December Art Guide - Athens

Recommendations of what exhibitions to see in the Athens art scene by our local insider Margarita Kataga. To learn about Oh So Arty tours in Athens please click here.

I.

Exhibition title: Cosmic Dramas

Artist: Liliane Lijn

Venue: Rodeo Gallery

Dates: December 9th, 2018, 12:00 (performance)

Exhibition: Until January 12th, 2019

The international gallery Rodeo is staging the performance of the international artist Liliane Lijn. With venues in London and Istanbul, Rodeo Gallery hosts important multi-disciplinary exhibitions of international status.

II.

Exhibition title: Phenomenon Mother

Artist: Marina Provatidou

Venue: Gallery 7

Dates: Until December 8th, 2018.

The Amsterdam-based Greek artist Marina Provatidou, traces her childhood memories and the issue of motherhood in her site-specific project Phenomenon Mother. Issues of maternity with a feminist twist examine our identity in relation to the woman and parenthood.

III.
Exhibition title: The Ruralists

Artists: Petros Efstathiadis, Emmanouil Zacharioudakis, Katerina Kana, Ioannis Koliopoulos, Zissis Kotionis, Margarita Myrogianni, Apostolos Ntelakos, Paola Palavidi, Alexios Papazacharias, Leda Papaconstantinou, Thanasis Totsikas, George Tsakiris, Alexandros Psychoulis.

Venue: a.antonopoulou art

Dates: December 5th, 2018 through January 19th, 2019

The exhibition presents thirteen artists who live and work outside the major urban centers. Paintings and sculptures, photographs and installations are created by a plethora of materials and techniques that are related to the environment. A show of leading Greek artist who examine our vital relation to nature.

Learn more about Oh So Arty in Athens here!

November Art Guide - Bilbao

October was hectic in Bilbao with the city hosting the 25th edition of MTV’s European Music Awards (EMA). The city aims to keep up the energy this month with events, exhibition openings and FIG Bilbao, the international prints and art on paper fair. Discover Oh So Arty private art tour options in Bilbao here!

I.

Exhibition: FIG Bilbao, International Print and Art Works on Paper Art Festival

Artists: Jorge Oteiza, Eduardo Chillida, Rafael Canogar, Ouka Leele, Katsumi Komagata, Iñaki Elosua Urkiri.

Venue: Euskalduna Conference Centre

Dates: 15-18th November

Formerly a prints & illustration festival, this rapidly growing show is getting more interesting by the year. By slightly shifting its scope towards prints & works on paper, it has opened the way to more galleries into the show. Some unmissable shows are: the Japanese xylography show, La Taller’s space, and Michel Mejuto’s gallery jewels, like a work by El Paso artist Rafael Canogar that was never exhibited before and I bet it finds a new home before the first half of the festival is over!

FIG Bilbao 2018, photo by María José Orihuela

 II.

Exhibition: Erlea Maneros Zabala. Work 2017 - 2018

Artist: Erlea Maneros Zabala

Venue: Carreras Mugica

Dates: Until December 7th

Based between Lekeitio, Spain and Joshua Tree, California, Erlea Maneros (Bilbao, 1977) is a widely renowned artist whose conceptual work addresses, among other issues, the conflicts generated by image production and their distribution. A perfect fit for Carreras Mugica’s poetic gallery space.

Exhibition photo, work by Erlea Maneros Zabala

III.

 Exhibition: After 68. Art and Artistic Practices in the Basque Country 1968–2018. Part I: Music.

Artists: Pedro Iturralde, Delorean, Mocedades, Barricada, Duncan Dhu, Tulsa, Kortatu, Elena Setién.

Venue: Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao

Dates: Until April 4th

The greatness of this Basque art exhibition is such that this month I’m going to focus solely on one section of it: the one dedicated to Music, located on the museum’s top floor. It is worthy to take some time to listen, even randomly, to the carefully selected musical pieces. Try for instance, Las Morillas de Jaén (1968), by Pedro Iturralde to see how a Basque composer can deal with such a genre as “Flamenco Jazz” and enjoy how delightful it can be. Plus, the exhibition is loaded with lots interesting events around its theme.

Book an Oh So Arty tour in Bilbao here!

Header image: FIG Bilbao 2018, photo by María José Orihuela

72 Hours in Rome

In the Italian capital city of Rome, we found the perfect balance between old and new. Historic and contemporary. One minute we were walking through the Villa de Medici and the next we were taking in the impressive contemporary art scene at some of the city’s best galleries. Keep reading to hear about how we spent 72 Hours in Rome and a list of our favorite arty destinations around town!

Checking in on Friday evening at Hotel del Barbieri set the perfect mood for our weekend getaway. The building was originally constructed in the 17th century and was renovated in 2017. Located within one of the city’s most central districts this cozy boutique hotel couldn’t be in a better spot!

Hotel del Barbieri.

Rome has a bustling Jewish quarter with synagogues and ample food options. For our first night we chose to have dinner at Al Pompiere in the Jewish quarter. Offering high quality traditional food we stuffed ourselves on tagliatelle and their famed fried artichoke. We then called it a night and went back to our hotel to prepare for a day of art touring!

On Saturday morning we met Oh So Arty local insider in Rome, Valentina Di Pietro. Her modern and contemporary art tours of Rome show a different side of the eternal city who’s grand beauty was built through layers and layers of history. We began our tour at the centrally located White Noise Gallery where we caught a solo exhibition of Spanish artist Jesús Herrera Martínez’s new cycle of works entitled “Taking Care of the Garden of Eden”. This emerging space had a nice program of exhibitions and a passionate and committed gallery team. We then visited the nearby Galleria Lorcan O’Neill to view a solo show of new works by Eddie Peake. The rainbow of colors in this show were thrilling to see in person and the gallery space was very beautiful.

Eddie Peake at Galleria Lorcan O’Neill

Next up was the funky bohemian neighborhood of Trastevere. This is the perfect alternative escape if you need respite from tourist venues like the Trevi fountain and Colosseum. Valentina took us to T293 Gallery to see Claire Fontaine’s powerful solo show ‘Tutto e commune’ or ‘Everything is Connected’. Next up was Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, originally a New York insitution, which opened a in Rome a few years ago in an 8th-century church named Sant’Andrea de Scaphis at Via dei Vascellari 69 in the Trastevere neighborhood. The juxtaposition of this old architecture with radical contemporary art makes for a very exciting visual experience.

Claire Fontaine at T293 Gallery

We then made our way to the San Lorenzo neighborhood. This is where the university is located and so it’s very full of life and vibrant. We took a brief coffee break at the hip eatery Fauno 3.0. Then Valentina used her insider connections to take us on studio visits around the neighborhood. First up was the established artist Pietro Ruffo. His work is primarily concerned with exploring the nature of freedom and offers important social commentary with beautiful aesthetics. Next was the studio of emerging artist Leonardo Petrucci who studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. We are so grateful to Valentina, Pietro and Leonardo as well as the galleries and other artists we met for opening their doors to us and sharing an arty side of Rome not typically available to travelers. After a long day of exploring Rome’s arty side the only thing left to do was grab some sweets at Gelateria Dei Gracchi!

Pietro Ruffo in his studio. Photo by Sarah Peguine.

For dinner we feasted at Al Gran Sasso which served up traditional Roman food and homemade pasta!

We began our last day at the National Museum of 21st Century Arts or MAXXI. The striking modernist building was designed by the late architect Zaha Hadid. This institution is the first Italian national institution dedicated to contemporary art. It was founded in 2009 as a laboratory for cultural experimentation and innovation.

MAXXI. Photo by Kef Israel.

You can’t visit Rome without indulging in some pizza! So after touring MAXXI we visited Bonci Pizza infamous for their Roman-style pizza al Taglio. They create a variety of one of a kind pizzas that change frequently based on availability of the freshest ingredients.

For our last Roman sunset we visited the gardens at the Villa Medici. We recommend taking their tour at magic hour (around 6 pm) to see the beautiful golden light that’s cast on the villa and the gardens. The view of the surrounding city is one of the best.

To learn more about Oh So Arty in Rome please click here. To book a tour in Rome please click here.

November Art Guide - Jerusalem

Recommendations of what to see in the Jerusalem art scene by our local insider Jenna Romano. To learn about Oh So Arty tours in Jerusalem please click here.

I.

Exhibition: Lifescapes

Artist: Anna Ticho

Venue: Ticho House

Anna Ticho was a powerful figure in Jerusalem’s cultural scene in the 20th century, born in 1894 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She studied art from the age of 15 when her family lived in Vienna and her and her husband moved to Jerusalem in the beginning of the 20th century. Says Ticho of the moment she first stepped foot into Israel, “I was in love with this land at first sight. This love grew on me and to express it became the content of my and the expression of the spirit of Jerusalem.” This exhibition offers an opportunity to explore Ticho’s work and to deepen our understand of the change in it over time -- from small drawings of Israeli landscapes to large flower and the Jerusalem hills -- the artist worked in a variety of mediums including watercolor, charcoal, graphite and pastels.

Anna Ticho, Israeli, born in Moravia 1894-1980, Vase with Red and Yellow Gladioli, 1969 Watercolor and graphite on paper, 76x63 cm, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Anna Ticho Bequest

II.

Exhibition: Properties

Artists: Various Artists

Venue: Various Venues

The exhibition properties opens a dialogue about the history and present perception of the neighborhood Talbiya, a residential area in the city of Jerusalem. The neighborhood actually consists of many historical narratives which are not openly spoken about -- and the exhibition properties seeks to uncover contradictions and stories that eventually juxtapose the character of the neighborhood in the past with the mundanity of its existence now. Various art installations and videos will urge visitors to acknowledge and ask questions about these narratives.

Maya Attoun - ghost 2018

III.

Exhibition: Blinds

Artist: Yaara Oren

Venue: Jerusalem Artists House

Each year, a committee awards one Israeli painter the Osnat Mozes Painting Prize for a Young Artist. This year, the committee chose Tel Aviv based artists Yaara Oren, stating that the artists “has created an impressive, intense body of work which does not remain static. It constantly evolves, attesting to great talent.” Oren’s work in Blinds gives us abstract interpretations of the environment surrounding the artist, namely her neighborhood of residence in southern Tel Aviv, Shapira.

Yaara Oren, Shutter, 2017, oil on canvas

More about Oh So Arty in Jerusalem here.

October Art Guide - Jerusalem

October brings with it many new exhibitions and the last chance to see some great ones that are already on view in Jerusalem! Check out our Jerusalem insider, Jenna Romano's recommendations of what to see right now.

I.

Exhibition: Lifetime

Artist: Christian Boltanski

Venue: The Israel Museum

Dates: Until November 3rd

Israel Museum Lifetime  | Lifetime draws on Christian Boltanski’s oeuvre spanning thirty years, but the artist regards this exhibition as one artwork, a complete story composed of successive chapters: his early altar memorials to unknown people; large-scale installations addressing the subject of fate; and recent video works filmed in primal landscapes and charged with the power of myth. The journey through the exhibition proposes an itinerary that begins in darkness but leads to light, solace, and perhaps even the possibility of a new beginning.

II.

Exhibition: The Jerusalem Show IX

Artists: Various Artists

Venue: The Al’Mamal Foundation for Contemporary Art

Dates: Until October 31

The Jerusalem is an initiative of The Al’Mamal Foundation for Contemporary Art, organized in the old city, the event encompasses art exhibitions, performances, workshops, talks and film screenings. This year’s theme, Jerusalem Actual and Possible prompts curators and artists to use research in order to explore the history and present of Palestinian art in Jerusalem - mining collections, archives and institutions accessible from the city that will questions Jerusalem’s where, how and when.

III.

Exhibition: Manofim Contemporary Art Festival

Artist: Various Artists

Venue: Various Venues

Dates: October 23-27

For the tenth year, the Manofim festival brings together all of Jerusalem’s art world for one night. Notable events for this week include: a night of exhibition openings around the city (Manofim hires shuttles to take visitors through all neighborhoods of Jerusalem!), artist appointments where visitors spend 45 minutes one-on-one with local artists inside their studios (registration required), and a full day art conference (registration required). The festival’s main exhibition is titled Properties, and will be held in several buildings throughout the Talbiyeh neighborhood of Jerusalem - both private home and public buildings - where the exhibitions will introduce questions about the reexamination of each multi-faceted space whose residents may have come to see as mundane and banal.

For more information on Oh So Arty in Jerusalem please click here.