Saturday, April 30, 2011

George Condo's Twisted Fantasy Museum Show + SOFA wrap-up + The First Dessert, Ever - Milk & Honey

ART: Now Showing
Last Chance to View
George Condo: Mental States
at NYC's New Museum




Painter and Sculptor George Condo, born 1957 in New Hampshire, has three-decade's of his work displayed on the walls of the New Museum, in NYC. He studied art history and music theory at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, but when he arrived in New York in 1980, he quickly became part of the East Village art scene as a studio artist and worked briefly at Andy Warhol's Factory. He ran with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat and collaborated with William Burroughs on an album cover for Phish. (Recently the artist created a controversial album cover for Kanye West. This cover art caused the album to be banned by Wal-Mart and Apple iTunes. It shows a crazy faced nude Kanye being mounted by a devilish female nude angel with a polka dot tail.)

Condo's retrospective museum exhibition comes down in a few days and it's worth a quick visit, especially if you have not seen New York's New Museum.
The main gallery of the show has a giant wall of paintings displayed salon style with no art on the side walls to distract the viewer. If you are not familiar with George Condo's art, he has a "Cubistic Looney Toons" of a style which he mixes with his art history knowledge. He paints mostly portraits in classic styles with crazy eyes, and dropped jaws and has done this consistently for years, long enough for his style to take hold. In 1992 he was quoted as saying: "...I realized that the central focal point of portraiture did not have to be representational in any way.  You don't need to paint the body to show the truth about a character, all you need is the head and the hands." 
In addition to the portraits there are a selection of sculptural gold and bronze busts and graffiti / abstracted / figurative / line and color-paintings. 

George Condo, Homeless Harlequins, 2004.

George Condo, The Insane Queen, 2006.


George Condo, Mary Magdalene, 2009.

George Condo, Female Figure Composition, 2009.

George Condo, Black and White Abstraction, 2005.

George Condo, Internal Space, 2005.


George Condo: Mental States 
The New Museum
Exhibition Ends May 8, 2011

After its presentation at the New Museum in New York, a modified version of this exhibition, organized by the Hayward Gallery, will travel to Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (June 25–September 25, 2011); Hayward Gallery, London (October 18, 2011–January 15, 2012); and Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (February 23–May 28, 2012).

New Museum
235 Bowery
New York, NY 10002
212.219.1222
George Condo: Mental States Catalogue





The George Condo: Mental States exhibition is accompanied by a 190-page catalogue, produced by Hayward Publishing. George Condo: Mental States, the book, features essays by Ralph Rugoff, Director, Hayward Gallery; Laura Hoptman, Curator, the Museum of Modern Art and former Kraus Family Senior Curator at the New Museum; as well as the novelists Will Self and David Means.
The catalog is only available at the New Museum Store.
Published by New Museum; 2011; Hardcover; 11" x 11.75"; 168 pp; 125 color images + 16 additional images exclusive to the New Museum exhibition; ISBN 9781853322891 Non Member Price $50.00









ART: 
My highlights of SOFA, NY art fair
Wexler Gallery, Philadelphia &
Joanna Bird Gallery, London

Wexler Gallery, Philadelphia
Wexler Gallery features glass works by emerging and mid-career artists along with historic pieces by the pioneers of the contemporary glass movement.


Wexler Gallery 
201 North 3rd Street // Philadelphia pa 19106
 P: 215 923 - 7030 F: 215 923 - 7031
info@wexlergallery.com
www.wexlergallery.com









Joanna Bird Gallery, London

Joanna Bird is an international art dealer and consultant with over thirty years’ experience in the art world as a practitioner, agent and gallerist. She is much in demand as a curator and consultant, and works with exciting talents and contemporary ceramicists worldwide.
For her many high profile clients, Joanna acts as an agent for the purchase or commission of the best contemporary art. She specializes in the site-specific display of craft ceramics and glassware.

www.joannabirdpottery.com
ART: 
An artist passes, what do you do with their art?
Jamillah Ausby of Brooklyn, New York wrote to artist and blogger Robert Genn, ("My husband, the abstract artist Ellsworth Ausby, passed on March 6th. I have a lot of his art which I would love to sell.... I plan to clean out his studio, take photos, set up a web site and hopefully I'll find a dealer or a gallery to sell his work.")





Robert replied about how to deal with this situation in his blog.  paraphrased here
(Jamillah's situation is similar to many artists' beneficiaries when the main thrust of the artist's life work was not in the commercial gallery system. Their credentials may be great, but their prior interaction with commercial galleries may be limited. Often, it's difficult to understand that dealers are usually not looking for an explanation of why the art has conceptual depth or artistic creativity. 

What most galleries ARE looking for in art:
* Marketability. 
*A large and consistent opus of work.
*A degree of exclusive access to that work for a period of time.
&
*The potential of higher and higher prices.

This often means your dealer will probably like to take control of the work. If the amounts of money are significant, you should get a lawyer with knowledge of the shenanigans of the art world. A cautious art executor should read The Legacy of Mark Rothko by Lee Seldes.

Further, the idea of putting up a memorial website--heavy on the artist's story and passion, light on commercial considerations--will keep the artist's flame burning bright. The memorial website is the statue of the 21st Century.)
Source: All information in this article came from Robert Genn's website.










FOOD:

Man's First Dessert?

Milk & Honey

I was thinking recently about Milk & Honey as a pleasure I indulge in from time to time and the long history of this combination. It has been used as an expression for abundance and the good life for at least 5000 years. The Bible even mentions the land of Milk & Honey in its first book,

Exodus 3:8 "So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey...." & Ezekiel 20:6 ."..that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands."



Even before man could write, before man was organized into civilized units, even before "mankind", the ingredients of milk and honey were around. Now that is an ancient dessert. Think about it, this is the dessert that the first of our species probably enjoyed and it tastes probably 99% the same today. This simple combination of natural ingredients is delicious and has been ever since there have been bees and mammary glands. INTERESTING!

Below I put together a recipe for the most basic ancient version of Milk & Honey. You can think up your own additions like nutmeg or vanilla. You wll enjoy one of the world's first desserts.


Milk & Honey
For every 
* 10 ounces of whole milk
add
* 1 generous teaspoon of honey

Heat the milk in a sauce pan, do not boil.
When warm add the honey and stir until the mixture is in solution.
(Add vanilla or nutmeg if desired.)

Serve warm or chilled:
After the milk and honey are in a complete solution they can be refrigerated and served cold.
Until Later,

Jack 

ARTSnFOOD, All rights reserved. Concept & Original Text © Copyright 2011 Jack A. Atkinson under all International intellectual property and copyright laws. Images © individual artists, fabricators, respective owners or assignees.

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A and now word from XeroxCorp: link -



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdi43UA2ofE

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Will & Kate - Royal Wedding Objects + Sgt. Pepper's Cover Artist Show + Best Fish & Chips

ONLY ONE POSTING THIS WEEK
DUE TO EASTER HOLIDAY
ROYAL BRIDE & GROOM
The Royal Wedding will be held in London on April 29, 2011





The Mad Hatters of London


Hats fell out of favor for most of the world, but never for the British and this wedding has sparked a fever for fancy hats by British designers.







Royal Art
The Royal Wedding
To view a "Royal Art Slide Show" click the following link = Royal Wedding Art
For details of where to watch the wedding go to the following link= http://www.dnainfo.com/20110426/manhattan/where-watch-royal-wedding-manhattan
Peter Blake
Gallery Show

Courtesy of Mary Ryan Gallery, Copyright Peter Blake 2011
Peter Blake, the artist who created the album cover for The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Album is now on a World Tour with his new gallery show.
More images from the Peter Blake's Gallery Show.
Courtesy of Mary Ryan Gallery
Copyright Peter Blake 2011
Courtesy of Mary Ryan Gallery
Copyright Peter Blake 2011

Courtesy of Mary Ryan Gallery, Copyright Peter Blake 2011

Peter Blake: World Tour 
April 14 - June 18, 2011 
Press Release:
English artist Peter Blake has often been called “the godfather of Pop Art” and his work is widely shown and collected throughout Europe.  He has rarely shown in the United States; this is his third exhibition in New York since 1962. Though he is best known in the states for creating the album cover of The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ his paintings, drawings, prints and collages have focused on all aspects of popular culture from sports to music to film. Beyond being seen as iconic imagery, Blake’s work has always had a particular ability to translate the social preoccupations of the time. While immersed in pop culture, his art belongs to a long tradition of figurative realism and he has been influenced by Victorian imagery, myth, folk art, outsider art and vintage illustration. Peter Blake: World Tour will feature 10 unique collages on paper and canvas depicting New York, Paris, Los Angeles, Venice and Tokyo.  These unique mixed media pieces combine real imagery (vintage postcards and photographs) with Blake’s invented additions, transcending time and leading the viewer deep into the artist’s imagination. This body of work features “Butterfly Man,” a whimsical character who travels the world orchestrating butterflies.  This exhibition also marks the debut of Blake’s newest suite of silkscreens, Paris Portfolio, also based on vintage postcards, as well as two new editions, Union Jack and Old Glory. Blake is a relentless collector and  experimenter.  While all of the works in this exhibition feature imagery that has attracted Blake since the 1960s, his exploration of digital technology has added a new component to his collages. Computer scanning, manipulation, and ink jet printing happily provide Blake the ability to alter his collage imagery in ways that would not have been possible through earlier photographic techniques he used.  By increasing the scale of his collage elements, Blake heightens detail and reveals new information to the viewer. 
Please contact Jordan Karney for more information at 212.397.0669 or jordan@maryryangallery.com Born in 1932, Peter Blake studied at the Royal College of Art in the early 1950s and along with fellow students such as David Hockney and RB Kitaj, played a crucial role in the emergence of Pop Art. Blake’s first one-man exhibition was held in 1962 at the Portal Gallery, London and his first US show was that same year at New York’s Sidney Janis Gallery. Solo shows followed at the Robert Fraser Gallery (1965) and since the early ‘70s, his work has been exhibited regularly in one-man shows at Waddington Galleries and throughout the world. His first Retrospective exhibition was held as early as 1969 at the City Art Gallery, Bristol. Subsequent Retrospectives were held in 1973 at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, touring to Hamburg and Brussels and at the Tate Gallery (1983). 
In 1994 he was made the Third Associate Artist of the National Gallery, London. He was elected a member of the Royal Academy in 1981, and was knighted in 2002. In 2007 the Tate Liverpool held a major retrospective of Blake’s work which toured to Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Spain in 2008.  Blake’s own collection of art received critical acclaim and attention when featured in James Brett’s Museum of Everything, first at the Frieze art fair and then at the museum in Primrose Hill through February 2011. A solo exhibition for Blake will open at the Holburne Museum in Bath, England in May 2011. 

All images used by permission, Copyright Peter Blake, 2011.

For more information contact
Mary Ryan Gallery
527 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10001
(212) 397-0669
www.maryryangallery.com/ 

Royal 
Collectables 
Every 30 years or so the Brits host a Royal Wedding that captures the world's attention. This next week Will & Kate will do just that.
The Royal Wedding / Collectables



The official Royal Wedding china range bears the couple's entwined initials in gold and silver surmounted by the coronet of Prince William and the wedding date. The china is handmade for the Royal Collection in Stoke-on-Trent using methods that have remained unchanged for 250 years. Each item is individually decorated and then embellished with several layers of burnished gold and platinum before a final layer of gilding in 22-carat gold is applied by hand.  Supplies are limited. The techniques involved in producing these items require more time than typical china. There are currently 5 plants in Staffordshire working at full capacity to meet the demand for these pieces. 

The Royal Collection, one of the finest art collections in the world, is held in trust by the queen as sovereign for her successors and the nation. The collection is on display at the royal residences and in exhibitions throughout the world. A part of your purchase price of these Royal Collection gift items supports the charitable trust responsible for the care and conservation of the Royal Collection of Art.


William and Catherine Wedding Tankard 
The official William and Catherine wedding china from the Royal Collection. The tankard, plate and pill box have been exclusively designed for the Royal Collection and approved by His Royal Highness Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton. The tankard is 3.07" x 3.03". Gift Box presentation, card of authenticity. This item IS IN STOCK NOW. Order now the wedding day is almost here. 
Item #: 5111, 
Price: $65.00 


William & Catherine Wedding Tea Towel 
A Tea Towel part of the official range of items from Buckingham Palace to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton. The design was approved by the couple and matches the items in the china range. Hang on the wall, on a door or in a window to serve as a wedding decoration. All cotton, made in the UK. 18.5" x 29.5" Now in stock although supplies are limited. 
Item #: 5114, 
Price: $14.95 


William & Catherine Wedding Pill Box 
The official William and Catherine wedding china from the Royal Collection. The tankard, plate and pill box have been exclusively designed for the Royal Collection and approved by His Royal Highness Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton. The pill box is 1.18" high by 2.36" in diameter. Gift Box presentation, card of authenticity. Limited Quantities. This item IS IN STOCK NOW. Order now the wedding day is almost here. 
Item #: 5113, 
Price: $47.00


William & Catherine Wedding Decoration 
A heart shaped decoration in brushed cotton, part of the official range of items from Buckingham Palace to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton. Hang in a window, use as a light pull, versatile decor item to celebrate the big event. Embroidered with faux mini pearls around the border. Made in the UK. 4" x 3.5" Now in stock, supplies are limited. 
Item #: 5115, 
Price: $22.50 




Glenfarclas Single Malt Scotch Fudge 
An adult confection that balances the sweet of the candy with the malt whiskey flavours of this exclusive product, single malt, Scotches. Packed in a handsome collectible tin that features a relief painting of the distillery. Made by Gardiners of Scotland, this is the best of both worlds, a melt in your mouth fudge combined with a Scotch connoisseur's treasure. 10.7 oz 
Item #: 45707, 
Price: $16.95 


Englands Coat Of Arms Cup & Saucer
Item #: 6947,
Price: $88.50

Buckingham Palace English Afternoon Tea 
An expanded tea selection from Buckingham and Windsor Palace, extraordinary refreshment available for you and your guest's enjoyment. A crowning achievement in tea. 25 tea bags in each 
Item #: 6990, 
Price: $7.95 


Buckingham Palace Shortbread Thins
Item #: 6987,
Price: $8.95



FOOD

A Salt & Battery

NYC's Best Fish & Chips

The Zagat rated A Salt & Battery was selected as the Best Fish & Chips in New York by NY Magazine and as a "Critics Pick" by Time Out NY and was the winner of Bobby Flay's Throwdown. Due to the world-wide depletion of fish stocks the restaurant has switched to pollock for their regular menu which has the same texture and taste as cod. It is also sustainable and locally caught. The restaurant is trans fat free and all dishes are prepared to order. Find this catch in Manhattan at 112 Greenwich Ave. between 12th and 13th Streets. 

A Salt & Batter MENU BELOW:
ITEM          
Chips .......$3.50......Large $5.50 No french fries here! 
Pollock ......5.50  Large 8.95 White and flaky with a mild taste cooked 
in our uniquely light batter 
Haddock  ......6.50......Large 9.95 Prime haddock. The king of fish. 
This succulent white fish is the perfect accompaniment to any self-respecting chip 
Sole......6.50......Large 8.95 A white fish fillet lightly cooked in 
batter and served with tartar sauce 
Whiting......5.50......Large  7.95 Great in a sandwich with a splash 
of hot sauce 
Fish Bites......5.50......Large 7.95 Finger size pieces of deep fried 
pollock in a golden batter. Ideal for the kids 
A load of shrimp......9.95  1/2 pound of jumbo shrimp served 
with your choice of tartare or Marie Rose sauce 
Battered sausage......5.95 Large traditional Irish Pork sausage 
in a golden batter. 
Chicken chunks......7.95White meat chicken lightly marinated with 
delicious curried spices and fried until crunchy. Served with marie rose sauce 
Fish Combo......7.25......12.25A mouthwatering combination of 
pollock bites, and shrimp 
Scallops......9.951/2lb of delicious deep-fried sea scallops. 

PIES 
All our pies are baked 'in-house' to traditional family recipes. 
Steak & kidney pie......6.95 Succulent pieces of steak and kidney 
served in a rich gravy 
Chicken & Mushroom......6.95 Tender pieces of chicken and mushroom 
in a creamy sauce 
Beef & Onion.....6.95 Ground beef with onions seasoned and served in golden pastry. 

SIDES 
Battered beets  ......4.50  Sliced beetroot in a light batter 
Chip Butty...... 5.00  Chips in a buttered, soft white roll 
Onion rings......4.00 
Cole slaw......2.50 
Curry Sauce...... 2.00  Madras Indian style gravy 
Gravy......1.50 
‘Bisto’ gravy 
Heinz baked beans......3.00 Imported vegetarian beans baked in a sweet tomato sauce 
Home made mushy peas......3.50 
Pickled onion...... 0.75 
Potato dabs......3.00 Sliced potato deep fried 
Bread roll with butter......1.00 
Home made tartar sauce......0.65 
HP sauce (bottle)......3.99 
Malt vinegar (bottle)...... 3.99 
    
BEVERAGES 
Ginger beer......2.75 Idris English ginger beer, non-alcoholic 
Shandy......2.75 English Lemonade with a splash of Bass Ale 
Tango......2.75 English Soda in Orange, Apple  
Lilt......2.75 Pineapple and Grapefruit fl avored soda 
Tizer......2.75 Sweet English Soda 
Irn bru......2.75 Unique Scottish Soda 
R Whites lemonade......2.75 English Lemon soda 
Vimto......2.75 Blackcurrant, grape soda 
Coke (regular, diet)......1.50 Sprite......1.50 
Water - bubbly or still......1.50 Tea......1.50 
Milk......1.00 
BEER 
Stella......5.00 Crisp Belgian larger 
Boddingtons......5.00 Golden creamy ale from Manchester 
Duchy Original English Ale......5.00 Prince of Wales's organic English ale 
Magners cider......5.00Hard sweet Irish cider (alcoholic) 
Ask about our guest beers 

DESSERTS 
Mars bar......3.25 Imported English Mars bar 
battered and deep fried 
Toffee Crisp......3.25 Caramel and rice crispies in milk chocolate, 
battered and deep fried 
Banana fritter......3.50 A banana battered and deep-fried sprinkled with 
cinnamon sugar 
Pineapple fritter......3.50 A pineapple ring battered and deep-fried, 
sprinkled with cinnamon sugar 

A Salt & Battery
Fish & Chips
112 GREENWICH AVENUE 
(12TH & 13TH STREETS) 
Phone: (212) 691-2713Fax: (212) 691-8739 
www.asaltandbattery.com       
info@asaltandbattery.com 
Open 11.30am to 10.30pm 7 Days



Elizabeth before she was Queen. 



Until After The Royal Wedding 
Friday April 29, 2011,


Jack 

ARTSnFOOD, All rights reserved. Concept & Original Text © Copyright 2011 Jack A. Atkinson under all International intellectual property and copyright laws. Images © individual artists, fabricators, respective owners or assignees.

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Happy Easter!