Art

SHANGHAI, China — To
celebrate its emergence as a global power, China is throwing a party –
the
largest-ever world expo, a six-month extravaganza that kicked off
Saturday with
hundreds of thousands visitors. While many in the West view world fairs
as
overblown trade shows, China sees the Shanghai World Expo as a way to
burnish
its image by mobilizing its masses and vast resources to create another
jaw-dropping spectacle on the heels of the Beijing Olympics two years
ago. President Hu
Jintao
presided at an opening ceremony Friday night at the Expo’s saucer-like
cultural
center that featured stars like Jackie Chan. Hours later on Saturday
morning,
the gates opened to hundreds of thousands of Chinese eager to celebrate
the
country’s new global prominence.

FORT WORTH, TX.- The Kimbell Art Museum of
Fort
Worth, Texas, has acquired the painting Christ and the Woman of Samaria,
dated
to 1619–20, by the Italian artist Guercino, one of the foremost painters
of his
time. The purchase was announced today by the Museum’s director, Eric M.
Lee.
The painting dates from Guercino’s early, rarest, and most desirable
period,
when the artist achieved acclaim for the emotional power of his
compositions. Also on exhibition is
Michelangelo’s first known painting, The Torment of Saint Anthony,
is
now on view among the permanent collection of the Kimbell Art
Museum.

SANTA FE, NM.- The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
has
introduced on its website a searchable online database with images of
over 3,000
items from the museum’s collection, as well as materials from the
archives of
the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Research Center. Through the Georgia
O’Keeffe Museum
Collections Online, the public can now view items including, among
others,
images of art and photographs in the Museum Collection and
correspondence from
Research Center Collections. Online availability of these materials was
created
to increase public awareness of and access to the museum’s art and
Research
Center collections.

BERLIN.- Galerie Michael Janssen presents a

selection of Mario Ybarra Jr.’s recent works. In his first solo
exhibition at
the gallery, the American artist will be presenting two installations.
Born in
Los Angeles in 1973 and a graduate of the University of California,
Irvine,
Ybarra’s biography is key to understanding his work, which draws
attention to
forms of culture on the fringe of the mainstream revealing hidden
histories
within their contexts. His Mexican roots permeate his engagement with
the
phenomena of contemporary art, street culture and social reality. On
view April
30 through June 19, 2010.

MONTREAL.- Initiated
and organized by the Musée de
la musique with the support of the artist’s family represented through
Miles
Davis Properties, LLC, in association with the Montreal Museum of Fine
Arts (MMFA), “We Want Miles:
Miles Davis vs.
Jazz” is a multimedia retrospective exhibition devoted to one the
greatest jazz
artists of the twentieth century: Miles Davis (1926-1991). Bearing the
same
title as Davis’s 1982 live album, “We Want Miles” explores many of the
greatest
highlights of Davis’ exceptional life and career. On exhibition 30
April through 29 May,
2010.

EDINBURGH (REUTERS).- The French
Revolution of
1789 and the Napoleonic wars opened up a massive European art market,
and some
of the British royal purchases of the time are featured in a new
exhibition of
Dutch landscape and marine paintings in Edinburgh. The exhibition of 42
works by
17th century Dutch artists from the royal collection runs at the Queen’s
Gallery
at the Palace of Holyroodhouse from Saturday through to January 9,
2011. Desmond Shawe-Taylor, surveyor of the Queen’s pictures
who
curated the exhibition, said 34 of the paintings were bought by the
Prince
Regent (subsequently King George IV) between 1809 and 1820.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI.- Few American artists
can
capture the attention of millions the way Dale Chihuly can, and Frederik
Meijer
Gardens & Sculpture Park, one of the nation’s most significant
sculpture and
botanic experiences, will celebrate the masterwork of Chihuly with a
breathtaking and exclusive outdoor sculpture exhibition, “Chihuly at
Frederik
Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: A New Eden” will include thousands
of
pieces of glass in 15 different settings across the 132-acre grounds.
Each
site-specific sculpture will harmonize with the surrounding natural
environment,
and bright, bold horticulture designs will change with the seasons.
April
30 through September 30, 2010.