Artists Quarter

Tony Foster is a British watercolour artist whose home base is in Cornwall, England. He travels the world, creating 'watercolour diaries' in the world's great wildernesses. Usually travelling on foot, by raft or canoe, his adventures have resulted in ten major exhibitions of his pictures.

His latest exhibition features some really big pictures, depicting 'Searching for a Bigger Subject', contrasting two of the world's most powerful landscapes, Mt. Everest and The Grand Canyon.

Tony Foster's Exhibition "Searching for a Bigger Subject - Watercolour Diaries from Everest and the Grand Canyon" is currently on show at the Royal Watercolour Society, Bankside Gallery, Bankside, 48 Hopton Street, London, SE1 9JH and runs for another week, until 20 July 2008. Tony is also giving a free lecture entitled 'Painting Everest', to be held at the Royal Watercolour Society, on July 17th, 6.30 pm.

Labels: aquarelle, Tony Foster, watercolor, watercolour

An exotic exhibition of 120 paintings, prints and drawings at Tate Britain, examins the Orient and its representation in British art. Covering the cultures and landscapes of the Near and Middle East between 1780 and 1930,The Lure of the East: British Orientalist Painting runs until 31 August 2008 and features a number of exceptional and rarely seen paintings.

Tate Britain is at Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. It considers itself to be the world centre for the understanding and enjoyment of British art and while all major artists from 1500 to the present day are represented, the gallery is particularly notable for the Turner Collection of hundreds of paintings in oil and experimental media, and many thousands of his watercolours.

Labels: art, Exhibition, gallery, Tate Britain, Turner

The 2007 Isle of Wight Festival has got underway and the Rolling Stones will be taking to the festival stage on Sunday 10 June. Coincident with the bands performance is an exhibition by band member, Ronnie Wood, at the Island Fine Arts gallery in Bembridge. The exhibition runs through to 13 June, 2007.

Ronnie Wood is an accomplished artist and has been exhibiting around the world for twenty years. If you cannot get to the gallery, you can view his work online and also arrange for a private viewing, in a partnering gallery on the UK mainland at Chichester.

Labels: 2007, art, Exhibition, Isle of Wight, Ronnie Wood

I was browsing the courses on offer at Princeton's Art and Architecture faculty when I chanced upon 'Zen Figure Drawing', which led me to 'Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan', and what an awakening it was. In the last 60 years, there have only been two major art exhibitions outside of Japan related to medieval Japanese Zen Buddhism, most recently at the Rietberg Museum, Zurich in 1993. The earlier exhibition was held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1970, so the 'Awakenings' exhibition, which is part of the Japan Society's centennial program, is the first major international exhibition of its kind in the U.S.A. for over 35 years.

47 important and rare Chinese and Japanese paintings from the 12th to 16th century, are featured in the Awakenings exhibition, including the Japanese National Treasure 'Budai and Jiang Mohe', a painting by Yintuoluo.

Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street, New York; Gallery hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Note that the Gallery is closed on Mondays.
Admission is $10; students and seniors $8; Japan Society members and children under 16 free. Admission is free to all on Friday nights, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Labels: Exhibition, Japan Society, Painting, USA, Zen

The photographic exhibition Far from Home: Photography, Travel, and Inspiration currently running at The Art Institute of Chicago, through to May 6, 2007.

The exhibition examines the impact that travel has had on on the photographic style and careers of acknowledged masters such as Edward Weston, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Harry Callahan, Irving Penn and Joel Sternfeld. It is part of the museum's year long celebration of Silk Road Chicago, exploring the themes of travel and transformation.

Fittingly, the Art Institute of Chicago holds an interesting place in the world of American travel, marking the start of the celebrated Route 66. The old 2-lane highway, Route 66, from Chicago to Los Angeles, is not indicated on modern road maps and the start of Route 66 moved a few times during its lifetime, but it is generally accepted as being opposite the Art Institute at the junction of Adams Street and Michigan Avenue. This may not be strictly, historically accurate but the institute serves as a memorable starting point for anyone wishing to retrace the route.

Labels: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Exhibition, Photography, Route 66, Travel, USA

The lucky 400,000 visitor to pass through the door of an exhibition of Vincent van Gogh paintings on display at the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, found that they had won a one-week vacation to Amsterdam and Paris, and a reproduction of van Gogh's 1888 painting 'Shoes'.

Running since December 1 and extended due to tremendous popularity, the exhibition ends on April 1, 2007.

Every five years, the small German city of Kassel hosts the world's largest art festival, Documenta. The first Documenta opened on July 15, 1955 and this years event, Documenta 12, runs from 16 June to 23 September, 2007, with 200-300 exhibitors.

80 art magazines from around the world are going to produce special issues on Documenta 12 and three magazines specially produced by Taschen will serve as a catalog.

Labels: art, art festival, Documenta, Germany, Kassel