80 Works By Joan Miró, Never Before Shown in Italy, on View At Chiostro Del Bramante

Joan Miró, Senza Titolo, 1978. Olio su compensato (oil on plywood), 64 x 64 cm.Joan Miró was one of the most creative and delightful painters of the Modern era--and certainly is one of my inspirations. He articulated the ethic of Surrealism exquisitely--with his joyful paintings that have become a playground for our minds. An exhibit of 80 new works will be opening shortly in Rome. So if you happen to be traveling to Italy any time soon--check it out.

From ArtDaily.org:

ROME.- It has been many years since Rome hosted an exhaustive exhibition of the works of Joan Miró (1893–1983), the great Catalan artist who left his unmistakable mark on the European avant-garde art movements.

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Quote of the Day

Salvador Dali with ocelot and cane, 1965. Roger Higgins, World Telegram staff photographer, Library of Congress, New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection"One day it will have to be officially admitted that what we have christened reality is an even greater illusion than the world of dreams." - Salvador Dali

"In Wonderland" at LACMA

Frida Kahlo, Autorretrato con collar de espinas y colibri (Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird), 1940, Oil on canvas, Canvas: 30 x 24 in. (76.2 x 60.96 cm) © Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo courtesy Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin.In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States - at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) - Resnick Pavilion, January 29, 2012–May 6, 2012 

In the historically male dominated world of art--works created by women are always fascinating to consider. Sometimes gender plays a large role in style and approach--and at other times--it does not. But in Surrealism--there are notable differences that can be identified between the genders. Check out the following article (and exhibit) if you can--which will be up at LACMA through early May 2012.

“North America represented a place free from European traditions for women Surrealists from the United States and Mexico, and European émigrés. While their male counterparts usually cast women as objects for their delectation, female Surrealists delved into their own subconscious and dreams, creating extraordinary visual images.” MORE...

The Magic of Miró

Joan Miró - Spanish, 1893 - 1983 - Shooting Star - 1938 - oil on canvas - Overall: 65.2 x 54.4 cm (25 11/16 x 21 7/16 in.) framed: 87 x 77.4 x 5.7 cm (34 1/4 x 30 1/2 x 2 1/4 in.) Gift of Joseph H. Hazen - National Gallery of Art - Washington, D.C.

Joan Miró was a Catalan painter who combined abstract art with Surrealist fantasy. His mature style evolved from the tension between his fanciful, poetic impulse and his vision of the harshness of modern life. He worked extensively in lithography and produced numerous murals, tapestries, and sculptures for public spaces.

"He was never closely aligned with any movement and was too retiring in his manner to be the object of a personality cult, like his compatriot Picasso, but the formal and technical innovations that he sustained over a very long career guaranteed his influence on 20th-century art. A pre-eminent figure in the history of abstraction and an important example to several generations of artists around the world, he remained profoundly attached to the specific circumstances and environment that shaped his art in his early years. An acute balance of sophistication and innocence and a deeply rooted conviction about the relationship between art and nature lie behind all his work and account in good measure for the wide appeal that his art has continued to exercise across many of the usual barriers of style." (SOURCE: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS)

The Movement of Picasso

Pablo Picasso The Old Fisherman (Salmereon) 1895, Museu de Montserrat, Barcelona

Whenever I revisit the works of Pablo Picasso I discover new aspects and elements to his art and am in awe of his perpetual evolution. In surveys of Modern Art, I tell students that the broadest, most well-known movements within the period are Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, Dada, Surrealism, and Picasso. He cannot be categorized--and he influenced virtually all of his contemporaries, as well as the artists of later generations. His influence continues to be felt today One of my favorite class exercises is to show slides of 8 or 10 paintings--none of them with captions underneath--and ask students to try and name the artists who created these works. They come up with all kinds of answers. But...the answer is that all of the paintings I show were created by Picasso. Who would have thought--for example--that the painting shown here is a Picasso?