Author: Darko Topalski

Phoenix, AZ – Phoenix Art Museum celebrates the career of one of the most successful American artists of the early 20^th century with the opening of In Contemporary Rhythm: The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein. A founder of the famed Taos Society of Artists, Blumenschein rocketed into the spotlight with his modernist approach to capturing the American West.  This major retrospective, on view March 15 through June 14, 2009, covers every aspect of the artist’s career and is the first Blumenschein exhibition in 30 years and the first in Arizona.

LEICESTER, UK – What links a neuroscientist with a social anthropologist and the UK’s premier independent art charity? The answer is the visual perception of art. When, why and how are individuals moved by a piece of art in a museum or gallery? These are the questions to be examined between the world renowned Department of Museum Studies and the Department of Engineering at the University of Leicester, in collaboration with The Art Fund.

LONDON.- At the end of 2008, Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture, Tate Liverpool is presenting a display of major works by William Blake (1757-1827), the renowned painter, printmaker, poet and mystical philosopher. Largely ignored in his own lifetime, Blake is today regarded as one of the great geniuses of British art, appealing to a universal audience. On view from 12 December 2008 until 22 March 2009, the Wolfson gallery will house selected William Blake masterpieces, in a spellbinding display that re-considers the cycle of life, death and rebirth.

LONDON.- 21 British museums and galleries from
Llandudno to Fort William will be able to show masterpieces of contemporary art
in 2010 thanks to “ARTIST ROOMS”, Anthony d’Offay’s gift to the nation made in
2008. The “ARTIST ROOMS 2010 Tour” has been made possible by
The Art Fund and is supported by the Scottish Government. Held jointly by
National Galleries of Scotland and Tate, “ARTIST ROOMS” is the largest
public gift of art to museums in UK history. The collection has now been
enhanced by artists and collectors who have made significant donations to the
scheme including: Ed Ruscha, “The Music from the Balconies”, 1984, donated by
the artist; Ian Hamilton Finlay, “Idylls End in Thunderstorms”, 1986; and “A
Last Word Rudder”, 1999 donated by the Estate of the artist.

HOUSTON, TX.- 68 paintings by Alice Neel, the indomitable
20th-century portrait painter who captured the character of her time and the
gamut of New York life over seven decades, will be on view in Alice Neel:
Painted Truths at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, starting March 21,
2010. Committed to portraiture throughout her life, an era when the
genre was considered practically obsolete, Neel captured both the physical
likenesses and the psychological essences of her sitters in bold, sometimes
searing paintings. Neel painted neighbors in her gritty Manhattan district and
members of the art-world elite, as well as her lovers, friends and children.
Alice Neel: Painted Truths is the first major museum exhibition of Neel´s work
in ten years, and the first to present her work in Europe. The show
examines Neel´s oeuvre from a highly focused perspective, showcasing masterworks
culled from the 1920s to the 1980s. Along with her famous portraits, a section
of the show will also be devoted to her lesser-known cityscapes that document
tenement life from the inside.

LONDON.- “Paperview” brings together works on
paper from three renowned London based art collections, alongside a selection of
emerging and established London based artists. At a time when many
galleries are reducing their exhibition programmes, Paperview celebrates the
humble medium of paper by bringing together works by 75 artists from around the
world. The exhibition has been supported by John Jones to create an open
discourse on both the passion and practicalities of collecting. In the
current economic climate John Jones hopes to help galvanise the art market and
inspire new collectors.