What Do Artists Do All Day? with Edmund de Waal

If you love the bestselling book, The Hare with Amber Eyes, and were curious about its author, Edmund de Waal, here is your chance to watch this celebrated ceramics artist at work! A Thousand Hours, the film directed by Camilla Robinson and produced by Alan Cristea Gallery, will be shown at 8.30pm, 6 November, on BBC4. This 30 minute film of Edmund de Waal at work was premiered at the British Film Institute and now reappears as part of the BBC series What Do Artists Do All Day? So far the series have featured Norman Ackroyd, Polly Morgan, Jack Vettriano, Cornelia Parker, and John Bryne, and will focus on Shani Rhys James on 13th of November.

Guide to PERFORMA 2013

Every two years in November, the city of New York buzzes with exciting performances and programs all under the roof of PERFORMA, founded by RoseLee Goldberg. We are warned that tickets are selling fast! For instance, Rashid Johnson's revival of Amiri Baraka's famous play "Dutchman" to be staged at the Russian and Turkish Baths is already sold out. Tonight is the opening night gala, and until Thanksgiving, Performa loving New Yorkers will be running around the city trying to see all the action (which we tried once and found it impossible!)  Check out what looks from this year's program from Art F City.

Mike Kelley Screenings in London !

http://vimeo.com/77221402 It is officially November and time for the special Mike Kelley screenings in London!  Organized by Artangel and the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts, and coinciding with the major survey of Mike Kelley's work at MoMA PS1, the Mobile Homestead videos will be screened at independent cinemas across the city 2nd-18th November. Mobile Homestead was the final work made by the great American artist Mike Kelley before his untimely death in 2012. The project involved Kelley building an exact replica of his childhood home, a 1950s suburban house in the Detroit suburb of Westland, with a special detachable façade that could be mounted on a chassis and driven around like a conventional mobile home. Check out the full program and more information on Artangel website.

Favorite Show of Frieze Week (so far!)

One of the best shows currently on in London, Hurvin Anderson at Thomas Dane presents only new works. The Jamaican descent British artist is known for his large interiors and landscapes that bear marks of his life: makeshift barbershops, public parks, gardens and swimming pools all evoke memories, adopting visual languages of both England and Jamaica. Some of the paintings on view at Thomas Dane reminds us of the same spacial construction of his Peter's Series (2007-9) depicting make shift barbershops set at home, a popular trend amongst newly arrived Caribbean immigrants in 1950s. Other works on view are landscapes, hinting at lonely journeys and solitary. Still, these are not dark, gloomy paintings but have vivid brushwork and dynamic palette. Our favorite show that opened during Frieze so far, but we still haven't made it to Gagosian for "The Show is Over" and to Sprueth Magers for Cyprien Gaillard/Morris Louis that we heard good news. And not to forget the Mark Bradford show at White Cube, which we are curious about. So many exhibitions are opening this week, it is overwhelming.

1980s Generation Enters the Major League of Evening Auctions in London

This week London offers so many options and distractions for art lovers from around the world, with several art fairs, gallery shows and auctions taking place around the major attraction of Frieze Art Fair. We already made a must have list from a visit to the Christie's contemporary viewing, but it's barely our first stop and we are breaking the bank already, even if it is imaginary. When did even the young good art become so unobtainable? Ryan Trecartin, Oscar Murillo and Tauba Auerbach, all born  in 1980s, are the new young talent making their debut in the major league of Contemporary Evening Auction this week. Those who follow the art market were probably expecting this, as both Murillo and Auerbach have reached amazing auction records this past year: Auerbach's 2010 canvas made 505,875 pounds in June 2013, and Murillo's 2011 work sold for 253,875 pounds at the same sale. It is so encouraging to see a video work by the young Trecartin included in the evening sale too, with an estimate of 20,000-30,000 pounds. We want more collectors buying video works! Another of our favorite is a large work by the brilliant Arte Povera artist Pino Pascali from 1964. Pascali was one of the driving forces behind this Italian movement, and exploded the traditional boundaries between painting, sculpture, language, and performance; all present in the work on view at Christie's. The artist died in an accident at the age of 32, cutting his career short having produced about only 100 works or so. Estimated at 400,000-600,000 pounds, we think it might go for much higher at the Italian Sale on 18th of October.

Fictional Character Moves into V&A Museum

Elmgreen & Dragset new brilliant installation, "Tomorrow" at the Victoria & Albert Museum, is a reconstruction of the apartment of a fictional character, Norman. Here we have Norman's home, we can walk around at this grand South Kensington apartment setting, and touch the items once belonging to the 75-year-old failed architect, and examine his unrealized models in his study. It is no surprise that the V&A directors extended an invitation to the artist duo after seeing their similar work Collectors at the 2009 Venice Biennale.  Watch this informative interview with the artists discussing their works, including this new installation.

http://vimeo.com/74735390

London's 5 Hidden Hot Art Spots

We live in a time of excess, there seems to be too much of anything that becomes remotely popular and in fashion. Just like with art spaces. From established big leagues such as the Tate or Gagosian, to the ones taking first steps, London art scene is buzzing with energy and talent. Here we recommend 5 art spaces that you may have overlooked unknowingly:

Jonathan Viner Jonathan Viner is a contemporary art gallery project based in London, with no fixed abode and with an extremely busy schedule of international shows. Tasked to create a visual identity that would apply to print, site specific and digital collateral, they aim to create a rigorous, manageable and elegant system for each show, explicitly connecting the name of the proprietor, his current activity and the location.

Laura Bartlett Gallery Based in Bethnall Green in London’s east, Laura Bartlett’s contemporary space was among the first to champion the rising art star Cyprien Gaillard.  The gallery is now getting ready for their upcoming show with the Canadian artist Allison Katz, due to open on 28^th of September.

Cell Project Space This gallery operates outside the international, commercial world of art fairs. It is non-commercial and has been designing and creating artists’ workspace in East London for over ten years. As such, it’s a creative hub for the surrounding area and the community, promoting, championing and creating opportunities for collaboration and creative cross-fertilization at every turn. Art is available to buy, but all sales go towards commissioning and exhibition costs. Their new exhibition, Rachel Reupke, ‘Wine & Spirits’ opens tomorrow evening.

Carl Kostyál An exhibition space with twin locations in both Stockholm and London, Carl Kostyál is located on the famous Savile Row of London. Carl is also an avid art collector, and his interest in different media and discovering young talent is reflected in his exhibition programme. In addition to his interest in Scandinavian artists, such as Matias Faldbakken, he also supports young names like Helen Marten and Oscar Murillo, who has just been picked up by David Zwirner.

Project Native Informant Ensconced away in Mayfair’s Brooks Mews, walk past it and you could miss it. However, Project Native Informant is one of the foremost exhibition spaces in London. The current exhibition is of Loretta Fahrenholz, with her video “Ditch Plains” that was shot in Brooklyn around the time of Hurricane Sandy, and free-styles an abstract narrative about the fatal coupling of subjects and systems in a time of permanent crisis.

Back to Work Special: Art Works from Office Supplies

As September begins, we are all returning from summer holidays back to work. So to go with this mood, we are sharing some interesting art works that are made with office&school supplies, from staples and packing tapes to pencil shaves and crayons : to get inspiration as we begin the new art season!

Milan's Secret Museum

Come and discover one of hidden gems in Milan: Poldi Pezzoli Museum. This extraordinary 'secret' museum is a few meters away from the famous Teatro alla Scala and full of Renaissance paintings and other treasures, all displayed in a beautiful domestic setting. The museum was the former home of the Milanese nobleman Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli, who died in 1879 and donated his home and collection for public use and benefit. Similar to the Frick Collection in New York, the Isabella Stewart Gardner in Boston, or the Musee Jacquemart-Andre in Paris. Here you will see masterpieces by Botticelli, Mantegna, Pollaiolo and sculptures, arms and armour, jewels, porcelains, lace, glass, furniture --- list goes on!

Amongst the highlights are the stunning "Madonna of the Book" by Florentine master Botticelli, "Imago Pietatis" by Giovanni Bellini, Piero della Francesca's monumental "St. Nicholas of Tolentino" and finally the symbol of the museum; "Portrait of a Woman" by Piero del Pollaiolo. The museum also holds interesting exhibitions with contemporary art works.

A recent show was "Symbols and geometry in Piero della Francesca: A reading of Chiara Dynys" which gave focus to Francesca's "St. Nicholas of Tolentino." This Renaissance work represents the saint in hieratic position that raises the index upwards in the direction of the stars and the sky which inspired the contemporary artist Chiara Dynys to create a dialogue between ancient and modern alchemy, particularly because Francesca was a mathematician as well as a painter. So next time in Milan, remember to make a stop at this little gem.

Irene Kung's Dream-like Photos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gOVPOYPmes Taking inspiration from everything that surrounds us, Irene Kung creates haunting photographs that inspire a pause for reflection and meditation. The Swiss photographer transforms urban spaces and buildings in cities across the world, as she takes snapshots where tourist take pictures but turns these daytime shots into night. She also separates her subjects from any surroundings, and illuminating them in such a way that adds the dream-like quality. When asked what concepts she aims to emphasize her images, she answers:

Silence and immobility. To stop and see, feel, think and dream. I aim to respond to people’s inner being at this time when our world is rushing towards decline. The void. Unfilled space, the darkness around the subject is more important than the subject itself. Today there is too much of everything around us, and I concentrate on elimination and the creation of voids. Empty space offers the chance of giving time a dimension.

Kung works with Michael Goedhuis Gallery in London and Valentina Bonomo in Rome.