Pottery art pieces from ancient to contemporary, antiquity to futuristic, unusual to utilitarian, quirky to conservative. There’s always something to say with the 3D forms fashioned from that pliable clay. The versatile bounty of the earth keeps experiencing new ways to be interpreted and appreciated while its deep past provides fascinating revelations. The earth’s grounded passivity gets awakened and emboldened by the kinetic application of the potter and projects a new balance through interaction with the restless fire dynamic and defined spaces.
While a daily update is aspired to, it is usually otherwise with new entries appearing weekly at the least.
Hand built with slabs, incised with abstract drawings, brush glazed with copper and colored glazes – Tanya Tyree
Height 35 inches
Set of black and white raku vessels
bubaniarteeraku.it
Black line diamond shaped ceramic footed pillow box – Vaughan Nelson
Sold by Artful Home
‘Blue Sail’ – Ricky Maldonado
Christine Fabre, France
Japonism vase – Jarl Otto (1856-1915) – Meissen, early 20th Century
Eileen Singleton
Ray Silverman
Stephen Hatcher woodturned jar
Suzuki Tomio
To further enhance shino’s tactile appeal, Suzuki Tomio approaches every unglazed pot as a landscape architect would an undeveloped plot of earth. It first requires slow, thoughtful sculpting before anything is lain upon it. As a result, his clay creations are renowned for their terraced surfaces, ridges, and winding vistas. This resplendent yōhen-kin (golden) vase is a proud example of Suzuki’s unique approach to shino. Deeply cut furrows and facets naturally guide the eyes across a rugged, glistening terrain swept across with crackled feldspar and flowing brushed details.
Striped Porcelain Pitcher with bird and tree motifs – Matthew Metz
Figural Vase Van Briggle
Glass vase ‘Passage of time’ – David Hay, AUS
Uwharrie Crystalline Pottery vase
Tea jar fired in the wood and waste oil kiln at the Pleasant Hill Pottery in 2016. – Hank Murrow
Art Deco pidgeon vase – Mougin Brothers
Michael Cleff
Bowl with bone china & soluble salt surface treatment – John Shirley, South Africa
Michael LaLone ‘Little Fatty’ crawl glaze pot
2008
Matthew Hyleck
Tony Laverick
French Art Deco Jazz Age ovoid vase – Alfred Roullet Renoleau
1920’s
Italian Art Pottery Jug by Otello Rosa for San Polo
Otello Rosa was a sculptor & painter, who from 1951-1959 took over as artistic director of the Venetian ceramic workshop of San Polo (who were making tourist pieces at the time) and re-directed it to his vision- many pieces being unique, and all hand-painted in tin-glazed earthenware with bright glazes with Italian imagery & characters.
Artifacts from the ancient cities of the Grecian Archipelago and Asia Minor have depicted numerous examples of decorative motifs representing the octopus. They were a very popular artistic theme with the pottery of Crete, Cyprus, Mycenae and Troy and they were generally regarded as a sacred symbol. Octopus art also appeared in Peru and Brazil and was believed to have originated from the ancient Pacific ocean continent of Mu. Having eight legs coming from a central hub, the octopus was aligned to the mystical eight sided ‘Pa Qua’ configuration. This was also known as the Magic Square to the Egyptians or the Lo Shu square by the Chinese, as it was first observed in China carved on the shell of an elderly tortoise which came from the Lo Shu river. The spider was also given a sacred status due to also having eight legs radiating from a central point.
Moss green octopus – Wax & Bing Studio
Having exceptional polymorphic powers of camouflage due to being boneless and possessing a remarkable skin able to change colour, texture and patterns in a split second, the octopus can shape shift and adapt its appearance to practically anything it wants in the ocean (see video below) They were admired because this reflected the ancient esoteric belief in the metamorphic potential of human beings. Also being colour blind, they must have possessed psychic abilities to be able to interpret their surroundings so accurately. The most rigid part of their body is the eye and they can fit through anything if their eye does. They are blessed with three hearts and like to collect shiny objects off the ocean floor to make ‘octopus gardens’ around their lairs. They are considered the most intelligent of all the invertebrates.
Erik Pontoppidan, the Norwegian historian claimed that the giant kraken (octopus) posed a real danger to sailors due the whirlpool left in their wake and if the creature’s arms were to lay hold of a ship, they had the abiltiy to pull it down to the bottom of the sea. In his ‘The Natural History of Norway’ he described the kraken as “incontestably the largest Sea monster in the world” who had the ability to wrestle with a whale.
The sinuous, malleable and diverse forms of the octopus make its easily adaptable to numerous shapes, hence its popularity with artists and creators.
Octopus, cephalopods, kraken and tentacle spectacles
Giant pacific octopus – arm span up to 6 metres
Kraken attacking a sailing ship
‘Skin Changers Closet: octopus’ wall art – Kate MacDowell 2015
Sold @Mindy Solomon Gallery
Red ceramic octopus – Beth Allison
Ellen Jewett
Octo mudka pot – Sue Anderson
Art Nouveau octopus vase by Amphora
A mural by Belgian artist ROA is part of the street art project ‘Djerbahood’
Photograph- Mohamed Messara-EPA
It’s hard to keep a good octopus down !
‘Inky’ looks content in this photo because he knew he would soon be back in the sea again at Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand.
The morning staff at the National Aquarium of New Zealand arrived recently to see that ‘Inky’ had done a runner in the night. The telltale tentacle tracks were on the floor, he had ‘got kraken’ through the 50 metre drain pipe which led to the sea and his freedom.
Ancient Pompeii-Herculaneum octopus mosaic
Neil Weightman flickr
Austrian Art Nouveau Octopus Vase by Stellmacher for Amphora
1901-02
llustration for Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea – Alphonse de Neuville & Edouard Riou
1871
Giant Kraken illustration from the original 1870 edition of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by author Jules Verne
Octopus mosaic by Carrie Wilson
Octopus wash basin by Shayne Greco
Chilling out cephalopod
Diana Fayt Scrimshaw platter
Bronze Octopus Sculpture by Paul Harder, California, USA
Ancient Greek coin with octopus
Eretria, c. 500-465 BC
Tracey Porter
Octopus chest tattoo
Large glass mosaic octopus by LucyDesignsonline
Black vase with surface relief octopus – Tammy Garcia
Octopus plate – – Ruchika Madan
‘Octochair’ – Maximo Riera new edition of animal chair collection
Passionate art lovers will sometimes go to extraordinary lengths to see or acquire a piece of art. Franck Goddio spent 13 years uncovering the sunken ancient Egyptian city of Thonis in the Mediterranean Sea (see below) to reveal exquisite treasures such as a grand temple of the god Amun. Whether it’s finding sunken artifacts or the chance discovery of a rare antique object at a bric-a-bac stall, there is a definite allure to searching for art and being rewarded with a find. The dedication of collectors who harbor a desire to to own a piece of art is also noteworthy. They can spend decades patiently waiting for a piece to become available and with luck manage to be triumphant at an auction. Enduring day long journeys in heat and dust to see rare statues or visit a temple is also where the dedication of the art aficionados is on display. Rising before sunrise on the weekend to get to an antique market to snare a bargain is also the modus operandi for some. Even a visit to the Paris Louvre requires a certain dedication with the long queues. Fortunately they are handsomely rewarded for their efforts. The painstaking work of archaeologists to discover and unearth mysteries from the past is admirable for their commitment.
This post presents a collection of links ranging from travel destinations for art, museums, art and antique exhibitions, pottery fairs and other guides for finding and exploring art.
The 57th International Art Exhibition, titled Viva Arte Viva, opened to the public from Saturday May 13th to Sunday November 26th, at the Arsenale and Giardini venues, and in several locations in Venice. The show featured 120 invited artists, of which 103 were participating for the first time, 86 National Participations, a Special Project, and 23 Collateral Events.
Berlin Art Week 13 – 17 September 2017
Berlin Art Week is a highlight on the contemporary art calendar in the German capital. For the sixth time, the Berlin art world will be hosting exhibition openings, fairs, prize award ceremonies, artist films, and numerous special events during the week. The rich variety of this fall program is made possible by the joint collaboration of institutions, galleries, artist, collectors, and project spaces and draws international attention.
For the seventh time, from 26-30 September 2018, the Berlin art scene is hosting art fairs, exhibition openings, award ceremonies, artist films, and numerous special events. Visitors can expect large-scale exhibitions on established artists as well as countless presentations in a wide range of genres by artists yet to be discovered.
On the second Saturday of July each year, hundreds of visitors come to the Watershed campus for a memorable picnic-and carry home handcrafted ceramic plates as souvenirs of this special day. The plates are created by a dedicated artist-in-residence who spends the summer at Watershed making more than 500 plates for the Salad Days festival.
The North American platform for International design, ICFF comes to NYC May 20-23, 2018 with exclusive custom furnishings for your next design challenge.
The National Gallery of Victoria, in partnership with Art Exhibitions Australia, presents Van Gogh and the Seasons for the 2017 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition. Curated by Sjraar van Heugten, independent art historian and former Head of Collections at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Van Gogh and the Seasons is exclusive to Melbourne and presents the largest collection of Van Gogh artworks to ever travel to Australia.
Art in Clay Hatfield is an outdoor summer event held in marquees in the beautiful parklands of Hatfield House. A large event of over 200 exhibitors, including a full programme of talks & demonstrations and a Clay Creation Zone to fire your imagination.
Cottesloe, 14th annual exhibition | 2 – 19 March 2018 Bondi, 22nd annual exhibition | 18 October – 4 November 2018 Join us for the largest free to the public sculpture exhibitions in the world! Home page image credits
Biennale Interieur 2016
25th Silver Edition 14-23 October Kortrijk, Belgium
To celebrate their 50th anniversary, Belgian classic Durlet has infused their collection with new additions. Durlet – who haven’t missed a single edition of Biennale Interieur – and young designer Sylvain Willenz join forces on this new, airy sofa. Yale is a comfortable, cosy seating unit that will make you feel as if you’re floating on air.
For the seventh time, from 26-30 September 2018, the Berlin art scene is hosting art fairs, exhibition openings, award ceremonies, artist films, and numerous special events. Visitors can expect large-scale exhibitions on established artists as well as countless presentations in a wide range of genres by artists yet to be discovered.
Plaza Art Fair
Friday, September 23, 2016 – Sunday, September 25, 2016
Country Club Plaza: An exceptional blend of major fashion houses and local favorites, along with dozens of fine restaurants.
Degas – A New Vision – NGV – (National Gallery Victoria)
Currently running till 18th September 2016
‘The Woman In Movement’ – Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas is one of the most celebrated artists associated with French Impressionism. The art he made over more than fifty years of constant creativity and renewal embraces painting, drawing, printmaking, monotypes, sculpture and photography, and has had an immense impact on modern and contemporary art. Modern life as he experienced it in nineteenth-century Paris provided Degas with a repertoire of motifs he explored with endless variation and innovation; from scenes of work and industry to ballet and the theatre, racecourses and boudoirs. This sweeping exhibition brings together more than 200 works by Degas from dozens of collections worldwide, offering a fresh and dynamic reappraisal of this legendary artist’s genius.
Marriage of Degas’s parents, Laurent-Pierre-Augustin-Hyacinthe (Auguste) De Gas, banker, aged twenty-four, of Paris, formerly of Naples, and Marie Célestine Musson, of Paris. The artist Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas is born at 8 rue Saint-Georges, Paris. The artist’s brother Achille De Gas is born at 21 rue de la Victoire, Paris.
Le Don du Fel – 9th European Ceramic Sculpture Festival, 2016
Mo Jupp, Jean-Marie Borgeaud, Emma Rodgers, Michael Flynn, Michel Wohlfahrt
from the 26th of June to the 11th of August, 2016
du 1er avril au 7 mai Avec cette première exposition personnelle, Michel Wohlfahrt nous embarque vers son archipel imaginaire où son art transforme tout le poids du présent en une poésie pointue et joyeusement déjantée. Théâtrale aussi !
MAISON&OBJET
September 2- 6, 2016
September 3-10, 2016 – Paris Design Week
The multi-multicultural crossroads of contemporary living.
MAISON&OBJET is the major event for professionals working in the art of living in all its rich and varied expressions. The lifestyle show brings together a 360°product offering. Decoration, design, furniture, accessories, textiles, fragrances, the world of children, tableware.
PARIS DESIGN WEEK is an itinerary uniting 300 participants that all proudly promote first-rate design in Paris, sprinkled with exhibits and festive parties organized each night of the week, aimed at design lovers and the French and international trade who will be in Paris for the MAISON&OBJET show.
Futura festival, 2016
25 to 27 August
20 concerts, 1 Nuit Blanche (from midnight to 8 am), 100 speakers, for concerts in total sound immersion 1 large screen for video projections 6 performers on acousmonium: Eric Broitmann , Guillaume Contré ,Tomonari Higaki , Olivier Lamarche , Jonathan Prager and Nathanaëlle Raboisson
musique acousmatique, art radiophonique, installation, vidéo
Sublime Symmetry, 2016
A touring exhibition showcasing the work of celebrated Victorian Arts and Crafts designer, William De Morgan.
1st june to 4th September 2016 – free entry
Cannon Hall Museum, Park and Gardens, Bark House Lane, Cawthorne, BarnsleySouth YorkshireS75 4AT
Set in 70 acres of parkland, this country house museum is home to an impressive collection including ceramics, glass, furniture and Old Master paintings.
William De Morgan, Two Handled Vase with Persian Floral Decoration, 1882-1888
The official Vivid Sydney website. Vivid Sydney is where art, technology and commerce intersect. Vivid Sydney 2017 will be held from 26th May – 17th Jun 2017.
Heiva, Tahiti
Thursday 02 to Saturday, June 4 at Place To’ata.
The annual Heiva, started in 1881, is an iconic event for Polynesian culture. Dance competitions, which are some of the most important events in Heiva, are prepared for months in advance by dancers.
Official Tahiti Tourism site – Information on visiting Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea & other islands in this South Pacific Paradise. Cruises, Vacations & more.
Mount Hagen Cultural Show 2016 – New Guinea
20th – 21st August
Tribes from all over the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea and other neighbouring tribes from the Highlands region will gather in the township of Mt. Hagen to put on exciting cultural performances.
The 2018 Hagen Show is set for August 17th to 19th and returns to the old Kagamuga show grounds in Mount Hagen, Western Highlands Province.
Venice Art Crawl – July 21, 2016
VENICE ART CRAWL • FRESH AIR • FRESH ART
The Venice Art Crawl’s mission is to foster and reinvigorate the creativity that has historically and currently makes Venice such a vibrant and dynamic community.
Thursday, July 21st, 2016 6:00 – 8:00 pm Volunteers needed! Contact Laura Alice at (310) 482-0422 or [email protected]
5th International Biennial of Contemporary Ceramics of Sevres
from 12 to 29 May 2016 – 47 Grande Rue, Sevres, France
Ceramic Biennale (5th edition )
Now unavoidable, this international biennial welcomes the guests of honor Valérie Hermans and Jean-Paul Azaïs along with 42 other ceramic artists.
They share a love of nature and the earth. On clean shapes, box, nest, they drove passionate research. John Paul reveals the poetry of clay with natural glazes. Valerie works with high temperature glazes and especially celadon. Both, alchemists, playing with fire.
See more here
10 London highlights
A visitor walks through an exhibition room at the Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, UK. Photo: Bloomberg
Ticked off the Tower of London? Ridden the Millennium Eye? Perused the Palace? Well, there’s plenty more to see in London, much of which is cruelly ignored by all but the most intrepid visitor – such as… Ridiculously and unashamedly grisly, the Old Operating Theatre delves into the world of 18th and 19th century surgery.
This dossier exhibition centers on pairing and juxtaposing works by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). A loan of four major works from the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland, and loans from private collections will complement the MFA’s holdings of painting and sculpture by the artist, looking at different stages of his career and his exploration of form.
London Gallery – Erskine, Hall and Coe
Nine Potters Anniversary Edition
30th March – 23 April, 2016
An exhibition featuring the works of Michael Cardew, Claudi Casanovas, Hans Coper, Elizabeth Fritsch, Ewen Henderson, Bernard Leach, Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie, Elizabeth Raeburn and Lucie Rie.
Mayfair gallery specialising in ceramics & modern art. Upcoming exhibitions include solo shows by Genta Ishizuka, Zung-Lung Tsai, Sara Flynn & Jacques Kaufmann
Art Nouveau, or “the new art,” hit its peak at the turn of the 20th Century and today looks more vintage than modern. Also known as Jugendstil and Stile Liberty, and a close kin to Arts and Crafts and Modernism, the movement was filled with fluidity and the organic, natural form and stretched across the European continent, Britain, North America, and beyond.
Discovery of sunken Egyptian city
Known as Thonis to the ancient Egyptians and Heracleion to the ancient Greeks the city was rediscovered in 2000 by French underwater archaeologist Dr. Franck Goddio and a team from the European Institute for Underwater Archeology (IEASM) after a four-year geophysical survey. On the sunken Island of Antirhodos, the ruins of the lost city the size of Paris was found 30 feet under the surface of the Mediterranean Sea in Aboukir Bay, near Alexandria. This city, shrouded in myth, was swallowed by the Mediterranean Sea and buried in sand and mud for more than 1,200 years. Archeologists are now unearthing the mysteries of Heracleion, and uncovering amazingly well-preserved artifacts telling the story of a vibrant classical-era port.
Egyptian statue buried underwater
Portrait of a pharaoh, Quartzite, 25th dynasty (712-661 BC) with characteristic traits of the statuary of the 25th so-called Ethiopian Dynasty (8th century BC).
Lifting an Egyptian statue from the submerged city – Monumental statue of red granite (5.4 m) representing Hapy, god of the Nile flood and symbol of abundance and fertility.
Head of a colossal red granite statue of a pharaoh is raised to the surface.
Discovery of an ancient inscribed Egyptian tablet- The stele of Thonis-Heracleion (1.90 m), ordered by Pharaoh Nectanebo I (378-362 BC), is almost identical to the stele of Naukratis in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo.
Franck Goddio and his team watch the rise to the surface of a colossal statue of red granite (5.4 m) representing the god Hapy, symbol of abundance and fertility and god of the Nile flood which stood in front of the temple of Heracleion. Never before has the statue of a god of this size been discovered in Egypt, which indicates Hapy’s importance for the Canopic branch, the largest and most important of the Nile branches at that time. Hapy looks happy to be rediscovered.
One of the finest finds in Abukir Bay is the remarkable dark stone statue of a 3rd century Ptolemaic queen, very probably Cleopatra II or Cleopatra III
Recovery of monumental Egyptian sculpture – archaeologists Franck Goddio and his team inspect the colossal red granite statue of a pharaoh of over 5 metres height, weighing 5.5 tons
The statue of an Isis priest holding an Osiris-jar found on the sunken Island of Antirhodos in the great harbour of Alexandria
Above view of the colossal triad of 5-metre high red granite statues of a pharaoh, his queen and the god Hapy, dating from the 4th century BC, which stood in front of the great temple of Heracleion. They are lying on a pontoon barge together with the 17 fragments of an over 5-metre high 2nd century BC red granite stele in reassembly.
Egyptian potter ?
A diver eye-to-eye with a sphinx made out of black granite. The face of the sphinx is believed to represent Ptolemy XII, father of the famous Cleopatra VII.
Majestic lion statue
Ceramic bowl that dates from the 1st century BC – 1st century AD. Its shape suggests that it may have been used for divination rituals.
Sunken Cities – Egypt’s lost worlds
19 May – 27 November 2016, British Museum
More Franck Goddio finds
Porcelain dishes in blue and white appear after the sediment has been removed from the wreck of the Lena Shoal junk.
Rediscovering Shi Cheng, a Chinese Lion City which was flooded half a century ago
Although it’s considered one of the top art centers of the Western world, Santa Fe has its drawbacks. Like the lack of sidewalks on much of well-known Canyon Road, home to more than 100 galleries. I thought about this when a Pepsi truck driver honked and sternly yelled “Watch out, lady” as I sidestepped a muddy puddle on the cobblestone street.
Lucio Lopez-Rey
JCompton Gallery
LAPADA Art & Antiques Association
Click the link below for the 2016 calendar of 20 Art and Antique events
A monographic museum, the Musée Rodin contains the largest collection of the sculptor’s works at two sites, in Paris, at the Hôtel Biron, and in Meudon, site of his former home, atelier, and reserve collection. Created in 1916, thanks to Auguste Rodin’s donation of his works and his collections to the French State, it opened in 1919.
Arte y restauracion, feria de antigüedades y coleccionismo Feriarte. Este evento supone el centro del mercado de las artes antiguas, decorativas y la pintura – Feriarte Colecciona
The coastal town of Napier, New Zealand, is in the throes of its annual Tremains Art Deco Weekend, “celebrating the hope and optimism of the ’20s and ’30s.” The Art Deco design style ushered in a modern era of experimentation-all sharp angles and geometric precision, ornate embellishments and golden accents-that left many beautiful landmarks around the world, most notably in cities like New York, Chicago, and Miami.
Keramisto biedt al meer dan 25 jaar een schitterend aanbod aan keramiek in al zijn verschijningsvormen. Kortom, een manifestatie met internationale allure!
Looking at great art needn’t cost the same as buying great art. With a shed-load of free art exhibitions in London, wandering through sculptures, being blinded by neon or admiring some of the best photography in London needn’t cost a penny. Here’s our pick of the best free art exhibitions this week and beyond.
Art nouveau was the curvilinear, nature-inspired style that dominated everything from jewellery to architecture at the start of the 20th century. As it spread throughout Europe and across the Atlantic it followed two main strands: the curvy, whiplash decoration that flowed out of Paris-Brussels and the more linear, geometric style seen in Vienna and Glasgow.
Every summer the city creates “fake” beaches with huge plots of sand around the Seine and the Bassin de la Villette. Dubbed “Paris Plages”, this year it begins on 20 July and is open every day, free of charge, from 9am to midnight.
Centre Georges Pompidou The Pompidou was groundbreaking when it opened in 1977, both for Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers’s colourful, hi-tech architecture and its multidisciplinary approach and I still find it one of the city’s most exciting buildings.
is expensive, there’s no getting away from that. However, there are ways to avoid becoming the latest victim of some of its dearest establishments – like the poor British family that this week felt compelled to write to the mayor after being charged €526 (£463) for lunch near St Mark’s Square.
Gothic relief in Venice, sculpted around 1430, showing Madonna and Child sided by Mark the Evangelist and John the Baptist, Campo San Zaccaria
The Louvre’s collection covers Western art from the medieval period to 1848, formative works from the civilisations of the ancient world, and works of Islamic art. See the collections with the link.
Nymph and Triton surrounded by two geniuses – Jean Goujon
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If you want to avoid the queues then try using the entrance at the Porte des Lions just east of the Pont Royal; at number 99 the Rue du Rivoli; at the Arc du Carousel or directly from the Metro station Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre (platform on line 1).
You can escape the queues completely by purchasing your ticket in advance at FNAC or other department stores
It doesn’t look that flash: if anything, it resembles a large black crayon. Not what you would imagine a magic wand to look like. Nonetheless, that is precisely what visitors to Manhattan’s Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum are getting when they are issued with a Pen. The Pen is a go-anywhere, do-anything tool for visitors.
One of our favorite things to do on a trip is to visit a top-notch museum, whether we see a blockbuster exhibit by an internationally known artist or we stumble upon a little-known institution with an exciting collection.
A line of yellow penguins and a group of giant, faceless crawling babies marks the site of Museum Kampa, a modern art gallery on Prague’s leafy Kampa Island. The giant babies – by Czech sculptor David Černý – and the surreal penguins,which glow brightly at night, are a popular photo opportunity.
1571 reviews The Place des Vosges, formerly called Place Royale, was the prototype for all residential squares in Europe. All houses were built using the same design: red brick with steep pitched blue slate roofs. Not only is it shaped like a true square, it is the first city square that was planned by a monarch (Henry IV in the early 17th century).
City of love, fashion capital, literary paradise… Paris has many different guises. And while museum entry can be steep and fine dining comes at a premium, the French capital can also be a cheap date.
These are two of the most under-appreciated art cities in Italy and Martin Randall combines them into a fascinating tour. Down on the coast, Ravenna is home to some of the greatest buildings of late antiquity with among the finest surviving Byzantine mosaics.
There are good reasons why the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower are respectively the most visited museum and monument in the world. However, we thought we’d go slightly off the beaten tracks and reveal some of Parisians’ favourite cultural hotspots.
1 SEE THE GRAND CANAL It’s likely the almost four-kilometre Grand Canal, Venice’s monumental palazzo-lined watery main street, will be a prominent feature of your visit. Even when viewed from a crowded vaporetto, or waterbus (see below), the Grand Canal is magnificent, but it’s best experienced by boat late at night when it’s at its most serene and blissfully free of the water traffic that dominates it by day.
Mid Century ceramic vessel – San Polo, Venice
San Giorgio Maggiore Church, Venice
The Baroque church rises on homonymous island; visible from San Marco Square
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
Federation Square, Melbourne
The home of Australian art, presenting Indigenous and non-Indigenous art from the colonial period to the present day.
General entry is free
Open 10am–5pm
In August 1968 when the National Gallery of Victoria in St Kilda Road was opened, reviews were mixed. From the public perspective, the building, designed by the Melbourne architect Roy Grounds, was an overwhelmingly popular success. From the art and architectural professions, there was hot debate, largely over the way the building looked, and how the art inside it was displayed.
Earthenware pot with four handles,with applied sculptural elements, possibly Igbo people
Nigeria ca. 1900-24
African art motives
In many parts of Africa there is still a vital interaction that occurs between the people, their pottery and arts, and the spirit world. Originally, all across Africa, their ceremonial art had a purpose – attracting blessings for good harvests, bringing fertility, warding off disease along with natural calamities and evil spirits and lso helping make social decisions and reaching judgments. The finished products were usually subjected to a ritualistic process to raise its presence and power. Their creative instincts are still a force in producing works that reinforce spiritual concepts ranging from the liturgical art of Ethiopia to representations of the Dogon creation myths and countless other deities of worship like goddess icons of Mama Wati. Some of the most spectacular pieces are produced specifically to be presented on their shrines. While changes in religious beliefs and practices has led to the abandonment of some art and pottery forms and traditions, in other places the ritual significance of pots and art objects still endures. These pieces were formerly placed on altars with each vessel having a very specific symbolic meaning and upholding a cohesive framework for their social and spiritual beliefs. With the unveiling of more ancient pots and artifacts through archaeology and deeper interaction in Africa, the social and mystical meanings of individual pieces are being discovered. This has been aided by gleaning knowledge about the women and men who created them and the social, economic, and spiritual contexts from which they were conceived, created, and used.
African Ligbi culture mask
The African sculptural human forms aren’t always proportional and can exaggerate specific bodily characteristics to emphasize or draw attention to a particular aspect. The heads are quite often larger than the body with wide lips and geometrically simplified shapes and abstract figural forms being common. The 15th century Benin statues were graceful with tall and slender proportions and they liked to make bronze figures of their kings ( Onis) which were much more naturalistic in style.
Silvia Forni’s work with potters in several communities in Cameroon led her to the conclusion that from birth to death and beyond, pots are important agents in their social life. Lisa Aronson’s research into Vodun arts in Ghana revealed that the methods employed for building their everyday and ritual (Vodun) pots, can be understood as a visualization of the spiritual world, especially when seen in concert with the iconographic embellishment of the vessels. The Shona artists of Zimbabwe believe their art comes from deep within and that they are connected to a Pan African cosmology. Other African artists usually share a similar trait, their works reflecting a freedom and spontaneity typical of artistry rich in spirit.
Increased access to modern conveniences and utilitarian products have changed the demand for pottery in some African locations while other places are still thriving. Nigeria and west-central Cameroon are still pottery-rich areas while the modern Yoruba are prolific potters with origins that reach back to exquisite vessels and sculptures from their ancient past. They are still producing a diverse array of vessels that includes water containers, storage pots, ritual vessels and decorative arts. It is not uncommon to witness pottery and art objects being created with the exact techniques that have been employed for centuries. ( see here ).
Michael Cardew gave an excellent account of an African artist at work with his impressions of Lady Kwali manipulating clay:
“To watch Ladi Kwali building her pots by hand is an enlightening experience, quite as stimulating as one’s first sight of a good thrower at work. You realize with surprise that it is not necessary to have a potter’s wheel in order to achieve pots which have the appearance of perfect symmetry. One also experiences … the exhilaration of watching a craftsman who seems to be doing the impossible and to be always on the brink of disaster, yet is entirely unafraid, and entirely confident with the confidence that comes from a lifetime of devotion to the craft. Crowning all this, her personal charm radiates all her art and everything she does and seems to be the epitome of the deep-seated culture of Africa.”
A bronze figural weight used for weighing gold dust used as a currency in the Baule region
‘Dan Tribe’, Ivory Coast, National Geographic, July 1982, Michael and Aubine Kirtley
Baule Mblo mask from Cote D’Ivoire, Africa
Ethiopian Omo Valley face art
columbusmagazine.nl
African Mask from the Dan people of Ivory Coast or Liberia
Wood, fiber, metal ca. prior to 1976
Water Vessel from Chad, Africa
20th century
‘Old Time Friend’ – Simon Muriithi
Kenya Arts Diary
Carved wood ancestral sculpture
Tikar, Cameroon
Djenne equestrian figure, Mali
c. 13th-16th century (terracotta)
An African Mask from the Tikar tribe of Cameroon-17inches-high
Carbonised and burnished coil built terracotta pot – Magdalena Odundo
Geometrical decorated sgraffito vessel – Nupe people, Africa
Mohammed Ahmed Abdalla
Early in his career Abdalla drew from his knowledge of ancient Sudanese practices as well as his training in England to design utilitarian pots with delicate glazes. His later forms, with which this example belongs, are the result of bold experiments with new slips and surface treatments. This porcelaneous stoneware form was coiled, smoothed and coated with a series of glazes when it was leather hard. After the glazes dried, the pot was fired in an electric kiln. To produce the reptilian surface it was then dipped in a magnesium slip and fired again.
Smithsonian National Museum of African Art
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Image from The End of eating Everything : animated video by Wangechi Mutu – 2013
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