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Artscope Magazine | January/February 2019

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(Clockwise from top left): Jean Dubuffet, “Passe train (5681,” 1965, acrylic on paper mounted to canvas, 19 ¼” x 25 5/8”; Henry Moore, “Two Seated Women and a Child,” 1945, bronze, edition of 7, 6 ¾” x 4 ¾” x 2 ¾”; Fernand Léger, “Les trois femmes au bouquet,” 1922, oil on canvas, 25 5/8” x 36”, all at Landau Contemporary.

ART MIAMI — IF YOU CAN, BUY IT NOW: MIAMI ART WEEK 2018: PART FOUR

// Art Basel Miami Beach

by Nancy Nesvet

Wynwood Miami, FL - Art Miami proved an embarrassment of riches. If you always wanted it, now is the time to buy it, because it’s available. Magnificent Fernand Léger paintings, the best of which is “Les trois femmes au bouquet,” 1922, oil on canvas, at Landau Contemporary. Six Henry Moore macquets of bronze, “Two Seats Women and a Child,” 1945, from an edition of seven also at Landau Contemporary, and a full-size, “Mother and Child, Black Seat” (1983-84) at Landau Contemporary of bronze with brown patina literally rounded out this display. That patina is the patina of age and undisputed elegance of line and form. You have seen these in the best museum gardens, and they are available now because we no longer live in mansions with gardens appropriate to accommodate them, so if you can… Clearly, Landau Contemporary had the best work at Art Miami, all on the secondary market. Jean … [Read more...] about ART MIAMI — IF YOU CAN, BUY IT NOW: MIAMI ART WEEK 2018: PART FOUR

Clockwise from top left: Alexandre Montoya, “The Choice,” oil on canvas, 51” x 39”, Peimbert Art; Cecile Plaisance, “Alex smoking burqa,” 2017, lenticular print, wood frame, 49” x 37”, Galerie K+Y; Bernard Rancillac, “Enfer Paradis,” acrylic on canvas, 90 ½” x 196 4/5”, Galerie Sebastien Adrien.

GUTSY, SUBTLE WORK ABOUNDED AT SCOPE: MIAMI ART WEEK 2018 PART THREE

// Art Basel Miami Beach

by Nancy Nesvet

Miami Beach, FL - Scope, a satellite show during Miami Art Week showed brighter colors, more direct political messages, but still backgrounded the images with images of flora and fauna. Mirroring the Miami Beach vibe, gold, primary colors, flowers and greens dominated this fair, while the work clearly messaged rules were on hold, and all political bents were represented and questioned. French artist Jacques Bosser’s Argentic photograph on Cibachrome, “Wax Spirit (MOBA)” at Galerie Sebastien Adrien showed images of black Congolese President Kabila with an ivory-white woman between them in Congolese flowered dress and turban. The flower motif continues in French artist Bernard Rancillac’s “Enfer Paradis,” an acrylic on canvas shown by Galerie Sebastien Adrien. A central flower separates the worlds of fascists; Nazis, Osama bin Laden, and a church official consuming a human leg with … [Read more...] about GUTSY, SUBTLE WORK ABOUNDED AT SCOPE: MIAMI ART WEEK 2018 PART THREE

(Clockwise from top left) Keith Haring, “Amphora” (shown at Levy Gorvy); Andy Warhol, “Bald Eagle,” 1983, acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, 60” x 60” (shown by Edward Tyler Nahem); Oskar Schlemmer, “Sequence of Figures,” 1936-7 (shown by Galerie Thomas); Kehinde Wiley, “Portrait of Yvonne Osei,” 2018, oil on canvas, 60” x 48” (shown by SeanKellyNY).

A QUIETER CONVERSATION: ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH & MIAMI ART WEEK 2018: DAY TWO

// Art Basel Miami Beach, Artscope Online

by Nancy Nesvet

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018 --- Day two at Art Basel was tame. You could sense the creativity behind the work. Less bombastic, less polarizing, more neutral in both color and subject. We have learned that there is a backlash to intense pontificating and know that a neutral stance is often required to quell the anger of a crowd or a nation. We saw nature expressed in depictions of animals, flora and fauna, of snow and grass. Tapestries and books reflected those codes. Keith Haring’s glass doors marked with a standing snake-like outline reaching python-like upwards, open mouth and tongue ready to strike. Haring’s work melded seemingly ancient patterns with eight panels of skulls, in muted blues and grays. One of his most interesting pieces was an amphora marked with symbols of technology such as telescopes, amid fish and bird drawings, held up by orange crocodiles. This sculpture, … [Read more...] about A QUIETER CONVERSATION: ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH & MIAMI ART WEEK 2018: DAY TWO

Nikolai and Simon Haas, “Ferngully,” at the Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach.

ALTERNATIVE WORLDS AND ALTERNATIVE SPECIES: DAY ONE AT MIAMI ART WEEK AND ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2018

// Art Basel Miami Beach, Artscope Online, Visual Arts

by Nancy Nesvet

DECEMBER 4, 2018 --- The first stop on day one in Miami Beach for the art fairs and exhibitions was the Bass Museum of Art, where Los Angeles-based twins Nikolai and Simon Haas presented their installation, “Ferngully.” The environment evoking renewal and rebirth in altered physical states is inspired by the animate 1992 film, “FernGully: The Last Rainforest.” In that film, the fairy Krysta and the lumberjack Zak try to save their rainforest home from nature’s destructive forces. The beasts, Martian-like in their appearance, with antennae and eyes often on stalks, alternatively resemble worms and centipedes covered in sumptuous materials, including fur and beads. Icelandic sheepskin browns and whites, curly cow fur, brown goat fur, carved ebony and cast bronze recall prehistoric Animalia and minerals in these creatures of diverse personalities, sizes, genders and races, both human and … [Read more...] about ALTERNATIVE WORLDS AND ALTERNATIVE SPECIES: DAY ONE AT MIAMI ART WEEK AND ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2018

Michael Moore, "Lone Sail," oil on panel, 11” x 14”.

Red 2018 at Cambridge Art Association

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by James Foritano

The Cambridge Art Association has had a tradition for a number of years of inviting artists to submit works along the theme of two colors: red and blue. This year it was red and for whatever reasons that color, in this writer’s opinion, struck such a resonant chord from the palette of so many excellent artists that I would have broken tradition to title it “Big Red.” Juried by Dan Byers, the director of the Carpenter Center for Visual Arts at Harvard University, this year’s harvest is such a feast that one is well advised to nibble and digest rather than run wild and miss almost everything. Even at the smaller of the two venues for “Red,” the Kathryn Schultz Gallery, located up Mt. Auburn Street from Harvard Square just opposite the bus stop for Mt. Auburn Hospital, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand in front of every work long enough to do its artistry even small justice. So, … [Read more...] about Red 2018 at Cambridge Art Association

TOP ROW LEFT TO RIGHT: Laurie Bonner, "Midnight Mermaid," 2017, digital image capture, 12" x 12"; Deborah Baye, "Night & Day," 2018, mixed media with high resin finish, 24" x 24" x 1.5"; Bror Hultgren, "Runes of Time's Passage 2," 2016, cast paper pulp on handmade paper, 39" x 30" x 2.5"; Diana Barker Price, "Conscious," 2016, digital image capture, 12" x 12". BOTTOM ROW LEFT TO RIGHT: Susan Denniston, "Shroud," 2017, monotypes on both sides of translucent Japanese papers, sewn with black thread, hung with magnets, 50" x 60" x 1"; Stephen Sheffield, "Going Away For A While," 2018, archival print from original collage, 14" x 11" x 1"; Erin Juliana, "Idiopathic," 2018, paper cut or cut paper interwoven, 17" x 21" x 2"; Deb Hall, "Crack in The Ground," 2018, digital and hand printmaking, 15" x 15" x 2".

Works on Paper at the South Shore Art Center

// Artscope Online, Current Exhibits, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Bryanna F. Drew

The Bancroft Gallery at South Shore Art Center’s current show is “Works on Paper,” juried by Andrew Witkin of Krakow Witkin Gallery. “Works on Paper” has a diverse set of pieces, the only common denominator of them being that they are paper. From hyper realistic watercolor to abstract cut-paper works, the show was dominated by a mix of media. Out of hundreds of artists’ submissions, only 50 works were picked by Witkin for the show, and seven of them given awards. “I was amazed at the breadth of exploration and the depth of involvement,” Witkin’s juror statement expressed. “My decisions are balanced between personal preferences and respect for the specifics of the wonderful diversity of art presented. The works show incredible creativity, dedication and skill.” Witkin asked that the award winners be honored equally; “In this era of intense judgement and separation, I hope this group … [Read more...] about Works on Paper at the South Shore Art Center