Jonathan Meese at the Museo Civico Diocesano of Santa Maria dei Servi

Il Giardino dei Lauri in collaboration with Bortolami Gallery, New York presents:

Jonathan Meese
FANTOMMASSOZ (TEMPIOZ de NEROZ)
Exhibition dates: May, 16th - July, 10th, 2010
Museo Civico Diocesiano di Santa Maria Dei Servi
Citta' della Pieve (PG) ITALY

Opening reception Saturday, May 15th at 6 pm

FANTOMASSOZ ( TEMPIO de NEROZ) opens a new series of contemporary art projects connected with the activity of Il Giardino dei Lauri. The most important and acclaimed artists of the youngest international generation will create site specific works for the church.
Jonathan Meese will present a new body of work including sculptures and paintings. As he said, "I am a humble servant of art and as such am happy to be a guest at Santa Maria dei Servi".

A large painted curtain opens the show to introduce the spectators to the artist's universe. Meese decided to create a theatre stage. Four paintings representing the guardians of Art will be placed in the seventeenth century oval stucco frames. In front of the major altar three sculptures sit on a large painted pedestal; a mother-child group related to an Egyptian Isis sculpture is flanked by two sculptures of guards. Directly behind the altar, sit two smaller sculptures symbolizing a real and metaphorical path toward the new family of art, the Future.

The church of Santa Maria dei Servi opened to the public in March of 2009 and is the most ancient religious place in Citta' della Pieve. The architecture shifted throughtout its history, from a Medieval to a Baroque style. Pietro Perugino painted "The Deposition from the Cross" for the church.

FANTOMASSOZ (TEMPIO de NEROZ) takes place in conjuction with VIEW, an articulated project of contemporary art in Umbria between Citta' della Pieve, Magione and Trevi.

Jonathan Meese was born in Tokyo in 1970, lives and works in Berlin. He started his career as a painter and has extended his practice to include performance, sculpture and installation. In the last couple of years his work has been featured in important solo and group shows in private and public museums and collections such as the Guggenheim Museum and P.S.1 in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlino, the CAC in Malaga, the Caixa Foundation in Barcelona, the Kunstraum in Innsbruck, The Essl Museum in Wien, the De Appel Centre for Contemporary Art in Amsterdam, the Staatliche Kunsthalle in Karlsruhe, the Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen, the MAGASIN Center in Grenoble and the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, the Saatchi Gallery in London and the Thyssen Bornemisza in Wien.

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Prefab77 at Lazarides

Prefab77 solo exhibit at Lazarides, NewCastle, UK, will open on May 20th, 6pm. Woohoooooo!! :)

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New York Times Art Critic Genocchio Joins Lousie Blouin Media

New York, NY - March 16, 2010 - Louise Blouin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Louise Blouin Media announces the appointment of Benjamin Genocchio, Vice President of Editorial, Louise Blouin Media and Editor in Chief, Art+Auction.

"We are delighted to have Benjamin lead our talented team of writers and editors around the world," comments Ms. Blouin. “As someone who has lived in numerous cities in Asia, the Americas and elsewhere, speaks and writes in Spanish fluently and is a published expert on Latin American, Asian and European art, Benjamin perfectly embodies the company’s goal of taking culture beyond borders. With a PhD in Art History and a track record of covering the arts around the world, Benjamin is that rare individual who combines academic rigor and theory with on the ground reporting,” Ms. Blouin continued.

Mr. Genocchio has been a distinguished figure in the art world for over two decades, working as a writer and editor for some of the world’s leading newspapers and magazines and serving most recently as an art and culture critic for The New York Times for eight years. Mr. Genocchio will bring strong, international editorial direction to the Louise Blouin Media print and online publications. “Art+Auction and Modern Painters are two of the art world's most respected media brands, and it is a great honor to be entrusted with their future editorial direction. I will strive to maintain the high standards for which they are known. I am also excited about the growth potential for our sister website ARTINFO.com, one of the world's most trafficked art media sites," Mr. Genocchio continued.

Prior to his position at The New York Times, Mr. Genocchio was the chief art critic and the national arts correspondent for The Australian, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and Australia’s leading daily quality broadsheet newspaper. In this position he covered arts and culture in more than two dozen countries, including Pakistan, India, China, Russia and Egypt, as well as most of Europe and the Americas. Mr. Genocchio has also written on business, politics, social issues and the arts for Business Review Weekly, The Bulletin and the Sydney Morning Herald, where he began his career as an art critic. Mr. Genocchio has also served as Editor in Chief of Postwest magazine. An Australian native, he was twice shortlisted for the Pascal Prize for cultural criticism and is the author and editor of seven non-fiction books, including Dollar Dreaming, about the corruption in the Aboriginal art market; and forthcoming books -- The Cupcake (Henry Holt Publishers) about the two-decade saga to build Frank Lloyd Wright’s, Guggenheim Museum, and a second book, about the Asian contemporary art market (Random House). Mr. Genocchio has a PhD in Art History from the University of Sydney.

Mr. Genocchio joins Louise Blouin Media as the company is making its entrance into the Chinese marketplace with the launch of ARTINFO.cn and the debut of the China Yahoo! CULTURE+STYLE channel, scheduled to launch in the second quarter, 2010. ARTINFO.cn, will be the premier online destination for local and global news covering the visual and performing arts, style, design, architecture, luxury and the art market from a Chinese perspective. The new CULTURE+STYLE channel will feature art, culture, fashion, celebrity and luxury content for China Yahoo!'s readers.

Louise Blouin Media is the leading global media company focused on art, culture, luxury and lifestyle sectors. Properties range from in-depth reporting and coverage of the art market in Art+Auction, to the insider art scene in Modern Painters, to the breaking news and analysis on ARTINFO.com. With the launching of ARTINFO.cn and the China Yahoo! partnership, Louise Blouin Media publications and media will reach over 20 million global readers a month. In addition to the media properties Louise Blouin Media owns and operates art publisher, Somogy; art market analytic tool, Art Sales Index; Global Consulting and Communications Services – a global branding, consulting and communications group, and through the Louise Blouin Foundation runs the Global Creative Leadership Summit in New York, and the Louise Blouin Foundation Museum in London. The company's mission is to promote cultural understanding and acceptance beyond our borders through dialog and education.


Thanks, Eunice!

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A Duad in Play: Francis Ng & Ronald Ventura

Featuring two young leading artists of Southeast Asia, Singaporean multidisciplinary artist, Francis Ng and Filipino contemporary visual artist, Ronald Ventura, the exhibit opens till Mar 3, 2010, from 10am to 6pm (closed on monday) at ICA Gallery 1 Basement 1 #B1-04, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore.

A Duad in Play is co-curated by Artesan Gallery + Studio and the Institute of Contemporary Arts at the LASALLE College of the Arts. It is supported by The National Arts Council of Singapore and the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines. It also aptly concludes the series of commemorative activities celebrating forty years of diplomatic ties between Singapore and Philippines.

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Agus Baqul's Secret Garden

Jasmine, acrylic on canvas, 200 x 300 cm, 2009

Loving Agus Baqul's fresh take on traditional garden painting. Opens daily, February 6 - 20, 2010 at Vivi Yip Art Room, Jakarta, Indonesia.

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