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Mary Cassatt at Work at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
From October 5, 2024 to January 26, 2025, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco will present “Mary Cassatt at Work”, a major loan exhibition focused on the great woman Impressionist.
Source: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco · Image: Mary Cassatt, Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, 1877–1878. Oil on canvas, 35 1/4 x 51 in. (89.5 x 129.5 cm). National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1983.1.18
The exhibition presents Mary Cassatt (1844–1926) as a fiercely professional artist and an aesthetically radical painter, pastelist, and printmaker who helped shape the French Impressionist movement and transformed the course of modern art. Cassatt produced images of “women’s work”—knitting and needlepoint, bathing children, nursing infants—that also testify to the work of the woman who made them: the marks of her brush, etching needle, pastel stick, and even fingertips. Juxtaposing paintings, pastels, and prints, Mary Cassatt at Work will explore the artist’s activity across media, revealing the daring, iterative methods she used to give form to her ideas. In addition to 120 objects on loan from institutions including the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the exhibition will present a group of distinguished works–including Cassatt’s magisterial oil portrait of her mother plus two recently acquired pastels–from the Fine Arts Museums’ collection. The first North American retrospective of Cassatt’s work in 25 years, this exhibition’s sole West Coast venue will be the Legion of Honor.
“Mary Cassatt at Work disrupts any preconceived notion that Cassatt was a sentimental painter and sheds fresh light on her groundbreaking practice,” remarked Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “It is fitting that this exhibition, which celebrates Cassatt’s daring and modernity, will open our yearlong centennial celebration of the Legion of Honor. The Legion of Honor was cofounded in 1924 by another intrepid female pioneer, Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, who shared Cassatt’s deep attachment to French culture and bold vision for the future of art in America.”
Local dealers and advisors say the third edition of Atlanta Art Week and the inaugural Atlanta Art Fair are bringing attention to the city’s art scene at a critical time
Local dealers and advisors say the third edition of Atlanta Art Week and the inaugural Atlanta Art Fair are bringing attention to the city’s art scene at a critical time
The permanent sculptures by Chief 7IDANsuu James Hart and Wendat Nation artist Ludovic Boney were unveiled in Québec City’s Cap Diamant on Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
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By Svetlana Popova
Contemporary landscape photography is a vast and ever-evolving field, encompassing natural vistas, urban panoramas, underwater scenes, celestial phenomena, and much more. Photographers in this genre are free to convey a wide range of artistic messages, from environmental and socially critical themes to spiritual or deconstructionist perspectives.
The challenge today is not only to present technically flawless photographs but to pair them with sincere and meticulously developed conceptual or philosophical approaches. In this article, I will highlight two remarkable works by photographers who are shaping new trends, approaches, and visions in contemporary landscape photography.
“Piece of God” by Artem Skripnikov
Artem Skripnikov’s Piece of God presents a moody sky over a desolate expanse of water, pierced by light from a sun either rising or setting, revealing—or perhaps concealing—a brief glimpse of serene blue sky. This complex and paradoxical photograph, recently showcased at the Echoes of Fall Second Exhibition in New York’s Awita New York Studio gallery, encapsulates the core of Skripnikov’s creative philosophy.
His work often focuses on the tension between the natural world and human absence. Most of his photographs feature no human presence—no people, no buildings, no objects—leaving the elements and natural phenomena as the sole protagonists.
In contrast to this minimalist approach, Skripnikov often employs cultural and religious references in his titles and artist statements. His work thus affirms and denies the connection between the human world and the untouched natural world. In Piece of God, light may symbolize divine presence, but it is captured by an artist who deliberately omits all human influence from the scene.
Skripnikov assumes the role of a mediator between a world that exists independently of us and a world that constantly seeks to name, catalogue, and assign meaning to spaces untouched by human hands. This delicate and poignant concept draws viewers in with a disarming emotional depth.
“Blue Harbour” by Maria Yanovskaya
Maria Yanovskaya’s Blue Harbour takes a different approach, engaging directly with the human presence in natural landscapes. Her works often feature watercraft, unusual buildings, unexpected perspectives, and subtle plays of light and shadow. Despite the seemingly pastoral and calming aura of her imagery, Yanovskaya subverts viewer expectations through optical illusions and perspectives that challenge perception.
In Blue Harbour, numerous boats are photographed at such an angle that they appear both as debris polluting the water’s surface and as small toys left behind by children. This ambiguity in the depiction of human objects reflects Yanovskaya’s deeper artistic intent: to explore the multifaceted nature of human presence. Her photographs suggest that humanity’s trace is not singular but rather open to multiple interpretations.
This optimistic vision stands out in an era often characterized by themes of cruelty, depression, and despair. Through her work, Yanovskaya offers a more humanistic perspective, hinting at redemption and possibility for a world that has, in many ways, discredited itself. Her photographs speak to essential values, contributing to the rehumanization of the global aesthetic landscape.
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The post The Latest Trends in Contemporary Landscape Photography appeared first on World Art News.
BY ALBERT CHEN
At Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr’s Modern & Contemporary African and Middle Eastern Art sale in Paris on September 26, 2024, a striking abstract work by renowned Turkish artist Fahr El-Nissa Zeid sold for €152,800—more than three times its original estimate. The 1961 piece, Lever De Soleil, Ischia, was expected to fetch between €50,000 and €80,000 but surpassed expectations at an auction that totaled €488,000 across 74 lots.
Zeid, one of the first women to attend the Fine Arts Academy in Istanbul, later continued her studies in Paris under Roger Bissière at the Académie Ranson. Over her long career, she held numerous solo exhibitions in major cities such as London, Paris, New York, and throughout the Middle East. After the death of her husband, Prince Zeid bin Hussein of Iraq’s Hashemite royal family, she settled in Amman, where she continued to create groundbreaking work.
The auction notably spotlighted women artists from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with Noor Soussi, Head of the Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern Art department, emphasizing the importance of representation. “Women artists from MENA and Africa have been historically underrepresented in the art market, so we were pleased to feature works by notable figures such as Fahr El-Nissa Zeid, Zeinab Abd El Hamid, and Rabab Nemr,” Soussi said.
Julie Mathon, Junior Specialist in Modern and Contemporary African Art at Bonhams, also praised the collaboration with the Menart international art fair in Paris, which celebrated the contributions of female artists from the region. Mathon noted the strong results for works by artists like Ouattara Watts and Abdoulaye Diarrassouba Aboudia.
Other notable sales at the event included Ouattara Watts’ acrylic pigment and collage work Pythagor and Thot, which sold for €66,440. Louay Kayyali’s oil painting Portrait of a Man fetched €28,160, while Abdoulaye Diarrassouba Aboudia’s untitled mixed media canvas achieved €25,600. Farhad Moshiri’s Control Room, an embroidery on black velvet, was sold for €23,040. Additionally, Rabab Nemr’s 1987 untitled oil on panel garnered €19,200, and Zeinab Abd El Hamid’s 1998 mixed media piece Cityscape reached €12,160.
This sale not only highlighted the strength of the market for works by women artists from the MENA region but also underscored growing interest in both modern and contemporary African and Middle Eastern art.
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Story submitted by Bonhams. The World Art News (WAN) is not liable for the content of this publication. All statements and views expressed herein are opinions only. Act at your own risk. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. © The World Art News
The post Turkish Female Artist Fahr El-Nissa Zeid’s Painting Sells for €152,800, Three Times the Estimate appeared first on World Art News.
Our pick of the latest gifts and purchases to enter institutional collections worldwide