Great moments in Irish history captured on the canvas By Aidan Dunne

Creating History: Stories of Ireland in Art is at the National Gallery of Ireland until January 15th, 2017

A new exhibition at the National Gallery shows Ireland’s history in 55 paintings, and reveals a few secrets if you look carefully 

Creating History: Stories of Ireland in Art, the National Gallery of Ireland’s new exhibition, and its main contribution to the Decade of Centenaries, marshals 55 paintings produced from the 17th century to the 1930s, each of which illustrates and addresses an event in Irish history, extending back to the arrival of St Patrick and concluding with the establishment of the Free State. (The Decade of Centenaries programme began in 2012 and focuses initially on the many significant centenaries occurring over the period 1912–1916.) Perhaps the most intriguing thing about the exercise is that it does not and could not offer a linear, straightforward narrative. Rather it’s a chronicle of continually shifting aims, priorities and viewpoints. Every picture tells a story with Ireland at its heart, whether conjured up in retrospect, depicted in real time or meticulously constructed, and every story is different to a greater or lesser extent. With paintings drawn from the National Gallery’s collection – some rarely seen, several having undergone extensive conservation – and private collections in Ireland and abroad, the exhibition offers a unique take on Irish history and Irish art. An accompanying book, edited by Brendan Rooney and including a series of thematic essays, is published by Irish Academic Press and the National Gallery (€24.99).

James Barry: “The Baptism of the King of Cashel by St Patrick,” circa 1800

Jan Wyck: “The Battle of the Boyne”, 1693

Joseph Haverty: “The Monster Meeting at Clifden, ” circa 1844

Edwin Hayes: “The Emigrant Ship, Dublin Bay, Sunset,” 1853

Lady Butler: “Evicted,” 1890

Archibald McGoogan: “After the Bombardment,” 1916

John Lavery: “Michael Collins (Love of Ireland),” 1922 The Irish Times

Matisse, Kandinsky works get Dutch debut in Van Gogh Museum exhibit By Janene Pieters

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam just opened an exhibition with special pieces from the famous Merzbacher Collection, which has never been in the Netherlands before. It includes works from artists like Henri Matisse, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Wassily Kandinksy and focuses on how these artists were inspired by Vincent van Gogh. The collection, owned by Werner and Gabrielle Merzbacher, is known as one of the finest and best private art collections in the world. According to the museum, the Fauvists in France and the Expressionists in Germany were inspired by Van Gogh’s “Colorful, dynamic and emotionally charged paintings” in their search for ways to make their art more powerful and evocative. “The personal quality of his work strengthened their desire to express their deepest feelings. These pioneering artists were looking for freedom in form and color. In their search, they went a step beyond Van Gogh.” A total of 14 works are featured in the exhibition, titled Van Gogh Inspires Matisse, Kirchner, Kandinsky. It opened on Wednesday and can be enjoyed in the museum until November 27th. NL Times

Isa Genzken

Isa Genzken: Nofretete, 2014
Photo Credit: happyfamousartists.com 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

at Martin-Gropius-Bau Photo Madame

Isa Genzken: Make Yourself Pretty!

Isa Genzken is one of Germany’s most remarkable artists. Her work has its roots in the medium of sculpture and is characterized by a constantly evolving visual language and the casual use of media. The retrospective offers a framework for Genzken’s unorthodox vision of the world that surrounds us. The exhibition covers topics such as modernity, the human body, portraiture, urban culture and architecture.

“I always wanted to have the courage to do totally crazy, impossible and off-key things.” Isa Genzken, 1994

Isa Genzken (*1948) is one of the most remarkable and radical artists of our time. She has earned international renown with her profound work. Her diverse works represent one of the most important contemporary stances of our time. Her oeuvres are now comprehensively on show in Berlin for the first time. The exhibition presents the broad spectrum of Genzken’s work, from her early films, drawings, ellipsoids and concrete sculptures to complex narrative collages and everyday items integrated into montages. The presentation highlights topics such as modernity, the human body, portraits, city culture and architecture.

As an artist, Isa Genzken is prepared to risk it all in her quest for artistic regeneration. In her radical manner she develops diverse works, which are concerned with the topic of beauty in the sense of the essential and absolute.

Based on the category of sculpture, her work distinguishes itself through constantly further developing imagery and unlimited use of media and materials. In the 1970s, she produced sculptures designed on the computer, and thereby referred back to American minimalism and conceptual art. In the long, elegantly slender wooden sculptures, so-called ellipsoids and hyperbolos, one radical step followed another: sculptures made from bare plaster or concrete, collage books, complex narrative assemblages of industrially produced materials and everyday items, various film formats, photography, paintings, architectural models and outdoor sculptures.

Her art is playful and sometimes brightly-coloured but anything other than superficial. With her feel for materials and their arrangements she creates pieces that make you think. Her power of innovation and her ideas are rich in autobiographical elements and subtle comments on society, and they serve as a point of reference and source of inspiration for generations of artists.

She describes her way of working with two quotes: “I like to put things together that were previously unconnected. This connection is like a handshake between people.” And: “I love being daring.”

Co-organiser
The exhibition was developed in cooperation with the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and has been curated by Beatrix Ruf and Martijn van Nieuwenhuyzen. 

Martin-Gropius-Bau
Niederkirchner Straße 7
10963 Berlin
Germany

Kurt Günther - German Artist 1893-1955

Knabenbildnis, 1928. Sueddeutsche Zeitung  "Portrait of a Boy"
Tempera on wood; 18 7/8 x 14 9/16 in. (48 x 37 cm)
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie
© 2015 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Photo: bpk, Berlin/Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie/Art Resource, NY

New Objectivity: Modern German Art in the Weimar Republic, 1919–1933

"New Objectivity" will be the first extensive exhibition in the United States on the art of the Weimar Republic. Including nearly 200 works by 50+ artists, this comprehensive show will investigate dominant visual trends prior to World War II. Oct. 4th, 2015 – Jan. 18th, 2016
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Los Angeles, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard

KCRW Artsy Los Angeles County Museum of Art Photo