Innerscapes

[An] idealization of youth....goes hand in hand with an overall sense of sadness and desperation felt by the artist. With the encroaching global problems facing the youth today, wars, famines, economical downturns, a hope for a better future becomes an idealization in itself. Starting January 11, the Green Art Gallery in Dubai will be presenting a solo show of new works by Turkish photographer Nazif Topcuoglu. Innerscapes will be on view from January 11 to March 5 2011, Green Art Gallery, Al Serkal Ave. D28, Dubai.

Ivars Gravlejs at PLAT(T)FORM 2012

Riga, Latvia based photographer Ivars Gravlejs' work will be on view at Plat(t)form 2012 at the Fotomuseum Winterthur in Germany from January 27 to January 29. This is the sixth Plat(t)form event featuring the portfolios of young emerging European photographers. As in the previous year, Fotomuseum Winterthur has invited 42 photographers to present their work for two hours to the public and a selected team of experts.

Illustration at the Erotica Auction

An anonymous French illustration from 1900 available for sale at the enormous Erotica auction held by EVE (Estimations & Ventes aux Enchères) today Sunday, December 18 and tomorrow Monday December 19.  A bulk of the collection comes from a Swiss collector who has spent 35 years gathering his holdings. Drouot Richelieu - Salle 11 - 9 rue Drouot, 75009 Paris

Rodarte: Fra Angelico Collection

Rodarte_Fra_Angelico_Collection_lacma

RODARTE: Fra Angelico Collection, on view starting tomorrow at the LACMA's Italian Renaissance gallery, features a group of extraordinary gowns by Kate and Laura Mulleavy. The collection is inspired by Italian art, specifically the Renaissance frescoes in the monastery of San Marco by Fra Angelico in Florence, Italy, as well as the Baroque sculpture, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) in Rome. Rodarte’s signature dressmaking techniques and sculptural details can be seen in each of the gowns. Silk fabrics (including chiffon, georgette, lamé, organza, satin, taffeta, and tulle) are draped and manipulated to give form, texture, and tonal variety to the color palette inspired by the frescoes. The gowns are customized utilizing a variety of materials such as feathers, swarovski elements, sequins, and custom-made silk flowers. Hand-forged gold metallic accessories such as a headpiece, breastplate, and belts dramatically complete the look of several key gowns. The Fra Angelico collection will enter LACMA’s Costume and Textiles Department, which houses over twenty-five thousand objects, representing more than one hundred cultures and two thousand years of human creativity in the textile arts.

SHERRIE LEVINE: MAYHEM

Sherrie Levine (b. 1947) has transformed and re-contextualized images and objects in her work since the late 1970s, often presenting them as installations that provide a compelling sense of context. An exhibition at the Whitney in New York, entitled Mayhem, developed as a project by the artist, includes works ranging from well-known photographs, such as After Walker Evans: 1-22, 1981, to recent sculptures, such as Crystal Skull: 1-12, 2010. The exhibition, conceived by the artist as offering constellations of older and newer works, will provide juxtapositions that provoke new associations and responses. The installation will also emphasize the powerfully seductive, tactile nature of Levine’s art, and the complex layers of reference and meaning that unfold between the ostensible sources and Levine’s own work. Sherrie Levine: Mayhem is on view at the Whitney until January 22, 2012. 

Blue Notes in Black and White

Louis Armstrong, 1960

Miles Davis, supremely cool behind his shades. Billie Holiday, eyes closed and head tilted back in full cry. John Coltrane, one hand behind his neck and a finger held pensively to his lips. These iconic images have captivated jazz fans nearly as much as the music has. Jazz photographs are visual landmarks in American history, acting as both a reflection and a vital part of African American culture in a time of immense upheaval, conflict, and celebration. Charting the development of jazz photography from the swing era of the 1930s to the rise of black nationalism in the ’60s, Blue Notes in Black and White is the first of its kind: a fascinating account of the partnership between two of the twentieth century’s most innovative art forms.

3DD Deluxe

Following the success of his first 3D breast book, Henry Hargreaves is back with 3DD Deluxe, another collection building on his universally appreciated theme: real breasts, in “even better” 3D. While the last compilation featured NYC models exclusively, the deluxe edition has women of all shapes, sizes, ages and colors from New Zealand, Australia, London, LA and NYC.