The cover article of this issue focuses on the relationship between different forms of art and fashion, and the often complex but always intriguing and even inspiring connections between the two. Exploring the ways in which costume can express ideas and emotions, and how visual art of various kinds can inform this mode of expression, the article reminds us of the enormous and wide-ranging impact that art can have on all aspects of [...]]]> It’s May, and that means that we are delighted to announce the biannual publication of Agora Gallery’s contemporary art magazine, ARTisSpectrum. The 27^th edition is full of the excellent artist profiles that readers have come to expect, introducing art lovers and collectors to some of the talented international artists whose work displays the excitement and energy that art can embody.

The cover article of this issue focuses on the relationship between different forms of art and fashion, and the often complex but always intriguing and even inspiring connections between the two. Exploring the ways in which costume can express ideas and emotions, and how visual art of various kinds can inform this mode of expression, the article reminds us of the enormous and wide-ranging impact that art can have on all aspects of the world. This article is followed by a separate piece which focuses on three artists who have in some sense combined their love of art and their artistic process with their interest in materials and fashion with unique and delightful results.

In the Spotlight piece, you can discover the fascinating art of Carlo Proietto, whose main medium is fire. Many art lovers have never even heard of pyrography, but after reading this article you’ll wish you saw samples of it more often! In addition, readers will be interested to learn about the humanitarian efforts of artists who seek to combine their art with their desire to do good in the world. Four very different artists share their stories of using their knowledge of art to help others.

There are a number of articles by individual artists, including one by Roberta Dixon considering the importance of an artist finding a process which suits them and their individual talents, skills and motivation, and one on the pleasures of plein air painting, by Steven R. Hill. There is also one by John Stevenson which investigates and explores what he calls ‘the New York state of mind’ – something many visitors to NYC will doubtless find resonates with their own experience!

This edition also sees the return of regular favorites, including Evoking the Muse, in which artists share their impressions of New York and disclose the influence it has had on their art, and ARTbeat, which presents an artist’s view of cities around the world, with natives of those cities sharing their hints and tips for what to do as an art lover visiting their city. All this and more is ready and waiting for you in this latest issue of ARTisSpectrum.

The magazine is due to hit bookshops, stalls and shelves around New York shortly, and will be arriving at the homes of those who have subscribed to receive it soon after. If you just can’t wait and would like to get a sneak preview, however, the online edition is already available. Enjoy it – and feel free to fill in our feedback form. You can even suggest ideas for future articles!

The main thing here is that the work is intended not only to educate and inform but also to convince. It is, in effect, a way of publicly standing against a trend or a problem, and showing others your point of view so strongly that you hope that they cannot help but be convinced. It is a form of protest.

Art has [...]]]> For artists, art is both an expression and a source of inspiration, exploration and communication. For art lovers (and the two are of course not mutually exclusive) art is a rich well of beauty, ingenuity and creativity. Yet it also has another role to play – that of introducing viewers to a particular issue, saying something about it and attempting to persuade them of a way of thinking or conclusion.

The main thing here is that the work is intended not only to educate and inform but also to convince. It is, in effect, a way of publicly standing against a trend or a problem, and showing others your point of view so strongly that you hope that they cannot help but be convinced. It is a form of protest.

Art has played this role for many years, and perhaps the most famous example in the last hundred years or so is Picasso’s Guernica – the painting that he showed as the Spanish display at the 1937 World Fair, in Paris. Picasso had been commissioned by the Spanish government to create a piece for the International Exposition, but he was the one who chose the theme.

It was during the Spanish Civil War, and Picasso had been horrified and moved by the news coming from Spain as the brutal fighting continued. He created Guernica, an unforgettable protest against the cruelty and suffering of war which not only brought awareness of the facts of the civil war to countries around the world but also continued to influence public and private thinking long after the Spanish Civil War had ended. A tapestry of the painting now hangs on the wall of the United Nations building in NYC.

Art has had an important role to play in recent years too. During the ‘Arab Spring,’ one of the ways people found to show their support for change and their rejection of their current government was through street art. In Egypt, Libya, Syria and elsewhere, street artists took risks and planned carefully to place their art where they thought it could reach and influence those who saw it.

In Russia, Voina, a group of protest artists have become so well-known that they were awarded a state prize for contemporary art – ironically, given that much of their work is concerned with challenging aspects of the state. In Saudi Arabia, where there are as yet no art schools, it was recently reported that a nonprofit organization has been founded to support Middle Eastern artists and recently opened an exhibition in Jeddah which contains art that deals with some of the challenges facing the Saudi state and its citizens. In the western world, contemporary artists have turned to pieces dealing with the economic and political challenges of the current time.

The Saudi artists are an example of the gentler kind of protest art – they aim not to shock but to persuade, gently, and this is something that characterizes much art in the Western world as well. While a strong message certainly can have its benefits, there is also a value in pieces which do not alarm or upset but instead encourage people to think, and perhaps offer non-frightening next steps. In some contexts this gentler form of art can be safer, too.

The risk of protest art is one that was exemplified in 2011 by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. International fame was not enough to prevent the Chinese government from sending the artist, who often used his art and his internet presence to advocate for free speech and human rights, to prison for what turned out to be a total of 81 days. Before that, in 2009, the artist needed brain surgery following a beating by the police.

Ai Weiwei is an example of the dangers of using the platform of art to protest. Yet there are other, less dramatic risks as well. The controversy over the Hide/Seek exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery showed that art which has been designed to raise contentious problems or themes continues to be a source of friction and debate in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Perhaps the potential restrictions come with advantages as well, though. In seeking to get through to people in the way that will work best, artists have to be realistic and honest about their message and their audience. They then have to employ their talents to create something that will speak to their viewers, or as many of them as possible. As Aya Alireza, the assistant curator of the Saudi exhibition, put it, “The reason I find Saudi art particularly inspiring is because the restrictions the artists face are what actually lights the fuel under their creativity, forcing them to think more deeply and to be more subtle in their work.”

In the end, artists must suit their message, and its form, to their audience, breaking down established modes of thought through their work, but doing so in a way that will resonate with those it is intended to influence.

Have you ever created or experienced art that had been used as a form of protest? Let us know in the comments!

That it is an increasingly [...]]]> Using artisans – skilled workers – to aid in the process of creating art has been a common practice in the artist community for centuries. Michelangelo, as is well known, had a large group of artisans working for him who helped him complete the projects that came out of his studio, and many other famous artists also relied heavily on the use of assistants. In more modern times, Andy Warhol’s Factory churned out numerous artworks, many of which had relatively little direct input from the artist. Contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst have publicly discussed their own studios, in which a number of assistants work under the direction of the main artist to create the works that sometimes sell at auction for millions of dollars.

That it is an increasingly common practice in the art world cannot be denied. Not all buyers consider the possibility, but many collectors are aware of it and sometimes let it feature in their decisions of whether or not to buy a work. Galleries who represent artists who use artisans to create their work are open about the practice, if asked, and many collectors are unconcerned by it, preferring to concentrate on the work itself rather than the question of who made which part. Yet it remains an issue of great importance for the art world – one which  requires serious deliberation and discussion – and the topic was recently raised by David Hockney, who teasingly pointed out on his gallery wall that ‘all the works here were made by the artist himself, personally.’

It is perhaps easier to accept the use of artist assistants in some forms of art than in others. For example, it is generally expected that video art, although primarily the work of one or two artists, will have often involved various people playing crucial roles in setting up scenes, camera work, editing work, soundtracks and so on. Similarly, conceptual art is sometimes cited as an area in which it doesn’t make that much difference who was responsible for any particular physical part of the overall piece; the important person is the one whose concept it is, and who worked out and directed the making. A popular piece by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, which was shown at the Tate Modern in Britain last year, consisted of millions of handmade porcelain sunflower seeds. Few of these seeds, if any, were made by the artist himself, but there were no complaints about this fact because the identity of who made the individual seeds was not crucial to the work, which was still indisputably the work of Ai Weiwei.

The sunflower seeds example also leads to another point. Ai Weiwei could not in fact have made every seed himself, even had he wanted to, and even if he had the requisite skills, because it would have taken him a prohibitively long time to do so. One person working alone would take may years to produce millions of handmade seeds – work that would have prevented the artist from beginning other projects in the time.

This is an important issue when it comes to the art market. Artists who have begun to be well-known are placed in a difficult position as the demand for their work rises. They are under pressure, from dealers, gallery owners and collectors, to produce more and more of the works that are becoming popular. If they are unable to meet that demand, they risk seeing their popularity fade. Dealers cite the notoriously fickle nature of the art world when pointing out the necessity of staying in the public eye, of being seen and being seen to create and sell new art. Often, artists feel that the only way they can meet this challenge is by employing assistants to help them, thus enabling them to produce far more than they would be able to do alone.

Naturally, the artist remains the guiding hand behind all of the work that bears their name. Many artists draw up highly detailed blueprints, and spend hours discussing just what it is that they intend with their assistants. For some artists, due to old age or physical disability, this is the only way they can keep on creating in the way that they want. Because of all this, many collectors, dealers and galleries are comfortable with the notion that the artist may not have physically created much of the work, because they know that the creative impetus and direction all came from them.

However, this method does not suit everyone. Some people cannot accept this way of creating art for painting, in particular. While sculpture, installation, video art and so on may be easier to understand when it comes to the question of assistants, many admit to an intuition that painting, in particular, should bear the mark of the artist themselves, and not be the result of directions from the artist. There are a number of artists who agree with this objection, and are not comfortable with letting anyone else play a part in the direct creation of a painting. The idea that a painting represents an outpouring of emotion, the result of what the artist sees and experiences and feels at a particular time, may be associated with the Impressionists, but it is still strong today. As a result, this remains an area of dispute, all the more sensitive an issue because it relies partly on an individual’s intuitions.

Do you have an opinion about artists and assistants? Share it in the comments!

In many ways this is hard to answer precisely. It varies from person to person, and from day to day. Installation days, for example, are unlike any others – in fact they deserve a separate post all to themselves! – but even more ordinary days can be full of surprises. The gallery may look pristine, calm and relaxed – but that doesn’t mean that the people working in it aren’t frantically busy sometimes. Every week [...]]]> As we begin to feel that the new year really has started, it seems like a good time to answer one of those questions that so often gets asked by visitors to the gallery and in curious emails. It might even be something that you’ve asked yourself. The question is ‘What’s it like, working in the gallery?’

In many ways this is hard to answer precisely. It varies from person to person, and from day to day. Installation days, for example, are unlike any others – in fact they deserve a separate post all to themselves! – but even more ordinary days can be full of surprises. The gallery may look pristine, calm and relaxed – but that doesn’t mean that the people working in it aren’t frantically busy sometimes. Every week presents us with new challenges, but also with new sources of interest and enjoyment.

The main thing that we’ve found is to expect the unexpected. You might have thought you were going to spend most of your day making sure all the details for the coming reception were sorted out and contacting artists about their artwork, but in fact you might end up unpacking art that has arrived earlier than anticipated and talking to customs about incoming works. Of course, sometimes your list has tasks which simply have to take priority, but often the important thing is to go with the flow and deal with whatever issue presents itself to you. As long as you take it all calmly, there’s usually time for everything in the end.

When you really do run out of time, a colleague might be able to help you with some of the things that really need to happen. We’re very fortunate in the gallery in that we work well as a team, and knowing that you can always call on someone else for help or advice makes everything seem easier. Having said that, of course each member of staff has their own area of expertise and responsibility, and that will have an impact on how an individual’s day or week works out.

Maintaining a good relationship with all the people and companies who help us make exhibitions and events a success is also crucial. For example, many artists ask us to have their works framed when they arrive in the U.S. This has a number of advantages – it can be cheaper to send, is often easier to pack, and it means that we can choose the frame that suits the work best for when it is in the gallery. All this means that the framer is a crucial person in getting everything done in time and in the right way – so having a good dynamic with him is pretty important!

A number of our daily surprises come by phone and email – questions about how the gallery runs, how representation works, about artwork viewed on ARTmine and how to purchase it, and so on – but sometimes from walk-ins as well. Agora is on the second floor of our building, but that doesn’t lessen the number of people who wander in; New York is a vertical city, and even someone who is visiting relatively briefly understands that very quickly. The result is that a number of passers-by enjoy the atmosphere of the gallery, ask questions about artists, and sometimes fall in love with a particular work and just have to have it.

So what is it like working in the gallery? It’s challenging, surprising and a lot of fun!

However, there have also been a number of larger events which have also played a part in characterizing 2011. One of them was certainly the remarkable success of young artist Aelita Andre, the four year old whose astonishing work captivated Angela, our Gallery Director, before she found out the [...]]]> It has been another full and memorable year at Agora Gallery. There were a number of small moments which the gallery staff will remember going into the coming year – from little birthday parties for staff members, to sharing cupcakes during a break in a busy day, to the look on a visitor’s face when they realized that they had found a work of art that speaks directly to them. These memories will invigorate and inspire us, moving forward into 2012.

However, there have also been a number of larger events which have also played a part in characterizing 2011. One of them was certainly the remarkable success of young artist Aelita Andre, the four year old whose astonishing work captivated Angela, our Gallery Director, before she found out the age of the artist. Aelita Andre’s solo exhibition at Agora Gallery was enormously successful, with collectors snapping up the works on display, both in the gallery and on online gallery ARTmine, and representatives from the media showing fascinated interest in the talent of this unusual artist.

In addition, there have been a number of other fabulous and inspiring solo exhibitions this year. Audiences have been delighted by the colorful and passionate work of Marcela Cadena and by Lynda Pogue’s optimistic and exhilarating creations. Paul M. Cote returned for a second, wonderful exhibition entitled Vers la Lumière, which displayed the artist’s developing talent, and Lydia van den Berg enchanted viewers with her paintings which persuasively mix childhood themes with adult ideas. Later in the year, L. Byrne’s striking, vibrant abstract impressionist works took center stage, followed by the art of Z. Todorova, which spoke so movingly of the artist’s personal conviction of a connection between humanity and the world in which we live. Most recently Carlo Proietto presented his unique artworks, created through the unusual method of pyrography, which the artist has elevated to a fine art technique.

The 2011 Chelsea International Fine Art Competition was also a highlight of the year. It was a pleasure to see so many high quality submissions; the juror, Elisabeth Sherman of the Whitney Museum of American Art, had a difficult job in choosing the selected artists! The competition exhibition, held in August, was also deservedly popular, with visitors appreciating the diversity and depth of the works on view.

One of our usual highlights is a biannual event – the publication of contemporary art magazine ARTisSpectrum, which covers such a range of interesting topics and themes relating to the art world. The magazines published in May and November of 2011 received much positive feedback from readers and from artists around the world – and at Agora Gallery, we particularly enjoyed posing in the shoes that were specially painted for the cover article of Volume 25, which focused on the synergy that exists between gallery staff.

This year as well, Agora Gallery’s main site got a brand new look. Designed to continue on seamlessly from the old format, the new version allows visitors to feel as if they are almost standing in the gallery, viewing the works on display and finding out more about the artists, the exhibitions and Agora. If you haven’t explored it yet, have a look now!

On Sunday September 18, 2011, Team Agora took part in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It’s an annual event that takes place in Central Park, in which participants run, jog and walk, participating in order to raise funds to combat breast cancer. Members of our family and friends have been affected by this terrible disease, and so we are especially glad to be able to participate in the race.

One other memorable event of the year – though it wasn’t exactly a highlight in the normal sense of the word – was Hurricane Irene. We were so touched to receive messages of support and concern from artists and art lovers all around the world. We kept in contact during that dramatic weekend, and you can read more about the experiences of some of the gallery staff on the blog.

We’re looking forward to 2012 and the new challenges, excitements and surprises it will bring. We hope you’ll join us for the ride, and in the meantime, happy new year!

ARTisSpectrum is a great way to keep up with the developing talent of artists all over the world, as the profiles in the magazine feature painters, sculptors, photographers and more who use their innate abilities and practiced skill to create works of interest and wonder. Artists who work in many styles, as well as many mediums, are presented, [...]]]> It’s November, and at Agora Gallery that means that freshly printed pages and shiny covers will be appearing in our hands – as well as on bookshelves and magazine stands all over Manhattan – very soon. Volume 26 of our biannual contemporary art magazine, ARTisSpectrum, is already online and will be coming through the mailboxes of eager subscribers shortly. You can see the virtual version of the magazine, and subscribe to receive printed copies .

ARTisSpectrum is a great way to keep up with the developing talent of artists all over the world, as the profiles in the magazine feature painters, sculptors, photographers and more who use their innate abilities and practiced skill to create works of interest and wonder. Artists who work in many styles, as well as many mediums, are presented, giving collectors an invaluable insight into what is available today.

As usual the magazine also contains a wonderful variety of articles by artists and individuals involved in the art world, on topics ranging from handy advice and tips to shared experience and a discussion of burgeoning trends in art. The cover article fits this last description – it’s an account of how new technology such as augmented reality apps and QR codes are shaping the art world, just as they influence the rest of society. Artists unlock the creative potential of these modern tools to show their audience new and exciting possibilities.

In addition Vol 26 features a fascinating article by regular contributor David LaBella about ancient cave paintings and what we can learn from them, and an inspirational piece by John Stevenson describing the benefits of painting trips for artists. Lydia van den Berg shares her motivations and thoughts in Spotlight, while in Studio Spaces Australian artist Nada Herman talks about the studio that she has shared with her grandfather, her father and most recently her daughter. As if that wasn’t enough, Agora Gallery’s director, Angela Di Bello, discusses the intricacies of art in interior design with a professional designer.

ARTisSpectrum also sees the return of articles that have proved popular with readers in previous issues: Art Matters, which interviews a number of collectors about what draws them to the pieces they purchase; Evoking the Muse, in which artists visiting New York explain what it is about the city that strikes them particularly and inspires them in their work; and ARTbeat, where artists from around the world share the things that makes a visit to their home city special for an art lover.

All this and more is waiting for you to discover and enjoy! Let us know which are your favorite articles and what you’d like to see more of in the comments, or through the feedback section on the magazine’s website.

Did you know?

The art world has always been influenced by collectors and powerful personalities who entrust to artists the task of committing their favorite images and values to a painting or sculpture, with the aim of celebrating their prestige and becoming immortal. In this way, many people over the centuries have hoped to leave a sign of their lives, one that will be remembered long after their deaths.

This was particularly [...]]]> Following the popularity of the ‘did you know’ post about Michelangelo, Agora Gallery assistant Chiara has agreed to share another fun, exciting aspect of the Renaissance art world with us, this time focusing on the renowned painter and architect Raphael. It might give you a whole new insight into the details painters choose to include in their works!

Did you know?

The art world has always been influenced by collectors and powerful personalities who entrust to artists the task of committing their favorite images and values to a painting or sculpture, with the aim of celebrating their prestige and becoming immortal. In this way, many people over the centuries have hoped to leave a sign of their lives, one that will be remembered long after their deaths.

This was particularly true during past times when talented artists were dependent on patronage, meaning that they had no choice but to satisfy the requests of those who were powerful during their times. These people were the ones with the financial ability and the desire to have their images or ideas immortalized through art.

Given that art is a personal matter for the artist, and that many artists prefer to use their creations to express something important to them, it should be no surprise that many of the artists who worked on commissions for the rich and powerful found secret ways to express their real feelings and beliefs in their paintings. In this way, they could create something which on a surface level represented what they had been requested to paint, but in fact held a whole separate world of symbols and declarations which would only be understandable to someone taking a closer look.

Master artist Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino) (1483-1520) was a professional Italian painter and architect who was famous for his kindly nature, his relaxed attitude to court life and his considerable beauty – aside from his reputation for his able use of colors and his tremendous artistic talent. One of the more influential personalities of Raphael’s era was Cardinal Bernardo, a powerful man of the Church who commissioned art from Raphael on a regular basis.

Cardinal Bernardo had a niece, Maria Bibbiena, who wanted to marry Raphael. The artist felt that he could not refuse, being placed in a difficult position due to the cardinal’s enormous influence. Yet it presented him with a problem – because Raphael was already secretly in love with the daughter of a baker, Margherita Luti, a woman often referred to as La Fornarina (the (female) Baker). He accepted the role as Maria Bibbiena’s fiancé, but continually postponed the marriage, so that it had still not taken place when he died.

Raphael’s mistress was his favorite female model from 1508 onwards, and in fact the protagonist of some of Raphael’s most famous portraits: La Fornarina and La Velata. Raphael was not free to declare his love and commitment to her, so while he was Maria Bibbiena’s official fiancé, he kept hiding marriage vows and love symbols in his paintings, such as a myrtle bush, associated with love and marriage, a wedding ring (removed from La Velata and now only visible through scientific analysis), a bridal vest, and accessories decorated with Raphael’s name. In addition, both portraits include pearls which the artist chose to decorate the hair of the sitter. The reason for this was likely because the word for ‘pearl’ was originally ‘Margarita’ – a clear reference to the name of his beloved.

Due to Raphael’s premature death at 37, he could not complete what studies suggest was his last portrait of his favorite model. She herself decided to retire to a convent four months after his death, and history has lost sight of her after that time.

We can all still admire Raphael’s devotion to his Margherita and continue to search for the secret symbols in his paintings that will never stop declaring his commitment to his loved one. And if you enjoy this, perhaps you would like to start exploring what further surprises and hints are waiting to be discovered in the paintings of artists who were painting for commissions but managed to slip into the works references to their own personality and ideas!