Author: xerkss

The Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam adhering to the idea born from the Instagram page Tussenkunstenquarantaine of recreating masterworks, have populated social media with many revisited works of art! From The Creation of Adam to the Girl with a Pearl Earring, from The Birth of Venus to The Starry Night, the paintings have come to life in the houses of the people forced into isolation due to the Coronavirus emergency.

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A challenge that tests creativity in isolation

This game of recreating masterworks, born to pass the time, is actually a way to review (or discover) artists, works, styles, and – why not – even the history of art.

In times of isolation the museums invited people to reproduce famous works. Users are improvising settings and costumes with the available everyday objects. From the Madonna with Child to Munch’s Scream, the best were shared on social media.

The rules given by the museums promoting this initiative are simple: no special effects, no photoshop, no strange filters. In fact it is the imagination that must guide the hands, to find among the thousand objects that surround us the perfect ones to create modern adaptations of the most famous artworks!

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam was among the first to propose the new challenge. This is depopulating among Instagram feeds from around the world, officially launching the #stayathomechallenge with the remaking of one of Vermeer’s best-known paintings.

From there, it has been a crescendo, especially this past week. Every day 140 thousand people peek at the funniest outcomes of artistic reproductions.

The Art of recreating masterworks

Many accepted the challenge by paying tribute to Magritte and his The son of man. The new version of Dogs playing poker by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge has really succeeded. Another very creative user made Les demoiselles d’Avignon become Barbies.

In the challenge launched by the Getty Museum, the works are already so many that they can create a virtual “double” of the museum. Various living paintings reproduce Arnolfini’s Spouses by Jan van Eyck and also Vermeer’s Milkmaid. Particularly eccentric is Monet’s painting Rue Mosnier with flags as a shelf in the library with volumes, puppets and flags.

Quarantine Classics on Instagram

This sort of “artistic cosplay” is surely a great success as shown by the very popular hashtag #covidclassics. In Italy it has had some special variations that are worth mentioning. Mibac is surely very active in these days to relaunch cultural activities under the motto #iorestoacasa (I stay at home). Additionally, it coined another hashtag for the occasion: #lartetisomiglia (art resembles you). 

Coronavirus has closed museums around the world, but hasn’t stopped culture. For weeks, in fact, the initiatives that foundations, art galleries and art collections have launched to keep their home-bound visitors company are multiplying. Some offer virtual tours, those who offer free digital content, those who share insights with videos and podcasts. All culture lovers are satisfied. From those who take the opportunity to study a bit of art history to those who take it only as a pastime.

We are sure of one thing: art will survive the Coronavirus. Because it is through it that all stimulate the imagination in the cultural field. Between online museums, streaming exhibitions, new projects by illustrators and painters, art has not stopped even with isolation!

Virtual Art is keeping the audience engaged in times of isolation! Above all, there is an entirely new way to approach art based on immersive viewing technology. As often happens, growth is found in adversity. Many projects are now in fact being launched. Among these, there are some of the most intriguing virtual tours to experience in May!

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Virtual art to see in May

Galleries and museums had to face an uncountable amount of limitations. That’s because the precautions applied to stop the coronavirus spread pushed all the major cultural institutions to develop digitized experiences to offer the audience. This fact will surely impact the art market and the art fruition even when lockdowns and social restrictions will be behind us. Next month, in particular, seems to reserve a whole new set of artistic experiences in digital form!

Picasso and Paper, Royal Academy of Arts

The show “Picasso and Paper” was one of the most expected events of the year, certainly, the exhibition that better retraced Picasso’s interest in the paper not just as a medium to develop a more elaborate art. In particular, the greatest Spanish artist used paper as a creative vehicle. It was the main tool for impressing a nascent idea. As the exhibition shows, Picasso thinks in fact of the paper as a rehearsal room.

Even if the exhibit is not open to the public, a 40 minutes virtual tour is available on the Royal Academy of Arts Website.

Andy Warhol, Tate Modern

The Tate Modern was meant to inaugurate this year a retrospective of a notable artist, probably the greatest of his times: Andy Warhol! In particular, the Tate collected a huge selection from unseen work to the most iconic pop-art images to Marilyn Monroe, to the Ladies and Gentlemen series.

Tate Modern has released an online tour of the long-awaited exhibition, available to access via the gallery website.

British Surrealism, Dulwich Picture Gallery

This unique exhibition of the Dulwich Picture Gallery collects the works of over 40 renowned artists, from Lucian Freud to Leonora Carrington, Francis Bacon, and Paul Nash.

This is certainly a showcase of spectacular sculptures, prints, paintings, etchings, and photography from 1783 to 1952. The exhibition audioguide is online on the gallery website.

Frida Kahlo

A new exhibition on Frida Kahlo retraces the work and the legacy of the iconic Mexican artist. Above all, the show is based on the exchanges and the combined forces of 33 museums around the world.

Viewers can surely delve deeper into her life through personal letters and virtual tours around the places she lived and worked.

Zhuang Hong Yi, Nova

Contemporary artist Zhuang Hong Yi’s latest exhibition goes under the name of “Nova”. Surely eccentric and unpredictable, the artist uses his lush, layered “flowerbed” paintings. In particular, Zhuang Hong Yi transforms countless pieces of painted rice paper into tiny blossoms.

Zhuang Hong Yi’ Nova is now accessible via HOFA’s virtual online platform.

TRATE, Technicolour Malaise

The Canadian figurative painter TRATE has recently decided to present his works online. In particular, his upcoming solo exhibition is now available via virtual tours live from his studio. Technicolour Malaise, TRATE’s third solo exhibition will now be accessible via 360° images onsite.

The environment affects today’s artists more than ever. On the occasion of Earth Day, we revisit the concept of sustainable art together by reviewing some of the artists who have distinguished themselves in this field.

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Art and nature

Whatever the individual motivation, the so-called “recycled art” spreads in conjunction with the discussion on renewable energy and the protection of the planet. In some cases, the environmental debate is closely linked to political motivation. This is the case, for example, of some Nigerian artists who through their creations denounce the massive production of oil in the Niger delta and the pollution that derives from it.

In addition to a destructive environmental choice, a political approach can easily be inferred that puts production and income before the health of its inhabitants. At least, this is the representation of famous artists like Sokari Douglas Camp. The artist received many awards for her artistic vision and her commitment to representing social and global themes within her sculptures. Among her most appreciated artworks, there is “Green Leaf Barrel“. In particular, the piece represents a woman goddess creating growth from an oil barrel. An immediate and sharp depiction of the environmental and social conditions in the Nigeria Delta, polluted, and overcrowded. The artist uses a combination of biodegradable materials for her artworks.

Among other artists that dedicate to sustainable art, there is Nnenna Okore. Born in Australia and raised in Nigeria, Nnenna Okore creates suggestive abstract sculptures and paintings reminding of natural primordial shapes. The artist uses recycled materials such as paper, ceramic, fabric, hessian are the tools to represent her figurative imaginary. In particular, Okore underlines how important our connection with nature is, how much we still rely on Earth’s resources for living. This artist focuses deeply on how to preserve the planet. That’s why in her works she represents nature’s fragility as a way to inspire human awareness.

Artists Working in Recycled Art

Contemporary artists explore the issues surrounding global climate change and its consequences. Over the years, artists increasingly depicted visual culture and images related to environmental activism. That’s how they use their art to imagine answers to respond to pollution and conservation issues.

Sustainable Art developed also on the base of the connection artists always had with nature. In particular, the artist’s experience of nature quests themes of existence and imagination. Among the artists that are focusing on environmental issues, there are Ptolemy Elrington and Richard Texier.

Ptolemy Elrington’s sculptures explore the damage caused by unsustainable resources. The British artist uses objects from manufactured products, such as shopping trolleys or car hub caps, to represent the impact of waste on our environment. On the other side, instead, Richard Texier is today one of the best living artists of his generation. In “Angel Bear”, the monumental work in Front of Gare Du Nord Train Station in Paris, the artist focuses on the melting of the glaciers. That’s why the bionic bear is red, reminding the viewer of the fragility of the world.

What Does Sustainability Mean for the Art World?

Through sustainable art that artists hope to inspire social and cultural change as well. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was created by the United Nations in 2015 and points out many core goals to help the world become more environmentally friendly. Above all, sustainable Art provides a more conscious perspective on the world current state. Through works inspired by major environmental issues and recycled art, contemporary artists raise awareness.

Latin American Art has made interesting contributions over the years to many artistic genres. Artists from Latin America have profoundly influenced the traditions of Performance Art, Minimalism and Conceptual Art. Although they have not always been at the center of the scene, Latin artists have recently received the attention of the main international museums.

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Latin American art: a matter of identity

It is a vast artistic heritage that offers valuable investment opportunities for Art Collectors. A trend that embraces not only contemporary Latin American art, but also African art, which is opening up new paths in the contemporary art market. But what are the reasons behind this widespread phenomenon?

First of all, Latin art has a strong identity connotation. The main artistic references – from a representative point of view – concern the themes of socio-cultural differences and alienation in Latin America. The desire of the artists is to depict the fractured identity politics that followed the military dictatorship.

Latin American Art has rarely been influenced by European art. More often, however, it developed independently, partially preserving indigenous imagery. Styles from Europe and the United States are generally filtered based on local culture and pictorial tradition. It is therefore clear that what Latin artists seek is an art that is the mirror of society. An art that is capable of combining personal imagination with popular culture and customs.

Before the emergency caused by the coronavirus, many exhibitions had scheduled appointments and reviews on Contemporary Latin American Art. Words / Matter at the Blanton Museum of Art, at the University of Texas in Austin, scheduled the showcase of over 150 Latin American artworks from the 1930s on. In Europe, however, the 21st edition of Art Paris provided works by more than 60 artists from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.

Latin American Contemporary Artists

From its beginnings in the 1960s, Latin American contemporary art has not stopped evolving. Among the most influential artists of the contemporary South American artistic panorama, we can mention Gabriel Orozco. Mexican, Gabriel Orozco exploded onto the international scene in the 1990s. His works incorporated a multitude of different media — from drawings to installations, to photography, sculptures.

According to the Guggenheim, “Orozco’s aesthetic vocabulary is indebted to Conceptualism, the artistic traditions of his native Mexico, and Marcel Duchamp’s readymades. The fragile relationship of everyday objects to one another and to human beings is Orozco’s principal subject.”

Francisco Sepulveda is instead a prominent artist with regards to painting. The historical reference to his continent is clear in his works. Often, in fact, in the imagination of Sepulveda, there are mysterious characters engaged in rituals and dances. The artist’s works are already among the prestigious private and public collections worldwide. To cite a few: New York Public Library in New York, Graphische Sammlung Der ETH in Zurich – Switzerland, the Musée de l’ Estampe et du Dessin Original à Gravelines – France, Centro de Arte Contemporaneo de Cordoba -Argentina. He is one of the young representatives of the Latin American pictorial scene in Europe and received the Artist of the Year in 2009 for Azar – International Painting Magazine.

As Sepulveda’s paintings show, Latin art gravitates around incredible imaginative universes. A phenomenon to observe carefully that could outline new paths for contemporary art collecting.