Barcelona April Art Guide

This spring Barcelona has to offer a number of outstanding art exhibits among which we would like to highlight two that are already on view during the month of April 2017 - highly recommended!

Picasso Portraits, Picasso Museum, Barcelona
On view, until 25 of June 2017

The Museu Picasso in Barcelona presents the exhibition Picasso Portraits. This exhibition, co organised by the Museu Picasso, Barcelona and the National Portrait Gallery, London, accents the importance of the portrait in Picasso’s work. 

The exhibition brings together more than 80 pieces from public and private collections, revealing the technical media and variety of styles used by Picasso in working in portraiture, which was to always have an important place in his art. As well as acknowledged masterpieces, the exhibition also includes lesser-known paintings, drawings, sculpture and prints. 

We can find portraits of Dora Maar, Guillaume Apollinaire, Jean Cocteau, Nusch Éluard, Françoise Gilot, Max Jacob, Lee Miller, Fernande Olivier, Jacqueline Roque, Olga Khokhlova, Jaume Sabartés, Erik Satie, Igor Stravinsky, Miguel Utrillo and Marie-Thérèse Walter, amongst others.

Frederic Amat, Zoòtrop, Fundació LaPedrera
On view, until 16 July, 2017

Frederic Amat (Barcelona, 1952) is one of the leading figures in the contemporary Catalan art scene. His open concept of art has led him to incorporate numerous languages into his artistic practice, including painting, drawing, sculpture, installation art, performance, book illustration, videos, theatre set design and interventions in architectural spaces. 

The exhibition Frederic Amat "Zoòtrop" presents a selection of projects for interventions in natural and urban spaces, often associated with architecture, with the aim of drawing a map, a topography of the artist’s work, while seeking the poetic component present in it.

The title of the exhibition at La Pedrera, Zoetrope, is a reference to the stroboscopic device consisting of a rotating drum with slits cut in the sides through which the spectator can see a series of drawings which, as they spin, give the illusion of moving. Like a zoetrope, the exhibition intends to show the various facets of Frederic Amat’s work related to the space, architecture, the city and the landscape.

- by Angel Granero 

LONDON APRIL ART GUIDE

April is my favourite month in London: a ray of sunshine, fresh ideas and a hopeful heart. This month, you could find me rambling about art and artists in these locations: 

- Banksy on Tooley Street, SE1
Just where Tooley Street meets the underpass beneath London Bridge you can find this quirky rat by Banksy - one of many that the artist has left around London. Banksy is such a key character for our city - the graffiti artist come political activist combines dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stencil technique. 

- A cloud of fog by Fujiko Nakaya, Tate Modern
Quick, rush to see Fujiko Nakaya's swirling sculpture made of midst, which will be enveloping the Tate until the 2nd April. Her clouds of fog have adorned bridges in the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao and Philip Johnson's Glass House. Of them, the artist says: 'Nature controls herself. I try and let nature speak'. It cannot get any more surrealist: pure magic!

- Child's Play, Foundling Museum, Bloomsbury
Documentary artist Mark Neville has taken photographs of children playing around the world: Ukraine, Kenya, the Highlands, North London etc.. At a time when up to 13 million children have been internally displaced as a result of armed conflict and traditional public space is being privatised, this show reinforces our responsibility to ensure that children have full opportunity for play. 

- The studio of artist Leni Dothan and the National Gallery
More recently, I have enjoyed exploring the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery, which is mostly dedicated to altarpieces and religious works pre High Renaissance. The one work I rediscovered was Madonna of the Pinks by Raphael., The intimacy between child and mother reminds me very much of the work of our artist Leni Dothan and her relationship with her son, Yali. It prompted my back and forth between the two locations, comparing this new reference with one of my favourite artists from our crew. 

Leni Dothan

- by Marina Tanguy

Cover pic credit: Zabludowicz collection

Five Artists We Loved Seeing At Fresh Paint Art Fair #9, TLV

The Fresh Paint Art Fair is the only fair for Contemporary Art in Tel Aviv. For its 9th edition and like every year, the curators present their unique format of the "Artists' Greenhouse", where independent artists show and sell (often for the first time since graduating) their work. It's sometimes difficult and overwhelming to find your way between the 50 booths at the greenhouse, so I'm happy to share a really small taste with five artists I loved seeing this year. 

The fair takes place between March 28th - April 1st at the Steinhardt Museum for Natural History which will open its doors this Summer at the Tel Aviv University. 

Also not to miss at this event are Tal Engelstein's Installation at the fair's entrance, the video projects, curated by the CCA and the galleries section. 

ADVA GOLDSTONE

Adva Goldstone graduated from the Bezalel BFA Program last Summer, and at the greenhouse you'll be able to see pieces from her final exhibition - large scale paintings of minimalistic figures and smaller collages, based on vogue magazines. I loved seeing the contrast between these two media and subject matters. Using a very colorful palette of acrylic paint and markers, Goldstone taps into contemporary issues of representation and illusion- abstracting all figures, wether the women in the magazines or the enigmatic persons and forms in the paintings. 

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Untitled, acrylic and marker on a Vogue magazine

KARAM NATOUR

I first saw this series of drawings at the projects room of Rosenfeld Gallery and the presentation at the fair is truly beautiful. At only 25, Karam Natour who is enrolled at the MFA degree at Bezalel Academy, has developed a unique style in his digital drawings, realized on his computer. These delicate yet powerful pieces, are like fragments from a personal diary, where the artist's unconscious and conscious worlds meet and where he questions and criticizes the art world, religion, culture and our society, with a lot of humor and wittiness.  I highly recommend watching this video for more about this promising artist. 

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Digital Drawing, 50x50 cm

DANIEL OKSENBERG

Daniel Oksenberg is presenting a series of seven large scale, rectangular paintings. I have a soft spot for artists using social media as the starting point of their creation and this is the case of Daniel Oksenberg, whose paintings are inspired by photographs he takes with his smartphone and posts on his favorite social media channel, Instagram. That's only the start of the painting, the result is surprising, totally unique, in its composition and colors, and makes the viewers and the artist rethink familiar narratives and situation from a new perspective. 

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"Car inspection stickers", 2017, Oil, industrial paint, oil pastels, spray paint, markers and pencils on canvas, 186X86 cm
Photograph: Kobi Bachar

Naama Roth

I've been following this artist since her ambitious and successful final project at the Shenkar School in 2015. Naama Roth works between the medium of painting, sculpture and installation, Her pieces offer a contemporary take on modernist processes. One of my favorite works at the booth is "Tribute to Some, 2015', what looks like a revisited version of an air conditioning filter and is a playful wink to modernist masters and to the renowned Israeli artist, Yaacov Agam. 

Tribute to Some, 2015, mixed media, 57.5x57.5 cm

LIGAL SOFER

It's refreshing to see an artist honoring materiality, using different materials such as cement, wool, metal and fiberglass fabric. Through them Soffer explores the tension between the two and three dimensional image, preconceived ideas surrounding the "feminine" and the "masculine" in history of art and how one one can document personal and universal memory. 

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20 square meters, 2017, 80x90 cm, Iron net, concrete and synthetic wool

- by Sarah Peguine

Dede - Behind The Scenes

If you know Tel Aviv street art, you know Dede. Famous for his eponymous band aids and his deformed urban animals that adorn walls all over the city, Dede has established his place in the art world. His art often deals with social issues of the urban sphere. It acts as a remark or an observation meant to point attention to things that are overlooked. It has a unique balance of wits, humor and simplicity and always displays elaborate technique and ambition. 

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Dede prefers to keep his identity unknown. Luckily for me, our paths crossed, and I have the privilege of working with him since. So when I realized a piece commissioned by the Tel Aviv municipality was going to be made, I took the opportunity to join, help and report back.

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So where to begin? This piece evokes several points of interest. The location of the piece is as central as it gets, hardly the neglected outskirts of the city where one usually finds street art. The fact it was commissioned by the municipality challenges the consideration of the piece as “true street art”. The subject matter of the piece demands interpretation. And lastly – how was this ambitious piece physically made? 

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For me, the last question was the most exciting one to answer. Seeing street art being made is very cool. It brings you face to face with creativity, determination and excellent improvisation skills. This piece required carfeul geometric planning. Dede even made custom calipers to execute it properly. Nonetheless, accidents do happen. All the stencils that were created for the piece were splashed with water when a tenant washed his apartment. Luckily a hairdryer saved the day. The tenant’s wife felt so bad she made us tea all night! Turns out art does bring out a good side of people. Aside from a very angry juicer who was worried about the sprays smell scaring customers away, people crossing were curious and excited to see the finished piece. 

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The finished piece depicts a typical emergency stop button, closed in a glass box, with a key to its left. It’s an invitation to the busy people passing on this busy Tel Aviv street to stop, slow down, and take a break from the hectic city life. The wall in question belongs to a local power station. I believe that adds a subversive and critical aspect to the piece. Anyway, street art, like any art, is at its finest when numerous interpretations can be made. 
If you want to hear more about the piece and the issues it raises visit the Alternative Tel Aviv Blog for the full coverage.

- by Cobi Krieger

Five Highlights in Jerusalem’s Art Scene

As April approaches, we are looking forward to some wonderful new exhibitions in Jerusalem.  
 

Aliza Auerbach From Stone to Sea, Photographs 1970-2015. Curated by Gay Raz.

From Stone to Sea highlights the career of Israeli photographer Aliza Auerbach (1940–2016), whose photographs have followed the trajectory of Israeli culture and art for approximately fifty years. From Stone to Sea exhibits photographs from various series, revealing different aspects of the artist’s career through her intimate connection with land, people and especially her connection to Israeli culture. On view at The Jerusalem Artists’ House until April 22.

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Aliza Auerbach, Louise Bourgeois

Benji Boyadgian The Discord . Curated by Basak Senova and Jack Persekian.

The roots of The Discord starts with its geological definition, and Boyadgian’s complex exhibition looks at eroded ornamental tiles for inspiration. After six years of research and working on this project, the artist projects ideas of history, conflict, memory, authenticity and autonomy onto these patterns known from ‘classical’ Middle Eastern architecture and culture, and sets off on a painting process that encompasses the mutation of the patterns. Using watercolor, Boyadgian dismantles the physical and metaphorical layers and temporalities that have until now created the story of these tiles.
 
On view at the Al Ma’mal Center for Contemporary Art until April 22.

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Benji Bdjoyan, Discord

No Place Like Home.
Curated by Dr.Adina Kamien Kazhdan. 

No Place Like Home highlights the artistic appropriation of domestic objects, celebrating a movement that was prominent in the early 20th century with artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Andy Warhol and Yayoi Kusama. The exhibition consists of 120 artworks, organized as a series of “rooms”, where corresponding galleries are labelled  as “bedroom”, “living room”, “bathroom” and other common home spaces. The works on display prompt new perspectives on concepts that are negotiated in the domestic sphere; such as gender roles, definitions of family and questions of place and displacement.

On view at the Israel Museum until July 29, 2017.

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Exhibition view no place like home courtesy of the Israel Museum Photo by Elie Posner

Trickle, Sara Benninga and Noam Bar. Curated by Tamar Gispan-Greenberg  

The exhibition Trickle at the New Gallery, Teddy Stadium, emerged as a result of the New Gallery’s active studio artist Sara Benninga inviting artist Noam Bar to present her work in a joint exhibition. Trickle illuminates themes of identity using the contrasting works of Sara Benninga’s paintings and Noam Bar’s sculptures.
The exhibition raises questions regarding a conceptual “trickle” of material by focusing on subjects like fragmentation and the connection of different worlds, blending background, space, interior and exterior. Digital images and flickering screens preoccupy the artists’ work as they blend background, space, interior and exterior.

On view New Gallery, until 21.4.17.

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New Gallery Trickle Exhibition View Photo by Dor Kedmi

Mindy Weasel,  Meditations on Love

Meditations on Love is the first solo show of Jerusalem based artist Mindy Weisel, whose expressive paintings are identified as a language of process, emotion and layers. The twelve action paintings exhibited in this show are created spontaneously and emerge from Weisel’s observations of her city of residence, Jerusalem, her own personal history, and her meditations at the moment in which she paints. The results activate the viewer, questioning the subconscious— as the paintings answer with their deep colors, hidden words and markings on the canvas.  
On at Rosenbach Contemporary until May 2, 2017.

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Mindy Weisel at Rosenbach Untitled

- By Jenna Romano