Works of heArt

Just as I was going to write a lamenting post about how I am tired of this endless winter, the sun came out and the rest of snow is melting and everything seems cheerier.

Since quite a long time I planned to post the painting of a Kulobi dancer which I finished last spring. Kulob is a region in Tajikistan where ancient traditions are kept sacredly from generation to generation. Their beautiful dances and colorful, hand-made clothes are captivating. So now I just have finished a “sister” painting of a Kulobi dancer – “On the market”. Both paintings measure 150 cm x 50 cm, medium: acrylic paint on cotton canvas.

They are not cutting edge contemporary art pieces, but warm memories that come from the heart, colorful souvenirs that can brighten up someone’s day.

Embroidered piece from Central Asia (Suzani). Designs often include flowers and circular forms signifying the sun.

 Have a sunny weekend.

Love,

AB

La grossesse étrange de la rencontre étrange

Yesterday I’ve spent a wonderful afternoon at the Art 42 Basel - the world's largest  international art show for Modern and contemporary works, held every summer in lively Basel. The day was unusually cold and windy that I wished for a moment we were at Art Basel Miami Beach, the sister event of Switzerland's Art Basel, a cultural and social highlight for the Americas.  :-)

Art Basel features nearly 300 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. More than 2,500 artists, ranging from the great masters of Modern art to the latest generation of emerging stars, are represented in the show's multiple sections.

 

The journey  started with the second floor, where most of the young artists and contemporary art was presented... Just like the last year, my emotions were dubious: reactions went from “WTF?...” to pure awe. I should have been writing down names of the favourite pieces, but of course I didn’t; so I have to browse the whole Art 42 Basel online catalogue in a hope to recover some of the impressions...

 Joe Bradley. Untitled (Freak)

Max-Walter Svanberg
La grossesse étrange de la rencontre étrange, 1953
Watercolor on paper

 

I spent quite some time in front of the works of Atul  Dodiya, attracted by the contrast between soft palette, gentleness of lines, graphic details and somewhat unromantic titles... they were my 2nd floor favorites, I think... The works have been presented by Nature Mort Gallery, New Delhi.

It was time for a break, and a glass of champagne with a piece of homemade apricot pie... Ahhhh, the ability to absorb beauty returned, and it was nothing less than beauty awaiting for us on the first floor: I wanted to dissolve in perfectly lit works of Botero, Miro, Picasso, Kandinsky ...

Sensual sculptures of Barbara Hepworth, a student and lifelong friend of Henry Moore were the biggest discovery of the day.

Hepworth , Barbara

Hollow Form with White Interior Opus (328) (1963)

Nigerian guarea wood on original wooden plinth

41 x 31 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches; 104.1 x 80 x 37 cm

I sure did miss a lot of genius stuff, it is simply impossible to see creations of 2,500 artists in a few short hours. But there will be Art 43 Basel next June, perhaps we meet there?..

Love,

AB

Rainy Thursday

It’s been raining cats and dogs yesterday in Geneva. More than that, cats were wearing boots. Well, at least ONE did – the cat from the restaurant “Le Chat-botté” of the Hotel Beau Rivage.

This beautiful hotel was founded by the Mayer family in 1865, and has been at the forefront of hospitality for more than four generations: the staff is exeptionally courteous - even if you have come there to have a glass of mineral water (exactly my case!). 

It was one day too early for Sotheby’s exhibit exposition which is located in the hotels' building…But there were plenty of other things to see and to experience. 

Although my trip to Geneva was purposeful and work-related, plans have been swiftly rearranged: if a shower catches you at the Parc des bastions, what else is left to do if not jump into a pavilion and have a cappuccino with a heavenly tasty crème-brulée?

 

Or step into one of great many little and not-so art galleries tucked in the street of the old town?  

 
I liked very much the granite sculptures by Jean-Yves Gosti, but I cant remember the name of that gallery!  

And don't even let me get started with all the magnificent Art Deco salons...

Image www.artdecoplus.ch

It wasn’t a bad Thursday at all, but the weekend looks quite intense: I live in an inverse schedule since some time. Hopefully no deceiving showers tomorrow, have a wonderful Saturday.  

Love,

AB

Love and other impossible pursuits

101^st reason why I love travelling is that I can watch movies without feeling guilty for the loss of time… Today it's a drama with Natalie Portman “Love and other impossible pursuits” (very suitable title for my spirits today). What else is left to do if you are stuck in the hotel, and the much needed trip to the desert of forbidden art didn’t happen?.. 

 I travelled to Tashkent as soon as I got some feedback from the Nukus Art Museum: the director of the museum Marinika Babanazarova swiftly responded to my e-mail with a warm welcoming note…but it was a little too late, all flight tickets to Nukus were sold out, I even rushed to the airport in a desperate attempt, but all was in vain. For a moment I contemplated  aircraft hijacking, but what could I threaten the pilots with, my brushes?   

Somewhere between Khojent and Tashkent...

"The desert of forbidden art" has to wait.  I forgot to mention, that it's a name of a film about the amazing story of the  Savitsky Collection, created by Amanda Pope & Tchavdar Georgiev. 

 Image from www.desertofforbiddenart.com

"The Desert of Forbidden Art is, itself, a work of art about the art world," says ABOUT.COM. Here you can find the list of next screenings . 

P.S. I take it back! I take all the whining back!!! Spending the whole afternoon at the State Museum  of Arts of Uzbekistan calmed my nerves…or was it a glass of highly overpriced Georgian wine?

Image from www.caravan-one.uz 

The 102^nd reason why I love travelling is extravagant meals in the middle of the day (not that something stops me on a regular afternoon…). See, travelling is stressful (or so they say) and the best way to find comfort in any a strange place is drinks FOOD. Especially if it is served in the middle of an art gallery… Caravan One is an art gallery and a fine restaurant of traditional Uzbek and European cuisine - strongly recommended (check the wine prices though!).

 

Mural painting. Varakhsha. VIIth century.State museum of Arts, Tashkent 

So, back to the State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan…It is located in a huge marble (maybe a tad too monumental) palace. I knew exactly where I needed to go –  the Avant-garde section. Definitely is not Nukus, but I made a few discoveries indeed. Two paintings by Kandinsky hung modestly  by the window… 

  

Kandinsky V.V.Composition on yellow. 1920. 

 

Kandinsky V.V. Composition. 1920.   

But my absolute favorite was an Uzbek avant garde  artist of Russian origin Alexandr Volkov (1886 - 1957).

Volkov, Aleksandr Nikolayevich. Pomegranate colored  tea room.

1924, Oil on canvas,  105 х 116 (This Volkov's painting belongs to the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow )

There was also a nice antique shop by the museum, where I found a great book and a small graphic by a local artist.  

Agapov. Ink on Paper, 20cm x 20 cm, Ca. 1970.

So it was a good day after all. Time to pack, my plane is leaving in a few hours. See you in the West!

Love,
AB

The Desert Of Forbidden Art

Past few days have been filled with thrilling and what seems at first sight accidental discoveries. In the debris of Internet I came across a captivating painting by Vladimir Lysenko.  I never heard this name before and the search brought me to Uzbekistan – where I am flying tomorrow!

Bull, Vladimir Lysenko. 141.5 x 109.5 cm. Collection of Nukus Museum.

Works of Vladimir Lysenko and other Russian and Uzbek avant-garde painters of first half of the twentieth century were under oppression of the Communist regime. During the Soviet rule artists who stay true to their vision were executed, sent to mental hospitals or Gulags, but it didn’t stop young Igor Savitskiy, who was a painter himself,  a scientist, an archaeologist and a brave and curious mind.

He pretends to buy state-approved art but instead daringly rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artist's works and creates a museum in the desert of Uzbekistan, far from the watchful eyes of the KGB. Though a penniless artist himself, he cajoles the cash to pay for the art from the same authorities who are banning it. Savitsky amasses an eclectic mix of Russian Avant-Garde art, which is now considered the world's second largest collection of Russian avant garde art (after the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg).

My stay in Central Asia is very short this time and the city of Nukus is far out of a trajectory of the journey, but I have absolutely to find my way to the desert of forbidden art. I will keep you posted!

Have a good Sunday.

Love,

AB

Dear Helen,

My post was going to be about something entirely different, but accidentally – and luckily – I have found out about your incredible life. You were long gone when the Internet had been discovered, you would have loved it. Here, with a tap of a finger I found some of your thoughts: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature”.

How much I would love to discuss that thought with you, dear Helen...  I am wondering whether you’d be bored and disappointed with us - people of 21st century - or fascinated and proud?.. I can only guess. Things seem to come much easier to us these days, yet people don’t seem to get any happier. Oh, and the security topic is much loved by the modern society, along with money and stress.

Helen Keller in 1904. Image from www.wikipedia.org

You, on the other hand, unable to hear and see, saw and understood the essence of things like only few did: “Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I am in, therin to be content”. I was looking for a read for my journey next week. I have found one now: it is your “Optimism” (1903): “The will to be happy animates alike the philosopher, the prince and the chimney-sweep. No matter how dull, or how mean, or how wise a man is, he feels that happiness is his indisputable right”. 

 "Page 238 One". 130 cm x 130 cm. Acrylic on canvas. 

Originally I wanted to post my latest painting titled “Page 238 one”, so here it is. A few reflections led me to paint this somewhat cracked picture. :-)  How do events - within us and outside - influence us? Do our past experiences shape a cast around oneself, moulding one into someone new, someone different from yesterday?  Or is it a shell of our own imagination of who we are?.. Is it possible to throw the cast away and restart from a blank page? Paint it all over with a fresh layer of white? Or sooner or later the wine coloured stains of memories will leak through and remind us of our past? You would have known the answers, dear Helen, you would have known...

Love,

AB

China Girl

A year ago the art world was buzzing over one of the pearl treasures of China. The Emperor's Eastern Pearl Court Necklace (Chaozhu), incorporating 108 flawless natural freshwater pearls, gold, coral, and other gemstones, was sold for a staggering price of US$ 8.7 million at Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong. 134 cm long and with pearls measuring from 9.6 to 10.65 mm, this necklace belonged to the emperor Yongzheng from the 18th century Qing Dynasty. 

 

© Sotheby's 

The pearl court necklace, incorporating a Buddhist rosary design, had been introduced as a part of the official ceremonial dress by the Qing Dynasty in 1636.

The portrait of the Yongzheng emperor wearing formal court attire depicts him wearing almost identical, if not the same necklace as the one that has been auctioned. There are only five other known Eastern pearl chaozhu in China, all located in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The Eastern pearl necklace is considered to be of the highest cultural significance. 

  

Inspired by the rare beauty I checked my collection of gemstones. See, I smuggle bring the colourful bits from all over the world: pearls, jade, lapis lazuli, turquoise from Asia, malachite from Ural, amber from Latvia, corals from the Dominican Republic, crystals are available in abundance here in Switzerland. One must have a hobby, n’est pas? 

The idea of making a Yongzheng-inspired piece was sitting in my head for a long while rather quietly. Until a few days ago Ralph Lauren presented his Fall 2011 ready-to-wear collection in New York (no, unfortunately I didn’t watch it from the front row or backstage, I did it online, eating chips on the sofa; a nice option too: no need to splurge on a flight ticket and new boots).

Can you even believe it?...when everybody else is desperately waiting for spring, fashion designers are already looking forward to next winter, brrrr. Although I wouldn’t mind a three month winter extension if I got to wear one of  Lauren’s pieces… 

 Photo: Gianni Pucci / GoRunway.com

 

Like Oscar de la Renta in his last collection and Marc Jacobs last season at Louis Vuitton, Lauren looked to the Orient for inspiration - China specifically. The models wore jade earrings and coral lips, red lacquered heels on the equally glossy runway. I can empathise :-). And I finally made my version of the Emperor’s pearl necklace and a pair of matching earrings. Thank you, Ralph. 

Catching Up

Ten more days to go till the end of my exposition and it’s time for a little mid-term update. Guess what? I got recognized on the street yesterday. “Nice article!” someone said. Palms of my hands sweating, I run walk briskly  to the nearest newspaper stand and buy 5 copies of Aargauer Zeitung - utterly failing to look nonchalant. :-) Frantically leafing through I get to the page 32 and tah-dah! – here I am. 

 

Aargauer Zeitung from 16. Feb 2011. Click to enlarge.

Ursula Burgherr (www.ursulaburgherr.ch), a journalist from the Aargauer Zeitung, did a great job translating my chaotic, mosaic-like bits of thoughts into smooth romantic impressions on life, people and Swiss culture. 

Quite a few visitors passed by the showroom after reading the article, and thank you for all the nice emails and sms :-).  Next Saturday, Feb 26^th I am making a little closing event at Unikat (Obere Halde 32, Baden) from 17h to 21h. I am looking forward to see more of you there, to share a glass of something, and to cheer for the coming spring.

Have a warm weekend.

Love,

AB

Thank you

It is kind of strange, really: I can’t find the right words to share my impressions and thoughts about my vernissage in the showroom UNIKAT last Friday evening… Perhaps because all I wanted to express, I said in my paintings, or because photographs are so vivid, they can speak for themselves…

Looking for quotes about art, I found and liked very much this one of Friedrich Nietzsche: “There is one thing one has to have: either a soul that is cheerful by nature or a soul made cheerful by work, love, art, and knowledge.”  It made me think about the atmosphere at the opening: if it was not cheerful, it was certainly very warm. An intensive exchange of impressions and ideas, and thoughts. Challenging and stimulating at the same time.

So all I want to say is Thank you. To those who came and shared this event with me, and to those who encourage my artistic search from afar. It really means a lot to me.

Last preparations...

 Culture journalist and actress Verena Hoehne kindly agreed to do a reading and share her thoughts about art.

Stella  (left) with a friend

Thank you and have a great week.

Love,

AB

Material Girl

If I had a chance to start it all over, I might have become a material girl , i.e. textile designer.  Fabrics fascinate me since I can remember. My mom used to have this beautiful midnight blue dress with elaborate and dimensional black motifs. It was from 1976 and if I hadn’t chopped it, I might as well show off in it right now…But of course I chopped it. Chopping was a definition of the first decade of my life. Mentally rolling back time (you can’t do it otherwise, can you?) I wonder and admire my mother, her flexibility and her support of all our “creative attempts”. Or perhaps it was the only way for a full-time-working mom to keep us busy and happy, I don’t know. 

 Image ETRO

  Anyway, my every visit back home ends bringing back a suitcase of sparkly, rainbow-bright and totally unusable fabrics. Once in a while a new exotic pillow appears on the sofa, but mostly they sit among proudly pale linens (shocked and sniggering) looking a little outlandish. But I can’t help, it. The textile bazar in Khojent is a miraculous place. My sister inevitably starts rolling her eyes if I mention the imminent trip to the market… I don’t mind, I let myself enjoy the surrealistic beauty. I am playing Alice in wonderland:

`But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.
`Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: `we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.' 

For Christmas among the other beautiful presents I got this book. A tiny dream come true. I love to use textile designs in my works. They allow a painting to be figurative and abstract at the same time. Fabric designs - just like mosaïque – offer endless variations of colors and defy dimensions. 

In the painting I am working on now, fabric designs are not just a way to depict a subject, they ARE  the subject. Stunning dresses women wear in the South of Tajikistan take months to decorate. All stitching is made by hand and natural dyes are used to give fabrics this vibrant look.  “Kulobi Dancer” is still in progress, it measures 150 cm x 50 cm and is acryl on canvas.   

And if you are as mad (or mildly interested)  about textiles as I am, and you are located in Switzerland, do go and visit «Soie Pirate. Textile Archive Abraham Zurich» in Zurich National Museum. "The Abraham Archive with its vast array of textile treasures sheds light on the most diverse aspects of fabrics and fashion in the second half of the 20th century. The charismatic personality of Gustav Zumsteg, the innumerable fabric patterns, swatch books, and photographs on show, as well as a printing table and glimpse into the future of the archive will transport visitors into a fascinating world of exquisite craftsmanship, innovative artistry, and glamour".

I wish you a colourful week.

Love, 

AB

It’s time!

Well, ok, it’s ALMOST time! Three weeks left until my exhibition and I feel like I am running out of time. Contradictory enough ideas start to arrive in batches, which reminds me of a dialog of Calvin and Hobbes (a great cartoon I’ve discovered lately. I know. I KNOW. But better late than never.):

“-You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
-What mood is that?
-Last-minute panic.”

I did try to find a theme for my next event. I can’t. I really can’t. Inspiration comes from all over the place: childhood memories, short winter days, old black and white photos, pin up models, books, a view outside the window. How can one paint it in the same style? It is like to say: OK, I really like spinach (I do) and I am going to eat spinach every day for the rest of my life. Or: I am happy today, so I am going to stay happy to the end of days. Perhaps some are consequent like this, but not me. I am the Queen of Inconsistency.

The only consistent aspect is RED. I can’t help it. A friend told me lately: “Why don’t you paint blue?” Good question. Honestly. I had a clear picture in mind recently. It was definitely blue. It stayed blue for two days, but when I finished it, it came out red…with a skull. 

I don’t try too much to analyse what I do. But people often ask questions like: “What are you painting?” , “In which style do you paint?”. And obviously one (me) has to come up with some sort of a smart answer: “Landscapes of memories” or “Portraits of souls”, that kind of thing. Ask a six year old in which style he/she paints. Most likely you’ll get: “In MY style, duh!”. It’s much more complicated with adults. We (yes, I am slowly accepting the fact of being an adult) need categories, logical frameworks, precise definitions, don’t we?

That makes me think of the Little Prince: “If you were to say to the grown-ups:

“I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof,” they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all. You would have to say to them: “I saw a house that cost $20,000.” Then they would exclaim: “Oh, what a pretty house that is!”

Just so, you might say to them: "The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep.

If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists.”

And what good would it do to tell them that?”

But I am sure you know better. If you have read this till the end and didn’t feel a bit bored. I hope I see you in February.

Love,
AB

If love is the answer could you please rephrase the question?

At the end of each year and well into the beginning of a new one we tend to look back at the last 365 days of our lives. We retrospect and make all kinds of lists: best books, worst films, failed resolutions, kept promises, etc, etc.

According to Yahoo! the most popular questions of 2010 were:

1. How to Tie a Tie
2. How to Lose Weight
3. How to Kiss
4. How to Write a Resume
5. What’s the World’s Only Immortal Animal?
6. Which City Has the Best Tap Water?
7. Which Natural Disaster Shortened Earth’s Days?
8. What Is Love?
9. What Causes Lightning?
10. How to Boil an Egg

Striking range, isn’t it? From practical tips to purely philosophical topics. "What Is Love" is a good one to ask Yahoo!... Is there a definition of love? Sure. Thousands of them. And we still don’t know. Century after century creative minds try to unearth the essence of love. Look for Love quotes – it will take years to read. 

"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love." - Sophocles

"Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away." - Dorothy Parker

"Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it...It really is worth fighting for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk everything, you risk even more." - Erica Jong

“Do not seek the because - in love there is no because, no reason, no explanation, no solutions.” – Anais Nin

Or how about: “If love is the answer could you please rephrase the question?” It’s a video created by Bettina Disler, an artist from Canton Aargau, one of the local artists of the year, chosen by the Aargauer Kunsthaus and the Aargauer Kuratorium for Auswahl 10. This traditional annual exhibition of Aargau artists offers a review of the various current art practices in the Canton of Aargau. 

Image courtesy of www.aargauerkunsthaus.ch

To be completely frank I always feel somewhat lost after visiting this yearly event. Many works seem very conceptual, although the concepts are not always understandable. Probably for this reason Bettina's video was my favorite exhibit this year, because after all love needs no explanation. Naturally one can join a group and the guide will elaborate (as far as interpretation goes) on artist's ideas and intentions, but I prefer wild guessing. 

And when I run out of wild guesses I go to the 1^st floor to see the permanent collection of the museum.  As site description puts it, “the Aargauer Kunsthaus is home to one of the most beautiful and comprehensive public collections of recent Swiss art. It is an ideal venue for encountering the great diversity of Swiss art – from the 18th century to today.” Comprehensive and beautiful - a truly precious combination...

Max Pechstein Liegendes Mädchen, 1910

The annual exhibition will last till Sunday, January 9, 2011. More information about Auswahl and other events you can find here: http://www.aargauerkunsthaus.ch/en. 

I hope you had a lovely start in 2011.

Love,

AB