One of the founders of Art Basel, who was also a well known contemporary art dealer, passes away http://nyti.ms/dn5UB0

Miami Art Museum shows off its growing collection http://bit.ly/bo2nlY

The new face on the Parisian art scene who’s putting noses seriously out of joint http://bit.ly/bG9Fja

Is production outweighing consumption in Berlin’s once bustling art market? http://bit.ly/b9mXDj

Fighting for attention – NYC’s expanding art fair world http://bit.ly/aFihuo

Popular stories from the week:

The 75 year old painter who redid his mural from scratch, after it had been destroyed by fire http://bit.ly/asLhVs

The story of the kidnapped da Vinci http://bit.ly/bNc3oP

San Francisco muralist is brightening up the city – you can tell it’s working when the entire subway car applauds http://bit.ly/cNUIUR

Tattoo removal techniques turn out to be great for art restoration http://bit.ly/9r5jIi

We’ve almost all been there – sitting in front of a blank screen, baffled by the non-appearance of the words that must be buried somewhere within your head, standing before an empty canvas, the white space staring back at you and uncooperatively refusing to provide you with ideas. It can come at any time, sometimes for no obvious reason, and it leaves you confused, frustrated and most importantly, stuck.

The first thing to remember is that this is completely normal. Great artists of all fields have faced this barrier and overcome it. There is no need to panic, and nothing to worry about. It is a temporary, if annoying, stage that you’re sharing with many other artists throughout the centuries – and quite probably hundreds, if not thousands of people right now. It may mean that you’ve come to the end of a particular strain of inspiration and are now ready to move on to something new, which will require time and thought before it is ready to emerge. It may simply be that you have too many things on your mind and that this is getting in the way of your creativity.

There are a number of things you can do to help yourself out of a rut that makes it difficult for you to continue with something, or that seems to prevent you from moving forward. For one thing, some artists find that they benefit from having a quiet space that they know belongs to them and their work, as well as peace when they can be undisturbed by anyone else. Phones can be placed on silent, email put out of sight, and demands from family directed to another quarter if possible.

Take some time to work out what the problem might be. If you realize you need to go in a new direction, work on that. If you’re overwhelmed by other concerns, order them in a list, work out which ones are really urgent and which ones simply desirable to complete at some point, and stick to it. You might simply need a break to relax – engage in an activity you enjoy, like cooking or reading. Try to pick something that will give you space for your mind to work, but that doesn’t remind you too clearly of the waiting work.

Don’t be afraid to use time to think and plan – you don’t have to have something concrete created by the end of the day to have made progress. If you feel that your normal space is becoming claustrophobic, go for a walk, run or ride around an area you know or want to explore, remembering to be open to new sights or emotions.

If you feel the problem is in your workspace itself, work out ways to change it or cheer it up – but be wary of spending too much time on what may be simply procrastination. Bear in mind that the goal is to return to your work.

If you’re fine at the moment, but aware that you can be prone to attacks of artist’s block (or merely concerned that it might someday hit), it can be helpful to get into the regular habit of looking out for things that strike you as unusual, interesting or attractive in the world as you move through it. Collect these things in a scrapbook (cuttings from newspapers or magazines, photos, descriptions of things you saw or dreamed, little drawings of thoughts, or accounts of conversations online or in person) to be ready to look at when you feel that you need a little more inspiration. It doesn’t need to be an especially organized or coherent collection, though it can be (and should be if you know that suits your personality better) – the point is not to lose the flashes you get when you’re too busy to use them, and to store them up for when you have time, or need a little creative boost.

Have you got some useful tips for how to deal with artist’s block? Share them in the comments!

Similarity versus plagarism in the art of photography http://bit.ly/cHBJ9K

The mystery of Bronzino – the power and the conventionality http://nyti.ms/awey6n

LA airport gets a new public art project http://bit.ly/cG4ADH

Drama continues as London’s ICA fights for survival http://bit.ly/a6p0yz

How the recession is affecting the arts in major arts capitals http://bit.ly/d39GqY

Popular stories from the week:

Now funding the visual arts…. music managers. http://bit.ly/bvAxpV

Artist whose work is on environmental damage finds most can’t see her Olympics work – it’s in a restricted access area http://bit.ly/b7oOGn

Thieves make off with a huge, heavy banner in Rotterdam. It was part of an exhibition on… Morality http://bit.ly/dryAM5

George Washington in snow – from 1913 http://bit.ly/9Dfs6u

Some readers may remember the popular return, last year, of this exciting exhibition, and we are very much looking forward to this year’s event.

The artists and the works on display show a range and diversity that will enable different viewers to find something that speaks to them. Yet there is something special about the shared background or culture that is shared by those involved in the exhibition that adds its subtle influence to the experience.

A gentle spirituality and a sense of delicate exploration of the natural world comes through in this exhibit, and will enable visitors to leave feeling as though they have really experienced something unusual.

Exhibition dates: February 26, 2010 – March 19, 2010
Reception: Thursday, March 4, 2010 6-8 PM
Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, New York City
Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Featured artists:

Midori Kakino, Kyohei Kiyobe, Sachie Koyama, Nobuyuki Matsubara, Miyooon, Koki Morimoto, Iwasaki Nagi, Satomi Nishino, Dan OBANA, Umeko Okano, Rie Osogoe, Reiko Sakai, Tetsuo Takashima, Saori Louise Tatebe

The new fear added to art transportation http://nyti.ms/9G7EbB

Get used to satellite fairs, guys – they’re inevitable http://bit.ly/9jBN7z

Ouch – a critic attacks late Renoir as, basically, ‘bad Renoir’ http://bit.ly/a7FpAx

Picasso Museum gets a makeover, while it’s 5000 paintings go on tour http://bit.ly/cD4dFz

Popular stories from the week:

Art that’s good enough to eat inspires real recipes http://bit.ly/bcvIhP

MoMA uses art to help young offenders get creative, not destructive http://bit.ly/cZcOSV

British artist uses floppy disks to create his paintings http://bit.ly/9jze7n

The nature of the problem varies a little depending on whether you are a full-time artist, or whether your art is something that must fight with other work commitments. Maintaining both a job and your art can be difficult, of course, because both together can place significant stress on both your time and your energy, particularly when both are important to you and are things you take seriously. There can be advantages to such an arrangement, for experiences and discussions from one aspect of your work can contribute to the development and interest of the other.

However, it is likely that at some point you will struggle to devote the resources you want to your art without giving something up elsewhere. When this happens, it can be helpful to sit down and work out a rough schedule for your week, trying to work out where the time goes. Try to see where there is space to put aside for your art, and when you have set time for it, be diligent about making sure that nothing is allowed to take over that time unless really necessary, but use it to the full as time given to art. If you cannot do this as often as you would like, try not to become too frustrated, but frequently re-evaluate your daily routine to see if you can make more time available for your art. It is usually a matter of priorities; if it is really important to you to spend more time creating art, you will eventually find a way to make it possible. If you are not yet at that stage, then don’t worry about it – very good work can be done over long periods of time, and there is nothing wrong with the decision to make art a less intense part of your life if that is what you want. By keeping it as part of your schedule, though, you will make sure that it is still there and still an active part of you when you are ready to pick it up again as a more major element of your life.

If you are a full-time artist, there are still often a number of obstacles to get over in the attempt to give your work the time it deserves. Other commitments will prevail if you allow them to, and at certain times it may be especially tempting to do so – such as when you hit a period of ‘artist’s block’ and have trouble finding the appropriate motivation or inspiration to help you in moving forward in your work. Similarly, when you have finished with one project it can be difficult to compel yourself to start thinking about another. But, whilst it may be true that you ‘deserve a break’, letting it go on too long can make starting once more seem like an insurmountable burden. This is not to say that taking breaks is always a bad idea – on the contrary, the occasional vacation from work can be vital in ensuring continued energy and enthusiasm whilst, on the other hand, circumstances may sometimes arise that make it imperative that you leave your work for a time. However, as a full-time artist, it is critical to remember that working on your art is something that has a strong claim on your time and thoughts. It should have a significant portion of time allotted to it in your daily or weekly routine, and even when the going seems tough and inspiration to have run dry, it is important to persevere rather than give up in exasperation and hope that the problem will solve itself. Self-discipline, though difficult, is a valuable and necessary quality.

How firmly you choose to organize your week depends on your personality, temperament and what you know from experience works best for you. You might prefer to do a lot of painting, and then concentrate on other things for some time before returning to it, or you might find that having a very set schedule works best for you. The important thing is to make sure that your art is a regular and natural part of life, and to work out a routine that suits you and it, to achieve the best effect. It is not always easy to find the right balance, but making your work a solid and regular element of your week, and being constantly on the look-out for new sources of inspiration, will make it easier to work out the best way for you to ensure your art is an important and influential, but not overly demanding, aspect of your life.

Art news from around the world:

London’s National Gallery staff set to strike tomorrow http://bit.ly/bZ53Ye

Californian minimalism and where it comes from (no, not NY) http://bit.ly/92TgUn

The unexpected bounce-back success of contemporary art http://nyti.ms/9xZavC

Opinion piece: Art-talk ought to be simple. Artspeak is for adolescants. http://bit.ly/byWjAF

Popular stories from the week:

The artist who is devoting documentaries to plants’ enjoyment http://bit.ly/9Ga44o

Evaluating outsiderness – what is it, what makes it, and what it’s like http://nyti.ms/bp4SRW

Not prim and proper – new Met exhibit brings to light the artistic advances of upper-class Victorian English women http://nyti.ms/cy7Frj

“Arts funding is not a grant. It’s an investment” Why funding the arts makes political and strategic sense for all http://bit.ly/9SuzXB

The dangers of taking art too seriously http://bit.ly/9Qif57 Any thoughts on this? Please share, I think it’s an interesting question.

A new discovery opens up a whole new window into El Greco’s work – a Greek insight http://bit.ly/dpU2ZK

Exhibitions about the unknown – museums who are saying ‘we’re not sure’ http://bit.ly/9ukTfR

The impact of Asian buyers in the art market (and what auction houses are hoping it will mean) http://bit.ly/9dDhn6

Popular stories this week:

Artists are so often afflicted by perfectionism – here’s an analysis to help concentrate on the positive side http://bit.ly/bHxk8F

Addictive, non-material art comes to an empty Guggenheim http://bit.ly/bRpuay

The days of basement museum cafes are fading – enter new, stylish dining options http://bit.ly/dDfQYq

And last but certainly not least, the tale of the uncollectable work of art that’s taken off with a bang http://bit.ly/dgMzjU and what people think http://bit.ly/bifReV

As ever, we are delighted to hear what you think – share thoughts, projects and grumbles in the comments section!

Agora Gallery is delighted to announce the opening of the 25th annual Chelsea International Fine Art Competition. Entries can be sent in from February 4, 2010 until March 14, 2010 when the submission process closes.

The competition is open to all international visual artists of 18 and above. Emerging, established and mid-level artists are all invited to enter their work. A variety of media is accepted, with the exceptions of video art, film, performance art, jewelry and crafts.

This year, entry is only through the online entry system and requires contact information, details about the artwork, and, of course, images of the artwork itself. Please remember to submit high quality images – even the best work cannot be properly appreciated if the image viewed is of poor quality.

As a result of the competition, 15-20 artists will be selected by the juror to take part in a contemporary art exhibition in the summer of 2010. The exhibition will take place in New York’s art district, Chelsea.

Six artists will win the prize of being able to place six images on online gallery Art-Mine, whilst one other will be awarded a page-long review in contemporary art magazine ARTisSpectrum, including two images of their work. There are also three cash prizes, of a total of $1,000.

The competition is judged every year by an independent juror. This year’s juror is Megan Fontanella, Assistant Curator at the famous Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. She engages in research for the museum, particularly focusing on areas of provenance and institutional history, and has also been involved with curating installations for the museum.

Agora Gallery is proud to sponsor this annual event, which encourages talented artists from around the world in their ambitions and provides them with an opportunity for greater exposure and publicity, as well as valuable professional experience.

Agora Gallery’s director, Angela Di Bello, speaks of the sponsorship of the competition as part of the gallery’s efforts to promote new talent and increase the possibilities open to artists who are considering breaking into the competitive New York market – an openness that benefits artists, galleries and the art world as a whole. “Carving a space for new talent is very much at the core of our business,” she says, speaking from her own considerable experience of the art scene.

In addition, 25% of Agora Gallery’s proceeds from the sale of artwork from the competition exhibition will be donated to local city charity Art Start, which brings art into the lives of underprivileged children through the volunteered time and effort of artists. Last year’s competition exhibition featured work by an Art Start student.

Another casualty in Haiti – the once robust and rich art culture http://bit.ly/8HVZuK

London’s Institute of Contemporary Art in danger of closure – the first major British recession victim http://bit.ly/7K5LQE

Concern over the ripped Picasso http://bit.ly/7Zzn16 and how to fix it http://bit.ly/5G21eP

Being a freezing artist can be a life choice http://bit.ly/5Tfdtb

Encouraging artists to come into the center of towns http://bit.ly/62PC97

Popular stories from the week:

Strange and beautiful images – straight from Mars http://bit.ly/7ErNeO

Digging up da Vinci, in an attempt to tie his face to the Mona Lisa’s http://bit.ly/5HjQwI

Art museum directors betting lease of major artworks on Superbowl outcome http://bit.ly/9aF4y1

Yes, she fell into a Picasso – but that kind of mishap isn’t as rare as you might think http://bit.ly/aPNAoh

The dazzling detail of a solar eclipse http://bit.ly/9mUtrA