THIS IS NOT A COOKBOOK!, by Ana Crețiu

 THIS IS NOT A COOKBOOK! is the title of the new exhibition of the Visual Kontakt gallery, opening on the 8th of April, that showcases a part of the collection of books published and produced by PogoBooks since its establishment in 2010. The concept of the Berlin-based independent publisher is to suggest an understanding of the art book as space for the creation and exhibition of a work in its own right: "We believe in a future printed on paper, and conceive the printed artwork as a unique art form."

For the past five years, PogoBooks published art books, zines, and editions with an emphasis on photography, drawing and "contemporary nonsense".  PogoBooks understands itself as part of a long and rich tradition of similar DIY projects and self-publishers. This includes offering publications at low costs to make them accessible for everyone. In this way, PogoBooks has already managed to publish over 100 titles.

The Exhibition is divided into 3 parts and a "Reading-Room". The first part is called "The Xerox Room" and shows early self-produced zines by PogoBooks in an installation of black and white Xerox prints. All zines and prints were printed on the Xerox machine that PogoBooks has been using since early 2010.

second part, the "Photobooks Sequences" shows a selection of the latest hardcover and paperback productions by PogoBooks. The focus in this room is on the sequencing and editing of the Photobooks.

The "Risograph Books by Claudio Pogo" part concludes the exhibition by showing artworks and publications by Claudio Pogo printed on a risograph stencil printer. The risograph (or riso) is a printing machine that makes screen-printing and photocopying meet halfway.

Claudio Pfeifer aka Claudio Pogo, Berlin-based artist, founder of the publishing house, bookmaker and publisher works with mixed media, photography, riso, Xerox and screen printing. After studying photography and fine arts, he worked as a cinematographer, was the co-founder of the art-collective and label naive super, and has been running the PogoBooks publishing house since 2010.

Visitors are welcomed until the last day of April 2016.

Rebranding the MOCCA, by Ana Crețiu

Once called the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art (MOCCA), the new Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada will open its doors on May 2, 2017. The museum will take up five floors in an industrial high-rise.

 The opening will coincide with Canada’s 150th anniversary and the museum will house internationally-inclusive exhibitions taking the year 2000 as a start date for its collection. MOCCA have said that the museum will be based on the idea of the ‘agora’, a public space that should encourage an exchange of ideas and debate.

A statement has been published on the official site of the museum, announcing that : "There’s a call for a new type of museum. One that’s open to wider demographic and socio-political environments. One that embodies diversity, cultural crossbreeding, new technologies, and the disappearance of silos in artistic disciplines". We can clearly see the way MOCCA choose to enroll in the rising trend of the new museology. This is an updated version of the classical science of museum, one that focuses on the public rather than the content itself and all the cool museums are doing it.

 The museum has planned the opening of a custom-made building that will add 23,000 square meters to its inaugural venue, and scheduled to open in 2020.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada plans to hold three exhibitions a year to be accompanied by other events. The museum’s inaugural exhibition, Odyssey 2040, will run from May – August 2017.

QUE VIVA PICASSO Graphics and book illustration, by Xenia Tinca

The exhibition Que viva Picasso! Graphics and book illustration containing  works and documentary materials belonging to art collector Thomas Emmerling takes place at The Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca.The opening was held on March 30th  at  the first floor of the Bánffy Palace, the headquarter of the museum.

The curatorial concept was developed by Thomas Emmerling and Dan Breaz  and it highlights Picasso's special ability to tackle in an original manner a significant number of masterpieces, myths of art and themes of universal  literature.

The exhibition which opened at the Art Museum Cluj-Napoca covers a period from 1916 to 1961, especially highlighting the period from the late 1950s and early 1960s by some of the most fascinating cycles of his graphic work like Don Quixote, De mémoire d'homme, Les Menines et la vie, the posters Congres National du mouvement de la Paix and Les Menines.

The exhibition highlights a concern in the work of  Pablo Picasso for  processing great problems of creation and the special ability of Pablo Picasso to broaden the artistic sphere through innovative language and critical thinking, which is fundamental values ​​for the development of modern art.

As a final conclusion, it is worth going and taking a look.

Sources:

http://www.macluj.ro/que-viva-picasso.html

http://ziuadecj.realitatea.net/cultura/que-viva-picasso-grafica-si-ilustratie-de-carte--146102.html

Rembrandt’s famous Portrait of Catrina Hoogsaet now at National Museum Wales, by Xenia Tinca

One of Rembrandt`s finest paintings,the portrait of Catrina Hoogsaet will be publicly displayed starting  with 5th April 2016 at Welsh Museum in the Dutch gallery and the public will be able to view the artwork for free.

The 17th-century painting is worth an estimated £35 million and can be seen three years from now on.

It was also said that Penrhyn Settled Estate,the previous owner of Portrait of Catrina Hoogsaet, is donating £10,000 to fund an educational programme for the display of the portrait.

The work was hanging at Penrhyn Castle in  North Wales since 1860 until last year and it was sold privately to an anonymous collector.

The Art Fund planned to buy the Rembrandt painting for National Museum Cardiff, but on 26th October,Sotheby's contacted them saying that the licence application was being withdrawn to keep the portrait in the United Kingdom and also said that unless system improvements it is not possible to make a change in that matter.

In 2025 it is possible to the owner to be entitled to reapply because in ten years from now would not be any tax advantages in a sale to a public gallery and the loan of the painting to such an important museum could also add to its financial value.

The owner of the portrait of Catrina Hoogsaet is "very happy to be able to share the enjoyment of this great painting with the public by lending it to the National Museum of Wales."

As well,General Director of National Museum Wales,David Anderson says that "This is a very special work of art, which has great meaning and importance for Wales’ heritage. The painting came to Wales in the 1860s and is an example, not only of money but of the cultural wealth generated by the great industrial age in Wales."

In conclusion, the display of one of the most important paintings  of Rembrandt is a very important fact for the museum, and it is also important to the public that it can see the artwork for three years completely free of charge.

Sources:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/rembrandt-portrait-worth-35m-displayed-11138525

http://theartnewspaper.com/news/museums/rembrandt-s-portrait-of-catrina-hooghsaet-to-go-on-view-in-wales/

Kaleidoscop, by Vlad Dobrițan

Café Bizare -- the story of The Velvet Underground & Nico with Andy Warhol, by Vlad Dobrițan

Zaha Hadid - '' The Queen of curves '', by Gabriel Buturka

October 31, 1950- March 31, 2016

  World-renowned architect Zaha Hadid died Thursday at the age of 65. The British-Iraqi architect had a heart attack while being treated for bronchitis at a Miami hospital.

   Zaha Mohammad Hadid was born Oct. 31, 1950, in Baghdad. Her father was a wealthy businessman, a prominent person in a progressive wing of Iraqi politics and a minister of finance before the regime of Saddam Hussein.

    Hadid was allowed to design her bedroom as a child and decided to become an architect when she was 11. She received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the American University in Beirut, then moved to London to study at the Architectural Association School of Architecture.

By the time she graduated in 1977, she had studied with such renowned architects as Bernard Tschumi, Daniel Libeskind and Rem Koolhaas.

   She opened an architecture studio in London in 1979.

Hadid established herself as a great architect by winning high-profile cultural commissions and was bolstered by architecture honors like her induction into the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth in 2012. She went by “Zaha,” enjoying first-name-only celebrity brand name status, even beyond design circles. Brands and celebrities lined up to collaborate with Hadid: Chanel, Adidas (with Pharrell Williams), jewelers Swarovski and Georg Jensen, Moleskine.

  Hadid received her career-defining prize, the 2004 Pritzker, at the relatively young age of 53 despite only having a small body of built work. The accompanying headline of the official announcement—”Zaha Hadid Becomes the First Woman to Receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize”—signaled the tenor of the media coverage to follow.

Her company ZHA Architects said: “It is with great sadness that Zaha Hadid Architects have confirmed that Dame Zaha Hadid, died suddenly in Miami in the early hours of this morning (Thursday).She had contracted bronchitis earlier this week and suffered a sudden heart attack while being treated in hospital.”

Al Wakrah Stadium Qatar

Vitra fire station Germany

Heydar Aliev cultural center Baku

Abu Dhabi Arts Center

Beijing Centre

Que Viva Picasso Exhibition in Cluj Napoca , by Gabriel Buturka

 

  The exhibition "Que viva Picasso" will be hosted by the Museum of Art in Cluj Napoca, from March 30 to May 1, 2016.

The curatorial concept developed by Thomas Emmerling and Dan Breaz highlights Picasso's special ability to take in an original way a significant number of masterpieces, myths of arts and themes of literature.

The graphic work of Pablo Picasso, sufficiently valuable to include among the great creations of universal art, approached constantly in an original manner a large number of topics related to mythology, figures of wives and mistresses,  erotic themes, topics of the Spanish gold century or book illustrations.

The exhibition which opens at the Museum of Art in Cluj-Napoca covers through its selection, the entire 1916-1961 period, but especially highlights the range in the late 1950s and early 1960s by some of the most fascinating cycles of his work graphics: De mémoire d'homme, Don Quixote, Les Menines et la vie, Toros y Toreros, L'espace et la Flûte respectively and posters Les Menines for the National Congress du mouvement de la Paix.

The order of presenting these cycles provides a chronological picture of the development and consistent work created by the artist through a continuous diversification of graphic techniques.

 Que viva Picasso! The graphics and the book illustrations highlight a particular concern in the work of Pablo Picasso processing great problems of creation. This stage of interpretation was made known especially after the middle of the twentieth century. In this period we witness the height of analytical and interpretive spirit of Pablo Picasso, which caused him to engage in a creative way by then less present in his work. Between 1954 and 1960, he conducted a series of works that remembers topics from famous works of art, such as Women in Algeria (Eugène Delacroix), Las Meninas (Diego Velázquez) Déjeuner sur l'herbe (Édouard Manet). Through its new artistic vision of this period, Pablo Picasso search  to reveal existential truths complementary, but different from the inspiration source.

The exhibition highlights Pablo Picasso's special ability to broaden the artistic sphere through  innovative language and critical thinking, which are fundamental values  for the development of modern art.