Raqib Shaw

Today I learned about India-born artist Raqib Shaw from a client. Represented by White Cube and with exhibitions held at the MOMA and Tate, this 35-year-old painter works in very intricate imagery, often with a violent and sexual content. Largely inspired by fifteenth-century artist Hieronymus Bosch, his paintings resemble kimonos, tapestry, Persian miniatures, jewellry. Rich with enamel and gold leaf, his creatures and plants float on a luxurious landscape.

Fire Destroys 90% of Helio Oiticica’s Works

Brazilians are mourning the loss of almost 2,000 works of Helio Oiticica, on a fire last night in Rio de Janeiro. The works were estimated in US$ 200 million.

Born in Rio in 1937, Hélio Oiticica came to be regarded as one of the most revolutionary artists of the country for its innovative and experimental work. Oiticica was a founder in 1959 of the Neoconcreto movement along with names such as Amilcar de Castro, Lygia Clark and Franz Weissmann. His work “Tropicalia” was one of the main inspirations of the Tropicalia movement.

Caetano Veloso, Brazilian singer and composer, wears one of Oitcica’s ‘Parangoles’

Picasso meets the Nazis – a play in Vancouver

Christina Schild as German cultural attaché Miss Fischer

This is a first for The Art Monitor, but A Picasso relates so well to the subjects approached here that made it relevant posting about a play. Set in Paris in 1941, it explores a tug of war between art and bureaucracy that is very ‘now’ for the Vancouver of 2009. American playwright Jeffrey Hatcher brings a 60-year-old Picasso in confrontation with a Nazi functionary to determine which of the three works of art in their possession are true Picassos for an art burning, giving him the right to chose one to be destroyed. A Picasso runs nightly through October 31st at Presentation House, Vancouver. The Province interviewed the main actor, Andrew Wheeler.

Luiz Aquila – Brazilian Colors

A Pintura, o Vermelho e Suas Linhas, 2009,  acrylic on canvas, 100 x 140 cm

Luiz Aquila translates in reds and oranges the warmth of his (and mine) country. At 66 he is more productive than ever and always involved in cultural activities other than his own atelier. Aquila refers to his work as one continuous painting. When seen side by side in a show we can fill in the gaps and get a flow of waves and lines merging together. Always exciting, bold and vibrant his paintings are in some of the main private and corporate collections of Brazil. Valu Oria, in Sao Paulo, will be showing his recent work from tomorrow to November 7th. Full disclosure: Aquila is my cousin, I represented his work for 20 years and he is one of the artists I admire the most.

A Pintura e os Novos Devaneios, 2008, acrylic on canvas, 90 x 180 cm

Irving Penn Dies at 92

Irving Penn – Girl in Bed, 1949

Irving Penn, American photographer, died yesterday at his home in Manhattan.  He was 92. Known for taking subjects out of context by bringing them to studio and placing them against a simple background composing striking images, Penn worked until quite recently always pushing the boundaries of the traditional concept of beauty. From fashion to still-life, from Aborigine tribesmen to San Francisco hippies, he registered everything with a sensitive and loving eye. “Photographing a cake can be art”, he said once.  Read more on Yahoo news.

The 2009 Turner Prize

‘papier mache eggman’ by enrico david, 2009 from the installation ‘how do you love dzzzzt by mammy?

gold leaf painting by richard wright

The 2009 Turner Prize exhibition opened at Tate Britain today. Brain matter, whale skeleton, papier macher, an atomized aircraft engine, compete for this year’s 25,000 pounds prize. The result will be known on December 7th. The four shot-listed artists are Richard Wright, Enrico David, Roger Hiorns and Lucy Skaer.
Designboom has more images.

Scott McFarland at Vancouver Art Gallery

View of Vale of Health, Looking Towards Hampstead, 2007inkjet type print, 27 x 42.5 inches

Starting today, the VAG will be showing 80 photographs produced by Scott McFarland over the past seven years. McFarland’s images are composed from several exposures of the same scene, then digitally stitched together.

Nude Supermodels in Sotheby’s Sale

On October 9th in New York, Sotheby’s will stage a stunning sale of photographs including several nude portraits of supermodels, with work from the likes of Chuck Close, Peter Beard, Robert Mapplethorpe, Helmut Newton and more. One of the top lots is a series of six full frontal nudes of Kate Mossby Chuck Close taken in 2003 (below), estimated at $100,000 – $150,000. (…) this relatively tame image of Nadja Auermann by Irving Penn from 1994 is also a relative bargain at $6,000 – $9,000.
- via Luxist