The Art Inquirer

NanoArt 2009 - 4th Edition

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:10:00 +0000

Open to all artists and scientists worldwide, the 4th Edition of NanoArt International Online Competition will will open for public on January 20th, 2010.

The artist and scientist Cris Orfescu, founder of NanoArt21, will provide 3 high resolution monochromatic electron scans of nanosculptures, which will have to be altered by the participants in order to create their own artworks.

The artists and scientists are encouraged to enter artworks (up to five) based upon their own images of micro or nanostructures.

All the submitted works will be will be exhibited on the NanoArt21.org website until March 31, 2010, together with artist's name, website and a description of the artistic process.

The top 10 artists, chosen by a jury, will have their art exhibited at the NanoArt21.org website for one full year and will be invited to exhibit at the 3rd edition of The International Festival of NanoArt (the 2008 edition took place in Stuttgart, Germany).

The deadline to enter this competition is January 15th, 2010.

Open Day at Sotheby's Institute of Art New York

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:55:00 +0000

With academic centers in London, New York and Singapore, the Sotheby's Institute of Art provides graduate programs for students seeking a career in the art world.

Featuring an object-based approach to teaching, students have the opportunity to learn through hands-on examination of works of art in museums, galleries and private collections.

The range of disciplines covers art valuation, curatorship , galleries and auction houses working methods, passing through the basics of copyright and tax laws.

Lectures are given by specialists on a regular basis, including artists, art critics, gallery directors, art lawyers and Sotheby's auction house experts.

The Sotheby's Institute of Art also offers intensive programs and short courses, focusing on the art market and Summer studies during June and July, both in New York.

On November 10th, between 6pm and 8pm, the Institute in New York will hold an Open Day event, covering the fields of Contemporary Art, American Fine & Decorative Art and Art Business, where prospective students will have the chance to learn about the graduate programs and ask questions.

CultureInside Halloween Contest 2009

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:15:00 +0000

The artistic community CultureInside is running a free contest for its registered members.
Adressed to artists and photographers and having the Halloween as its theme, the call starts on Monday October 26th and ends on Friday October 31st.
Selected by the CultureInside team and its community, the winners will have their works exhibited in a permanent online exhibition

Art Enclosures - Call for Artists Venice 2009 - 2010

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:53:00 +0000

Sponsored by the Fondazione di Venezia, together with Polymnia Srl (fully participate of Fondazione di Venezia) and Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, the three year residential program , now on its second phase, aims to provide emerging young artists from Africa, Caribbean and Pacific area, an opportunity of visibility and intercultural exchange.

During the three-year span, twelve young artists will be hosted and their artwork will be showcased in periodic exhibitions and pubished in a catalogue.

The forthcoming residency program will take place in Venice from January 20th through April 20th, 2010 and is destined to four artists from the african continent.

The project will cover travel expenses and lodging in the Palazzo Carminati, provided by the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa.

Artists will receive grant in the value of €700 (pre-taxes) for living costs while in Venice.

The ateliers of the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa and the necessary materials will be available to the artists for the completion of the artworks during the three months period, during which they will have the opportunity to get involved in public meetings, conferences and other cultural activities organized by the Fondazione di Venezia and the Fondazione Bevilacqua Masa.

The residential artists will also be given the chance to visit some of the museums and exhibitions in the area free of charge.

The application deadline is November 7th, 2009, you can download the prospect here.

Sand Animation by Kseniya Simonova 2009

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:08:00 +0000

Winner of Ukraine's Got Talent 2009, Kseniya Simonova (Ксения Симонова) performed amazing sand animation that portrayed life during former USSR's Great Patriotic War against the Third Reich in World War II (animation on top).

2009 Artistic Infusion Program - Call for Artists

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:47:00 +0000

Created by the Congress in 1972, the United States Mint is a self-funded agency with the primary mission of producing an adequate volume of circulating coinage for the nation to conduct its trade and commerce.

The United States Mint program is seeeking up to 6 artists to participate in the creation of designs for coins. The selected artists will join the current designers under contract with the program and will be paid the established fees.

Please read the application carefully.

Fingerprint on Vellum Portrait may Belong to Leonardo da Vinci

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:15:00 +0000

What can be a major discovery in the last one hundred years of a work by Leonardo da Vinci, has been recently announced to the public.
Sold at Christie's New York as " Young Girl in Profile in Renaissance Dress" and catalogued as "German, early 19th cantury" for $19,000 to art dealer Kate Ganz who kept it for 12 years before selling it on for a similar price in 2007 to a swiss art collector, the 13in by 9in (33cm x 24cm) chalk, pen and ink on vellum portrait, mounted on an oak board, may have been painted by da Vinci.
Examined by the forensic art expert Peter Paul Biro and compared to one found on "St. Jerome", a Leonardo's work kept at the Vatican, when the artist is not known to have assitants, a fingerprint was found at the top left.
A palm-print on the neck is also consistent with da Vinci's use of his hands to create shading and texture.
The claim made by Martin Kemp, Emeritus Professor of History of Art at Oxford University, is backed by tests done with a "multispectral" camera from Lumière Technology of Paris and by the carbon-14 analysis of the vellum, carried out by the Institute for Particle Physics, in Zurich, which resulted in a date range between 1440 and 1650.
Infrared analysis also reveals that drawing and hatching were made by a left-handed artist.
Professor Kemp believes that the sitter is Bianca Sforza, daughter of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan (1452-1508) and his mistress Bernardina Corradis. He suggests that the portrait may be dated from around 1496, when aged 13 or 14 she married Galeazzo Sanseverino, the Duke's army captain and a Leonardo's patron.
No other artwork on vellum by Leonardo da Vinci is known, however the artist had inquired the french artist Jean Perréal about techniques using coloured chalk on vellum.
Should these tests be proved reliable, the artwork that was previously sold for $19,000 is now valued at £100 million, according to London dealer Simon Dickinson.

The portrait is due to go on display at the Eriksbergshallen, Gothenburg, included in the exhibition called "And There Was Light: The Masters of the Renaissance Seen in a New Light".

Earlier this year, a portrait thought to be of Leonardo da Vinci was found by Nicola Barbatelli in a private collection of an aristocratic familiy from Acerenza, a town near Potenza in Basilicata.

National Portfolio and Graduate Portfolio Days

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:54:00 +0000

Art students who are looking for an opportunity to get their portfolios examined by experts, can be attended by art colleges and art schools that participate in the Portfolio Day events.

Taking place in several parts of the country and dates, there are two kinds of events : the National Portfolio Day, specifically for students of visual arts and design interested in undergraduate programs like BFA, BS and BA degrees, and the Graduate Portfolio Days for students that already have a Bachelor’s degree and are interested in MFA, MArch, and MA degrees.

The Graduate Portfolio Days is managed under the National Portfolio Day Association and in both websites, students can consult the 2009/2010 schedule for graduate and undergraduate programs.

If you have any questions, there is a FAQs page available.

Terry Ludwig Confetti Pastels

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:12:00 +0000

Known by their exquisite colours, including some successful dark tones, Terry Ludwig has recently introduced the "Confetti" line of soft pastels.
With the characteristic square shape that Terry has made us familiarized with, these new pastel sticks feature multiple pigments of different hues, enabling the artist to achieve interesting effects and details, such as sparks on water and shadows, or to deliver more interest to porcelain elements on a painting.
Terry Ludwig developed this new interesting line of Confetti soft pastels, now it's up to the artists to use their creativity and give the best use to it.

List Your Art Workshops For Free

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:19:00 +0000

If you are looking for a website where you can list your art workshop for free, Artist Workshop is one of the options.
Recently developed by Peggy and Robert Stermer-Cox, the website permits registered users to list their workshops for free, including online ones.
In the future we will see further development as the Artist Workshop is a new website and will continue to improve its service, namely based upon users' feedback.

Alive Gallery (Seoul, South Korea)

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:43:00 +0000

Located in Seoul, South Korea, the Alive Gallery uses advanced IT technology to enhance the visitor's experience.
This enables the interaction between visitors and the characters from famous western paintings, such as The Last Supper and The Arnolfini Portrait.
It's possible that you may not need to travel far to enjoy the experience, since there's the possibility of exporting this technology to other galleries and museums, or even being developed in your own country.

Social Networking for Artists

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:39:00 +0000

Over the last couple of years we have seen a constant appearing of social networking websites, permiting users to make themselves noticeable to connect with people sharing similar interests.

However one sometimes thinks to what extent people are finding a right balance between the time that they pass using those websites and the time shared in person with other people.

What The Art Inquirer wants to suggest is to use those social networks to bring people together, namely artists.

Instead of using those websites to only communicate, you can use them to arrange meetings with other artists and develop your artistic skills.

You can look for artists who share similar interests, or different ones if you want to learn new subjects or media, find them by using geographical options (if the network has that option) and so on.

This can work especially well for "plein air" painters or potential ones who have the desire to go paint outside but still didn't find the guts to or someone to go with.Of course that is advisable to have some information about the people that one is going to meet with and going with someone already known is advisable. One should also choose a non isolated spot, unless of course one already knows the person or group.

Working with other artists will enlight your artistic perceptions and develop your skills, besides the positive fact of doing new friendships.

Usually it's not permited to post links on comments, but if you have any ideas about this, are thinking about joining or forming a plein air painting group, or are already part of one, you are welcomed to leave a link.

image found at webtreatsmysitemyway

Museum of Chinese in America

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:19:00 +0000

Design by the artist and arquitect Maya Lyn (known for creating the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC), the new building of the Museum of Chinese in America was inaugurated this September 22nd.

Occupying a once machine shop at the 215 of Centre Street, the building features a sky-lit courtyard that opens onto exhibition galleries, a research center, an auditorium and a space for public programmes.

An historical look upon the chinese immigrant culture in the US and the museum's first exhibition of contemporary work by artists of chinese descent living in New York, "Here & Now: Chinese Artists in New York", are included in the inaugural show.

Organized into three parts, with the first one running until November 2nd and featuring the artists Cui Fei, Lin Yan, Xu Bing and Yun-Fei Ji.

The other two will open on November 19th and January 10th.

Casa das Histórias Paula Rego

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:23:00 +0000

The museum dedicated to the portuguese artist Paula Rego was inaugurated on August 18th with an exhibition dedicated to the work of the artist between 1987 and 2008, including paintings loaned by the Marlborough Gallery.
Featured are also other artworks such as "Life Painting" (1954), created when studying at the Slade School of Fine Art (London).
Many of those paintings depict the female model Lila Nunes, Paula Rego's favourite model since 1988 and who also was Victor Willing's nurse.
Design by the portuguese arquitect Eduardo Souto Moura, the Casa das Histórias de Paula Rego museum has 750sq. meters, featuring an auditorium with a capacity for 200 people, a library, bookstore and spaces for permanent and temporary exhibitions.
The artist has loaned several paintings to the museum, including 15 by her later husband Victor Willing (1928-1988). for a renewable period of 10 years.
Among the several works of art, including 257 etchings and 278 drawings, the visitor may see a large tapestry based upon the work "Alcácer Quibir".
With free admitance between 10am and 10pm, the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego museum will present two temporary exhibitions per year (Spring and Autumn).

Stop-Motion Animation by Eleanor Stewart

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:55:00 +0000

Hoedown from Rodeo from Eleanor Stewart on Vimeo.

Graduated by the Visual Communication at the Glasgow School of Art, Eleanor Stewart has created this cutout stop-motion animation inspired by Westerns.
The musical score is called "Hoedown", from the Rodeo Suite by Aaron Copland.
Eleanor did this work for her final year degree.

XVI Galeria Aberta - Beja 2009

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Resulting from the colaboration between the city council of Beja and the Jorge Vieira Museum, the Galeria Aberta event has brought together artists and public througout the years, with a consistent increase of the number of participants and visitors.

Now on its sixteenth edition and with an aproximate number of three hundred artists and circa five hundred artworks, the opening of the 2009 edition has proven to be a well organized event, result of a dedicated group of people who have put their effort into turning this into a great experience for artists and visitors.

Such fact was noticeable through the judicious distribution of the artworks and a well thoughout catalog.

The Mayor of Beja, Francisco Santos, interacted in a very positive way, showing interest about the event, as well as the artistic director of the museum, Rui Pereira and the other people involved in this project, who's names are too many to mention but are equally important.

As a featured event, this year the Galeria Aberta hosts the works of the rewarded artists from the Contest/Exhibition "Banco dos Artistas da Cidade da Horta" in Azores.

The city council of Horta has been actively participating in cultural partnerships with the Jorge Vieira Museum and was represented by its culture department town-councilor Maria do Céu Brito.

The XVI Galeria Aberta - Beja 2009 is a cultural event without restrictions of style, medium or subject, where artists from several status and countries are invited to express their creativity.

Besides the Jorge Vieira Museum, the other participating venues are the Galeria dos Escudeiros, Galeria Desassossego and Casa da Cultura.

One of the most important moments of the day was the attribution of prizes and honourable mentions, with the winning artists receiving sincere applauses by their coleagues.

A final word must go to a detail that although not a key factor, is the proof that the organizers of this event did their best : the buffet was of very good quality.

The event takes place from September 12th, through October 24th.

Artist Bill Guffey Uses Google Street View

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 21:17:00 +0000

Bill Guffey is an artist born in Kentucky, where he now resides, with passings through Colorado and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Member of the Oil Painters of America, he was awarded a grant through the Kentucky Arts Council and was accepted into the All Kentucky Juried Fine Art Exhibition 2008.
Using Google Street View, Bill paints views from around the world, including european and north american cities. In fact, the artist has recently finished a series of one painting from each state, with the exception of Hawaii where Street View is not available yet.
The artist is also an author of the Virtual Paintout blog, to which artists can submit their Street View based artworks.
The online version of the Daily Mail has an interesting article where you can compare Bill's paintings with the virtual views.

A Short Story About Quality

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:05:00 +0000

Although the primary reason for doing art is usually the simple joy of doing it, one of the main objectives of most artists is to make money from it.
We all know how difficult it can be to gain visibility and being represented by a gallery, even with some good connexions.
The internet has permited artists to show their artwork to a vast public, but the competition is huge and many times people are reluctant about buying online.
How can you convince the public to buy from you ?
Besides the usual marketing strategies, there is one word that will help you alot : quality.
Your online presence must transmit quality to the viewer, not only in terms of your website or blog, but especially your artwork.
When you are selling online, most of the people visiting your website don't know you and the only thing that will probably make them want to buy your art is its quality.
But let me tell you about something that happened to confirm what you have been reading.
I sign a newsletter of an artist who's work I appreciate and when she posts a new painting on her blog, I get the news about it.
Yesterday I opened the newsletter and saw this painting that I truly enjoyed, it was of great quality and I even thought about acquiring it.
After I clicked the link, a word confirmed the quality of this painting : "SOLD".

The artist João Rodrigues Vieira passed away

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:47:00 +0000

Born in Vidago (Trás-os-Montes), October 4th 1934, João Rodrigues Vieira entered the Escola Superior de Belas-Artes de Lisboa ( Fine Arts Superior School of Lisbon) in 1951, where he attended the first two years of the painting course.
The artist starting exhibiting in 1956, the same year when he joined the group of the Café Gelo.
João Vieira shared a studio over this cafe with Gonçalo Duarte, José Escada and René Bertholo.
Later in Paris, these four together with Christo, Jan Voss and Lourdes Castro form the group KWY and publish a magazine with the same name.
In 1959 the Galeria Diário de Notícias presents his first individual exhibition and in that same year he receives a scholarhip from the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, permiting his return to Paris, where he starts working with Arpad Szenes, while maintaining his collaboration with the KMY group.
After a passage through London, where he teached at the Maidstone College of Art, João Vieira returns to Lisbon in 1967 and starts working as a set painter.
In what fine art is concerned, the artist becomes well known by his paintings of letters.
João Rodrigues Vieira passed away on August the 5th, 2009, after being submited to a heart surgery the day before.

New UK Artists-Forum

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:17:00 +0000

With the primary objective of providing free resources and reviews for artists of all ages, abilities and status, the Artists-Forum was launched this August 2009, following several months of development and testing.
This art related forum is privately owned and completely independent of sponsors or alliances, although partnerships are a possibility in the future, with the objective of further developing the site.
The Artists-Forum will feature artists reviews and personal experience of products and suppliers. The forum will also offer information about art communities, provide advice on selling artwork and list useful art resources across all media.
According to Steve, this art forum is a unique venue for online artists, enabling a forum member to initiate their own Virtual Art Group. Members then vote for a particular art group subject and start date. Once members cast their votes, a new art group commences and users are free to join and take part.
The conclusion of a Virtual Art Group will be a Show Case of the finished projects and there are plans to run multiple art groups across all media.
Membership is completely free and includes a gallery and impartial critique facility for registered members.

Steve is the designer and founder of the Artists-Forum and a keen watercolourist, his current works are private although he will be adding new pieces to the forum soon and he can be contacted directly via e-mail.

"Mirage" by Youngwoong Jang, US, 2006

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:49:00 +0000

In 2007, a korean student from the New York School of Visual Arts, Youngwoong Jang was attributed the animation gold medal, by The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
His CG animation "Mirage" is about a bio-mechanic character who has to fill his chest with water in order to sustain his life and the importance of water to all living beings.
Back in 2006, Youngwoong Jang was interviewed by Sam Chen.

Gallery Guide - Worldwide

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:16:00 +0000

Saatchi Gallery online has made recently available a guide of galleries worldwide.
Divided into countries and regions, this guide may prove itself quite useful for artists and art dealers.

This Subscriber Won a Free Artwork

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:39:00 +0000

Today another lucky subscriber of the newsletter won a work of art.
And if I'm not mistaken, this is the second original painting that will be sent to this reader of The Art Inquirer.
Are you still missing the chance of starting your private art collection for free ?
You can sign the newsletter right here. It's simple and spam free.

Dangerous Ink - Lowbrow Art Magazine

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Conceived by Tom Green and Will Couper, both from Glasgow, this Lowbrow Art dedicated magazine has hit the shelves in July 2007.

Will Couper left the the team in 2008, although once in a while he still contributes.

By the end of 2008 Cosmic Publishing Ltd. (producer of Comics International) acquired part of Dangerous Ink Magazine.

Well Know artists such as Chet Zar and Ray Caesar have been featured in this magazine.

Two characteristics that I found worth mentioning are : the possibility of sending articles and artwork to be eventually published and being able to read the magazine online.

Although still in its first steps, this magazine looks promissing as it seems to be written with passion and tries to bring the artists closer to each other and to the public.

Another Original Painting Giveaway

netjosenet@hotmail.com (José) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:28:00 +0000

As usual it's time to present one of our readers with an original postcard size watercolour painting.

Since this is being done with some delay, the draw will be taken this Sunday, August 23rd.

Every month one of the subscribers of The Art Inquirer's newsletter has the chance to win a free work of art.

If you are still missing this opportunity, read how you can participate and win.

Of course that there is no obligation of accepting the prize.