-2014 | VK | Page 3

September 4, 2014

Munich: Deborah Schamoni gallery; “Passing Place” by Gerry Bibby

06.07. – 13.09.2014

An afternoon spent at my favorite Munich gallery,at Deborah Schamoni for “Passing Place” by Australian artist Gerry Bibby. A beautiful and elegant sculpture exhibition with a touch of poetry.

photo credit@Deborah Schamoni gallery

photos by permission of the gallery@VK

“….Our little walk on this Sunny day revealed to my nephew and I, a sign on a post painted slick black. The sign was square-ish and its rounded corners softened the strangeness of its proposition. In black letters, Capitalised but also with rounded sharp corners, it said PASSING PLACE. I was immediately floored, so to speak. I had the distinct feeling, after reading these letters that I was about to pass in to some other zone, another mind—without place.” (Gerry Bibby on the gallery press release)

more here http://deborahschamoni.com/exhibitions/gerry-bibby

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August 28, 2014

Zürich; fall opening art scene; Bolte Lang gallery;Kunsthalle Zürich and Löwenbrau Art Complex bldg galleries; Eva Presenhuber ; Bob van Orsouw;Grieder Contemporary

A 24 hour trip to Zürich with my wonderful friend, art advisor /Munich, Martina Tauber to attend the fall opening art scene.

We started with a wonderful exhibition at Bolte Lang gallery with the exhibition “like a virgin” by Athene Galiciadis. A wonderful walk thru with Anna Bolte and Chaja Lang.

photos@VK

…..The title, resulting from the works as “écriture automatique”, not only describes the working process, but more concretely conveys the subject matter of Galiciadis’ empty, untainted vases, with their form, colour and haptic reminding the viewer of the young, female shape……
Like a virgin
Touched for the very first time
Like a virgin
When your heart beats next to mine

more here http://www.boltelang.com/exhibitions/current/

a stop at Grieder Contemporary for Ross Chisholm “The Cratylists”. A wonderful walk thru the exhibition with Melanie Dankbar/director of the gallery

photo credit@Grieder Contemporary

The Cratylists (an allusion to Plato’s famous Cratylus dialogue)

“…The points of orientation for this new body of work have been the 18th century society portraits by Thomas Gainsborough, George Romney and most of all by Joshua Reynolds. The latter developed in his famous “Discourses on Art” an influential art theory based on classical and contemporary philosophical and art theoretical writings…” (gallery press release)

more here at gallery http://www.grieder-contemporary.com

next , to Eva Presenhuber’s gallery at MAAG Areal. Sam Falls, Los Angeles based artist (exhibition sold out before the opening)

Sam Falls at Presenhuber, photo by permission@Martina Tauber

“….I took plants as the common subject matter for this body of work not only for their legacy in art history, but their reference to place. The works here were made from west to east, from the palm fronds in my backyard in Venice, California, to the abounding ferns bordering my mom’s hayfield where I grew up in Vermont, to the trees around the grounds of a recent residency in Sarvisalo, Finland. Beyond the native vegetation delineating geography, these “paintings” represent duration and environment, visible in the scattered heavy rains of Southern California, to the light spring mist in Vermont, to the consistent light drizzle of the Scandinavian archipelago…” (Sam Falls on the gallery press release )

photo credit @published at Presenhuber gallery

more here http://www.presenhuber.com/en/exhibitions/2014/Sam-Falls.html

then to the Löwenbrau Art Complex:

at Bob van Orsouw’s gallery for Nedko Solakov (Mixed Media-in at least four directions and one center)

Nedko Solakov, The Has-Beens Creator, 2014, oil on canvas

“…Nedko Solakov is a highly gifted storyteller. His drawings talk about everyday occurrences, but also turn out to be caustic commentaries on human existence, while, at the same time, shedding light on its absurdity…”(gallery press release)

and enjoying as always Bob van Orsouw’s lovely office with great pieces, this was my favorite above his desk

photo by permission @Vk

more here van Orsouw gallery http://www.bobvanorsouw.ch/artists/nedko-solakov

at Eva Presenhuber‘s for Wyatt Kahn (New York based artist)

…..Kahn presents a new body of work which focuses on a concept of representation of an object through all its aspects: visual, sensational and conceptual. For these works, the shaped stretchers come together to create the shape of the actual object, the motifs used to cover the first layer of the stretchers are the epitome of the representation of that object, drawn by hand in an almost automatic way…..

Martina Tauber at the Wyatt Kahn show, photo@VK

more here www.presenhuber.com/en/exhibitions/2014/Wyatt-Kahn.html

and Steven Shearer (Canadian artist) also at Eva Presenhuber gallery

Steven Shearer’s practice encompasses many different medias, from found photography, drawing, and painting to collage and focuses on a melancholic vision of youth, tinted by strong references to the iconography of extreme metal cuture. His world is one of alienation and repulsion towards the everyday, a world whose heroes are death-metal rockers, 1970s prefab boy bands and teen stars, amature glam-rockers and guitar-wielding teenaged suburban dreamers

and Kunsthalle Zurich

Kunsthalle Zürich opened an extensive solo exhibition of the artist group Slavs and Tatars. Focusing on the “area east of the former Berlin Wall and west of the Great Wall of China”, the artistic and discursive work of Slavs and Tatars engages transcultural as well as transdisciplinary questions of history, politics, religion, and language.

Slavs and Tatars «Mirrors for Princes» (30.08. – 09.11.14)

more here http://kunsthallezurich.ch/index.php?id=5&L=1

a wonderful dinner followed at Times restaurant, invited by Eva Presenhuber gallery

http://times-zurich.com/restaurant/aktuell/

Followed by Löwenbräukunst summer party at the courtyard with music by Nifty’s, Aliev Bleh-Orkestar und Goran Potkonjak.

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August 25, 2014

Munich; an afternoon visit at “Amai” fabulous praline place

After a lovely lunch with my dear friend Villy Giovaniti at Becco Fino, we discovered a new place for sweet tooth, in the heart of Lengdorf in Munich, the “Amai” (in japanese means sweet) run by Cornelia, a praline chef, at Auserbittlbach 20, 2nd floor

Here you may have a relaxing time over tea or cappuccino and you may have tastes of pralines, such as” blue curaçao”, cassis, champagne, kokos, mango, ginger, mocca, cherry, grande marnier and more.. is an oasis of taste. Also macarroons and the florentines are delicious.

A lovely and not usual decor embraces the Amai decor with a young collection for small people by young designer from Mauritius.

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August 24, 2014

Munich ;Lenbachhaus “Human, All Too Human”

A quick Sunday afternoon visit at Lenbachhaus to see “Human, All Too Human” which opened on July 22, 2014 (duration July 22-December 31, 2015)

“In 1911, the young Otto Dix read Nietzsche’s Human, All Too Human, a book for “free spirits” from which our exhibition takes its title. The engagement with Nietzsche’s philosophy informs Dix’s entire oeuvre, which takes an unflinching look at humankind.

Rudolf Schlichter:Bertold Brecht, ca. 1926, oil on canvas (Staedtische Galerie im Lenbacchaus und Kunstbau, Munich)

“….The experiences of the Great War radically changed how people saw the world and their fellow men. Profoundly shaken, many artists of the Weimar Republic focused on a starkly realistic rendition of reality. Their works illustrate the critical gaze with which they observed the world in the period leading up to the outbreak of World War II, a time rich in contrasts and disruptions.
At the heart of new presentation at the Lenbachhaus will be the ‘human condition,’ the vision of the human being

Georg Grosz:Man and Woman, 1926, oil on canvas, private collection, Estate of George Grosz, Princeton, NJ

Works that have become iconic such as Christian Schad’s Surgery, Rudolf Schlichter’s Portrait of Bertolt Brecht, and Josef Scharl’s Fallen Soldier will once again be on display, together with art by Georg Schrimpf, Wilhelm Heise, Heinrich Maria Davringhausen, and Franz Radziwill. The presentation will be rounded out by pictures by Erna Dinklage, Herbert Ploberger, and Helmut Kolle that have not been on public display in a long time. (museum press release)

more here,

http://www.lenbachhaus.de/exhibitions/human-all-too-human/?L=1

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August 23, 2014

Munich; “Rembrandt-Titian-Bellotto” at Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung

Returning from vacation in Maremma/Tuscany and see this amazing exhibition that just opened “Rembrandt-Titian-Bellotto -Spirit and Splendor of the Dresden Gallery” 22 August -23 November 2014 .(Theatinerstrasse 8) was more than expected in Munich.

The exhibition is organised by the Dresden State Art Collections in collaboration with the Kunsthalle of the Hypo Cultural Foundation.

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Ganymede in the Claws of the Eagle, 1635, Oil on canvas

Bernardo Bellotto, called Canaletto, The Ruins of the Old Kreuzkirche in Dresden, 1765, Oil on canvas

THE AUGUSTAN AGE

“The exhibition focuses on the reign of Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland (1670–1733), also known as the Strong, and his son Augustus III (1696–1763). During the “Augustan Age”, an era of economic and cultural flourishing, the manifold building projects, vibrant cultural life and the enhancement of the royal collections all embodied the electoral court’s new claim to power. The construction of the Cathedral and the Frauenkirche during this era gave Dresden its world famous silhouette. Moreover, prestigious painters like the Italian Bernardo Bellotto (1721–1780) or Louis de Silvestre (1675–1760) were drawn to Dresden, where they were engaged as court artists. This dynamic, prosperous era forms the backdrop behind the painted masterpieces and their stories.”

‘….A frequent visitor to the Dresden Picture Gallery was the famous art historian and archeologist Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768), who wrote an account of his experiences, thereby contributing to immortalise the collection’s legendary reputation. The exhibition presents numerous works that he encountered while roaming the royal gallery and which found his appreciation. Over the course of the 18th century, the collection evolved into a place of learning and exchange of ideas, luring numerous artists to draw inspiration from the Old Masters.” (kunsthalle’s press release)

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August 11, 2014

Italy; the ancient estate of Castello di Reschio in the Umbrian hills and Tristano di Robilant’s studio in Ripabianca close to Perugia and Chiesa di S.Pietro at Tuscania

While vacationing in my paradise Maremma, on August 11th, upon a lovely invitation by a german collector, I drove from Maremma to the beautiful area of Niccone valley/Umbrian hills to attend an exhibition by Calyxte Campe at the Tabaccaia at the amazing Castello di Reschio (Reschio is a thriving, family-run estate whose history can be traced back to the beginning of the 11th century). It was an amazing 3 hour trip, from Pitigliano to Sorano and then thru Acquapente and Ficulle and Todi and Castiglione Magione del Lago.

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(above: opening exhibition by Calyxte Campe, photo@Tabaccaia,Castello di Reschio

a lovely and generous dinner followed at the private estate of the Bolza family (Thank you so much Conte Benedikt and Nencia)

The architecture and restoration work at Reschio marries traditional Umbrian building-styles with an extraordinary contemporary sense of design. Each finished building is a beautiful piece of living architecture built for the modern world in the time-honoured traditions of Umbria and Tuscany.

Reschio is home to the Bolza family who, over the last twenty years, have been restoring its secluded ancient Umbrian farmhouses into masterpieces of contemporary architecture and design. Benedikt Bolza’s interiors combine traditional artisanal detailing with a bold contemporary aesthetic.

The Tabaccaia (where the exhibition) was a former tobacco processing factory built in the 1940s and since renovation was completed in June 2013 has become the creative heart of the Reschio Estate.

see more of the estate here

http://www.reschio.com/creative_centre.php

That evening I stayed at the lovely Ca’ di Costo, run and owned by Jenny Nichols (Jenny is an amazing chef )

photos@vk

highly recommended on your next Italian trip

www.slowcooking.homestead.com

I continued next day my trip back to Maremma thru Perugia with a visit at the house /studio of my friend and wonderful artist Tristano di Robilant, at Ripabianca, (at comune of Deruta in the province of Perugia) and sharing a homemade lunch at his home/studio. (below some pics)

photos@VK

I continued the trip back to my house in Manciano, thru Montalto di Castro, and a stop with Tristano at Chiesa di S. Pietro at Tuscania

photos@VK

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August 10, 2014

A visit at The New Yorkr, an incredible story “Sixty Nine Days”

published at the New Yorker, July 7th, 2014

While in Maremma, Italy and indulge on my reading, I found this story “Sixty Nine Days” quite extraordinary. It is the ordeal of the Chilean miners in August 2010. Hector Tobar has given an amazing inside of the mountain and the inside of all the miners being trapped and their lives.

photo by Moise Saman (published photo at The New Yorker, July 7, 2014)

….The San José Mine is situated inside a round, rocky, and lifeless mountain in the Atacama Desert, in Chile. Once every dozen years or so, a storm system sweeps across the desert, dropping a torrent of rain. When that happens, the dust turns to mud as thick as freshly poured concrete. Charles Darwin briefly passed through this corner of the Atacama in 1835. In his journal, he described the desert as “a barrier far worse than the most turbulent ocean.”

….In the early-morning hours of August 5th, two thousand feet belowground, the night shift was finishing its work. Men covered in soot and drenched in sweat gathered in one of the caverns, waiting for a truck that would take them on the forty-minute drive to the surface. During their shift, they had noted a wailing rumble in the distance—the sound of many tons of rock falling in forgotten caverns deep inside the mountain. The noise and the vibrations caused by these avalanches were transmitted through the mountain much as lightning strikes travel through the air and the ground. “The mine is weeping a lot,” the men said to one another.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/07/07/sixty-nine-days

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July 10, 2014

Maremma_Toscana; ‘forests of chestnuts and green fields of olive groves’

ISCHIA
I am presently moved
by sundrenched Parthenope,
my thanks are for you, Ischia, to whom a fair wind has brought me
rejoicing with dear friends
from soiled productive cities.
How well you correct our injured eyes, how gently you train us to see things
and men in perspective
underneath your uniform light
From Ischia by W. H. Auden, June 1948

Visiting our Maremma Casale with my lovely Ana Nefeli, part of my daily visits are Pitigliano, Manciano, Saturnia Terme, Sorano, swimming at the Capalbio beach, Talamone, Gianella, and Ansedonia; driving late afternoons at Monte Argentario and Porto Ecole and during the early warm evenings to stop for a glass of white wine and meet friends at Il Pellicano.

‘crickets’ recital on July hot afternoon, 3 pm

the ‘infinity pool’, July, afternoon heaven,

late afternoon walks at Capalbio Scalo beach,

favorite spot to stop driving to Orbetello,

morning shopping at La Parrina, Orbetello Scalo with Ana-Nefeli

Maremma still maintains the artistic legacy of the region but is blessed with an unforgettable natural beauty, romantic scenery and a history which dates back to the Etruscan and Roman civilizations. Often neglected for the larger cities of Tuscany, the Maremma has remained sparsely populated, with much of the area covered with thick forests of chestnuts and beeches and sprawling green fields of olive groves and vineyards. The villages and towns situated amongst this natural paradise are charmingly small and lovingly maintained. Pieces of history, these beautiful communities transport you back to the grand and fascinating part of Italy, appearing exactly as they did in the Renaissance, the Middle Ages and the centuries that preceded them.

Elisa is a native Australian with a beautiful blog about Maremma/Toscana

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July 1, 2014

A visit of wonderful designer Frauke Gembalies; in Interview magazine this week

I met Frauke Gembalies few months ago in Berlin. I was taken by her wonderful collection. All collections are fit for the clients;marvelous materials; Frauke founder her own label 2 years ago, based in Berlin but all clothes are manufactured with great care in Paris. Amazing pieces; I am proud to have some piece from her last winter collection. Frauke will be the darling of the art world.

In this week’s Interview, enjoy the presentation and also a photo shoot in Paris on vimeo.

http://interview.de/mode

http://vimeo.com/98917447

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June 28, 2014

Ulm; day visit with the Freunde of HdK; the Kunsthalle Weishaupt, Neu-Ulmer Kunst GmbH and The Walther Collection

A day trip to the city of Ulm with the Freunde of HdK, starting early morning from Munich. Thanks to our wonderful managing director, Ms Elke Bernhart for a beautiful and so well organized day.

First stop the Kunsthalle Weisphaupt, given a tour of the collection by Siegfried Weishaupt.

“I collect intuitively,” is one of Siegfried Weishaupt`s understatements describing his talent for discovering works of art. This passion has occupied the industrialist from Schwendi, near Ulm, and his wife Jutta for more than four decades. The result is an outstanding ensemble of exquisite works by famous artists, which cannot be explained by intuition only….over the years, the collector and his wife Jutta have expanded their focus from the geometric “Concrete” art to other art movements: First to the Abstract Expressionism of US artists as Mark Rothko for instance, or to the work of Robert Rauschenberg giving a new impetus, then to Pop Art and contemporary art movements.

more here : http://www.kunsthallenweishaupt.de/web/index.php

a beautiful lunch followed at the courtyard of the Kunthalle

afterwards we visit the Neu-Ulmer Kunst GmbH (works by Martin Kippenberger, Francis Bacon, Uli Pohl, Klaus Hack, Niki de Saint Phalle, Günther Uecker among many others.

and last stop the Walther Collection

at the moment the exhibition “Distance and Desire: Encounters with the African Archive” curated by Tamar Garb. (June 9. 2013-May 17, 2015 ) This exhibition brigs together late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century portraits, rates de visit, postcards, album pages, and books from Southern and Eastern Africa, set in dialogue with recent photography and video by contemporary artists who have engaged with photographic archives.