Todd White

Todd White is is a San Antonio native, whose figurative style is best known as “Rat-Pack meets Picasso”.  Below are some of his works on display at the Galerie d'Art Francais, located on 541 Royal St. in New Orleans (French Quarter):

Only in Russia - suicidal metro station

Although Fyodor Dostoevsky is usually associated with St. Petersburg, the city where he spent most of his life working, the writer was born and spent his childhood in Moscow.  Therefore, it is not surprising that the new metro station in Moscow is called Dostoevskaya, in honor of world-famous Russian writer. 

It was opened this summer and contains several ominous murals by artist Ivan Nikolaev, which accurately depict violent plots of “Crime and Punishment” and “Demons,” as well as other gloomy novels by the famous author. 

One controversial image depicts Kirillov from the “Demons” novel holding a pistol to his temple.

Another mural depicts a scene from the "Crime and Punishment," in which Rodion Raskolnikov murders an elderly pawnbroker Alyona Ivanovna and her sister.  Although this particular mural is not the focal point of the station, it has been raising concerns among the mental health professionals and bloggers, who  have decided to nick name the metro station the “station of suicides.”

Although no suicides have yet been committed at Dostoevskaya, the decor of the station is appropriately depressing gray, perpetuating the idea that this subway station could become a place that encourages suicidal behavior.  


According to Mikhail Vinogradov, head of the center for urgent psychological aid, the art of Dostoevskaya metro station “is a direct call for suicide. It can’t be ruled out that people will also commit murders and assault others.” 

Madelyn Gould, an American psychiatrist at Columbia University, agrees that it is not desirable "to do anything that might in any way contribute to someone's motivation to die by suicide." 

Ivan Nikolayev, the 69 year old artist who created the murals disagrees: "My task was to draw out the meaning, creativity and entire life of Dostoevsky."  His artwork is definitely designed to transport travelers directly into the world of Dostoevsky as soon as they exit the train.

Only time will show if these images will encourage or deter destructive behavior among commuters. 

Masterpiece detection

New Yorker published this fascinating article on new methods of art authentication. It examines new methods of tracing evidence left behind by an artist, including chemical analysis of pigment variation, fingerprint’s characteristics and  and other “rigorous methodology” that follows “accepted police standards”. 

Forensic consultant Laszlo Biro working on an early 16th century Venetian painting on poplar attributed to the workshop of Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516).

Christian Boltanski’s Bonfire of Humanity in NYC

Christian Boltanski’s new project, No Man’s Land, fills 55,000 square feet inside the Wade Thompson Drill Hall at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. Using 30 tons of discarded clothing in all shapes, colors and sizes, Boltanski piled a twenty-five-foot high bonfire pyramid, surrounded by 45 rectangular plots of clothing arranged in a mass grave fashion. 

This unusual graveyard is complimented by a 60-foot crane, which grabs and lifts garments up in the air, just to discard them back. The exhibit opens with a 66-foot-long crypt wall of rusty numbered tin cans and is accompanied by the sounds of 45,000 human heartbeats from around the world.

This exhibit challenges the futility of possession and explores the themes of individuality and anonymity in life and death.  

As part of the installation, visitors are invited to record their own heartbeat and offer it to the artist for his collection.

Christian Boltanski, “No Man’s Land,” 2010.

Curated by Tom Eccles.


Photos Courtesy of Park Avenue Armory

May 14 - June 13, 2010

Open Hours

Tuesday through Sunday (except Thursday): Noon – 7:30pm

Thursday: 2pm – 9:30pm

Monday, May 31: Noon – 7:30pm (Memorial Day)

CLOSED MONDAYS (except Memorial Day)

Admission

$12 General Admission (12 and older)

$10 Seniors (62 and up), Students (with valid ID), Groups (8 or more)

FREE: Children (11 and under)

FREE: PARK AVENUE ARMORY MEMBERS 

The simplicity of watercolor

Watercolor is my favorite medium. When I meet artists who have perfected this medium, I bow in admiration.

One of my friends, Cynthia Bogart combines ink with watercolor to create simple and delicate imagery.  Below are two of my favorites by this New York born / Houston based artist / designer.

Art on tap - Linn Olofsdotter

Linn Olofsdotter is an illustrator and mixed media artist from Sweden. After getting her education in both advertising and graphic design in Europe and the US, she moved to Brazil to start up a motion graphics studio along with her husband and creative partner. More recently Linn worked as a senior art director at a Boston advertising agency and is now settled in the Portland area.  

Performance Art in the Flesh

From March 14 through May 31, 2010,  the prolific performance artist Marina Abramović offered a retrospective exhibit The Artist Is Present to MOMA visitors.

The exhibit featured approximately fifty of the artist's works spanning over four decades of sound pieces, video works, installations, photographs, solo performances, and collaborative performances made with Uwe Laysiepen. 

The most controversial works of the exhibit featured nude performers facing each other at a doorway 

or lying under a skeleton 

The Artist Is Present also included Abramović seating in the MOMA atrium for seven hours, five days a week, and for ten hours on Fridays. Visitors were invited to sit silently across from the artist for as long as they liked.

Photographer Marco Anelli took these incredible photographs of all people who participated in Marina Abramović's art performance and posted them to Flickr.

 Each photo provides the duration of each participant's seating. Most staid only a few minutes but a couple of women sat with Abramovic for six and a half hours. 

Photos by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images North America

Don't miss Maurizio Cattelan's exhibit at the Menil!

A couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of dining at my friend's house with Maurizio Cattelan and Franklin Sirmans.  It was a surprisingly low key dinner, involving general conversation and just a little talk about the exhibition at the Menil Collection that focuses on Cattelan's large scale works.  Both men were charming and I felt honored to dine in their company.


A few days later, I went to the opening of Cattelan's exhibition at the Menil, which was extremely crowded and prevented me from getting a real feel for his work. This weekend, I had a chance to go back and walk through the museum, taking in every one of Maurizio's creations without interruption because nothing interacts with human emotions better than art. 



This exhibit is very different from all other temporary displays at the Menil in that Cattelan was allowed to handpick works from the museum's permanent collection and arrange them in a way that compliments his own works.   


Cattelan's creations are integrated all over the museum in a peculiar and humorous way.  Each piece is unique, but they all convey a lighthearted message of life, mixed with just a touch of satirical darkness.


It's hard to say which work I liked best.  They are all so wonderful and original.  I loved the twins and the way they look at twin Mona Lisas. This is a minor detail, which most people won't notice without being told, but please be sure to follow the gaze of the twins and the gaze of the Mona Lisas.  


The "bird" is also remarkable.  If you look up and see the finger, walk away from it and watch as it turns into a bird.  How surreal and appropriate for this exhibition!  Cattelan gave us the bird, as though he doesn't care about what we'd think of his unconventional art.  


But that's not true.  Every artist cares and Maurizio doesn't just care, he wants the Houston audience to think, to feel, to react and to talk about his works.


The most poignant work is undoubtedly All - a marble creation of nine bodies inside body bags.  Some may shudder looking at this, but I walked away feeling light.  I left knowing that we will all die one day, each of us in our own way.  I found this depiction of death to be serene.  Of course, death is never uplifting, but it does not have to be dark. 


Of course, this work could be interpreted in many other ways.

Maurizio Cattelan All, 2007Marble

The animal worship is wonderful: Untitled (2009) by Maurizio Cattelan at the Menil
(INRI = Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum -- “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”)

The Maurizio Cattelan exhibition is on view until August 15, 2010 and is really worth seeing.

POP UP SHOP

Pop Up Shop is a new trend embraced by gallery-like shopping spaces, one time exhibitions and mobile store units to bring art and design to various audiences, sometimes just for one day. This cool trend draws in a small crowd of art supporters and gallery goers into a small fresh temporary retail space, adding excitement and surprises to the spontaneity of event.

On April 7, 2010, the stylish Craft Salon opened its doors to a one day only POP UP SHOP  to support local artists and their creative goods, including the launch of a new t-shirt line STELLA ROSE by Celeste Tammariello, wonderful one of a kind drawings, sketches and collages by ALEX ROSA, design  accessories and artful soles by ROGELIO RENDON, handmade & upcycled pretty things by IVY & HOLLAND,  and parisian macarons & handcrafted sweets by MAISON BURDISSO.

Celeste Tamariello keeps a low profile as a Houston fine artist and graphic designer.  She has been creating art since she was a kid, with early designs of homemade wrapping paper. Now she enjoys life as an independent artist and designer, creating unique brands, logos, and products, some of which can be found for sale at  STELLA ROSE.Alex Rosa is an artist and graphic designer who currently works as the art director for 002houston, the go-to city guide for Houstonians and visitors. Alex regularly posts about his  illustrations, drawings, graphics and inspirations at his blog Fiery Laundry.  Alex offered an array of wonderful handmade drawings for sale, among with magazines of his work.

Rogelio Rendon is a designer at Rogelio Rendon Design. Rogelio’s artful handmade soles for shoes with hand engraved creative messages (like “the world is at your feet”) sold quickly.

MAISON BURDISSO is the home of authentic macarons from Jackie Burdisso. Using an old recipe from her family’s patisserie in the South of France, she infuses these sweet treats with natural ingredients like lavender, apricot, violet and earl grey tea. Colored with brillint hues and filled with buttercream, fruit reduction, chocolate ganache, or caramel, these sweets are almost too pretty to eat, but are irresistible once you’ve tasted them.

IVY & HOLLAND presented a collection of pretty handmade things, because "Everyone should have a little decoration!" 

Craft Salon is located in the heart of Montrose and is known for its outstanding   contemporary hair stylists. 

                                                 Rosa playfully poses at Craft.

Music played, wine was flowing, art, designs and macaroons were selling, while taco truck fueled hungry shoppers with energy for happy socializing. All in all, the event was a great success, providing exposure to the artists and salon alike, while art patrons went home happy about their new purchases.

I got a new T-Shirt, a magazine of Rosa's work, a new pair of Rendon soles and a new art print by Rosa. My child ate half of the macaroons and learned that even her artwork has a price.

photographs by Vika Filippov ©

Exclusive preview of the show by Gary Parkins/David Hardaker - Machine Memoir/Qui Judicas Terram

Last night, Obsidian Gallery opened its doors for a one night only event featuring the latest work by Houston based artists David Hardaker and Gary Parkins.

Gary Parkins has worked for twenty years assisting artists such as Ed and Nancy Kleinholz with technical and scientific applications of art. His latest show Machine Memoir on view at the Obsidian Gallery consisted of machine made sculptures and drawings.  Gary's drawings of dark ghostly shapes make a nice contrast to the see through spider web of his sculptures, made of hot glue and fishing line applications. 

British born David Hardaker started off as a self taught muralist, developing a unique realist painting style over the years. His paintings resemble photographs, which are set in a surreal world of their subjects. His latest work on view at the Obsidian Gallery is reminiscent of film fragments that bend the plane of fantastic, setting David aside from other contemporary realists. 

David and his wife Carrie have been active in the Houston art scene for over eight years.  Their latest project Hardaker + Hardaker is a partnership promoting local artists in both the public and private sector.  Obsidian Gallery is the new venue used by Hardaker+Hardaker for their shows. It is the policy of the gallery to donate a significant portion of their profits to ARTreach.

                                            Carrie and David Hardaker at the Obsidian Gallery

Artist David Hardaker greets one of his models and her friend at his latest show at the Obsidian Gallery.

Obsidian Gallery

3522 White Oak
Houston, TX 77007

Info Phone: 713-231-8967 or 713-572-7268

Photos Credit: Vika Filippov (c)