Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982

The exhibition includes more than 100 works by Basquiat, mapping out his progress throughout his brief and concentrated career.  The show is categorized in 4 different sections.  Basquiat’s early works, which began with his graffiti tags under the pseudonym SAMO©; Fun Gallery, with his artworks from the Fun Gallery in New York featuring his canvases distinctively attached to pieces of wood; Warhol/Basquiat, showing the results of the bond between the two artists and their collaboration; and late works, which show the final stage of Basquiat’s career, in which he was consumed with representing death.  Riding with Death, featured in his late works, has been considered as a symbol for Basquiat’s own imminent death.  His use of gold relates back to his palette including gold, silver and copper paint that he used early on.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Riding with Death, 1988

Many museums, galleries, and private collections all over the United States and Europe have contributed to this important retrospective.  Basquiat at the Fondation Beyeler is on view from May 9^th to September 5^th, 2010.  It will travel to the Musée d’art Moderne de la ville de Paris on October 15, 2010, where it will be on view through January 30, 2011.

Basquiat, Fondation Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland

all images from Fondation Beyeler, http://www.beyeler.com

Ulrik Poniatowski, The Power of the Elements, €950

The Power of the Elements best represents his canvases in pointillism.  The four elements are layered in loose horizontal stripes across the canvas with a fiery sky and blue flame-like waves encompassing black, gray and white wind and earth patterns.  It is as if the fire and water contain the earth and wind, and yet each of the four is powerful in and of itself, as Poniatowski skillfully has composed a pattern and style for each one.  The red and orange fire tones used in the top layer take sweeping, striped forms, blending into the black, white and gray cut-out patterned wind below, which rests upon the zigzag figures of the earth, and finally bright blue waves take the bottom layer of the canvas.  The four elements not only contrast each other but also seem to fit together like puzzle pieces, both in their distinct patterns and in their all being composed of pointillist dots.  A strong sense of movement runs throughout the canvas.

Ulrik Poniatowski, The Pink and Almond Alphabet, €650

Just as intricate, The Pink and Almond Alphabet shows what Poniatowski calls his “Alphabet Inconscient” –unconscious alphabet style in which he repeatedly fills his canvas with patterns resembling letters, closely woven together.  In this one, pink tones stand out against a bright fluorescent green background.  The work entrances as each shape is the slightest bit different and manifests itself as an unconscious exercise of the artist and his pen.

Ulrik Poniatowski, The Great Apple, €450

Poniatowski also paints compositions based on different subjects, such as The Great Apple, which is a bright canvas full of symbols to represent New York City, including high rise buildings, lights, money signs, musical notes, and a subway train sweeping down from the top right corner of the canvas.  The jumbled images and varied, often fluorescent, colors make for a lively and playful composition.

Ulrik Poniatowski, Angels Pistols, €1200

Ulrik Poniatowski’s work in Posca with loud colors, intricate patterns, pointillism, and urban art themes all come together for his distinct modern style.  Poniatowski clearly has a talent for this medium, and his unique style and technique will surely bring him tremendous success as he brings his exciting canvases to the contemporary art market.

This month, Ulrik will be showing his work at Galerie Artisyou in the Paris Marais district.  On display from 8 May through 5 June.  11 Rue Thorigny 75003 Paris.

Entering the building is equally impressive as its regal exterior.  The impressive marble staircase which leads to the galleries is decorated with murals by Gustav Klimt, Mihaly von Munkácsy and Hans Makart.

Johannes Vermeer van Delft, The Art of Painting, 1665-1666,

Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Picture Gallery

A recent exhibition centers around Vermeer’s iconic work The Art of Painting.  Johannes Vermeer van Delft kept this work displayed in his studio from the moment he painted it up until after his death.  The work, considered an allegory of the art of painting, shows the artist painting his model posing as Clio, the Muse of History, as he faces a map with the historical 17 provinces of the Netherlands.  This very map by Claes Jansz Visscher is displayed in the exhibition, along with other props from the scene as well as documents from historical Dutch archives.  The exhibit displays an in-depth study of Vermeer’s possible techniques for the work.  The question of whether he used a camera obscura, for example, is analyzed along with the pigments he used.  Other works of art influenced by The Art of Painting join the masterpiece in an intriguing exhibit in the Kunsthistorisches Picture Gallery.

The nude sculptures around New York City are fresh and thrilling, including one on the edge of the 26^th floor of the Empire State Building.  The sculptures stand without any explanation, so that pedestrians have their individual interpretations.  This exciting public art has caused some commotion, however, as many concerned Manhattan residents have called the New York City police department since the sculptures were installed, reporting people about to jump from the edges of buildings.

Gormley consistently takes contemporary sculpture to new and interesting places.  He examines the human body within his work, relating the self to its surroundings, and often uses himself as the subject.  Event Horizon prompts viewers to reconsider their position and viewpoint in a city filled with skyscrapers.  From placing the sculptures as close to edges as possible to playing with people’s perceptions of both the city and of themselves, Gormley is pushing Manhattan’s boundaries.  Event Horizon is adding to Manhattan’s skyline in an exhilarating way.

Event Horizon, presented by the Madison Square Park Conservancy in partnership with the City of New York.

On view from 26 March to 15 August, 2010.

Most of Crichton’s special collection will be sold at auction at Christie’s in New York, where the works will be on view through April 13, as well as the week leading up to the post-war and contemporary art sale.  The sale will take place on May 11^th and 12^th.

Michael Crichton was a passionate art collector, and he not only thoroughly researched the artists he collected, but he was also friends with many of these artists.

Crichton was particularly close to Jasper Johns, from whom he acquired the famous work “Flag” in 1974.  Crichton wrote the Whitney catalog for Jasper Johns’ retrospective in 1977, and this document, and its later editions, marked Michael Crichton as the ultimate source on the artist.  The iconic “Flag” will be grouped in a special presentation of Jasper Johns’ artwork, and is estimated to bring in $10,000,000 to $15,000,000, but will likely go for much more.

Jasper Johns, Flag, 1960-1966.

To be sold at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art sale,

New York, May 11-12, 2010.

Art Paris + Guests was designed to encourage the crossover between all different elements of the international art scene.  Furthermore, Art Paris + Guests welcomed emerging global art markets such as Indonesia and Sub-Saharan Africa, and featured these diverse international art scenes with special platforms. Out of 106 exhibitors at the fair, 71 galleries came from France, and 17 countries were represented altogether.  The seven platforms included the countries Indonesia, Ukraine, Finland, the continent Africa, two Parisian platforms featuring Marais and Rive Gauche galleries, and finally a platform for four young, “ultra-contemporary” European galleries from Brussels, Berlin, Milan, and Paris.  Indonesia’s platform, organized by the collector Deddy Kusuma, “The Grass Looks Greener Where You Water It,” included a diverse range of artistic media as Indonesia asserts itself as a strong player in the international art world.

Agus Suwage, Luxury Crime, 2007-2009

Innovation was the name of the game at this year’s Art Paris.  Frédéric Mitterrand, Minister of Culture and Communication, explained:

« At the turn of the XXIth century, an event of this kind, reaffirms the phenomenal vitality of Paris on the international artistic scene. This fair presents exclusive projects: the stands, conceived as platforms dedicated to a country or a theme, facilitate a dialogue between different arts and horizons…The glass roof of the Grand Palais will reveal the perpetual metamorphosis of contemporary arts to bedazzled spectators. »

Pablo Picasso, The Frugal Repast, 1904, printed 1913. Etching.

The exhibit covers Picasso’s printmaking throughout his different periods –Blue, Rose, Cubism –and his exploration of the variety of printmaking techniques –including, but not limited to, lithography, etching, aquatint, woodcuts, and linoleum cuts.  Picasso began printmaking in his early years and was completely absorbed with it by the early 1930s.  The Frugal Repast represents an early etching.

Pablo Picasso, Still Life with Glass Under the Lamp, 1962. Linoleum cut.

Starting out with etching and drypoint, Picasso later came across lithography at Fernand Mourlot’s workshop in Paris, and he experimented with the many possibilities within printmaking all throughout his life.  He was influenced by great printers such as Roger Lacourière, who trained him in intaglio techniques of etching, drypoint, engraving, and aquatint.

Pablo Picasso, Head of a Woman No. 6, Portrait of Dora Maar, 1939.  Aquatint.

Picasso’s work in printmaking guided his artistic progression.  The MoMA exhibit presents different themes to point out how Picasso’s imagery evolved.  The way he portrayed the women in his life, for instance, shows marked change with a look at his prints over the years.  In another theme featured in the exhibition, Picasso’s lithographs of a bull show his stylistic change from realist representations to total abstraction.

Pablo Picasso, The Bull, state VII, 1945. Lithograph.

« Picasso : Themes and Variations »  is on view from March 28 – September 6, 2010. Organized by Deborah Wye, The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Chief Curator of Prints and Illustrated Books, Museum of Modern Art.

Vincent’s bedroom in Arles, 1888, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). Oil on canvas, 72 x 90 cm. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Van Gogh himself felt a special connection to The Bedroom as well, as he expressed in his letters to his brother Theo.  He painted it during his time in the Yellow House in Arles, and sent his brother Theo and friend Paul Gauguin multiple sketches of the painting.

The plan to restore Van Gogh’s masterpiece was based on extensive examination done last year.  The work underwent damage from the beginning, living in Van Gogh’s damp studio, and it was first restored in 1930. Further preservation of the work is necessary, and it has been waiting patiently in line for restoration since the 1980s.

Those missing the painting at the museum can visit the exhibit Bedroom secrets, Restoration of a masterpiece, and via blog, follow the beloved masterpiece along its way to being preserved for future generations to admire.

Wayne Thiebaud, Park Place, 1993

Among these artists who have informed contemporary California art, their individual diverse styles are apparent.  Shown on one floor, Bechtle paints soft yet precise scenes of San Francisco streets, Ed Ruscha’s colorful screen prints feature road signs, and Thiebaud’s delicate landscape paintings stand out with his signature use of vibrant color.  Upstairs, we find the calm still life works by Jonas Wood, Zoe Crosher’s Out the Window [LAX] series of photographs picturing dismal hotel interiors looking out over the LA airport, and Dave Muller’s work which incorporates text and a travel theme -a concept which manifests throughout the art exhibition.

The Road to Here displays contemporary California art of everyday life made intriguing by these six artists.  With different styles and media, the artists are linked as they explore the vibrant West coast.

Robert Bechtle, ’68 Cadillac, 1970

Zoe Crosher, LAX Radisson, 2001

This year’s Whitney Biennial, entitled 2010, covers the gamut of painting to performance art with the fifty-five artists featured.  This contemporary art explores a variety of pertinent current issues: from Josephine Meckseper’s investigation of the dangers of American consumer culture in her dark film of the Mall of America; to Nina Berman’s photographs showing the effects of war on modern society; to Jessica Jackson Hutchins Couch For a Long Time –a unique work which features pottery sitting atop a couch (taken from her childhood home) with glued-on newspaper articles about Barak Obama –showing the impact of the public world on private life.  The art exhibition also includes the installation Collecting Biennials (on the fifth floor of the exhibition) which celebrates influences from past biennials.  In Collecting Biennials, works by Richard Diebenkorn, Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollock, and Eva Hesse are among the many prominent American artists featured.

Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Couch For a Long Time, 2009.

The 2010 Whitney Biennial artists embody the current working art world, and represent a diverse scope of American contemporary art.  While Collecting Biennials acknowledges important past inspiration as 2010 shows artistic reactions to new historical movements, the Whitney Biennial covers both the history and upcoming visions for the Whitney Museum.

Josephine Meckseper, Mall of America, 2009.

Nina Berman, Ty with gun, 2008, from Marine Wedding, 2006/2008.