PSFAF 2016

Laurence Jones, Black Palms, 2016; mixed media on linen, 57 1/8 x 72 7/8 inches; image courtesy of Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery and Palm Springs Fine Art Fair
Laurence Jones, Black Palms, 2016; mixed media on linen, 57 1/8 x 72 7/8 inches; image courtesy of Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery and Palm Springs Fine Art Fair

The Palm Springs Fine Art Fair will open its fifth edition on February 12, 2016. As in previous years PSFAF coincides with Modernism Week, making the Coachella Valley a hot ticket for the holiday weekend. More than 14,000 visitors are expected for the West Coast’s best art fair, which continues through February 14.

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Ólafur Elíasson, Baroque Baroque

Ólafur Elíasson, Five Orientation Lights, 1999; Stainless steel, colored glass, halogen bulbs, Fresnel lenses, each lamp: 200 x 70 x 70 cm, installation: dimensions variable; The Juan & Patricia Vergez Collection, Buenos Aires; Baroque Baroque installation view at the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy, Vienna, 2015; image © Ólafur Elíasson
Ólafur Elíasson, Five Orientation Lights, 1999; Stainless steel, colored glass, halogen bulbs, Fresnel lenses, each lamp: 200 x 70 x 70 cm, installation dimensions variable; The Juan & Patricia Vergez Collection, Buenos Aires; Installation view at the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy, Vienna, 2015; image © Ólafur Elíasson

At the Winter Palace in Vienna, a selection of works by Ólafur Elíasson forms a site-specific exhibition titled Baroque Baroque. More than a dozen works, created during the last twenty years, are installed within the architecture of the 18th century palace. The contrast of Elíasson’s contemporary works inside grand Baroque staterooms alters perceptions of space and history for an experience that supersedes both.

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Post-Basel in Miami

Miami Beach; image via Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau
Miami Beach; image via Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau

The 14th edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach closed on December 6 and the fair was as stupendous as ever. 267 galleries from 32 countries attracted 77,000 visitors to the convention center, and more than 20 satellite art fairs expanded Miami Art Week beyond South Beach into downtown, Wynwood, and the Design District.

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Ólafur Elíasson, Ice Watch

Video still from #IceWatchParis © 2015 Ólafur Elíasson
Video still from #IceWatchParis © 2015 Ólafur Elíasson

At the Place du Panthéon in Paris, twelve enormous blocks of ice are melting as world leaders are gathered nearby at Le Bourget for the UN Climate Summit. The ice is an installation by the Danish-Icelandic artist Ólafur Elíasson, whose work frequently joins nature and public installations to affect perceptions of the environment.

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La Biennale de Lyon, La Vie Moderne

Yuan Goang-Ming 袁廣鳴, Landscape of Energy, 2014; single-channel video, 7:30, edition of 5; image via La Biennale de Lyon
Yuan Goang-Ming 袁廣鳴, Landscape of Energy, 2014; single-channel video, 7:30, edition of 5; image via La Biennale de Lyon

La Biennale de Lyon was launched in 1991 and has become one of the largest contemporary art events in the world, with greater attendance and broader representation than Manifesta and the Whitney Biennal. For its 13th edition in 2015, the Biennale de Lyon brings together 60 artists from 28 countries to explore the theme of La Vie Moderne. Continue reading “La Biennale de Lyon, La Vie Moderne”

Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu Couché

Amedeo Modigliani, Nu Couché, 1917-18; oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 36 1/4 inches; image via Christie’s Images LTD
Amedeo Modigliani, Nu Couché, 1917-18; oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 36 1/4 inches; image via Christie’s Images LTD

It has been a superlative auction season in New York with sales of Impressionist, modern, and contemporary art totaling more than $2 billion. Christie’s reported a decline from last November with sales of $968 million, and Sotheby’s increased to $978 million notwithstanding a poor third quarter and concern about the margins on its $500 million guarantee for the Taubman collection.

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Power and Pathos at the Getty Museum

Torso of a Youth, “The Vani Torso,” 200–100 B.C. Bronze, 105 cm x 45 cm x 25 cm; Georgian National Museum, Vani Archaeological Museum-Reserve; Installation view of "Power and Pathos" at the Getty Museum, 2015; photo © codylee.co
Torso of a Youth, “The Vani Torso,” 200–100 BC; bronze, 105 cm x 45 cm x 25 cm; Georgian National Museum, Vani Archaeological Museum-Reserve; Installation view of “Power and Pathos” at the Getty Museum, 2015; photo © codylee.co

During the Hellenistic period – from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC to the establishment of the Roman Empire in 31 BC – Greek power and cultural influence were at their peak throughout the Mediterranean and Macedonia. The vast empire was controlled by dozens of generals and rulers, and a new market for portraits was formed with the development of bronze as a primary artistic medium.

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