Intensely Dutch in Sydney I'm in Sydney for a few days as a family member was passing through town and needed a place to stay. The problem was that he may have swine flu or at least a bad case of regular flu. Either way, I wasn't hanging around to catch any flu! So it was a great excuse to jump in the car and drive.

Today I went to the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney to see Intensely Dutch, which looks at Dutch artists after world war 2, including artists from the CoBrA movement. Artists include Karel Appel, Gerrit Benner, Bram Bogart, Constant, Corneille, Edgar Fernhout, Willem de Kooning, Theo Kuijpers, Lucebert, Jaap Nanninga, Wim Oepts, Jan Riske, Jan J Schoonhoven, Bram van Velde, and Jaap Wagemaker.


Karel Appel
Ontmoeting (Encounter) 1951
oil on canvas, 130 x 97.5 cm
Collection: Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (on loan to Centraal Museum,
Utrecht) © Karel Appel Foundation/Van Lennep Producties, Amsterdam

It was a smallish exhibition, but one that got me excited. I had just walked around the whole Art Gallery of NSW and was seriously bored (apart from a few favorite paintings that I have seen countless times). It was Intensely Dutch that got me wagging my art tail and I was probably dribbling in front of a few of the works too.

I love line, paint, texture, and childlike abandon in painting.. and this exhibition has them all. I didn't take my camera with me and the art catalog had sold out, so I can't show some of the works that I liked most. While Karel Appel has never been on my top ten list of painters, I would give up my car and widescreen TV to own a few of his drawings!


Lucebert
Dierentemmer (Animal tamer) 1959
oil on canvas, 88 x 128.5 cm
Stedelijk Museum, Schiedam © the estate of the artist

If you're a lover of paint you'll love Intensely Dutch. If I had to complain about something I would say that it needed 50 more works hanging! Oh, and running out of catalogs is no way to run a business. It's on until the 23rd of August in Sydney at the AGNSW.   ¶ 1:39 AM 3 comments

  Vietnamese Painter Do Hoang Tuong's Studio The latest art studio belongs to the Vietnamese painter Do Hoang Tuong based in Saigon, Vietnam. More work by the artist can be seen at Galerie Quynh.





He does wonderful little paintings like these below..







See more artist studios online.   ¶ 7:33 PM 10 comments

  There's more than One Crystal Moll I don't know if art scammers have started using real artist names or it's just a coincidence, but there is a scammer currently using the name Crystal Moll and there is an artist with the name of Crystal Moll. They're two different people; One is a scammer, the other is an artist.

The name or email of the scammer isn't really that important as they just reuse the same story again and again. Just ask them to pay with Escrow.com or Paypal.com and you won't hear back from them as their scam doesn't work with these forms of payment.   ¶ 8:25 PM 3 comments

  Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York City.. Coming from an Australian that has never been to the USA.. are there any places that I SHOULD or SHOULDNT visit in October?? I have traveled outside of Australia but I have never been to a place that spoke English or had a considerable art collection. This trip is prompted by friends that plan to visit Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York City (where I plan to hang around for longer by myself. )

So, are there ART places in LA that MUST be seen or are there places in NYC that MUST be seen? I want to be lazy and hang around for a while by myself in NYC but I also want to check out places that are VERY American. Eg, the Yankee Stadium even though I barely know what baseball is! I want the raw NYC and America, the stuff that I wouldnt see if I was a tourist (which I am)!!

So that I become, Art New York Blog instead of BgArt News Blog!!.. Even if it's just for a month or two.. I want to become a fast talking loud mouth blogger, if just for a month or two..lol Does the NY Met suck or should I leave the Moma and Guggeinheim in the movies?? Or is there an underground that is above the commercial bullshit?? Should I stick to hotdogs and the park??? I want something that I cant get from anywhere else.. I don't care if I have to kiss a flag or a eat a hot dog to get it, I just want the USA thing.. for just a little while.. whatever that is..   ¶ 11:05 AM 23 comments

  Knitted Dead Animals (Knitting for Psychos) When I think of knitting I don't think of unicorns stabbing teddy bears and rabbits with carrots sticking out of them, but obviously someone does. A friend let me know about these disturbing little creations after she saw the roadkill toys. I couldn't find out who created them either, so I'll just link to the Flickr page here. It's called Knitting for Psychos.


Knitted cat with insides outside.. along with knitted blood.


Cute knitted bunny with giant carrot hanging out of it.


Knitted pink unicorn killing a cute little teddy bear.

I have previously mentioned Jafabrit's knitted poo too, which I thought was funny.. and a great idea for an exhibition invite.

Also, here's some disturbing videos advertising the Roadkill plush toys in the UK. I found myself feeling guilty for laughing at them. I promise I won't mention the death of cute little furry creatures again for at least a few months!   ¶ 9:27 PM 17 comments

  Roadkill Toys My warped sense of humor makes me think these plush toys would be great gifts for kids or PETA members. I'm an animal lover and I try to limit my meat consumption, but I also like to have a laugh. Life really isn't as serious as some of us make it out to be.

The road kill toys come with their own plastic bodybag, and some have an "I Love RoadKill" bumper sticker, death certificates and toe tags.


Twitch (Raccoon) Plush Toy


Grind (Rabbit) Plush Toy


Splodge (Hedgehog) Plush Toy

If there was a koala or kangaroo road kill toy available I might consider buying one. The dead animals above can be bought for £25.00 from a British company here.   ¶ 4:17 AM 4 comments

  Raphael The Woman with a Veil This is for those that think I don't mention "good art" enough. I'm assuming good art means old art that looks like something and bad art is all the "contemporary crap" on BgArt News Blog. Personally I favor expressive painting but I really do love most forms of art from most movements.

For example, how could you not like this little beauty below?

It's Raphael's The Woman with a Veil painting (la velata or la donna velata) from 1516. It will be showing at the Portland Art Museum this October 24 through to January. The painting will be on loan from the Medici collection of the Palatine Gallery, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy and was made possible by the Foundation for Italian Art and Culture.

Marilyn H. and Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. director Brian Ferriso said "This is truly a major highlight in the Museum’s more than 115-year history. It is a significant coup for our institution, city, and region, and an extraordinary opportunity for the public to see, experience, and learn from a painting that captures fully the ideals of the High Renaissance. Given its historical and cultural significance, this masterpiece has rarely left Italy. Unless you travel to Florence, you would not have the opportunity to view this masterwork.."   ¶ 7:05 PM 7 comments

  HWAT - Harleston and Waveney Art Trail This weekend is the last chance to take the HWAT art trail in 2009, visiting artist studios around Norfolk and Suffolk in the UK. Artists will open their studio doors on the 11th-12th of July from 11 am to 6 pm.

Here's a blurb from the HWAT website.. "The Harleston & Waveney Art Trail Collective is a diverse and lively community of professional artists who live and work in the beautiful Waveney Valley, all within reach of Harleston, a small market town on the border of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Harleston & Waveney Art Trail has taken place every summer since 2005."

Artists participating this year include..

Nicola Slattery
Clive Davies
Jayne Wurr
Dom Theobold
David Rock
David Page
Dianna McKenna
Bazil Leith
Jazz Green
Jane German
Noelle Francis
Nell Close
Derek Nice
Cork Brick Gallery
Dinny Turner
Mary Spicer
Ian Scott
Christopher Parr / Rebecca Lyne
Dee Nickerson
Val Lindsell
Nick Holmes
Mark Goldsworthy
Alan Frewin
Rosemary Elliott
Frank Beanland

Find out more about the Harleston and Waveney Art Trail at their website here.   ¶ 7:25 AM 6 comments

  Studio / Office Chair Winner Thanks to everyone that entered the studio slash office chair giveaway. I invited my good friend around, filled him with coffee and chocolate biscuits, then asked him to pick a winner.

The winner he chose was Corrine (Jafabrit) and she chose the Topstar Sitness 5 Fitness Stool. Here's why she chose the chair..

The topstar in lime green because it looks like a work of art, because it rocks, because it looks goofy, because it would fit in my studio, because I LOVE it, because I WANT one, because I want to hear my husband say, "what the hell is that", and I can say smugly, "why darling it is my ergonomic stool" humph!


I would have liked to give everyone a chair but I don't think CSN Office Furniture would have been open to the idea of giving away 60+ chairs!   ¶ 6:25 AM 14 comments

  Vincent van Gogh Cheese I did the grocery shopping today and found some Vincent van Gogh cheese! I wonder what the Dutchman would think of that? There was also a Rembrandt cheese, but I thought I would taste Vincent first before I try Remmie. I will buy the Rembrandt cheese next as Vincent was quite tasty. The only thing missing was a glass of red.

  ¶ 4:43 AM 12 comments

  Win a Chair for your Studio or Office Update: Thanks for entering the chair giveaway everyone. Entries have closed and my friend just chose the winner.

I'm sitting at my computer on an office chair that almost has historical significance and is falling apart as I write, but I'm not eligible to enter the BgArt News Blog office chair giveaway!

The kind people at CSN Office Furniture will send one of the chairs below to the winner, but you have to be based in the USA or Canada.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post saying which chair you would like and why. The winner will be chosen by my good friend that knows nothing about my blog, art, or office chairs. Make sure your comment has a link to your website or an email address so that I can contact you if you win. My friend is coming around to choose a winner on Tuesday, the 7th of July.


Topstar - Sitness 5 Ergonomic Fitness Stool - I chose this chair because it was very RED and thought it would look good in my messy studio.


Office Star - Backless Stool with Saddle Seat and Adjustable Seat - I thought the saddle seat would be good for whizzing around the studio mixing paints and painting, but also wondered if it would make me walk like a cowboy too.


Safco Products - Black Vinyl Precision Drafting Chair - I figured designers, illustrators and architects might like the drafting chair.


Safco Products - Task Master Work Trolly with Lift Ring Height Adjustment - The work trolly chair isn't the prettiest chair I chose, but I think it would be the most useful in an artist's studio.

Only one of your comments will be eligible though, so don't post a hundred comments thinking that it will improve your chances. And remember that you MUST be located in the United States or Canada. Find more Office Furniture, computer desks and chairs at CSN Office Furniture.   ¶ 12:52 AM 61 comments