Baltimore’s Medical Facility – and its art.

‘Alternative spaces’ and why Portland might matter in the art world.

Handicrafts - making a comeback in Germany, via the internet.

Making cities more aesthetic – public art in public places.

Trading skills, spaces and objects – a barter network for creative people.

Popular stories from the week:

Fooling the eye – trompe l’oeil takes on new dimensions in contemporary art.

Giving new meaning to ‘body painting.’

Relax with this time lapse video of Venice.

Tape: not just for packing boxes. It’s an art material, too!

In Out From Down Under & Beyond: Fine Art From Australia and New Zealand, you will be whisked away to worlds inspired by the cultural and natural heritage of the talented artists who combine their personal experiences with a shared understanding to produce works of art that speak to [...]]]> Celebrate spring this year with the inspiring new exhibitions at Agora Gallery. Enjoy the intriguing and exhilarating works of one show, feel your senses tingle as you view the art in another and admire the wonderful art of New Zealand and Australia in a third. The exhibits open on May 18, 2012 and run until June 7, 2012. The opening reception will take place on Thursday May 24, 2012 and as always entrance is free and art lovers are warmly encouraged to attend.

In Out From Down Under & Beyond: Fine Art From Australia and New Zealand, you will be whisked away to worlds inspired by the cultural and natural heritage of the talented artists who combine their personal experiences with a shared understanding to produce works of art that speak to a wide-ranging audience. Visitors hoping for an insight into the art of New Zealand are in for a particular treat as Auckland’s Flagstaff Gallery has come to NYC and is presenting, at Agora, an exhibition of innovative art by New Zealand artists at the same time.

The artists in Landscapes of the Mind use their talent and the force of their convictions and ideas to create pieces that are both moving and demanding. They command our attention, hold our gaze, and encourage us to engage fully with the perspectives and concepts that are offered to us. Appealing, fascinating and unforgettable, these works will stay with you long after your visit.

The Portal of Tranquility displays pieces that will open your eyes and your mind, allowing you to appreciate the wonders of the world on a new level. Refreshingly direct and possessing the ability to stir your emotions and your senses, these works will leave an impression you’ll be happy to retain.

Exhibition dates: May 18, 2012 – June 7, 2012
Reception: Thursday, May 24, 2012 6-8 PM
Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, New York City
Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Featured artists:
Out From Down Under & Beyond: Fine Art From Australia and New Zealand: Nicolette Benjamin Black, Heléne Henare, Caroline Josephs PhD, Jean Marc La-Roque, Eileen Lee, June Mccotter, Natasha Parenta, Cristina Popovici, Tanya Marie Reeves, Dragan Simic, Joanne Webber
Landscapes of the Mind: Gabriela Bittner-Krainz, CATO, Cary Griffiths, Frankie IP, Gabriella Legno, Michael Lierly, Maria Mardomingo, Bonnie Pakman, Walter B. Probst, Maria Mercedes Rozo, Fabrizio Valle’
The Portal of Tranquility: Jacques Descoteaux, Marcia Feller, Silvio Franzini, Zlata Jaanimagi

Cautious optimism regarding the Frieze in New York so go if you can.

No smiles at the Berlin Biennale.

Why we can’t get enough of ‘The Scream’ (even if not all of us could pay that much to own it!).

Pompidou plans to go global but falls out with its U.S. friends.

Can Occupy be seen as a new artistic movement?

What went wrong with the Guggenheim’s Helsinki plans?

Popular stories from the week:

Changing society by promoting art – art in the public space.

This is great – teenager corrects map at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (and they still don’t know what to do about the mistake).

Adorable – appreciating street fixtures.

The charm and challenge of an installation at the Walker Art Center.

Love these – looking inside famous [...]]]> Art news from around the world:

Cautious optimism regarding the Frieze in New York so go if you can.

No smiles at the Berlin Biennale.

Why we can’t get enough of ‘The Scream’ (even if not all of us could pay that much to own it!).

Pompidou plans to go global but falls out with its U.S. friends.

Can Occupy be seen as a new artistic movement?

What went wrong with the Guggenheim’s Helsinki plans?

Popular stories from the week:

Changing society by promoting art – art in the public space.

This is great – teenager corrects map at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (and they still don’t know what to do about the mistake).

Adorable – appreciating street fixtures.

The charm and challenge of an installation at the Walker Art Center.

Love these – looking inside famous artists to the art within.

For some artists, this is obvious; landscape artists are naturally sensitive to the seasons and the conditions of the world because they have a direct impact on the scenes they paint and the images that are available to them. Even there, though, there may be something to learn. Often artists simply go out in search of a place that speaks to them, and [...]]]> It’s spring outside, and for some of us that doesn’t mean much more than leaving coats in the closet and maybe starting to think about ice cream and summer fruits. But the changing of the seasons is a big, important and dramatic event in the natural world – and it can bring new interest and meaning to your work and perhaps even your life if you start paying attention to it.

For some artists, this is obvious; landscape artists are naturally sensitive to the seasons and the conditions of the world because they have a direct impact on the scenes they paint and the images that are available to them. Even there, though, there may be something to learn. Often artists simply go out in search of a place that speaks to them, and this can be great. But sometimes, it’s worthwhile planning in advance so that you end up with just what you were looking for – and this means thinking ahead.

In his exhibition at the UK’s Royal Academy this year, David Hockney explained his love of hawthorn, a plant that is common in the area around his Yorkshire home. It has inspired much of his work, and he knew that he wanted to make a series of paintings focusing on it. However, the plant only buds for a very short time once a year – so he and his assistants planned carefully beforehand to make sure that they could make the most of that brief window. For paintings that tracked its changes over the year, he similarly had to work out when he’d want to be looking at it next. Of course, most artists don’t need to be quite that specific, but if your work is influenced by nature in any way it’s a good idea to spend some time thinking about when which plants bud, or what time is best to capture the animals you’re interested in. Forward planning of this kind can help you avoid disappointment.

If you’re not particularly interested in nature per se, but you do work in figurative art, the seasons matter to you too. The light changes considerably depending on the time of year, and paying attention to its differences and the kinds of consequences this has for what you’re seeing is both useful and fascinating. It’s particularly applicable to photographers, but can enrich paintings and drawings as well.

Even if you’re an abstract artist and deliberately avoid incorporating recognizable objects in your work, the seasons still have things that they can teach you. Mood and atmosphere are greatly affected by the kinds of changes that come with the seasons, such as color, color combinations and light, and all of these variables matter in helping you create the image you have in mind.

Increasing your sensitivity to the world around you and what’s going on in it can only improve your work, whether or not you’re interested in art that represents anything you see. The details you’ll only notice if you’re paying attention, both big and small, combine to form a broader, richer understanding and imagery than you would otherwise have. And aside from that, you might even find it fun!

How do the seasons influence your work? Let us know in the comments.

Taking a peek at New York’s Frieze (which is easy to get to, it seems, despite the unusual location).

Russian oligarch bought painting at Christie’s, but now is sure it’s a fake – and wants his money back.

The art museum boom in China, and the impact that it’s having worldwide.

Is there an established etiquette for taking photos at a public event? Or is common sense and sensitivity all you need?

Why everyone goes crazy for Klimt.

Popular stories from the week:

Can you take an artist’s word for what is – or isn’t – in the picture?

I love learning about installations – it’s the sense of behind-the-scenes magic, I think – and now there’s a tumblr devoted just to that.

How to encourage your own creativity – it’s not necessarily what you’d [...]]]> Art news from around the world:

Taking a peek at New York’s Frieze (which is easy to get to, it seems, despite the unusual location).

Russian oligarch bought painting at Christie’s, but now is sure it’s a fake – and wants his money back.

The art museum boom in China, and the impact that it’s having worldwide.

Is there an established etiquette for taking photos at a public event? Or is common sense and sensitivity all you need?

Why everyone goes crazy for Klimt.

Popular stories from the week:

Can you take an artist’s word for what is – or isn’t – in the picture?

I love learning about installations – it’s the sense of behind-the-scenes magic, I think – and now there’s a tumblr devoted just to that.

How to encourage your own creativity – it’s not necessarily what you’d think.

The descriptive camera that everyone is talking about – fun in practice and in concept.

Love this – the big red ball that travels the world, leaving memories and photos behind.

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!

The art burning that everyone’s taking about – why the artist agreed, and how it felt to see the work in flames.

Close one in two of all Germany’s museums? German artists aren’t happy.

Chicago – a cultural center, if not one of the biggest cultural centers. Now it wants a biennial.

The impact of Chinese investors on the art market.

Popular stories from the week:

Thinking about the origins of arts.

Art using colored pencils - but not in the ordinary way!

Getting creative with cardboard.

Enjoying the season with some gorgeous spring photos.

The exhibitions open on April 24, 2012 and run until May 15, 2012. The opening reception will take place on April 26, 2012 and as always we encourage art lovers to attend and meet some of the creators of these delightful works of art.

Altered States of Reality: an Exhibition of Analog and Digital Photography is a continually popular show at Agora. Scheduled biannually, it never fails to draw pleased comments and interest from its audience, and this show promises to be as wonderful as any [...]]]> This spring, let the exhibitions at Agora Gallery lift you up and carry you away to a full enjoyment of the lengthening days. Fabulous fine art photography by skilled artists and dazzling contemporary art are all here to charm you and take your breath away.

The exhibitions open on April 24, 2012 and run until May 15, 2012. The opening reception will take place on April 26, 2012 and as always we encourage art lovers to attend and meet some of the creators of these delightful works of art.

Altered States of Reality: an Exhibition of Analog and Digital Photography is a continually popular show at Agora. Scheduled biannually, it never fails to draw pleased comments and interest from its audience, and this show promises to be as wonderful as any we’ve had yet. Commanding attention yet never domineering in message, these remarkable images help us to see the world as we may never have seen it before – and in that way, to find a new place in it for ourselves and our lives.

In Symphony of Color, viewers will be swept away by the lyrical, harmonious yet challenging creations. These are artists who use all of the fruits of their observation and insight to form works that both soothe and stimulate, encouraging us to seek deeper and see more widely, lending both new meaning and fresh inspiration to the pattern of existence.

Don’t forget that at the same time you can view the exhibition of the Flagstaff Gallery, a New Zealand gallery which is displaying the works of its talented artists at Agora for a limited time only.

Exhibition dates: April 24, 2012 – May 15, 2012
Reception: Thursday, April 26, 2012 6-8 PM
Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, New York City
Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Featured artists:
Altered States of Reality: an Exhibition of Analog and Digital Photography: Michelle Benjamin, Fernando Braune, Claude Charlebois, Vidur Chhabra, Neil Patrick Doherty, Michael Katz, Corrado Maggi, Shokoufeh Malekkiani, Hélène Mogensen de Monléon, Norma Picciotto, Heather Diane Rule (Adams), Shifra, Monia Tartarini
Symphony of Color: Hortencia Barreto, Vera L.P. Cauwenberghs, Doug Gilbert, Elisabeth Holzschuster, Nicholai Khan, Helen Laishley, Lola Lonli, Marty Maehr, MAEV, Yvonne Maloney, Isabelle Viallaneix, W.M. Vinci, Xiaoli Yang

The art piece that was going to be the centerpiece of the UK’s Olympics festival has been rejected and denied funding.

Enforced silence encourages fakes – so let’s be open about authenticity issues.

It looks incomplete, but Europe’s largest contemporary art center is now open – and the look is part of the design.

French art museums don’t have much French art – but now there is new hope for the French contemporary art scene.

Will Google Art give new life to Indian art museums that badly need it?

Popular stories from the week:

Do you remember every single work in the exhibition you just saw? Me neither, but this guy does.

Ten fabulous New York shots – found through Facebook.

Bored during a long flight? Get imaginative and create portraits in the bathroom.

Interesting – [...]]]> Art news from around the world:

The art piece that was going to be the centerpiece of the UK’s Olympics festival has been rejected and denied funding.

Enforced silence encourages fakes – so let’s be open about authenticity issues.

It looks incomplete, but Europe’s largest contemporary art center is now open – and the look is part of the design.

French art museums don’t have much French art – but now there is new hope for the French contemporary art scene.

Will Google Art give new life to Indian art museums that badly need it?

Popular stories from the week:

Do you remember every single work in the exhibition you just saw? Me neither, but this guy does.

Ten fabulous New York shots – found through Facebook.

Bored during a long flight? Get imaginative and create portraits in the bathroom.

Interesting – how Renoir’s paintings inspired his son’s cinema.

I absolutely love this concept; children’s drawings, reworked by professional artists.

The exhibition has been organized by the Flagstaff Gallery of New Zealand, which also represents the artists whose works will be on display. The Flagstaff Gallery was established in 1993 as the very first dealer gallery on Auckland’s North Shore. Since then, it has gone from strength to strength, becoming one of the influential major players in the Auckland art scene and promoting the work of many wonderful artists.

Like Agora Gallery, the Flagstaff [...]]]> At Agora Gallery, we’re getting excited about the show which will soon be opening in part of our exhibition space. Made in New Zealand features the compelling, creative and utterly satisfying work of talented artists from New Zealand, and we’re sure that it will bring a new and richer perspective on that country to all the visitors to the show.

The exhibition has been organized by the Flagstaff Gallery of New Zealand, which also represents the artists whose works will be on display. The Flagstaff Gallery was established in 1993 as the very first dealer gallery on Auckland’s North Shore. Since then, it has gone from strength to strength, becoming one of the influential major players in the Auckland art scene and promoting the work of many wonderful artists.

Like Agora Gallery, the Flagstaff Gallery accepts work of a wide range of styles and mediums, from pieces that owe much to abstraction to hand-worked prints, and this diversity is represented in the artwork they are bringing to New York. The exhibition will include woven work, pastels, oils, watercolor and photography – a variety that shows the vibrancy of Auckland’s art and artists.

The show will actually have two parts. The first will begin on April 24, 2012 and run until May 15, 2012, and the second will be on view from May 18, 2012 until June 7, 2012. The opening receptions will be on April 26, 2012 and May 24, 2012 respectively. The artwork will, of course, be different in each half of the exhibit, so art lovers are advised to attend both in order to gain a more complete experience.

All of the artists are in some sense inspired by their home country, and many even take the flora, fauna and scenery that they know so well as their subjects. Within that, however, each artist finds new and interesting ways to express their personal vision and, in the process, lend new insight into the nature of the country that inspires and informs their creations.

Alka Fowler, the Flagstaff Gallery Director, feels that the exhibition has an unusual level of significance over and above the pleasure art enthusiasts naturally take in appealing and intriguing art. “This is an important moment for the artists and New Zealand art,” she says. “The exhibition provides a glimpse into our distinctive culture and adds dimension to the perceptions about New Zealand of the art loving public in New York City.”

Exhibition dates: April 24, 2012 – May 15, 2012 ; May 18, 2012 – June 7, 2012
Reception: Thursday, April 26, 2012 6-8 PM ; Thursday, May 24, 2012 6-8 PM
Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, New York City
Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Featured artists:
Tony Allain, Mychael Barratt, Emma Butler, Sean Chen, Mark Compton, Dagmar Dyck, Dave Gunson, Julia Henderson, Daniëlla Hulme, Crispin Korschen, Peter Lambert, Kit MacGregor, Ewan McDougall, Peter Mesley, Alexis Neal, Tony Ogle, Anna Palmer, Matt Palmer, Richard Robinson, Ted Sherwen,  Richard Smith, Cynthia Taylor, Mary Taylor, Rae West, Fraser Williamson