grounds, The Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London SW3, 29th June – 5th July 2017

MASTERPIECE PRESENTS
Iván Navarro
Impenetrable Room
2017
Courtesy Paul Kasmin Gallery

Since its inception this fair has grown into one of the most must-visit events of the art and antiques year. Some thirty-seven thousand visitors last year! It attracts museum directors and private collectors from all over the world to see the artworks shown by a hundred and fifty international dealers. The artworks range from antiquity to the present time. The Royal Bank of Canada is once again the principal sponsor

This year the new MASTERPIECE PRESENTS will reveal a large-scale dedicated exhibition space at the entrance which has been transformed by a special artwork – Impenetrable Room, 2017. Created by the Chilean artist Iván Navarro it has been commissioned by the New York-based Paul Kasmin Gallery who are new exhibitors.

Over the coming days I look forward to sharing blogs on some of the leading dealers taking part.

www.masterpiecefair.com

A great celebration of Art!

MAYFAIR ART WEEKEND, Mayfair & St James’s, London (various locations), 30th June – 2nd July 2017

 

I am grateful to John Kirkwood for attending the press conference and writing about this:

 

Max Mara
Ludovica Gioscia – Infinite Present, 2017. C-print on archival fuji matt paper
Courtesy Ludovica Gioscia

Now in its fourth year this celebration of Art in Mayfair features over 60 galleries, auction houses, fashion houses and restaurants who will all in their own way have something to offer the visitor.

Mayor Gallery
Tadaaki Kuwayama – Untitled (Yellow)1969, acrylic on canvas, 90x90cm.
Courtesy of Mayor Gallery

 

Moretti Gallery
Guido Reni, Bologna – Two Bacchantes 1639-1640.
Courtesy of Moretti Gallery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Royal Academy of Arts will be the hub of this celebration and its courtyard will offer a place in which to relax and recover your strength to carry on through the many events planned.

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
Gilbert & George
Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Photo Nikolai Saoulski

There will be temporary, site-specific artworks from up and coming artists and workshops led by groups such as the Bedroom Artists’ Collective as well as informal conversations with artists, gallerists and local Mayfair figures.

Burlington Arcade
Mathilde Nivet – Birds

The Burlington Arcade has commissioned an installation by Mathilde Nivet of 300 paper birds in-flight motion in two positions – wings fully stretched or slightly bent.  Not unsurprisingly the installation is called Birds!

GAFRA
Nelson Makamo – Cool Moments 2017
Courtesy of the Gallery of African Art (GAFRA)

 

Hignell Gallery
Ben Russell – Cactus House, Alabaster 2017
Photograph courtesy of Tanya Dolver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Sunday there will be a workshop for kids to create their own Gallery.

Bowman Sculpture
Le Baiser (The Kiss), 2nd Reduction – Auguste Rodin.
Courtesy of Bowman Sculpture

 

David Zwirner
Lisa Yuskavage – Stoned 2016
Courtesy David Zwirner New York-London

 

Victoria Miro
Milton Avery – Young Couple (Husband and Wife), 1963. Oil on canvas. 50 x 60 in
© Milton AveryTrust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White Cube
Wayne Thiebaud – Green Dress 1966 – 2017
© Wayne Thiebaud DACS, London, VAGA, New York 2017

 

Simon Dickinson Gallery
Domenico Conti – Portrait of Antonio Canova in his studio completing the La Touche ‘Amorino, 1792.
Courtesy of Simon Dickenson Gallery

 

Partners & Mucciaccia_
Cristiano Pintaldi – Untitled,2016, acrylic on canvas, 101x105cm.
Courtesy of Partners & Mucciaccia

 

Pace
Nathalie du Pasquier
© 2017 Nathalie du Pasquier. Photo by Bruno Lopes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halcyon Gallery
Dale Chihuly – Maize Persian Set with Obsidian Lip Wraps
Courtesy of Halcyon Gallery

 

Marlborough Fine Art
Victor Pasmore – The Cloud in the West,1987
Courtesy of Marlborough Fine Art

 

Stoppenbach & Delestre
Andre Derain – Collioure
Courtesy of Stoppenbach & Delestre

 

Mount Street Gardens
Benjamin McMahon (2014)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.mayfairartweekend.com

 

‘Designing the Future’

Giacomo Balla: Designing the Future, Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, 39a Canonbury Square, London N1, until 25th June 2017

Giacomo Balla
Iridescent Interpenetrations, 1913
Watercolour on paper, 24 x 18 cm
Courtesy The Biagiotti Cigna Foundation

This special show focuses on Giacomo Balla (1871-1958) a self-taught artist who was one of the founding figures of the Futurist movement but in 1937 moved away from its mainstream. The 116 works on show come from the Biagiotti Cigna Collection and give a full picture of Balla’s work which included furniture and clothing design

Giacomo Balla
Expansion of Spring, 1918
Oil on board, 45 x 55 cm
Courtesy The Biagiotti Cigna Foundation

 

Giacomo Balla
Lines of Force of an Enamelled Landscape, 1917-18
Oil and enamel on paper, 41 x 56 cm
Courtesy The Biagiotti Cigna Foundation

 

 

 

 

 

 

www.estorickcollection.com

The London Original Print Fair 2017

The London Original Print Fair 2017, Main Galleries, Royal Academy of Arts, London W1 4th –  7th  May 2017

General shot of the London Original Print Fair
Photographer credit: Benedict Johnson

This Fair always fascinates as it seamlessly combines prints from across the centuries, including newly published works by artists such as Brian Eno, Gillian Ayres, Tess J and Christopher Le Brun PRA. The talks programme includes the Annual Printmaking Talk by Cornelia Parker OBE RA and Gordon Samuel on the Grosvenor School.  Definitely a place to go whether looking for works to hang on your walls or to start a collection.

Brian Eno,
Grapefruit, 2016.
Courtesy Paul Stolper, London

 

Claude Lorrain
Coast scene with an artist – Le dessinateur
Etching, circa 1638-41
Courtesy Christopher Mendez

 

Anish Kapoor
Blue Shadow 2013
Courtesy Lyndsey Ingram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eric Ravilious,
Commander Looking Through the Periscope, 1941
Courtesy The Fine Art Society

 

Bridget Riley
Untitled 1962
Courtesy Karsten Schubert

 

 

http://www.londonprintfair.com

This January two fairs, one venue:

The Winter Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair, Battersea Evolution, Battersea Park, London SW11, 24th-29th January 2017  

Pair of Louis XV Painted Bergere Armchairs - Adam Calvert Bentley

Pair of Louis XV Painted Bergere Armchairs – Adam Calvert Bentley

While I am sure that many of you will already know about this exciting regular event I always feel that it is worth reminding you that it is on.  It is a magnet for homemakers, antique collectors and, of course, interior decorators. It is the sort of fair where you find the absolutely perfect thing – which you didn’t realise you wanted until you see it.  Happy purchasing!

 

Wax Seal Tea Caddy - Adam Calvert Bentley

Wax Seal Tea Caddy – Adam Calvert Bentley

http://www.decorativefair.com

 

London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair, Battersea Evolution, Battersea Park, London SW11, 24th -29th January 2017 

19th Century Kurdish rug from Sauj Bolaq, Kurdistan Brian Macdonald

19th Century Kurdish rug from Sauj Bolaq, Kurdistan
Brian Macdonald

In this welcome move the LARTA Fair moves to the mezzanine floor at Battersea Evolution and makes the perfect combination with the Decorative Fair downstairs.  Visitors will find a good range of collectable decorative rugs, carpets, tapestries, suzanis and embroideries and other textiles. Now that it will be a bigger event than usual there will also be some contemporary designs and a variety of tribal, Islamic and Asian artefacts, including jewellery as well. Don’t forget that the best pieces can be seen online in a ‘virtual fair’ which becomes live when the fair opens.

An early 1800’s Epigonation (in Greek meaning “over the knee”) vestment, worked in silver gilt on a red velvet ground. Marilyn Garrow

An early 1800’s Epigonation (in Greek meaning “over the knee”) vestment, worked in silver gilt on a red velvet ground.
Marilyn Garrow

http://www.larta.net

 

Room 90 at the BM

Maggi Hambling – Touch: works on paper, Room 90, The British Museum, until 29th January 2017 

& 

French portrait drawings from Clouet to Courbet, Room 90, The British Museum, until 29th January 2017

 

Rosie, the stuffed rhinoceros in Ipswich Museum, 1963. Ink 48.3 x 34.9 cm, Maggi Hambling © The Trustees of the British Museum

Rosie, the stuffed rhinoceros in Ipswich Museum, 1963.
Ink 48.3 x 34.9 cm,
Maggi Hambling © The Trustees of the British Museum

The British Museum’s Room 90 plays host to two very good exhibitions of drawings.  The first Touch features forty works by that great British contemporary artist Maggi Hambling who although proficient in all media – painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture – regards drawing as the heart of her working practice.

The show’s title ‘Touch’ reflects Hambling’s belief that there is a deep connection between artist and subject.  She explains: : ‘I believe the subject chooses the artist, not vice versa, and that subject must then be in charge during the act of drawing in order for the truth to be found. Eye and hand attempt to discover and produce those precise marks which will recreate what the heart feels. The challenge is to touch the subject, with all the desire of a lover.’

Father painting 16/1/94 (4), 1994. Ink on paper. 61 x 49 cm © Maggi Hambling; photo: Douglas Atfield

Father painting 16/1/94 (4), 1994.
Ink on paper. 61 x 49 cm
© Maggi Hambling; photo: Douglas Atfield

The show also marks the gift of fifteen works by the artist to the British Museum and follows on from the idea, originated by Francis Towne in 1816, of artists giving some of their works to the Museum.

Portrait of Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne and his wife Geneviève , Nicolas de Plattemontage, 1677, 260.00 x208.00 mm, Black chalk with red and white chalk on paper © The Trustees of the British Museum

Portrait of Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne and his wife Geneviève , Nicolas de Plattemontage, 1677,
260.00 x208.00 mm, Black chalk with red and white chalk on paper
© The Trustees of the British Museum

Nearby is French portrait drawings from Clouet to Courbet a wonderful selection that highlights the Museum’s notable holdings of French portrait drawings. There is something intimate about a drawing – as Maggi Hambling suggests – and so no wonder artists used it to depict family and friends.  It is also a good medium to try out new ideas of portraiture. As well as these ravishing drawings there are examples in other media including enamels, medals and an onyx cameo.

Leopold Mozart and his two children, Wolfgang Amadeus and Marie Anne, 1777, 320 x 200 mm. Watercolour and bodycolour, on contemporary gold, black and green wash mount © The Trustees of the British Museum

Leopold Mozart and his two children, Wolfgang Amadeus and Marie Anne, 1777,
320 x 200 mm. Watercolour and bodycolour, on contemporary gold, black and green wash mount
© The Trustees of the British Museum

britishmuseum.org

Gustave Courbet, Self Portrait , 570.00 x 450.00 mm, 1852, Black chalk and charcoal on paper © The Trustees of the British Museum

Gustave Courbet, Self Portrait ,
570.00 x 450.00 mm, 1852,
Black chalk and charcoal on paper
© The Trustees of the British Museum

BOOK REVIEW: Going Once

Going Once: 250 Years of Culture, Taste and Collecting at Christie’s

 going-once-jacket

ISBN: 978 0 7148 7202 5

Phaidon

£39.95

 

What better way to celebrate two hundred and fifty years as a leading art business than through the two hundred and fifty objects selected for this book.  It is a wonderful survey of these remarkable sales and the high prices achieved whether for a 3,000-year-old Assyrian frieze or Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. Paintings, furniture, gold and silver, sculpture, wine, even a London Routemaster bus are included.  One feature I like is that as well as giving the original sale price they also give today’s equivalent value.

 

This is a great book to dip into time and time again as there is much to learn and enjoy from it.

phaidon.com

Michelangelo Pistoletto at Blenheim Palace

Michelangelo Pistoletto at Blenheim Palace, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1PP, until 31st December 2016.

Great Hall Terzo Paradiso/Third Paradise(2003-­‐2016) 1200 x 480 x 50 cm, aluminium,foam,rags Photo:Tom Lindboe Courtesy: Blenheim Art Foundation

Great Hall
Terzo Paradiso/Third Paradise(2003-­‐2016)
1200 x 480 x 50 cm,
aluminium,foam,rags
Photo:Tom Lindboe
Courtesy: Blenheim Art Foundation

The setting for this great exhibition is the wonderful Blenheim Palace the family home of the Dukes of Marlborough and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.  It can come as no surprise that this masterpiece of English Baroque architecture set in over two thousand acres of ‘Capability’ Brown-designed gardens and parkland is a World Heritage Site.

Red Drawing Room LeTrombe del Giudizio/The Trumpets of Judgment (1968-­‐1986) 200 x 100 cm each, aluminium Photo: Tom Lindboe Courtesy: Blenheim Art Foundation

Red Drawing Room
LeTrombe del Giudizio/The Trumpets of Judgment (1968-­‐1986)
200 x 100 cm each,
aluminium
Photo: Tom Lindboe
Courtesy: Blenheim Art Foundation

This solo exhibition celebrating Pistoletto’s fifty-year career is presented by the Blenheim Art Foundation.  Site-specific installations, sculpture and paintings can be found both within the palace and in the surrounding spaces.

First State Room Il fascio della tella/The bundle of canvas (1980) 214 x 70 cm canvas, cord Courtesy of Tim Forrest

First State Room
Il fascio della tella/The bundle of canvas (1980)
214 x 70 cm
canvas, cord
Courtesy of Tim Forrest

The artist’s work has a playful element to it and includes the Venus of the Rags in the Chapel which has a central classical figure leaning against waste textile fabrics and is a fine example of his Arte Povera works.  Much of his work has a philosophical message reflecting his own beliefs and hopes for unity and collaboration.

Long Library From Self-­‐Portraits (Il Presente/The Present) to Quadri Specchiantii/Mirror Paintings (1961-­‐ 2016) Dimensions variable, canvas acrylic and plastic paint, aluminium, silkscreen print, mirror Photo: Tom Lindboe Courtesy: Blenheim Art Foundation

Long Library
From Self-­‐Portraits (Il Presente/The Present) to Quadri Specchiantii/Mirror Paintings (1961-­‐ 2016)
Dimensions variable,
canvas acrylic and plastic paint, aluminium, silkscreen print, mirror
Photo: Tom Lindboe
Courtesy: Blenheim Art Foundation

Many works, including his Mica Paintings – which look as if they were part of the Palace’s own picture collection – are found in the various State Rooms and perhaps culminate in the Long Library where over thirty of his well-known Mirror Paintings are encountered.  The polished steel surfaces with their photo-silkscreened images also reflect the viewer and makes them part of the piece. Among pieces outside is a new work Mirage, a partially submerged gold-painted car, whose colour reflects the golden balls on the Palace’s roof.

Upper Water Terraces Portrait of Michelangelo Pistoletto at Blenheim Palace with new commission Miraggio/Mirage (2016) 230 x 140 x 140 cm, car roof, gold paint Photo: Tom Lindboe Courtesy: Blenheim Art Foundation

Upper Water Terraces
Portrait of Michelangelo Pistoletto at Blenheim Palace with new commission Miraggio/Mirage (2016)
230 x 140 x 140 cm,
car roof, gold paint
Photo: Tom Lindboe
Courtesy: Blenheim Art Foundation

I think that this exhibition is a ‘perfect marriage’ with its setting.  It engages and delights and is a thought-provoking experience which will long live with you in a good way.

 

I shall leave it to the Blenheim Art Foundation’s Director Michael Frahm to sum up “With over fifty individual works exhibited at Blenheim Palace, we are extremely honoured to present the first major survey show of Michelangelo Pistoletto in Britain. With consideration to the social and political challenges the world faces today, Michelangelo’s practice continues to feel much needed. We are proud to support his beliefs and vision, and celebrate his extraordinary body of work. This exhibition portrays an artist who, since the 1960s, has continually pushed boundaries, challenged the status quo, and produced work which has enchanted and surprised audiences around the world.”

 

 

http://www.blenheimartfoundation.org.uk

http://www.blenheimpalace.com

Blenheim Palace Courtesy of Tim Forrest

Blenheim Palace
Courtesy of Tim Forrest

FRIEZE MASTERS 2016

Frieze Masters, The Regent’s Park, London NW1 4HA, (the north-east corner of The Regent’s Park, near the London Zoo), 6th-9th October 2016

Prahlad Bubbar Ltd. Ladies celebrate Holi on a Pleasure Pavilion Leaf from an album made for Antoine Polier Attributed to Mihr Chand, with calligraphy by Hafiz Nur Ullah Lucknow, India, c. 1775-1780 Opaque watercolour and gold on paper Folio 45.5 x 62 cm; Painting 29 x 42.5 cm

Prahlad Bubbar Ltd.
Ladies celebrate Holi on a Pleasure Pavilion
Leaf from an album made for Antoine Polier
Attributed to Mihr Chand, with calligraphy by Hafiz Nur Ullah
Lucknow, India, c. 1775-1780
Opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Folio 45.5 x 62 cm; Painting 29 x 42.5 cm

 

The well-known architect Annabelle Selldorf has designed the structure for this the fifth edition of Frieze Masters and it will play host to one hundred and thirty-three leading historical and modern galleries from around the world.

BLAIN|SOUTHERN LONDON Lynn Chadwick, The Stranger, 1954, Courtesy The Estate of Lynn Chadwick and Blain|Southern, Photo: Matthew Hollow

BLAIN|SOUTHERN LONDON
Lynn Chadwick, The Stranger, 1954,
Courtesy The Estate of Lynn Chadwick and Blain|Southern,
Photo: Matthew Hollow

 

As Frieze’s Director Victoria Siddall commented: ‘The quality and breadth of work in Frieze Masters keeps it fresh and exciting each year. I am looking forward to seeing even more antiquities dealers in the fair, as well as Indian art, alongside the best Old Masters and 20th-century work. Curators play an important role in this fair as well as in our contemporary fairs, and this year we welcome Tim Marlow (Director of Artistic Programmes, Royal Academy, London) who is co-curating Frieze Masters Talks, and Toby Kamps of the Menil Collection in Houston who is presenting his first edition of Spotlight.

 Once again we will see galleries from different fields collaborate on ground-breaking presentations, as the fair continues to offer new models for looking at and collecting art.’

 

 

 

Daniel Crouch Rare Books Benjamin Read, View in the Colosseum Regents Park London, Summer Fashions for 1836. London, 1836. Image courtesy of Daniel Crouch Rare Books.

Daniel Crouch Rare Books
Benjamin Read,
View in the Colosseum Regents Park London, Summer Fashions for 1836. London, 1836.
Image courtesy of Daniel Crouch Rare Books.

 

Luxembourg & Dayan Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), Untitled (mud painting), 1953-1992 Courtesy Luxembourg & Dayan

Luxembourg & Dayan
Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008),
Untitled (mud painting), 1953-1992
Courtesy Luxembourg & Dayan

 

Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books AG Beauchamp-Corbet Hours, manuscript on vellum, illuminated by the Milemete workshop, mainly by the De Bois Master. England, London, dated 1328 image courtesy of Dr. Jorn Gunther Rare Books

Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books AG
Beauchamp-Corbet Hours, manuscript on vellum, illuminated by the Milemete workshop, mainly by the De Bois Master. England, London, dated 1328
image courtesy of Dr. Jorn Gunther Rare Books

 

Mayor Gallery Ad Dekkers Relief met drie circkels 1967 Polyester, paint Ø 180 x 3 cm Ø 70 7/8 x 1 1/8 in

Mayor Gallery
Ad Dekkers
Relief met drie circkels 1967
Polyester, paint Ø 180 x 3 cm Ø 70 7/8 x 1 1/8 in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waddington Custot Manolo Millares, Ínsula, 1967, mixed media on burlap. Courtesy Waddington Custot

Waddington Custot
Manolo Millares, Ínsula, 1967,
mixed media on burlap.
Courtesy Waddington Custot

 

Kallos Gallery Archaic Cretan Bronze Helmet, circa 650-620 BC. Credit Steve Wakeham & Kallos Gallery

Kallos Gallery
Archaic Cretan Bronze Helmet, circa 650-620 BC.
Credit Steve Wakeham & Kallos Gallery

 

Bernard Jacobson Gallery Robert Motherwell (1915-1991) Untitled (New England Elegy No.5) 1967 Oil on canvas 296.6 x 355.6 cms (116 3/4 x 140 ins) RM12608

Bernard Jacobson Gallery
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991)
Untitled (New England Elegy No.5)
1967
Oil on canvas
296.6 x 355.6 cms (116 3/4 x 140 ins)
RM12608

 

 

frieze.com/fairs/frieze-masters