VALERIE HIRD 'TRINITY'

VALERIE HIRD'S 'TRINITY', A HANDMADE ART BOOK IS A UNIQUE AND STUNNING WORK OF ART. HIRD'S DELICATE PAINTINGS I MINIATURE ARE MYSTERIOUS, BUT ALSO CAPTIVATING, LYRICAL AND HIGHLY EMOTIONAL. THEY FORM A NARRATIVE WHOSE MEANING IS OFTEN HIDDEN BUT AT THE SAME TIME, TANTALIZING. HIRD'S BOOK, A HANDMADE CREATION IMMENSELY APPEALING TO COLLECTORS OF ART BOOKS, EXISTS IN A NUMBERED EDITION OF 20. EACH IS IN ITS OWN BOX WITH PAINTINGS REMINISCENT OF TAROT CARDS. THEY ARE PRINTED IN ARCHIVAL INKS ON BEAUTIFUL, WHITE HANDMADE PAPER. THE BOOK IS SMALL, 3 5/8 BY 4 5/8 INCHES, WITH FOUR ENDPAPERS THAT FOLD TO MAKE A LITTLE BOX. WITHIN ARE SOME 15 PAINTINGS PLUS A COLOPHON (PRINTER'S IMPRINT) IN A LIMITED PALETTE OF BLUES, GREENS, REDS AND ORANGE WITH TOUCHES OF SILVER LEAF. EACH IS SIGNED WITH HANDWRITTEN ANNOTATIONS. TRAINED AS AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ILLUSTRATOR, HIRD SPENT SOME 25 YEARS WITH SEMI-NOMADIC TRIBES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. HER BACKGROUND AND EXTENSIVE TRAVELS INFORM HER ART, BUT TODAY SHE IS BASED IN BURLINGTON, VERMONT, WHERE SHE SPENDS MOST OF HER TIME PAINTING ON CANVAS. 'MAKING AN ARTIST BOOK IS SO LABOR INTENSIVE, IT IS TRULY A LABOR OF LOVE', SHE SAYS. 'I DON'T DO THEM UNLESS THE CONCEPT CALLS FOR AN OBSESSIVELY WONDERFUL OBJECT THAT SOMEONE CAN TOUCH, HOLD AND CARRY WITH THEM.' THE BOOKS ARE ON VIEW AT THE NOHRA GALLERY AT 730 FIFTH AVENUE (www.nohrahaimegallery.com) AND ARE PRICED AT $2,000 EACH.

ABSOLUT 'KRINK'

TO MARK THE LAUNCH OF AN EXCEPTIONAL ABSOLUT LIMITED EDITION BOTTLE, ABSOLUT VODKA IS SET TO UNVEIL 'A WORK IN PROGRESS' WITH INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED NEW YORK ARTIST, KRINK AND ART, FASHION AND PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE, EXIT. SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1979, ABSOLUT HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF DESIGN AND CREATIVITY, SHARING ITS UNIQUE AND PIONEERING VISION OF THE WORLD THROUGH CREATIVE COLLABORATIONS WITH SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST EMINENT FIGURES, INCLUDING ANDY WARHOL, KEITH HARING AND MORE RECENTLY SPIKE JONZE AND JAY-Z. 'KRINK', AKA 'KR', IS ONE OF THE MOST VISIONARY AND INSPIRATIONAL STREET ARTISTS WORKING TODAY, AND IS ALSO THE CREATOR OF KRINK, A LINE OF THE FINEST QUALITY HANDMADE INKS AND MARKERS, USED BY ARTIST THE WORLD OVER. ORIGINALLY FROM QUEENS AND STILL BASED IN NEW YORK CITY, KRINK'S UNIQUE TECHNIQUE HAS ALMOST SINGLE-HANDEDLY POPULARIZED A GLOBAL OBSESSION WITH DRIPPING INK IN STREET ART. WITH THE BOTTLE AS HIS INSPIRATION, KRINK HAS CREATED FIFTEEN INDIVIDUAL CUSTOM-DESIGNED ABSOLUT LIMITED EDITION BOTTLES, WITH EACH 70cl BOTTLE BEING UNIQUELY CUSTOMIZED USING THE ARTIST'S SIGNATURE; KRINK INK, IN STRIKING BLACK, SILVER AND WHITE. STEPHEN TONER, EDITOR OF EXIT MAGAZINE SAID: 'EXIT'S RELATIONSHIP WITH ABSOLUT SPANS THE PAST DECADE. BOTH SHARE A UNIQUE VISION OF IMAGINATIVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH ARTISTS AND GROUNDBREAKING PROJECTS. THIS AUTUMN/WINTER ISSUE WE COMMISSIONED ONE OF EXIT'S FAVORITE STREET ARTISTS, KRINK, TO BRING HIS CREATIVE IDEAS TO LIFE AND MAKE THE PRESENT EXCEPTIONAL WITH HIS OWN INTERPRETATION OF THE ABSOLUT LIMITED EDITION BOTTLE.' THE ARTWORK CREATED FROM THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN ABSOLUT, KRINK AND EXIT MAGAZINE WILL BE FEATURED ACROSS TWELVE PAGES OF EXIT MAGAZINE.

SAN FRANSISCO ART EXCHANGE PRESENTS VARGAS EXHIBITION

A MAJOR RETROSPECTIVE OF ALBERTO VARGAS' ORIGINAL ARTWORK OPENED 13.NOVEMBER AT THE SAN FRANSISCO ART EXCHANGE (SFAE). THE EXHIBITION IS CELEBRATING TWO IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARIES: 25 YEARS SINCE SFAE BROUGHT VARGAS ARTWORK TO THE ART MARKET FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH A WORLD RETROSPECTIVE IN 1985, AND THE 50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST MONTHLY APPEARANCE OF VARGAS' ARTWORK IN PLAYBOY MAGAZINE. VARGAS' WATERCOLOURS WERE PUBLISHED AS A FULL PAGE IN EACH ISSUES OF PLAYBOY MAGAZINE, VIRTUALLY EVERY MONTH FROM 19560-1975. IT HAS BEEN 70 YEARS SINCE THE FIRST TIME A VARGAS PAINTING EVER APPEARED IN PRINT, UNDER THE NAME 'THE VARGA GIRL', IN A 1940 ISSUE OF ESQUIRE MAGAZINE. 60 WORKS OF ART, REPRESENTING EVERY PERIOD OF VARGAS' CAREER FROM 1919 TO THE 1970s, WILL BE ON DISPLAY. THE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR RETROSPECTIVE INCLUDES RARE PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS FROM THE MAX VARGAS ESTATE, ORIGINAL ARTWORKS PROVIDED BY THE PLAYBOY COLLECTION, ART FROM SEVERAL PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AND A NUMBER OF VALUABLE LIMITED EDITION LITHOGRAPHS. ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST FAMOUS ARTISTS, VARGAS' CAREER BEGAN IN EARNEST IN 1919 WHEN HE WAS EMPLOYED BY FLORENZ ZIEGFELD TO PAINT PORTRAITS OF THE ARTISTS WHO APPEARED IN HIS ZIEGFELD FOLLIES. IN THE 1930s, HE WORKED WITH FOX, PARAMOUNT AND WARNER BROTHERS DURING THE GOLDEN ERA OF HOLLYWOOD. WORLD WAR II FOUND HIS 'GIRL NEXT DOOR' PAINTINGS TRAVELING WITH AMERICAN GI's IN THE FORM OF HIS FAMOUS PIN-UPS THAT APPEARED IN THE PAGES AND CALENDERS OF ESQUIRE MAGAZINE. SERVICE MEMBERS COPIED THEM ONTO THEIR AIRCRAFT, JACKETS AND SHIPS, ADOPTING THEM AS GOOD LUCK EMBLEMS.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS TO ACQUIRE COURT ARTIST'S COLLECTION

MARILYN CHURCH DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO ASK BERNARD MADOFF, MARTHA STEWART, WOODY ALLEN AND JOHN GOTTI TO SIT FOR THEIR PORTRAITS. SHE SIMPLY FOUND A GOOD SEAT AND PULLED OUT HER PAD, THEN GOT PAID. SOON, THE NEW YORK COURTROOM ARTIST'S 3,500 SKETCHES COULD BE HEADING TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WHICH SAID WEDNESDAY THAT IT PLANNED TO ACQUIRE THEM AND IS FINALIZING AGREEMENTS WITH CHURCH. 'IT'S A GREAT SPECTRUM OF ALL THE THINGS THAT WERE GOING ON IN OUR CULTURE AND HAVING A FRONT ROW SEAT ON THAT', CHURCH SAID IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW WEDNESDAY WITH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. CHURCH HAS DONE SKETCHES FOR VARIOUS NEWS ORGANIZATION OVER THE YEARS, BEGINNING AS A FREELANCER FOR WABC-TV IN 1973 AND LATER INCLUDING THE AP AND THE NEW YORK TIMES. THE LIST OF THE FAMOUS, AND THE INFAMOUS, IN HER REPERTOIRE IS LONG, INCLUDING DAVID BERKOWITZ, 'THE SON OF SAM KILLER' WHO TERRORIZED NEW YORK IN THE 1970s; AMY FISHER, KNOWN AS 'THE LONG ISLAND LOLITA'; AND THE FANATICAL BLIND ISLAMIC EXTREMIST ACCUSED OF CONSPIRACY OMAR ABDEL RAHMAN. CELEBRITIES ARE AMONG THE HARDEST TO SKETCH BECAUSE THEIR FACES ARE WIDELY FAMILIAR, CHURCH SAID. SHE FOUND STEWART, THE DOMESTIC DOYENNE CONVICTED IN 2004 OF LYING ABOUT A STOCK SALE BEFORE IT PLUNGED, AMONG THE MOST CHALLENGING TO DRAW BECAUSE OF HER BEAUTY. 'IT'S MORE DIFFICULT TO READ CHARACTER THERE, MORE DIFFICULT THAN DRAWING MADOFF BECAUSE ALL THE FEATURES ARE SO PERFECT', SHE SAID. SHE ALSO FOUND ALLEN, WHO WAS ACCUSED BY MIA FARROW OF MOLESTING THEIR 7 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER HARD TO DRAW. 'IN THAT CASE, THERE WERE TWO FAMOUS PEOPLE', SHE SAID. 'YOU HAVE TO DRAW WITH A DEAD-ON LIKENESS. IF YOU MISS, IT'S PRETTY BAD.' WHAT MADE IT EASIER WAS THAT IT WAS A NON-JURY TRAIL, MEANING SHE COULD SIT UP CLOSE, IN THE JURY BOX. 'THERE ARE NO PROVISIONS FOR ARTISTS TO SIT', SHE SAID. CHURCH OFTEN OVERCAME SUCH OBSTACLES BECAUSE OF HER PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY, SHE SAID, CAPTURING IN HER MIND'S EYE THE DEFENDANTS' FEATURES THE MINUTE THEY WALKED INTO THE COURTROOM. CHURCH MADE HER OFFER OF A 'COMBINED PURCHASE AND GIFT' TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, SAID SARA DUKE, CURATOR OF POPULAR AND APPLIED GRAPHIC ART. ALL HER DRAWINGS WILL COME OUT OF COPYRIGHT UPON HER DEATH, AT WHICH TIME HER WORK WILL BE ACCESSIBLE VIA COMPUTER, DUKE SAID. CHURCH SAID SHE WAS THRILLED TO BE GIVING HER WORKS TO THE LIBRARY. 'I CAN'T IMAGINE A BETTER HOME FOR MY WORK', SHE SAID. 'IT'S A CHALLENGE TO KEEP THEM ALL AND KEEP THEM WELL-PRESERVED.'

BANKSY CREATES 'THE SIMPSONS' EPISODE

THE ALWAYS CLEVER AND OFTEN SUBVERSIVE OPENING SEQUENCE FOR 'THE SIMPSONS' TOOK A DARKER THAN USUAL TURN WITH SUNDAY'S EPISODE, DEPICTING THE ANIMATION PROCESS FOR THE FOX CARTOON SERIES AS SWEATSHOP DRUDGERY PERFORMED BY AN EXPLOITED ASIAN UNDERCLASS. CREATED BY THE STREET ARTIST AND ACTIVIST BANKSY, THE SEQUENCE BEGAN WITH THE SIGHT OF HOMETOWN SPRINGFIELD COVERED WITH GRAFFITI, AND TAGGED BY BANKSY HIMSELF. THEN, WHEN THE SIMPSON FAMILY GATHERS ON THEIR LIVING ROOM COUCH, THAT IMAGE BECOMES A REFERENCE SHOT OF LEGIONS OF WORKERS IN THE GRIM INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX WHERE THEY PAINT CARTOON CELLS AND CHURN OUT SIMPSONS MERCHANDISE. THE ENTIRE ENTERPRISE IS HOUSE IN A DREARY-LOOKING FACTORY SPRAWL SURROUNDED BY BARBED WIRE AND IDENTIFIED BY THE LOOMING 20th CENTURY FOX LOGO AND SEARCHLIGHTS. THROUGH ITS LONG HISTORY, 'THE SIMPSONS' HAS NEVER HESITATES TO LAMPOON ITS NETWORK BOSSES AND OTHER FOX PROGRAMMING. BUT SUNDAY'S SELF-INFLICTED JAB WAS INSPIRED BY THE FACT THAT MUCH OF THE ROTE PRODUCTION WORK FOR EACH SIMPSONS EPISODE IS INDEED OUTSOURCED FROM THE SERIES' LA CREATIVE HUB TO STUDIOS IN SOUTH KOREA. THE SEQUENCE'S MASTERMIND, BANKSY, IS AN INTERNATIONAL FIGURE IN STREET ART WHO IS KNOWN FOR TRAVELING THE WORLD AND ANONYMOUSLY LEAVING HIS SIGNATURE PIECES IN PUBLIC AREAS WHILE REFUSING TO REVEAL HIS REAL NAME. ON MONDAY. SIMPSONS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AL JEAN SAID HE HAD HIT ON THE IDEA OF INVITING BANKSY TO CREATE A SO-CALLED 'COUCH GAG' AFTER SEEING THE FILM HE DIRECTED, 'EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP', WHICH WAS RELEASED EARLIER THIS YEAR. THE SIMPSONS CASTING DIRECTOR MANAGED TO TRACK DOWN THE FAMOUSLY HARD TO REACH ARTIST, AND A FEW MONTHS LATER HIS WORK WAS SUBMITTED. ALTHOUGH JEAN SAID THE SEGMENT WAS 'TONED DOWN A LITTLE' FOR AIRING, 'THERE WAS NOTHING UNUSUAL FROM THE NETWORK IN TERMS OF NOTES OR DELAYS. 'FOX HAS A REMARKABLE ABILITY TO MAKE FUN OF ITSELF AND BE GRACIOUS', HE SAID.

PAUL STOLPER GALLERY PRESENTS 'TEH SOULS' BY DAMIEN HIRST

PAUL STOLPER AND OTHER CRITERIA PRESENT THE LAUNCH OF 'THE SOULS' BY DAMIEN HIRST. FOR THIS LANDMARK PROJECT, HIRST HAS INTENSIFIED HIS CAREER-LONG FASCINATION WITH BEAUTY, FRAGILITY AND SYMBOLISM OF BUTTERFLIES TO CREATE A SPECTACULAR AND MULTI-ALLUSIVE EVOCATION OF MORALITY. MORE THAN THAT OF ANY CONTEMPORARY ARTIST, AND IN A MODERN LINEAGE THAT INCLUDES THE WORKS OF ANDY WARHOL AND FRANCIS BACON, THE ART OF DAMIEN HIRST CONFRONTS THE BALANCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH, VANITY AND TRANSIENCE, VALUE AND WORTH, FAITH AND EXISTENTIAL ALIENATION WITHIN A VISCERAL AND TERRIFYING IMMEDIACY. HIRST'S CHOICES OF MEDIA, HIS INNOVATIONS WITHIN THEM AND THE SHEER SCALE ON WHICH HE WORKS, ARE INTEGRAL TO THE PHILOSOPHICAL DEPTH AND EMPATHETIC CHARGES OF HIS ART; AND TO THIS END, HIRST HAS ALWAYS PIONEERED IN HIS WORK THE USES, AESTHETICS AND ALLEGORICAL MEANINGS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, AS WELL AS REFINING A HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED ENGAGEMENT WITH CRAFT AND TECHNIQUE. TO REALIZE 'THE SOULS', HIRST HAS FILLED THE PAUL STOLPER GALLERY WITH 120 FRAMED, FOIL BLOCK BUTTERFLY PRINTS. IN TOTAL 'THE SOULS' IS MADE UP OF 4 BUTTERFLIES, IN 80 DIFFERENT COLOURWAYS, EACH ONE IN AN EDITION OF 15. VIBRANT WITH HUE, THE FINISHED EFFECT OF EACH PRINT IS THAT OF A RESONANT TENSION BETWEEN THE STILLNESS OF DEATH AND THE TREMBLING, IRIDESCENT LIFE THAT THE INDIVIDUAL BUTTERFLIES CONVEY. 'THE SOULS' IS THEREFORE QUINTESSENTIALLY HIRSTIAN, COMBING THE IMPACT OF VISUAL SPECTACLE WITH POWERFULLY ELOQUENT CONFLUENCE OF MEDIUM AND VISUAL LANGUAGE. HIRST'S FASCINATION WITH BUTTERFLIES DERIVES IN LARGE PART FROM THE WAY IN WHICH THESE BEAUTIFUL INSECTS EMBODY BOTH THE BEAUTY AND THE IMPERMANENCE OF LIFE, BECOMING SYMBOLS OF FAITH AND MORALITY. OF 'THE SOULS' HE HAS SAID: 'I LOVE BUTTERFLIES BECAUSE WHEN THEY ARE DEAD THEY LOOK ALIVE. THE FOIL BLOCK MAKES THE BUTTERFLIES HAVE A FEEL SIMILAR TO THE ACTUAL BUTTERFLIES IN THE WAY THAT THEY REFLECT THE LIGHT. AFTER 'THE DEAD' I HAD TO DO THE BUTTERFLIES BECAUSE YOU CAN'T HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER.'

JACK VETTRIANO'S BLUEBIRD COLLECTION

SCOTTISH ARTIST JACK VETTRIANO, BEST KNOWN FOR HIS ICONIC PAINTING 'THE SINGING BUTLER' THAT SOLD AT SOTHEBY'S IN 2004 FOR £750,000, IS NOW OFFERING A LIMITED EDITION ARTWORK TO COMMEMORATE THE 75th ANNIVERSARY OF MALCOLM CAMPBELL'S FINAL WORLD LAND SPEED RECORD BROKEN AT BONNEVILLE WITH A TIMING OF 301.129mph IN SEPTEMBER 1935. THE LIMITED EDITION BOXED-SET OF ALL SEVEN IMAGES FROM 'THE BLUEBIRD COLLECTION' OF PAINTINGS WILL BE RELEASED ON 3.SEPTEMBER. THE COLLECTION INCLUDES SEVEN PRINTS SIGNED AND NUMBERED BY JACK VETTRIANO, A BROCHURE TELLING THE STORY BEHIND THE BLUEBIRD PAINTINGS WITH A FORWARD BY DONALD WALES, A 12-PACK SET OF BLUEBIRD COLLECTION CARDS AND A SIGNED COPY OF THE A MAN'S WORLD BOOK. THE PAINTINGS INCLUDE BLUEBIRD AT BONNEVILLE, BIRTH OF A DREAM, PENDINE BEACH, THE BRITISH ARE COMING, DAYTONA DINER, BLUEBIRD AND 301.129. THE BOX COMES COVERED IN NAVY BLUE BRILLIANTA CLOTH WITH AN ART DECO STYLE SILVER FOILED LOGO AND TEXT ON THE FRONT AND SPINE. ONLY 75 NUMBERED EDITIONS OF THE BOX SET WILL BE OFFERED FOR SALE, WITH EACH COSTING £2,500.

ASOLUT VODKA PRESENTS 'ABSOLUT SOPHIE MIRROR'

ASOLUT VODKA PRESENTS THE 'ABSOLUT SOPHIE MIRROR', A LIMITED EDITION COLLECTIBLE, DESIGNED BY SINGAPORE-BASED ILLUSTRATOR SOKKUAN. SOKKUAN WAS THE WINNER OF 'IN AN ABSOLUT WORLD, EVERY DRINK IS AN EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE' INSTALLATION DURING SINGAPORE DESIGN FESTIVAL 2009. THE DARK BEAUTY IS EXECUTED AS A MULTIFACETED MIRROR BOXED IN A MATCHING PACKAGE. SOKKUAN WAS INSPIRED BY THE BLOODY MARY LEGEND OF CHANTING INTO A MIRROR TO SUMMON HER DARK SPIRIT, CREATING AN ALTER EGO SOPHIE BLACK. 'I ADORE PEOPLE AND THINGS IN HARMONIOUS CONTRADICTIONS. SOPHIE BLACK, MY ALTER EGO WHO EXISTS IN A WORLD OF PSEUDO REALITY, IS THE EPITOME OF SUCH PARADOX. PLAYING ON THE WELL-KNOWN BLOODY MARY LEGEND, MY DESIGN OF THIS MULTIFACETED HAND HELD MIRROR REFLECTS MY FASCINATIONS WITH DARK, QUIRKY, MYSTERIOUS YET BEAUTIFUL ESSENCES EXUDED BY BOTH BLOODY MARY AND SOPHIE BLACK.' THIS COLLABORATIVE PIECE SPARKS ABSOLUT'S PATH TO ENCOURAGE COCKTAIL CULTURE IN SINGAPORE AND CELEBRATES THE OPENING OF A NEW PLAYING FIELD WITHIN THE COCKTAIL AND CREATIVE COMMUNITY. EXCLUSIVELY DESIGNED AND DISTRIBUTED ONLY AT SELECTED OUTLETS IN SINGAPORE, THIS LIMITED EDITION LIMITED QUANITY HAND HELD MIRROR IS A GIFT ITEM WITH EVERY TWO BOTTLE PURCHASE OF ABSOLUT VODKA.

SFMOMA PRESENTS EXHIBITION ON PAUL KLEE

FROM 7.AUGUST THROUGH 16.JANUARY.2011, THE SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART WILL SHOWCASE THE EXHIBITION PRINTS BY PAUL KLEE. SFMOMA HAS HAD A LONGSTANDING COMMITMENT TO THE ART OF PAUL KLEE OVER ITS 75 YEAR HISTORY. THE EXHIBITION RE-CREATES A SHOW OF PRINTS BY THE SWISS-BORN MODERNIST HELD AT THE MUSEUM IN 1946. AT THAT TIME, KLEE'S WORK WAS LITTLE KNOWN OUTSIDE OF EUROPE; THE EXHIBITION WAS PERCEIVED AS HIGHLY ORIGINAL, AND THE WORKS SEEMS NO LESS FRESH OR INNOVATIVE MORE THAN SIX DECADES LATER. THE PRINTS DEMONSTRATE HOW KLEE, LIKE MANY GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST ARTISTS OF THE EARLY 20th CENTURY, EXPERIMENTED WITH ETCHING, DRY-POINT AND LITHOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES IN ORDER TO ADVANCE HIS EXPLORATION OF PICTORIAL SYMBOLISM.
KLEE (1879–1940), BORN IN MUNCHENBUCHSEE, JUST NORTH OF BERN, SWITZERLAND'S CAPITAL, GREW UP IN A MUSICAL FAMILY AND WAS HIMSELF A VIOLINIST. ULTIMATELY HE OPTED TO STUDY ART AND IN 1900 TRAINED WITH NEOCLASSICIST FRANZ VON STUCK AT THE MUNICH ACADEMY, WHERE HE FIRST MET PAINTER VASILY KANDINSKY. AS WAS STANDARD ACADEMIC PRACTICE, HIS TRAINING INCLUDED LESSONS AND LIFE DRAWINGS FROM THE NUDE; HE LATER SPENT SEVEN MONTHS TOURING ITALY, WHERE HE WAS EXPOSED TO EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE ART. IN 1906 HE MARRIED PIANIST LILI STUMPF AND SETTLED IN MUNICH, THEN AN IMPORTANT CENTER FOR AVENT-GARDE ART;THEIR ONLY CHILD FELIX, WAS BORN THERE THE FOLLOWING YEAR. KLEE'S FRIENDSHIP WITH KANDINSKY PROMPTED HIM TO JOIN DER BLAUE REITER, AN EXPRESSIONIST GROUP PIVOTAL TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ABSTRACT ART. LATER, AT THE INVITATION OF FOUNDER WALTER GROPIUS, KLEE TAUGHT AT THE ESTEEMED BAUHAUS FROM 1920 TO 1931; IN 1931 HE ACCEPTED A POSITION AT THE DUSSELDORF ACADEMY, BUT WAS SOON DISMISSED BY THE NAZIS, WHO INCLUDED 17 OF HIS WORKS IN THEIR INFAMOUS EXHIBITION OF 'DEGENERATE ART', ENTARTETE KUNST, IN 1937. AFTER A MOVE TO SWITZERLAND IN 1933, KLEE DEVELOPED THE CRIPPLING COLLAGEN DISEASE SCLERODERMA, MARKED BY A PATHOLOGICAL THICKENING AND HARDENING OF THE SKIN; HE DIED FROM ITS COMPLICATIONS IN 1940.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.sfmoma.org

LEONARD NIMOY'S 'SECRET SELVES' ON SHOW AT MASS MOCA

INSPIRED BY ARISTOPHANES' THEORY THAT HUMANS WERE ONCE DOUBLE-SIDED CREATURES WITH TWO HEADS AND MULTIPLE LIMBS BEFORE ZEUS CLEAVED MAN IN TWO AND LEFT HIM FOREVER STRUGGLING TO BE WHOLE AGAIN, LEONARD NIMOY'S PHOTOGRAPHS REVEAL HIS SUBJECTS' OTHER HALF. SHOT IN NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS, IN 2007, THE SERIES WILL BE EXHIBITED FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SUMMER, OPENING AT MASS MOCA ON 31.JULY. FOR 'SECRET SELVES' NIMOY RECRUITED VOLUNTEERS TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED, POSED AND DRESSED AS THEIR TRUE OR IMAGINED SECRET SELVES. FROM THE POPULAR ROCK STAR AND SUPERMAN TO THE MORE UNEXPECTED WIZARD AND WOOD NYMPH, THESE OFF-LINE AVATARS OFFER AN INTIMATE, SOMETIMES HUMOROUS, AND OFTEN PROFOUND NEW LOOK AT THE RESIDENTS OF NORTHAMPTON WHILE TAPPING INTO A SHARED SENSE OF INNER YEARNING AND FANTASY. THE EXHIBITION PRESENTS A COMPELLING PERSPECTIVE ON THE COMPLEX STRUCTURE OF IDENTITY AS WELL AS AN INTIMATE LOOK AT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORTRAIT SUBJECT AND PHOTOGRAPHER.
LEONARD NIMOY WAS BORN IN BOSTON, MASS, IN 1931. AFTER A STINT IN THE ARMY, NIMOY WORKED IN FEATURE FILMS, TELEVISION AND THEATER APPEARING IN MANY OF THE WELL-KNOWN TV SERIES OF THE PERIOD. HOWEVER, IT WAS NIMOY'S ENORMOUS SUCCESS AS MR SPOCK IN THE SCIENCE FICTION SERIES, STAR TREK, WHICH GAINED HIM WORLDWIDE RECOGNITION. THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE NIMOY HAS BEEN ENGAGED WITH PHOTOGRAPHY AS BOTH STUDENT AND PRACTITIONER. IN THE 1970s HE STUDIED UNDER THE INFLUENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHER ROBERT HEINECKEN AT UCLA. IN 1973 NIMOY HAD HIS FIRST SHOW AT A GALLERY. THAT SAME YEAR HIS BOOK OF POEMS AND PHOTOGRAPHS, YOU AND I WAS PUBLISHED, AND BY 1977 HE RECORDED FOR THE DOT LABEL AND EARNED A MASTERS DEGREE IN EDUCATION. NIMOY AND HIS WIFE, SUSAN BAY NIMOY, HAVE CONTRIBUTED TOWARD A VARIETY OF CAUSES INCLUDING THE RENOVATION AND EXPANSION OF GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY IN LOS ANGELES AND THE THALIA THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY. A NEW LECTURE HALL AT THE OBSERVATORY, THE LEONARD NIMOY EVENT HORIZON, HAS BEEN NAMED IN HIS HONOR AND THE THEATER IN NEW YORK IS NOW NAMED THE LEONARD NIMOY THALIA.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.massmoca.org

FRANK FRAZETTA PAINTING SELLS FOR $1.5 MILLION

A 1971 PAINTING BY FANTASY ARTIST FRANK FRAZETTA HAS SOLD FOR $1.5 MILLION, TWO MONTHS AFTER THE PENNSYLVANIA ARTIST'S DEATH. FRAZETTA'S MANAGERS SAID THIS WEEK THAT A PRIVATE COLLECTOR BOUGHT 'CONAN THE DESTROYER' FROM A FAMILY TRUST. MANAGERS ROBERT PISTELLA AND STEPHEN FERZOCO CALL THE PRICE THE HIGHEST EVER PAID FOR A WORK BY FRAZETTA. THE ILLUSTRATOR DIED IN FLORIDA IN MAY AT THE AGE OF 82. HIS ICONIC ILLUSTRATIONS OF CONAN THE BARBARIAN, TARZAN AND OTHER CHARACTERS OFTEN GRACED COMIC BOOKS, ALBUM COVERS AND MOVIE POSTERS. IN RECENT YEARS, HIS CHILDREN HAVE FOUGHT OVER THE ESTATE ESTIMATED TO BE WORTH TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THE FEUD BOILED OVER IN DECEMBER WHEN FRANK FRAZETTA JR USED A BACKHOE TO TRY TO BREAK INTO TEH ARTIST'S MUSEUM IN THE POCONO MOUNTAINS.

PETER BLAKE AT CHRISTIE'S: 60 YEARS OF PRINTMAKING

CCA GALLERIES AND CHRISTIE'S PRESENT A SELLING EXHIBITION OF WORKS BY THE ICONIC BRITISH ARTIST SIR PETER BLAKE; CELEBRATING HIS SIX DECADE PRINTMAKING CAREER. OVER 150 PRINTS SIGNED AND NUMBERED BY THE ARTIST, WILL BE ON VIEW AND AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT CHRISTIE'S, SOUTH KENSINGTON BETWEEN 23.JULY AND 12.AUGUST, WITH PRICES RANGING FROM £500 TO £25,000. THE RETROSPECTIVE FEATURES WORKS FROM 1950 TO THE PRESENT DAY. AND FOR THE FIRST TIME WORKS FROM ALL BLAKE'S MAJOR PRINT PUBLISHERS. THE COMPREHENSIVE GROUP OF WORKS EXPLORE ALL OD THE KEY MOTIFS OF BLAKE'S CAREER: HIS LOVE OF COLLAGE AND COLLECTING, HIS FASCINATION WITH HEROES AND 'PIN-UPS', HIS NOSTALGIA FOR THE INNOCENCE OF HIS CHILDHOOD, AND HIS LOVE FOR THE SPECTRUM OF POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT. THE EXHIBITION SHOWCASES HIS SIGNIFICANT EARLY DECISION TO ESCHEW HIS OWN ARTISTIC VISION IN MANY OF HIS WORKS IN ORDER TO USE READY-MADE IMAGERY FROM OUTSIDE FINE ART TRADITIONS; PHOTOGRAPHS, COMMERCIAL DESIGN AND TYPOGRAPHY, CARTOON AND MORE. IN DOING THIS BLAKE'S INTENTION WAS TO CREATE ARE THAT SPOKE TO THE MASSES AND NOT ONLY AND ART WORLD ELITE. BLAKE'S ABIDING INTEREST IN EXPLORING DIFFERENT PRINT MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN PRINTMAKING IS REVEALED THROUGH THE EXHIBITION, AND UNDERLINES HIS STATUS AS ONE OF BRITAIN'S MOST POPULAR AND INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS. HIS DEDICATION TO PRINTMAKING GOES HAND IN HAND WITH HIS BELIEF THAT ART SHOULD AVAILABLE TO A WIDE AUDIENCE.

ART COLLECTOR DISCOVERS A £50,000 PAINTING HIDDEN BENEATH £8,500 PORTRAIT

AN ART COLLECTOR WHO BOUGHT A PORTRAIT BY A CELEBRATED BRITISH ARTIST HAS RECENTLY UNCOVERED A £50,000 MASTERPIECE, AFTER AN X-RAY REVEALED ANOTHER PICTURE HIDDEN UNDERNEATH. THE ART LOVER BOUGHT THE ORIGINAL PIECES, A SELF PORTRAIT BY ROBERT LENKIEWICZ DEPICTING THE ARTIST IN A NUDE POSE WITH A FEMALE MODEL, AT A COLLECTIVE AUCTION OF LENKIEWICZ'S WORK IN 2003, FOR £8,500. THE OWNER OF THE DOUBLE PAINTING SAID: 'WHEN THE EXPERTS LOOKED AT IT THEY RECKONED IT CONTAINED ANOTHER PICTURE UNDERNEATH. SO I TOOK IT TO TORBY HOSPITAL AND DISCOVERED THE TRAMP, WHICH COULD BE WORTH MORE THAN WHAT IS PAINTED OVER IT. THE PICTURE I BOUGHT AT AUCTION COULD BE VALUED AT MORE THAN £50,000. IT IS A PRIVATE WORK AND PERHAPS SHOULD NEVER HAVE GONE UNDER THE HAMMER AT THE ESTATE SALE IN 2003.' LENKIEWICZ, OF PLYMOUTH, DEVON, DIED OF A HEART ATTACK AT THE AGE OF 60 IN 2002 AND LEFT BEHIND NO CASH BUT A VAST COLLECTION OF ART WORTH MORE THAN £2 MILLION. HE WAS FAMOUS FOR HIS WORKS WITH THE HOMELESS AND AFTER HE DIED, THE EMBALMED BODY OF A 72 YEAR OLD TRAMP WAS FOUND STUFFED IN A DRAWER IN HIS STUDIO. THE TRAMP, EDWIN MCKENZIE, KNOWN AS DIOGENES, WAS A CLOSE FRIEND OF THE ARTIST AND HIS WHEREABOUTS SINCE HIS DEATH IN THE 1980s HAD BEEN A MYSTERY. IT WAS BELIEVED THE DYING WISH OF MCKENZIE, WHO HAD NO KNOWN FAMILY, WAS THAT HIS FRIEND SHOULD EMBALM HIS BODY AS A 'WORK OF ART'. IT IS TECHNICALLY POSSIBLE TO REMOVE THE TOP PAINTING TO REVEAL THE TRAMP MASTERPIECE UNDERNEATH, BUT THE PRICE TAG WOULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED ON A £50,000 PAINTING. ART DEALER ADRIAN PHIPPEN, A LENKIEWICZ EXPERT, SAID THE DOUBLE PORTRAIT WAS 'A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF WORK' BY THE ARTIST. 'WORKS LIKE THIS ONE WILL BECOME MORE VALUABLE AND HIGHLY PRIZED BY COLLECTORS THAN THE SELF PORTRAITS WITH WOMEN THAT HE PAINTED. TO REMOVE THE TOP PAINTING WOULD BE EXPENSIVE BUT WHOEVER BUYS IT WILL HAVE A UNIQUE PIECE BY A LEADING BRITISH ARTIST.' THE OWNER OF THE PAINTING, WHO LIVES IN LONDON AND ASHBURTON IN DEVON, NOW PLANS TO SELL IT AT THE DRIFTWOOD GALLERY IN PADSTOW, CORNWALL. HE SAID: 'I THINK THE IMAGE THERE NOW IS VERY GOOD AND RARE. AND IT WOULD BE EXPENSIVE TO RESTORE IT TO GET TO THE TRAMP.' THE POPULARITY OF LENKIEWICZ'S WORK HAS INCREASED SINCE HIS DEATH AND THE CURRENT WORLD RECORD FOR ONE OF HIS ARTWORKS STANDS AT £57,600 FOR A SELF-PORTRAIT IN 2005. HIS WORK WAS VIRTUALLY IGNORED BY THE ART WORLD DURING HIS LIFETIME, BUT NOW EXPERTS ARE COMPARING HIS COLOURFUL BOHEMIAN STYLE WITH FRANCIS BACON AND LUCIAN FREUD.

ARTIST LOUISE BOURGEOIS DIES AT AGE 98

ARTIST LOUISE BOURGEOIS, WHOSE SCULPTURES EXPLORING WOMEN'S DEEPEST FEELINGS ON BIRTH, SEXUALITY AND DEATH WERE HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL ON YOUNGER ARTISTS, DIED MONDAY, HER STUDIO'S MANAGING DIRECTOR SAID. SHE WAS 98. BOURGEOIS HAD CONTINUED CREATING ARTWORK, HER LATEST PIECES WERE FINISHED JUST LAST WEEK, BEFORE SUFFERING A HEART ATTACK SATURDAY NIGHT, SAID THE STUDIO DIRECTOR, WENDY WILLIAMS. THE ARTIST DIED AT BETH ISRAEL MEDICAL CENTER IN MANHATTAN, WHERE SHE LIVED. WORKING IS A WIDE VARIETY OF MATERIALS, SHE TACKLED THEMES RELATING TO MALE AND FEMALE BODIES AND EMOTIONS OF ANGER, BETRAYAL, EVEN MURDER. HER WORK REFLECTED INFLUENCES OF SURREALISM, PRIMITIVISM AND EARLY MODERNIST SCULPTURES SUCH AS ALBERTO GIACOMETTI AND CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI. 'I REALLY WANT TO WORRY PEOPLE, TO BOTHER PEOPLE', SHE TOLD THE WASHINGTON POST IN 1984. BOURGEOIS' WORK WAS ALMOST UNKNOWN TO THE WIDER ART WORLD UNTIL SHE WAS 70, WHEN NEW YORK'S MUSEUM OF MODERN ART PRESENTED A SOLO SHOW OF HER CAREER IN 1982. AMONG THE HONORS COMING TO HER WAS A NATIONAL MEDAL OF ARTS, AWARDED BY PRESIDENT CLINTON IN 1997. IN OCTOBER, SHE WAS INDUCTED INTO THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S HALL OF FAME IN SENECA FALLS, NY. IN 2001, THOUSANDS OF TOURISTS SAW HER WORK 'SPIDERS' WHEN IT WAS EXHIBITED ON THE PLAZA AT ROCKEFELLER CENTER FOR 2 1/2 MONTHS AS PART OF A PUBLIC ART FUND PROGRAM TO PROMOTE OUTDOOR EXHIBITS IN NEW YORK. IT FEATURED A 30 FOOT HIGH SPIDER 'MAMAN' CARRYING A BASKET OF EGGS, FLANKED BY TWO SMALLER SPIDERS. IN 2007-08, AN ELABORATE RETROSPECTIVE OF HER CAREER, FROM THE 1940s ONWARD, WAS DISPLAYED AT THE TATE MODERN IN LONDON, THE GEORGES POMPIDOU CENTER IN PARIS AND THE SOLOMON R GUGGENHEIM IN NEW YORK. MEANWHILE, YOUNGER ARTISTS CITED HER AS AN INSPIRATION. BOURGEOIS WAS BORN IN PARIS IN 1911; HER PARENTS RN A BUSINESS RESTORING ANTIQUE TAPESTRIES. IN HER EARLY YEARS, SHE STUDIED AT THE ACADEMIE DES BEAUX-ARTS AND OTHER SCHOOLS AND STUDIOS. SHE MOVED TO NEW YORK IN 1938 AFTER MARRYING THE ART HISTORIAN ROBERT GOLDWATER AND BECAME AN AMERICAN CITIZEN IN 1955. A PROFESSOR OF ART HISTORY AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, GOLDWATER WAS ALSO DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM OF PRIMITIVE ART, ESTABLISHED IN 1957, AND WROTE A KEY BOOK ON THE TOPIC, 'PRIMITIVISM IN MODERN ART'. WHILE BOURGEOIS WORK SHOWS THE INFLUENCE OF PRIMITIVE ARTISTS, SHE WAS QUICK TO NOTE THAT HER WORK WAS NOT PRIMITIVE. HER HUSBAND DIED IN 1973. SHE IS SURVIVED BY TWO SONS, ALAIN AND JEAN-LOUIS, AS WELL AS TWO GRANDCHILDREN AND A GREAT-GRANDCHILD. A PRIVATE FUNERAL IS PLANNED FOR FAMILY MEMBERS.

A private funeral is planned for family members.

FANTASY ARTIST FRANK FRAZETTA HAS DIED AT 82

PIONEERING FANTASY ARTIST FRANK FRAZETTA HAS DIED IN A FORT MYERS, FLA, HOSPITAL. HE WAS 82. MANAGER ROB PISTELLA SAYS FRAZETTA DIED MONDAY MORNING, A DAY AFTER SUFFERING A STROKE. HE SAYS FRAZETTA HAD BEEN OUT TO DINNER WITH HIS DAUGHTERS SUNDAY BEFORE FALLING ILL. FRAZETTA IS RENOWNED FOR HIS SCI-FI AND FANTASY ART. HE CREATED COVERS AND ILLUSTRATIONS FOR MORE THAN 150 BOOKS AND MAGAZINES, INCLUDING CONAN THE BARBARIAN AND TARZAN. HIS DAUGHTER, HEIDI FRAZETTA GRABIN, SAYS SHE IS HOPEFUL THAT A DISPUTE AMONG SIBLINGS OVER HER FATHER'S ARTWORK HAS BEEN RESOLVED THROUGH RECENT NEGOTIATIONS. HIS SON, FRANK FRAZETTA, WAS CHARGED IN DECEMBER WITH USING A BACKHOE TO BREAK INTO THE ARTIST'S MUSEUM IN THE POCONOS AND TRYING TO REMOVE DOZENS OF ARTWORKS.

GALERIE CAMERA WORK TO PRESENTS EXHIBITION OF ROBERT POLIDORI PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS

FROM 8.MAY THROUGH 26.JUNE, GALERIE CAMERA WORK, BERLIN, WILL BE PRESENTING THE WORKS OF PHOTOGRAPHER ROBERT POLIDORI IN ITS GALLERY SHOWROOMS. THE EXHIBITION ENTIRELY FOCUSES ON THE POWERFUL BEAUTY OF THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES. POLIDORI'S EXTENSIVE DOCUMENTATION OF THE RESTORATION PROCESS OF THE LATE 1980s IS SUPPLEMENTED BY CURRENT WORKS WHICH HAVE NEVER BEEN EXHIBITED BEFORE. THE EXHIBITED PHOTOGRAPHS PRESENT AN EXCLUSIVE SELECTION OF THE THREE-VOLUME ILLUSTRATED BOOK 'PARCOURS MUSEOLOGIQUE REVISITE' WHICH WAS RECENTLY RELEASED BY STEIDL PUBLISHING HOUSE. THE STUNNING BOOK COMPREHENSIVELY DOCUMENTS POLIDORI'S MONUMENTAL PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK AT THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES OVER A PERIOD OF 25 YEARS. THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF VERSAILLES ARE GRANDIOSE WITNESSES OF A WORLD LONG GONE. POLIDORI UNDERSTANDS HOW TO SUBTLY DETECT THE INTERFACE BETWEEN OLD AND NEW, AND, IN THE PROCESS, TO LOOK FOR THE 'EMBLEMATIC MOMENT' OF THE LOCATION, THE UNITY OF PAST AND PRESENT. IN DOING SO, THE PHOTOGRAPHER IS A MASTER OF SPECIAL AESTHETICS AND COMPOSITION. HIS PICTURES ARE COMPLEX STILL LIFES, WHICH, IN THEIR COLOURFULNESS AND UNIQUE QUALITY, PROVIDE A BACKDROP FOR THE IMAGINATION OF THE BEHOLDER. IN THE PEACEFUL STILLNESS AND THE DETAILED NATURE OF HIS PICTURES LIES AN EXCEPTIONAL FORCE.
ROBERT POLIDORI, WHO WAS BORN IN MONTREAL IN 1951, CURRENTLY LIVES IN NEW YORK AND PARIS. EXTENSIVE PHOTO ARTICLES PUBLISHED IS SUCH MAGAZINES AS THE NEW YORKER, FOR WHICH HE WORKS AS EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHER ALONGSIDE MARTIN SCHOELLER, ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST, GEO, AND VANITY FAIR MARKED THE FOUNDATION OF POLIDORI'S INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS, WHICH HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN RECOGNIZED BY HIS RECEIVING AWARDS SUCH AS THE DEUTCHE FOTOBUCHPREIS OR THE ALFRED-EISENSTADT-AWARD. APART FROM THE SPLENDID PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE PALACES OF THE WORLD, POLIDORI ALSO DOCUMENTS THE OFTEN DEVASTATING IMPACT OF HUMAN ENCROACHMENT UPON HIS ENVIRONMENT, AS EXEMPLIFIED BY HIS HAUNTING SERIES ON THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER AND HIS DOCUMENTATION OF THE IMPACT OF HURRICANE 'KATRINA' IN 2005.

KIMBELL ART MUSEUM ACQUIRES GUERCINO'S 'CHRIST AND THE WOMAN OS SAMARIA'

THE KIMBELL ART MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, HAS ACQUIRED THE PAINTING 'CHRIST AND THE WOMAN OS SAMARIA', DATED TO 1619-20, BY THE ITALIAN ARTIST GUERCINO, ONE OF THE FOREMOST PAINTERS OF HIS TIME. THE PURCHASE WAS ANNOUNCED TODAY BY THE MUSEUM'S DIRECTOR. THE PAINTING DATES FROM GUERCINO'S EARLY, RAREST, AND MOST DESIRABLE PERIOD, WHEN THE ARTIST ACHIEVED ACCLAIM FOR THE EMOTIONAL POWER OF HIS COMPOSITIONS. 'CHRIST AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA' PRESENTS A CLOSE-UP VIEW OF THE SAMARITAN WOMAN, WHO RESTS HER WATER BUCKET ON THE WALL WHERE SHE HAS COME TO DRAW WATER, GRAPPLING TO UNDERSTAND CHRIST'S MESSAGE THAT HE IS THE LIVING WATER, THE SOURCE OF ETERNAL LIFE. THE PAINTING HAS NEVER BEEN PUBLISHED OR EXHIBITED, AND PRIOR TO ITS PURCHASE BY A EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTOR HAD BEEN ONLY THROUGH COPIES AND AN OLD PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WORK THAT WAS SHOWN TO GUERCINO EXPERT SIR DENIS MAHON MANY DECADES AGO.
GIOVANNI FRANCESCO BARBIERI (1591–1666), KNOWN BY HIS NICKNAME GUERCINO ('SQUINTER') BECAUSE HE WAS CROSS-EYED, WAS BORN IN THE NORTHERN ITALIAN TOWN OF CENTO, NEAR BOLOGNA AND FERRARA. ALTHOUGH HE RECEIVED HIS EARLY TRAINING WITH LOCAL ARTISTS, HE WAS LARGELY SELF-TAUGHT. HIS EARLY WORK WAS MARKED BY AN ASTONISHING NATURALISM AND ABILITY TO CONVEY TEH EXPRESSIVE POWER OF THE HUMAN FIGURE. HE ADMIRED THE BOLOGNESE PAINTER LUDOVICO CARRACCI, WHO IN 1617 WROTE A LETTER PRAISING THE YOUNG MAN FROM CENTO 'WHO PAINTS WITH REMARKABLE INVENZIONE. HE IS A GREAT DRAFTSMAN AND A TERRIFIC COLOURIST: HE IS A PHENOMENON OF NATURE AND A TRUE MIRACLE WHO DUMBFOUNDS EVERYONE WHO SEES HIS WORKS... EVEN THE TOP PAINTERS ARE AWESTRUCK.' THE FOLLOWING YEAR GUERCINO VISITED VENICE, HONING HIS TALENT AS A COLOURIST BY STUDYING THE WORKS OF TITIAN AND OTHER VENETIAN PAINTERS. GUERCINO DIED IN 1666 IN BOLOGNA, HE LEFT AN IMPRESSIVE LEGACY OF NEARLY 400 PAINTINGS AND WELL OVER 1,000 DRAWINGS THAT DEMONSTRATE HIS EXTRAORDINARY POWERS OF INVENTION.

10 YEAR OLD ARTIST PAINTS LIKE PABLO PICASSO

THEIR THICK BOLD BLACK LINES, VIBRANT COLOURS AND DISJOINTED, CUBIST FORMS HAVE DRAWN INEVITABLE COMPARISONS WITH THE PAINTINGS OF RENOWNED ARTIST PABLO PICASSO. BUT INSTEAD THEY ARE THE STUNNING WORK OF A TEN YEAR OLD BOY, WHO HAS STUNNED THE ART WORLD WITH HIS ECHOES OF THE SPANISH GENIUS BEFORE EVER SEEING HIS PIECES. HAMAD AL HUMAIDHAN HAS BEEN SIGNED BY AN INTERNATIONAL ART AGENCY DESPITE STILL BEING IN PRIMARY SCHOOL. THE 4ft YOUNGSTER HAS SOLD SEVERAL OF HIS PAINTINGS FOR £650 EACH AND WILL HOLD HIS DEBUT EXHIBITION THIS SUMMER. HIS TECHNIQUE INVOLVES CLOSING HIS EYES, SEEING AN IMAGE OF A PAINTING IN HIS HEAD AND THEN TRANSFERRING IT TO THE CANVAS, HE SAID. THE TALENTED SCHOOLBOY FIRST STARTED PAINTING AFTER HIS FAMILY MOVED FROM KUWAIT TO BATH, IN NORTH-EAST SOMERSET, THREE YEARS AGO. HE SAW HIS FATHER WALID, AN AMATEUR ARTIST, CARRYING A BLANK CANVAS UNDER HIS ARM AND ASKED TO BORROW IT. HOURS LATER HE DISCOVERED HIS SON HAD PAINTED A SIMPLE PORTRAIT OF CRISTIANO RONALDO. THE USE OF COLOUR AND FORM WERE ENOUGH FOR HIM TO KEEP ENCOURAGING HIS SON, WHO SOON BEGAN TO USE ACRYLICS TO PRODUCE PICASSO-LIKE ABSTRACT PAINTINGS. HIS SON WAS SIGNED BY THE AGENCY TURNER FINE ARTS THIS YEAR AND HAS SOLD SIX PAINTINGS SO FAR. HAMAD'S AGENT STEVE TURNER SAID: 'WHEN I SAW HIS WORK I WAS AMAZED AT HOW COMPLICATED IT WAS AND THAT THE SHADES AND HUES WERE SO INCREDIBLE. THE REACTION WE HAVE GOT FROM PEOPLE HAS BEEN QUITE EXTRAORDINARY. FOR ME IT'S EXCITING TO FIND SOMEONE SO YOUNG WHO IS ALREADY SHOWING SO MUCH POTENTIAL. IT WILL BE FASCINATING TO SEE HOW HIS STYLE DEVELOPS OVER THE YEARS.' HAMAD'S FIRST EXHIBITION WILL BE AT THE LLANGOLLEN INTERNATIONAL PAVILION, IN NORTH WALES, FROM 5-6.JUNE.

CHARLES RIVA COLLECTION TO PRESENT EXHIBITION OF ANDREAS HOFER

CHARLES RIVA COLLECTION, BRUSSELS, WILL BE PRESENTING AN EXHIBITION ABOUT THE WORK OF ANDREAS HOFER, ONE OF THE LEADING GERMAN CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS. THE SHOW WILL DISPLAY DRAWINGS, COLLAGES, PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES. IN HIS WORK, ANDREAS HOFER CREATES COMPLEX VISUAL WORLDS BASED ON NARRATIVE STRUCTURES. HIS THEMATIC AND FORMAL REFERENCES DEFY ANY CATEGORIZATION. HIS VOCABULARY RANGES FROM CHRISTIAN, SATANIST, ASTROLOGICAL OR MYTHOLOGICAL SYMBOLISM TO RECOLLECTIONS FROM ART HISTORY, WHEREAS HE JUXTAPOSES FIGURES FROM THE FIFTIES, POP CULTURE AND COMIC STRIP WITH ICONS OF MODERNISM OR SCIENCE-FICTIONS, AND CONFRONTS ELEMENTS OF HORROR FROM THE WESTERN MASS MEDIA WITH THE DISGRACED, BANNED STYLISTIC FEATURES THAT MARKED THE ART OF THE THIRD REICH. USING THOSE SUBJECT MATTERS, HOFER EXTRACTS THESE SIGNS FROM A FORBIDDEN WORLD, PRODUCING ARTWORKS THAT TRAVERSE TIME TO BECOME AN INCISIVE REFLECTION AND FANCIFUL MEDITATION ON HISTORY AND POPULAR CULTURE. SIGNING HIS WORKS WITH THE ALTER EGO 'ANDY HOPE', AND THE DATE '1930', HOFER SIMULTANEOUSLY INVOKES ANDY WARHOL AND A DARK ERA OF EUROPEAN HISTORY. ANDREA HOFER IS REPRESENTED IN MANY PRIVATE AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS WORLDWIDE AND HE CURRENTLY WORKS WITH HAUSER &WIRTH, LONDON/ZURICH AND METRO PICTURES GALLERY, NEW YORK.

CAB DRIVER RECEIVES DAMIAN HIRST DOODLE AS TIP

MOST PEOPLE'S IDEA OF A TIP FOR A TAXI DRIVER IS SAYING 'KEEP THE CHANGE' WHEN PAYING THE BILL. BUT THEN NOT PASSENGER IS THE WORLD RENOWNED ARTIST DAMIAN HIRST. THE ARTIST GOT ON SO WELL WITH HIS CABBIE JON HORSLEY DURING A 30 MINUTE RIDE THAT HE HANDED OVER A SKETCH WITH THE £20 FARE. ALTHOUGH LITTLE MORE THAN A DOODLE, ART EXPERTS HAVE NOW VALUED IT AT £1,500, AND SAID IT COULD EVEN FETCH UP TO £5,000 AT AUCTION. THE PENCIL DRAWING, WHICH TOOK HIRST JUST A FEW MINUTES TO PRODUCE WHILE IN THE BACK OF THE TAXI, FEATURES A SHARK, BUTTERFLY AND SKULL, ALL NODS TO SOME OF HIS MOST FAMOUS ART WORKS. HE SIGNED IT FOR HORSLEY'S 15 YEAR OLD SON, WHO IS STUDYING ART AMONG HIS GCSE SUBJECTS, WRITING: 'FOR LJ. DON'T GIVE UP ON THE ART.' ALTHOUGH LJ MIGHT HOPE TO DO A LITTLE BETTER IN HIS EXAMS THAN HIRST, WHO SCRAPED AN E GRADE IN HIS ART A LEVEL. THE ARTIST IS NOW BEST-KNOWN FOR PICKLING A SHARK IN FORMALDEHYDE AND COVERING A SKULL IN DIAMONDS, AS WELL AS ARRANGING BUTTERFLY WINGS INTO PATTERNS. HE HAS BEEN DUBBED THE 'ENFANT TERRIBLE' OF THE ART WORLD, WHICH SOME CRITICS AND MUCH OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC THINK IS A DESCRIPTION OF HIS ABILITY TO DRAW. BUT NOT MARY MCCARTHY, CONTEMPORARY ART DIRECTOR AT DREWEATTS & BLOOMSBURY, WHO WILL AUCTION THE SKETCH IN NINE DAYS.