September 18, 2019

Central Park Conservancy Unveils Design To Build New Pool And Rink And Complete The Restoration Of The Park’s North End. Construction will begin in spring 2021

“Central Park Conservancy unveils designs for a transformative project that will create a beautiful new recreational facility seamlessly integrated into the landscape around the Harlem Meer. The project will repair the damaged landscape, improve the ecology of the north end, and re-establish long-severed connections to one of the Park’s most picturesque areas. The new facility will replace the aging pool and rink, which has suffered from systemic problems since it was built and obstructs the flow of people, views, and water through the Park.

For the Conservancy—the private, nonprofit organization that restores, manages, and enhances Central Park in partnership with the public—this momentous project will cap a decades-long restoration of the Park’s north end. Today’s announcement revealed the vision of the Conservancy’s design office, led by Chief Landscape Architect Christopher J. Nolan, FASLA, with the architectural team of Susan T. Rodriguez Architecture | Design in collaboration with Mitchell Giurgola. More than a year of extensive community engagement contributed toward the design. The unveiling of the design for the north end project initiates the process of public review and regulatory approvals. — Central Park Conservancy

Renderings courtesy Susan T. Rodriguez Architecture | Design and the Central Park Conservancy.

1

Overlook of the re-envisioned north end of Central Park.

2

Bird’s-eye view of the re-envisioned north end of Central Park.

3

Aerial view of the re-envisioned north end of Central Park.

4

View from Central Park’s Harlem Meer shoreline.

7

Interior view of pavillion at the pool in Central Park’s north end.

8

Interior view of locker room at the pool and rink in Central Park’s north end.

PowerPoint Presentation

View of boardwalk at Central Park’s Harlem Meer.

PowerPoint Presentation

View of skating ribbon at Central Park’s Harlem Meer

PowerPoint Presentation

Proposed updated view through Huddlestone Arch.

16

Proposed restored watercourse.

Elizabeth W. Smith, President & CEO of the Central Park Conservancy, said, “With our partners at NYC Parks, I’m thrilled to offer the public a design that achieves one of the Conservancy’s highest goals: connecting recreational activities with the restorative and uplifting experience that is the essence of Central Park. This sensitive and inventive design will give New Yorkers the greatly improved amenity they deserve, while returning to them the free and open use of one of the most scenic areas in the Park. Since the Conservancy was established in 1980, we have invested more than one billion dollars in the Park and have restored, renewed, and preserved virtually every corner of this urban treasure. I am enormously proud that we’re capping the 40-year makeover with this wonderful, impactful project.”

September 15, 2019

Xiaoze Xie: Objects of Evidence at Asia Society Museum, September 10, 2019 – January 5, 2020

“Asia Society presents an exhibition of paintings, installation, photography, and video by Xiaoze Xie (b. 1966 in Guangdong Province, China) tracing the history of banned books in China and exploring the subjectivity of censorship in relation to the shifting nature of sociopolitical and religious ideologies.

Born on the cusp of the Cultural Revolution, Xiaoze Xie experienced the profound power of books firsthand. Formative memories of his grandmother sharing epic tales from classic novels dovetailed with recollections of his father, a school principal, who was forced to collect banned books slated for destruction under Mao. Doomed titles from the artist’s youth became forbidden, yet tantalizing objects that have continued to inspire Xie as a central aspect of his artistic practice.

Xie’s focus on books banned in China was initiated during a 2014 residency as a faculty fellow at the Stanford Center at Peking University when he compiled an index of banned books from the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) through the Republic of China (1911–49) into the present day. The artist expanded this research project to chart the history of banned books—through the use of painting, photography, and installation—including Dream of the Red Chamber (Hong Lou Meng) by Cao Xueqin, and Water Margin (Shui Hu Zhuan) attributed to Shi Nai’an, which have become among the most revered and beloved novels attributed to Shi Nai’an, which have become among the most revered and beloved novels in Chinese literature. Xie’s body of work provides a means to consider changes in cultural standards and their influence on shaping modern Chinese society.” — Asia Society

Xiaoze Xie_Chinese Library No. 62

Xiaoze Xie. Chinese Library No. 62, 2017. Oil on canvas. 
H. 60 x W. 60 in. (152 x 152 cm). 
Courtesy of the artist and Chambers Fine Art. 
Photograph courtesy of the artist

Xiaoze Xie_Chinese Library No. 66

Xiaoze Xie. Chinese Library No. 66, 2018. 
Oil on canvas. 
H. 48 x W. 72 in. (122 x 183 cm). 
Courtesy of the artist and Chambers Fine Art. Photograph courtesy of the artist

XXZ-PTG-1306-Chinese Library No.55

Xiaoze Xie. Chinese Library No. 55, 2012. 
Oil on linen. H. 98 3/8 x W. 98 3/8 in. (250 x 250 cm). 
Courtesy of the artist and Chambers Fine Art. Photograph courtesy of the artist

Xiaoze Xie_Through Fire copy

Xiaoze Xie. Through Fire (Books that Survived the Anti-Japanese War of Resistance at Tsinghua University No. 2), 2017. 
Oil on canvas. 
H. 48 x W. 74 in. (122 x 188 cm). 
Courtesy of the artist and Chambers Fine Art. Photograph courtesy of the artist

Xiaoze Xie_Untitled3

Xiaoze Xie. Untitled #3, 2010. 
Oil on canvas. 
H. 20 x W. 30 in. (51 x 76 cm). 
Courtesy of the artist and Chambers Fine Art. Photograph courtesy of the artist

Xiaoze Xie_Scrutiny

Xiaoze Xie. Scrutiny (Premodern Books), 2014. 
Archival inkjet prints. 
Dimensions variable; Each framed sheet: H. 21 1/2 x W. 30 1/2 in (55 x 77 cm). 
Courtesy of the artist and Chambers Fine Art. Photograph courtesy of the artist

Xiaoze Xie_Scrutinydetail

Xiaoze Xie. (Detail) Scrutiny (Premodern Books), 2014. 
Archival inkjet prints. 
Dimensions variable; Each framed sheet: H. 21 1/2 x W. 30 1/2 in (55 x 77 cm. 
Courtesy of the artist and Chambers Fine Art. Photograph courtesy of the artist

Xiaoze Xie: Objects of Evidence is curated by Michelle Yun, Senior Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, Asia Society Museum.

September 13, 2019

The World of Anna Sui at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), September 12, 2019 – February 23, 2020

“The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) presents a major retrospective of the iconic American fashion designer Anna Sui. Opening during New York Fashion Week, the exhibition features seventy-five looks from the designer’s archive—from the groundbreaking inaugural fashion show of 1991 to her Spring 2019 collection—and illuminates Sui’s creative process and influences that contribute to her signature aesthetic sensibility.

Sui is one of New York City’s most beloved and accomplished fashion designers, known for creating contemporary original clothing inspired by in-depth research into vintage styles, cultural arcana, art history, graphic design, European and Asian decorative arts, film, and more. Sui joined New York’s creative cultural underground at a rich time in the 1970s, forging important, lasting relationships in the worlds of fashion, photography, art, music, and design. Additionally, she is one of the original voices of the Save the Garment Center movement.” — MAD

FASHION ANNA SUI

Anna Sui Fashion Show. Spring 2004. Photograph by Stuart Ramson.

MG_4091

Anna Sui Fashion Show. Fall 2011. Photograph by Thomas Lau.

f12

Opening Shot from Spring 2012. Photograph by Thomas Lau. Courtesy of Anna Sui.

091019_JBascom_5G1A5363

Installation view of The World of Anna Sui at Museum of Art and Design, New York. Photo by Jenna Bascom.

091019_JBascom_5G1A5402

Installation view of The World of Anna Sui at Museum of Art and Design, New York. Photo by Jenna Bascom.

091019_JBascom_5G1A5444

Installation view of The World of Anna Sui at Museum of Art and Design, New York. Photo by Jenna Bascom.

091019_JBascom_5G1A5437

Installation view of The World of Anna Sui at Museum of Art and Design, New York. Photo by Jenna Bascom.

091119_JBascom_2T0A2009

Installation view of The World of Anna Sui at Museum of Art and Design, New York. Photo by Jenna Bascom.

091119_JBascom_2T0A1894

Installation view of The World of Anna Sui at Museum of Art and Design, New York. Photo by Jenna Bascom.

AnnaSui

Anna Sui. Photograph by Jerry Schatzberg. Courtesy of Jerry Schatzberg.

“Born and bred in Detroit, Anna Sui is a fascinating American design success story,” said Chris Scoates, MAD’s Nanette L. Laitman Director. “Season after season, Sui translates popular culture and artisanal making into collections that pulse with excitement, reflect and expand on the creative spirit of the times, and move the needle for what fashion can and should be for a diverse, global market. We are extremely excited to welcome our visitors for an unforgettable immersive experience of Anna’s design universe.”

The World of Anna Sui was curated by Dennis Nothdruft for the Fashion and Textile Museum, London. It was secured for the Museum of Arts and Design by former William and Mildred Lasdon Chief Curator Shannon R. Stratton and adapted for the New York audience by Assistant Curator Barbara Paris Gifford.

Images courtesy Museum of Arts and Design.

September 12, 2019

William Blake at Tate Britain, September 11, 2019 – February 2, 2020

“Tate Britain presents the largest survey of work by William Blake (1757-1827) in the UK for a generation. A visionary painter, printmaker and poet, Blake created some of the most iconic images in the history of British art and has remained an inspiration to artists, musicians, writers and performers worldwide for over two centuries. This ambitious exhibition brings together over 300 remarkable and rarely seen works and rediscover Blake as a visual artist for the 21st century.

Tate Britain reimagines the artist’s work as he intended it to be experienced. Blake’s art was a product of his tumultuous times, with revolution, war and progressive politics acting as the crucible of his unique imagination, yet he struggled to be understood and appreciated during his life. Now renowned as a poet, Blake also had grand ambitions as a visual artist and envisioned vast frescos that were never realised. For the first time, The Spiritual Form of Nelson Guiding Leviathan c.1805-9 and The Spiritual Form of Pitt Guiding Behemoth c.1805 are digitally enlarged and projected onto the gallery wall on the huge scale that Blake imagined. The original artworks are displayed nearby in a restaging of Blake’s ill-fated exhibition of 1809, the artist’s only significant attempt to create a public reputation for himself as a painter. Tate recreates the domestic room above his family hosiery shop in which the show was held, allowing visitors to encounter the paintings exactly as people did in 1809.” — Tate Britain

Blake-Albion-Rose-X70738

William Blake (1757-1827). 
Albion Rose, c. 1793. 
Colour engraving, 
250 x 211 mm. Courtesy of the Huntington Art Collections

Blake-Pity-N05062

William Blake (1757-1827. 
Pity, c.1795. 
Colour print, ink and watercolour on pape, 425 x 539 m
. Tate

Blake-Newton-N05058

William Blake (1757-1827). 
Newton, 1795-c. 1805. 
Colour print, ink and watercolour on paper, 
460 x 600 mm. 
Tate

Blake-Capaneus-the-Blasphemer-X73694-

William Blake (1757-1827)
. Capaneus the Blasphemer, 1824-1827. 
Pen and ink and watercolour over pencil and black chalk, with sponging and scratching ou, 
374 x 527 mm. 
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Blake,-Europe-X71164

William Blake (1757-1827). Europe Plate i: Frontispiece, The Ancient of Days, 1827. 
Etching with ink and watercolour on paper, 
232 x 120mm. The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

William Blake was curated by Martin Myrone, Lead Curator pre-1800 British Art, and Amy Concannon, Assistant Curator, British Art 1790-1850.

Images courtesy Tate Britain.

September 11, 2019

Kate Crawford | Trevor Paglen: Training Humans at Osservatorio Fondazione Prada, September 12, 2019 – February 24, 2020

“’Training Humans’” is the first major photography exhibition devoted to training images: the collections of photos used by scientists to train artificial intelligence (AI) systems how to ‘see’ and categorize the world. In this exhibition, Crawford and Paglen reveal the evolution of training image sets from the 1960s to today. Their work highlights how the private and public sectors are harvesting people’s online photographs as raw material for human classification and surveillance. Audiences have a rare opportunity to look within the AI technologies that have permeated our society: including facial recognition, gait detection, biometric surveillance, and even emotion recognition.

This exhibition aims to open the black boxes of AI. ‘Training Humans’ exposes the biases, assumptions, errors, and ideological positions within AI technologies. By revealing how AI systems have been devised over the last six decades, Crawford and Paglen show how present-day AI systems perpetuate practices of social classification, surveillance, and segmentation — and how they echo the phrenology and eugenics of the past.” — Fondazione Prada

Exhibition views of “Kate Crawford | Trevor Paglen: Training Humans” at Osservatorio Fondazione Prada, 2019. Photos by Marco Cappelletti. Courtesy Fondazione Prada.

Osservatorio Fondazione Prada - Training Humans 1

Osservatorio Fondazione Prada - Training Humans 2

Osservatorio Fondazione Prada - Training Humans 4

Osservatorio Fondazione Prada - Training Humans 6

Osservatorio Fondazione Prada - Training Humans 8

Osservatorio Fondazione Prada - Training Humans 12

Osservatorio Fondazione Prada - Training Humans 18

Osservatorio Fondazione Prada - Training Humans 22

Osservatorio Fondazione Prada - Training Humans 24

As stated by Trevor Paglen, “when we first started conceptualizing this exhibition over two years ago, we wanted to tell a story about the history of images used to ‘recognize’ humans in computer vision and AI systems. We weren’t interested in either the hyped, marketing version of AI nor the tales of dystopian robot futures.” Kate Crawford observed, “We wanted to engage directly the images that train AI systems, and to take those images seriously as a part of a rapidly evolving culture. They represent the new vernacular photography that drives machine vision. To see how this works, we analyzed hundreds of training sets to understand how these ‘engines of seeing’ operate.”

Exhibition was conceived by Kate Crawford, AI researcher and professor, and Trevor Paglen, artist and researcher.

September 8, 2019

Beyond Midnight: Paul Revere at New-York Historical Society, September 6, 2019 – January 12, 2020

“The New-York Historical Society explores the life and accomplishments of Paul Revere (1735–1818), the Revolutionary War patriot immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1861 poem, ‘Paul Revere’s Ride.’ Paul Revere separates fact from fiction, revealing Revere as a complex, multifaceted figure at the intersection of America’s social, economic, artistic, and political life in Revolutionary War-era Boston as it re-examines his life as an artisan, activist, and entrepreneur. The exhibition, featuring more than 140 objects, highlights aspects of Revere’s versatile career as an artisan, including engravings, such as his well-known depiction of the Boston Massacre; glimmering silver tea services made for prominent clients; everyday objects such as thimbles, tankards, and teapots; and important public commissions, such as a bronze courthouse bell.” — New-York Historical Society

“When many of us think of Paul Revere, we instantly think of Longfellow’s lines ‘One if by land, and two if by sea’, but there is much more to Revere’s story,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society. “This exhibition looks beyond the myth of Paul Revere to better understand the man as a revolutionary, an artisan, and an entrepreneur, who would go on to become a legend. We are proud to partner with the American Antiquarian Society to debut this exhibition in New York.”

Photographs by Corrado Serra.

20190905-EW6A0827-Edit

20190907-EW6A0885

20190905-EW6A0824-Edit

20190905-EW6A0866-Edit

20190905-EW6A0867-Edit

20190905-EW6A0863-Edit

20190905-EW6A0835

20190905-EW6A0842

20190905-EW6A0860

20190905-EW6A0868-Edit

20190905-EW6A0852

20190905-EW6A0859

20190905-EW6A0853-Edit

20190905-EW6A0855

Beyond Midnight was organized by the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, and curated by Nan Wolverton and Lauren Hewes. At New-York Historical Society, it is coordinated by Debra Schmidt Bach, New-York Historical’s curator of decorative arts.

The exhibition will travel to the Worcester Art Museum and the Concord Museum in Massachusetts for a two-venue display (February 13 – June 7, 2020) and to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas (July 4 – October 11, 2020).

September 4, 2019

Zarina: Atlas of Her World and Susan Philipsz: Seven Tears at Pulitzer Arts Foundation, September 6, 2019 – February 16, 2020

Zarina: Atlas of Her World 

“Born in Aligarh, India, in 1937, New York-based artist Zarina Hashmi (who prefers to be referred to by her first name only) originally studied mathematics with an interest in architecture—fields that have influenced her work throughout her more than five-decade career. Her prints and sculptures, the works for which she is best known, bring abstraction and minimalism together with an ongoing engagement with themes of memory, place, and loss. 

With some forty prints, sculptures, and collages dating from the 1960s to the present, Zarina: Atlas of Her World is the first exhibition to also include examples of artworks and objects—spanning cultures and centuries—that have inspired the artist throughout her career, from an etching by Dürer, to a drawing by Malevich, to an architectural fragment from Mughal era India. In the process, it will show how Zarina has synthesized these diverse points of inspiration into her unique practice.” — Pulitzer Arts Foundation 

Traces

Zarina, Traces, 1980. Paper cast, 29 1/2 x 29 1/2 x 1 inches (74.9 x 74.9 cm) © Zarina; Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York

Home is a Foreign Place

Zarina, Home is a Foreign Place, 1999. Portfolio of 36 woodcuts with Urdu text printed in black on Kozo paper and mounted on Somerset paper. Edition of 25 and 5 Roman Numeral sets. Image size: 8 x 6 inches (20.32 x 15.24 cm) Sheet size: 16 x 13 inches (40.64 x 33.02 cm) © Zarina; Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York

Delhi Triptych

Zarina, Delhi, 2000. Portfolio of 3 woodcuts printed in black on handmade Nepalese paper, mounted on Arches Cover white paper. Edition of 25. Image size: 17 x 13 inches (43.2 x 33 cm) Sheet size: 25 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches (64.8 x 49.5 cm) © Zarina; Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York

Veil 2012

Zarina, Veil, 2011. 22-karat gold leaf on bamboo blinds, 142 x 48 inches (360.7 x 121.9 cm) © Zarina; Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York

Susan Philipsz: Seven Tears 

“Born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1965, Turner Prize-winning artist Susan Philipsz is best known for her works that explore the potential of sound—often including her own, untrained voice—to define space and its interaction with architecture. Created in response to specific spaces and their architectural, environmental, and historic contexts, Philipsz’s sound installations bring to life the meaning of the places in which they are sited. She has said, “I work with sound but that sound is always installed in a particular context and that context with its architecture, lighting, and ambient noises forms the entire experience of the artwork. It is a visual, aural, and emotive landscape.” 

Susan Philipsz: Seven Tears will include a specially commissioned installation created for the Pulitzer’s Tadao Ando-designed building. Situated in the museum’s central water court, where a reflecting pool offers dynamic views of the surrounding environment, the installation features Philipsz’s own voice singing a seventeenth-century lament on the themes of reflection, tears, and mourning. Other works—poetic meditations on loss, hope, and longing—will animate the museum’s galleries and surrounding architecture, creating a constellation of singular, immersive environments.” — Pulitzer Arts Foundation

TBG18183_Seven Tears

Susan Philipsz, Seven Tears, 2016. Installation view at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York. Seven-channel vinyl installation. Dimensions variable. Edition 1 of 3, 2 AP. Courtesy the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles

TBG18183_Seven Tears_detail

Susan Philipsz, Seven Tears (detail), 2016. Seven-channel vinyl installation. Dimensions variable. Edition 1 of 3, 2 AP. Courtesy the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles

Philipsz_Vernebelt V_2016

Susan Philipsz, Vernebelt V, 2016. Chromogenic print mounted on Aludibond behind glass, 12 7/8 x 19 5/8 inches (32.7 x 49.8 cm). Courtesy the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles

Philipsz_Vernebelt VII_2016

Susan Philipsz, Vernebelt VII, 2016. Chromogenic print mounted on Aludibond behind glass, 13 3/16 x 19 11/16 inches (33.5 x 50 cm). Courtesy the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles

Organized by the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, Zarina: Atlas of Her World is curated by Tamara H. Schenkenberg, Curator at the Pulitzer, and Susan Philipsz: Seven Tears is curated by Associate Curator Stephanie Weissberg. 

Images courtesy Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

September 3, 2019

Roger Brown: Virtual Still Lifes at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), through September 15, 2019

“The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) presents an exhibition dedicated to the work of American artist Roger Brown (1941-1997), examining the ways in which collecting, arrangement, and the theatrical informed and enriched his artistic practice. Roger Brown: Virtual Still Lifes features works made in the final years of the artist’s life that combined his passion for collecting with his groundbreaking approach to painting. Marking the first solo museum show in New York devoted to Brown, the exhibition at MAD offers a rare opportunity to view over forty works that trace the artist’s evolution through the lens of collection and display.” — MAD

“Roger Brown is a historically significant figure in American painting,” said Shannon R. Stratton, exhibition curator and former MAD William and Mildred Lasdon Chief Curator, “whose signature style of ominous weather, patterned landscapes, omnipotent points of view, and nods to the theatrical make for a nuanced critique of the artificiality of post-war American culture. His and his contemporaries’ influence can be felt anew, as young artists today re-explore surrealism, pop culture, and vernacular aesthetics as a means to examine contemporary life.”

Installation views of Roger Brown: Virtual Still Lives at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York (May 2–September 15, 2019). Photo by Jenna Bascom. Courtesy the Museum of Arts and Design.

050119_JBascom_5G1A0575

050119_JBascom_5G1A0618

050119_JBascom_5G1A1001

050119_JBascom_5G1A0741

050119_JBascom_5G1A0929

Vase-Noir_1996_

050119 JBascom_5G1A0875

Virtual-Still-Life-11-Mugs-and-Mountains_1995

050119_JBascom_5G1A0864

A-Painting-For-a-Sofa-A-Sofa-For-a-Painting_1995

Virtual-Still-Life-14-Pots-and-Piedmont-and-Piru_1995

Virtual-Still-Life-15-Waterfalls-and-Pitchers_1995

September 2, 2019

Verdi: Creating Otello and Falstaff—Highlights from the Ricordi Archive at The Morgan Library & Museum September 6, 2019 – January 5, 2020

“After Aida in 1871, except for occasional projects, Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901), Italy’s pre-eminent composer, retired from opera at the age of 58. This, however, did not prevent constant pleas from his publisher and future librettist for the maestro to return to the operatic stage. Reluctantly coaxed out of retirement, Verdi composed what would become the crowning achievements of his career: Otello and Falstaff. From September 6, 2019 to January 5, 2020, the Morgan Library & Museum will present highlights from the Milan-based, Bertelsmann-owned Ricordi Archive, offering visitors insight into the production of these two operas, as well as the complex enterprise of bringing an opera to life. Based on The Enterprise of Opera: Verdi. Boito. Ricordi, created by Bertelsmann/Ricordi and curated by Gabriele Dotto, Verdi: Creating Otello and Falstaff—Highlights from the Ricordi Archive traces the genesis and realization of Otello and Falstaff through original scores, libretti, selected correspondence, set and costume designs, and more, marking the first exhibition of these rare documents and artifacts in the United States.” — The Morgan Library & Museum  

no_1_Pietro_Tempestini_Verdi_MontecatiniTerme_AS_763

Pietro Tempestini (1843-1917). Verdi a Montecatini Terme, 1899. Photograph. Courtesy of Bertelsmann / Archivio Storico Ricordi, Milan

Exterior_Garter_Inn_Falstaff_Scala_ICON000166-2

Falstaff: A Square; On the Right, the exterior of the Garter Inn, act 3, sc 1. Set design by Adolf Hohenstein (1854-1928). Teatro alla Scala, 1893. Oil on cardboard. Archivio Storico Ricordi, Milan

Falstaff_Furniture_musical_instruments_design_Scala_1893_ICON001838

Falstaff: Furniture and musical instruments. Design by Adolf Hohenstein (1854-1928). Teatro alla Scala, 1893. Watercolor on paper. Archivio Storico Ricordi, Milan

Otello_Vanity_table_design_Scala_1887_ICON001821

Otello: Vanity table, Desdemona’s room. Design by Carlo Ferrario (1833-1907). Teatro alla Scala, 1887. Watercolor on paper. Archivio Storico Ricordi, Milan

Falstaff_costume_design_Scala_1887_ICON001616

Falstaff costume. Design by Adolf Hohenstein (1854-1928). Teatro alla Scala, 1893. Watercolor on paper. Archivio Storico Ricordi, Milan

Otello_Desdemona_act_3_costume_design_Scala_ICON000886

Desdemona costume. Design by Alfredo Edel (1856-1912). Teatro alla Scala, 1887. Watercolor on paper. Archivio Storico Ricordi, Milan

Production_card_listing_printings_of_libretto_Otello_schede lavorazione OTELLO-01

Production card listing printings of the libretto of Otello, 1887-99. Archivio Storico Ricordi, Milan

Verdi_in_garden_Ricordis_house_1892_FOTO00128

Circolo Fotografico Lombardo (active 1889-99). Giuseppe Verdi in the garden of Giulio Ricordi’s house in Via Borgonuovo, Milan, 1892. Photograph Archivio Storico Ricordi, Milan

Giulio_Ricordi_ArchivioRicordiMilan_AS_1288-07

Carlo de Marchi. Giulio Ricordi, early twentieth century. Mixed media. Archivio Storico Ricordi, Milan

Verdi: Creating Otello and Falstaff—Highlights from the Ricordi Archive is organized by the Morgan Library & Museum, New York in cooperation with Bertelsmann/Ricordi Archive.

The curator of the exhibition at the Morgan is Fran Barulich, Mary Flagler Cary Curator and Department Head, Music Manuscripts and Printed Music at the Morgan Library & Museum.

Images courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum.

August 27, 2019

Long Light. Sean Scully & the Panza Collection at Villa Panza, Varese, through January 6, 2020

“FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano (the National Trust for Italy) presents Long Light. Sean Scully at Villa Panza & the Panza Collection, an exhibition of works by the Irish-born American artist, who is a master of light and colour. Curated by Anna Bernardini, Director of Villa Panza & the Panza Collection, the spaces of the villa in Varese play host to a group of works that confirm Scully’s status as one of the leading figures on the contemporary painting scene.

The exhibition at Villa Panza brings together 80 works produced by Scully between 1970 and 2019 – paintings, works on paper, photographs, sculptures, installations and videos – arranged along a chronological and thematic route that casts the spotlight on certain crucial moments in the development of his output. His poetics, at once expressive and minimalist, and his research into colour, gesture, equilibrium, geometry and light blend in perfectly with the ethical and aesthetic sensibility of Giuseppe Panza, creating an elective affinity that is reflected in the staging of the exhibition, whereby Scully’s works enter into a dialogue with the permanent collection, confirming once again FAI’s desire to offer exhibitions that are intrinsically bound up with the venue and that engage with the architecture of the museum, its interiors and its grounds. The exhibition ends in the park surrounding the villa, and specifically in the conservatory, with a new, site-specific work called Looking Outward, which has become part of the permanent collection.” — FAI

“Harmony is coming out of what you know. It’s affirming what you already know. […] So disharmony is much more interesting and life affirming than harmony, because disharmony eventually, through history, we change into harmony.” — Sean Scully (1996)

Long Light_Sean Scully a Villa Panza_Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni (2)

Long Light. Sean Scully at Villa Panza. Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni

Long Light_Sean Scully a Villa Panza_Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni (4)

Long Light. Sean Scully at Villa Panza. Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni

Long Light_Sean Scully a Villa Panza_Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni (5)

Long Light. Sean Scully at Villa Panza. Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni

Long Light_Sean Scully a Villa Panza_Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni (10)

Backs and Fronts, 1981. Long Light. Sean Scully at Villa Panza. Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni

Long Light_Sean Scully a Villa Panza_Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni (9)

Long Light. Sean Scully at Villa Panza. Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni

Long Light_Sean Scully a Villa Panza_Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni (16)

Long Light. Sean Scully at Villa Panza. Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni

Sean Scully_Looking Outward, 2019_Villa Panza_Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni

Sean Scully. Looking Outward, 2019. Villa Panza. Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni

Sean Scully_Looking Outward, 2019_Villa Panza_Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni (4)

Sean Scully. Looking Outward, 2019. Villa Panza. Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni

Sean Scully_Looking Outward, 2019_Villa Panza_Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni (3)

Sean Scully. Looking Outward, 2019. Villa Panza. Courtesy Magonza, Photo Michele Alberto Sereni

August 23, 2019

Todd Gray: Euclidean Gris Gris at Pomona College Museum of Art (PCMA), September 3, 2019 – May 17, 2020

“Todd Gray: Euclidean Gris Gris is a year-long exhibition and residency at Pomona College that includes an evolving selection of new sculptural photographic works derived from Gray’s exploration of the legacies of colonialism in Africa and Europe and a site-specific wall drawing that abstractly evokes a relationship to African deities.

Based in Los Angeles, Gray is best known for photography, performance and sculptural works that address histories of power in relationship to the African diaspora. In the work at Pomona College, he combines photographs from his own archive—assembled over decades—and reconfigures and stacks the framed images on top of each other, resulting in layers that both reveal and conceal. The works include photographs of individuals and rural scenes in South Africa and Ghana (where Gray maintains a studio), formal imperial gardens in Europe, constellations and galaxies and images of rock and pop musicians Gray worked with in the 1970s and 1980s.

The title “Euclidean Gris Gris” references Gray’s examination of the historical constructs of the “logical” and geometrical gardens of Europe—an aesthetic manifestation of the idea of disembodied reason—and the “unpredictable” nature found in African landscapes. Gray deconstructs and layers images in order to rupture the body/mind and nature/culture binaries and examine the intimacies of Black sociality.” — Pomona College Museum of Art

Gifty Versailles_P4A4978

Todd Gray, Euclidean Gris Gris (Gifty/Versailles), 2019. Three archival pigment prints in artist’s frames, 48 5/8 x 41 x 3 5/8 in. Courtesy of the artist, David Lewis, New York, and Meliksetian | Briggs

20190718__L6A5541

Euclidean Gris Gris (The Young Shall Inherit the Earth), 2019. Three archival pigment prints in artist’s frames, 30 3/4 x 30 5/8 x 3 1/4 in. Courtesy of the artist, David Lewis, New York, and Meliksetian | Briggs

20190718__L6A5549

Euclidean Gris Gris (Francis), 2019 Three archival pigment prints in artist’s frames, 49 5/8 x 37 5/8 x 1 3/4 in. Courtesy of the artist, David Lewis, New York, and Meliksetian | Briggs

20190718__L6A5557

Euclidean Gris Gris (Love and Happiness), 2019. Two archival pigment prints in artist’s frames, 37 7/8 x 47 3/4 x 2 3/4 in. Courtesy of the artist, David Lewis, New York, and Meliksetian | Briggs

20190718__L6A5564

Parisian Hoods in Bamboo Village, 2019. Two archival pigment prints in artist’s frames, 45 x 57 x 2 in. Courtesy of the artist, David Lewis, New York, and Meliksetian | Briggs

20190718__L6A5593

Euclidean Gris Gris (Ship of Fools), 2019. Two archival pigment prints in artist’s frames, 60 x 81 3/4 x 2 1/2 in. Courtesy of the artist, David Lewis, New York, and Meliksetian | Briggs

20190718__L6A5602

Euclidean Gris Gris (Paris/Cape Town), 2019. Two archival pigment prints in artist’s frames, 60 3/8 x 89 1/2 x 2 1/2 in. Courtesy of the artist, David Lewis, New York, and Meliksetian | Briggs

20190718__L6A5611

Euclidean Gris Gris (Bamboo/Figure in Leopold’s Garden), 2019. Three archival pigment prints in artist’s frames, 73 1/2 x 57 5/8 x 3 7/8 in. Courtesy of the artist, David Lewis, New York, and Meliksetian | Briggs

20190723__L6A5929

Gris Gris Eye, 2019. Three archival pigment prints in artist’s frames, 73 3/4 x 59 1/8 x 3 in. Courtesy of the artist, David Lewis, New York, and Meliksetian | Briggs

20190723__L6A5952

Euclidean Gris Gris (Scales of Injustice, No Respect), 2019. Five archival pigment prints in artist’s frames, 61 ½ x 98 ¾ x 4 ¾ in. Courtesy of the artist, David Lewis, New York, and Meliksetian | Briggs

In a recent conversation with artist Carrie Mae Weems that will be published in the exhibition catalog, Gray notes his desire for the audience to locate themselves within the multidimensional aspects of his work:

“I wanted to make the viewer conscious of how they are active players in constructing meaning. We tend to think of the veracity of photography, and that it does not lie,” says Gray. “I wanted to shift that and bring attention to the frame, to ask what’s outside of this frame? Because this other frame is covering something up. Then, you are given the task to reconstruct and bring in your narrative, your history, your understanding of what you’re looking at, and then, to name and create a narrative.”

The PCMA exhibition is organized by senior curator Rebecca McGrew with assistant curator Hannah Grossman.

Images courtesy Pomona College Museum of Art.

August 17, 2019

Clapping with Stones: Art and Acts of Resistance at The Rubin Museum of Art, August 16, 2019 – January 6, 2020

“The Rubin Museum of Art presents the third exhibition in its Year of Power programming, Clapping with Stones: Art and Acts of Resistance. The exhibition brings together 10 contemporary artists living and working in the United States and internationally whose works poetically employ non-conformity and resistance as tools to question and upend power in society. Using a range of media — including installation, painting, photography, sculpture, video, and textile — the artists confront history, identity, heritage, and ways of understanding the world at a time when truth is censored, borders reconfigured, mobility impeded, and civil liberties challenged. Bringing together myriad voices, the exhibition presents a meditation on the spirit of defiance expressed through art. Clapping with Stones: Art and Acts of Resistance features works by Lida Abdul, Kader Attia, Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Naiza Khan, Kimsooja, Pallavi Paul, Shahpour Pouyan, Ibrahim Quraishi, Nari Ward, and Hank Willis Thomas.” — The Rubin

Clapping with Stones was organized by guest curator Sara Raza.

20190815-EW6A0762

Shahpour Pouyan (b. 1979, Isfahan, Iran; lives and works in New York); Untitled Dome, detail from My Place Is the Placeless; 2017. Photo by Corrado Serra for Arts Summary.

20190815-EW6A0767-Edit

hahpour Pouyan (b. 1979, Isfahan, Iran; lives and works in New York); Untitled Dome, detail from My Place Is the Placeless; 2017. Photo by Corrado Serra for Arts Summary.

20190815-EW6A0750

Nari Ward (b. 1963, St Andrew, Jamaica; lives and works in New York); installation Breathing Room; 2019. Photo by Corrado Serra for Arts Summary.

The_Calling_02H_DSC_0215

Ibrahim Quraishi (b. 1973 Nairobi, Kenya; lives and works in Amsterdam and Berlin); detail of The Calling; 2012–2018; installation of 8 exploded violins and coffins; photograph by Ibrahim Quraishi from a live installation at Galeri Lumen Travo Amsterdam; image courtesy of the artist.

20190815-EW6A0752-Edit

Pallavi Paul (b. 1986, New Delhi India; lives and works in New Delhi); Burn the Diaries; 2014. Photo by Corrado Serra for Arts Summary.

20190815-EW6A0759-Edit

Left: Hank Willis Thomas (b. 1976, Plainfield, New Jersey; lives and works in New York); The March; 2017. Photo by Corrado Serra for Arts Summary.

Abdul_Clapping

Lida Abdul (b. 1973, Kabul, Afghanistan; lives and works in Kabul and Los Angeles); still of Clapping With Stones; 2005; 16 mm film transferred to DVD; 5 min.; image courtesy of the artist and Giorgio Persano Gallery.

20190815-EW6A0761

Center: Naiza Khan (b. 1968, Bahawalpur, Pakistan; lives and works in London and Karachi); The Robe; 2008. Photo by Corrado Serra for Arts Summary.

20190815-EW6A0745

Naiza Khan (b. 1968, Bahawalpur, Pakistan; lives and works in London and Karachi); The Robe; 2008. Photo by Corrado Serra for Arts Summary.

20190815-EW6A0744-Edit

Left: Nadia Kaabi-Linke (b. 1978, Tunis, Tunisa; lives and works in Berlin); The Altarpiece; 2015. Right: Nari Ward (b. 1963, St Andrew, Jamaica; lives and works in New York); We Shall Overcome; 2015. Photo by Corrado Serra for Arts Summary.

DC_NK_shoot2_15

Nadia Kaabi-Linke (b. 1978, Tunis, Tunisa; lives and works in Berlin and Kiev); The Altarpiece; 2015; photograph by Kevin Todora, 2015; image courtesy of the Burger Collection, Hong Kong.

LAWRIE-SHABIBI-3498

Nadia Kaabi-Linke (b. 1978, Tunis, Tunisa; lives and works in Berlin and Kiev); The Altarpiece; 2015; photograph by Mustafa Aboobacker, 2015; image courtesy of the Burger Collection, Hong Kong.

Title image, top left: Kimsooja (b. 1957, Daegu, South Korea; lives and works in New York and Seoul); Lotus: Zone of Zero (detail); 2017.