ONLINE DRAWING SYMPOSIUM AT NYSS
In connection with its exhibition of drawings by the New York abstract artist Thomas Nozkowski, Jan. 23-Mar. 1, 2003, the New York Studio School has put together an impressive website that includes images, a new catalogue essay by Barry Schwabsky, an interview with the artist by critic and NYSS gallery director David Cohen, and a "critical anthology" of past comments from a range of writers, including Joseph Masheck, David Carrier, Saul Ostrow and Marjorie Welish. What's more, the site includes a kind of live online symposium on drawing, with an email exchange of comments on Nozkowski's work by New York artists James Hyde and Alexander Ross. So far, the exchange has four entries, with the final two scheduled for Feb. 12 and Feb. 14. Readers may visit the site at www.nyss.org/nozkowski or join the debate with comments or questions to the artists, which should be directed togallery@nyss.org.
ARCO '03 OPENS IN MADRID
Everyone's favorite Latin-flavored international art fair, Arco '03, opens Feb. 13-18, 2003, at the Parque Ferial Juan Carlos I on the outskirts of Madrid. The 22nd edition of the fair features 277 galleries from 31 countries, including 110 from Spain, 23 from the U.S. and Canada, and 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean. The fair's special "guest country" this year is Switzerland, with 18 Swiss galleries, ranging from Analix Forever, Art & Public and Byeler to Jan Krugier and Hauser & Wirth; a complementary series of exhibitions on Swiss art, architecture and photography is scheduled for several of Madrid's museums and art spaces.
As is common with the big art fairs these days, Arco is sliced up into several smaller sections. Some 50 non-Spanish galleries are corralled in an "Up & Coming" division (formerly called "Cutting Edge"), while another group of 15 galleries with projects by individual artists is called "Art Unknown" (formerly "Project Rooms"). The new talent includes Yael Bartana at Annet Gelink Gallery, Nelson Leirner at Brito Cimino, Jorge Rivera at Galera 57, Jordi Colomer at Galería Carles Taché, Mark Lewis at Galerie Cent 8, Honoré d'O at Galerie Jan Mot, Andrea Crociani at Galerie Julianne Wellerdiek, Phillip Zaiser at Galerie Michael Neff, Muntean/Rosenblum at Georg Kargl, Joan Morey at Galería Luis Adelantado, Brígida Baltar at Nara Roesler Gallery, Kyungwoo Chun at Prüss & Ochs Gallery, Franz John at Galerie Schppenhauer, Vargas-Suarez Universal at Thomas Erben Gallery and Sergey Bratkov at Regina Gallery.
Still another special section is "Pièce Unique NYC," a small but high-profile presentation from New York organized by Boston-based art consultant Marjory Jacobson that includes work by Bill Viola from James Cohan and Jeff Koons from Sonnabend. Also on hand is set of panel discussions that's dubbed the "International Forum of Experts in Contemporary Art." This affair boasts over 200 people from 27 countries on 55 panels, including debates on "art, business and society," "art collecting in and for Texas," "new technologies and new art forms" and "memorials and public spaces."
ART HISTORIANS FLOCK TO NEW YORK
The 91st annual conference of the College Art Association, the professional organization for art historians as well as art teachers, opens in New York City at the Hilton New York, Feb. 19-22, 2003. In addition to its extensive program of panel discussions, the CAA meeting includes a book and trade fair boasting 100 exhibitors and a job fair with some 100 employers interviewing job applicants. Among the panels are "Bigger Is Better? Executive Production with Contemporary Art Practice," "Beyond the Yellow Badge: New Approaches to Anti-Judaism and Anti-Semitism in Medieval and renaissance Visual Culture" and "Devices and Desires: The Visual Rhetoric of Power and Propaganda in Renaissance and Baroque Italy." Of course, the conference isn't for everyone -- on-site registration for CAA members is $230.
VIVENDI TO FLOG SEAGRAMS ART Vivendi Universal, the French media company that swallowed Seagrams Co. in 2000, has announced plans to sell off its collection of 2,500 art works. Some 700 photographs go on the block in three sessions at Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg on West 15th Street, Apr. 25-26, 2003; the collection, assembled by Phyllis Lambert in the 1970s and after, focuses on architecture and urban life. Non-photographic material from the Seagrams collection, which includes works by Mark Rothko and Larry Rivers, Joan Miró tapestries and a stage curtain painted by Pablo Picasso in 1919 for Serge Diaghilev that hangs at the Four Seasons restaurant, is to be sold by Christie's.
JOYMORE CLOSES IN CHICAGO
After more than a two-year run, the Joymore gallery in Chicago has closed. Located at 2701 W. Augusta in space donated by PreHistoric Properties, Joymore was run by Melissa Schubeck as a project space with little public funding or support from local collectors. "The general rule in Chicago," she said, "seems to be that collectors don't buy here, they buy in New York or Europe." Among the shows were last summer's "Thrill 2: The Sequel," which combined art with swimming pools and garden parties, and "Realm of the Lair" last fall, a group show exploring themes of fantasy and role-playing. Shubeck plans to continue her curatorial activities, and has a big outdoor exhibition in the works for next summer.
LOOKING FOR LOVE?
Alone for Valentine's Day? Just hop on the subway! Artists María Alós and Nicolás Dumit Estévez plan to surprise commuters on Feb. 14 with a series of performance art pieces that "evoke the true spirit of love." The third annual "Love a Commuter Project 2003" features a blindfolded Estvez is distributing roses at the 110th Street stop on the Lexington Avenue line, while over at Grand Central station Jillian McDonald is offering temporary "Love" tattoos to subway passengers. Nancy Hwang has made "love armbands" for performers. The project is presented in conjunction with "The (S) Files" at El Museo del Barrio. The full schedule of performances can be found here.
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