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26 Nov 2009
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Centre d‘Art de Geneva Presents “Utopia And The Everyday”
26 Nov 2009
The Centre d'Art Contemporain opens the exhibition “Utopia and the Everyday. Between Art and Education.”
This project aims at presenting art practices that straddle both art and education, which have always been strongly tied. Utopia and the Everyday proposes to invite artists and collectives whose practices include strategies borrowed from teaching methods, using the cultural institution as a space for critical thought and discussion about education, and provide a prospective environment to tackle social and political issues.
The exhibition Utopia and the Everyday invites us to consider the field of contemporary art as a free space to experiment with new learning methods, to see the relationship between the teacher and the taught in a different light, or to tackle issues that learning institutions do not usually address.
Utopia and the Everyday revolves around three collaborations between international artists and local players: the students at Deutsche Schule Genf (the German School of Geneva), the Haute Ecole Pédagogique de Lausanne in relationship with CIRA (Centre International de Recherches sur l'Anarchisme), and a collaboration involving people and associations from Le Lignon (Geneva). Together they will produce new works, designed for the Centre's display spaces. The exhibition is based on democratic and creative processes that involve each participant according to a horizontality principle.
The invited artists and collectives, Nils Norman (UK), in collaboration with Tilo Steireif (CH), Oscar Tuazon and Damon Rich (founder of Center of Urban Pedagogy, USA), and trafo.K in collaboration with architect Gabu Heindl (Austria) all carry out artistic practices that are based on exchanging experience and expertise.
A documentary section also presents other pioneering projects in this field from the 1950s until today, allowing to expand the social, cultural, political, and environmental issues related to the project. Utopia and the Everyday will be the subject of a catalogue, a gazette, and a series of public events. A new version of this project will also be presented at the Kunstmuseum Thun in 2010.
This project aims at presenting art practices that straddle both art and education, which have always been strongly tied. Utopia and the Everyday proposes to invite artists and collectives whose practices include strategies borrowed from teaching methods, using the cultural institution as a space for critical thought and discussion about education, and provide a prospective environment to tackle social and political issues.
The exhibition Utopia and the Everyday invites us to consider the field of contemporary art as a free space to experiment with new learning methods, to see the relationship between the teacher and the taught in a different light, or to tackle issues that learning institutions do not usually address.
Utopia and the Everyday revolves around three collaborations between international artists and local players: the students at Deutsche Schule Genf (the German School of Geneva), the Haute Ecole Pédagogique de Lausanne in relationship with CIRA (Centre International de Recherches sur l'Anarchisme), and a collaboration involving people and associations from Le Lignon (Geneva). Together they will produce new works, designed for the Centre's display spaces. The exhibition is based on democratic and creative processes that involve each participant according to a horizontality principle.
The invited artists and collectives, Nils Norman (UK), in collaboration with Tilo Steireif (CH), Oscar Tuazon and Damon Rich (founder of Center of Urban Pedagogy, USA), and trafo.K in collaboration with architect Gabu Heindl (Austria) all carry out artistic practices that are based on exchanging experience and expertise.
A documentary section also presents other pioneering projects in this field from the 1950s until today, allowing to expand the social, cultural, political, and environmental issues related to the project. Utopia and the Everyday will be the subject of a catalogue, a gazette, and a series of public events. A new version of this project will also be presented at the Kunstmuseum Thun in 2010.
York Art Gallery Purchases William Etty Portrait
26 Nov 2009
One of the finest portraits ever painted by York ’s most famous artist has been purchased by York Art Gallery.
William Etty’s ambitious “Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball” was commissioned in 1833 by MP Charles Watkin Williams–Wynn and depicts two of the patron’s five daughters. It is one of only a handful of society portraits painted by the artist.
The acquisition was made possible thanks to the generosity of Friends of York Art Gallery - which gave £44,000, independent charity The Art Fund - which provided £40,000, the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund which gave £35,000, and £1,000 from the Tomasso Brothers. The painting will go on show in the gallery in the next few weeks.
“Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball” was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1835, and depicts Charlotte and Mary Williams-Wynn, the daughters of the Hon. Charles Watkins Williams-Wynn MP. Charlotte, the eldest daughter, is shown helping to decorate her younger sister’s hair with a ribbon and a rose. The theme of the work reflects the popularity such events had acquired in the period. Indeed, in September 1835 York hosted one of the biggest fancy dress balls the country had ever seen, when Princess Victoria, soon to be Queen Victoria , visited the city with her mother. The ball was held at York ’s Assembly Rooms and newspaper reviews of the period vividly describe the ‘wonderful variety’ of costumes on display, which included a mixture of the ‘fanciful’, the ‘outlandish’, and the ‘ridiculous’. The choice of dress in the painting responds to Etty’s passion for Italy, and particularly Venice, which he had visited in 1822.
Andrew Macdonald, Acting Director of The Art Fund said, “This striking painting with its warm tones and lively subject matter will be instantly attractive to visitors at York Art Gallery . Etty’s York roots make the acquisition doubly significant and The Art Fund is pleased to be helping to bring the work home.”
Laura Turner, curator of art at York Art Gallery said, “This is a remarkable painting and we are delighted that it will now be enjoyed here in the artist’s home city. It is a captivating work of art and shows another side to Etty and the variety of commissions he undertook. We could not have purchased this work without the fantastic support of the funders who saw the importance of this work coming to York . We would especially like to thank the Friends of York Art Gallery who have donated their biggest ever grant.”
Born in York in 1787, William Etty spent several years as an apprentice to the printer Thomas Peck at the Hull Packet before entering the Royal Academy schools in London in 1806. During the 1820s Etty made several trips abroad, visiting France , Italy and the Low Countries . He completed the the Grand Tour in 1824, spending several months in Venice . Encounters with the Venetian masters helped shape his distinctive painting style, characterised by a rich colour palette.
Etty is nowadays best known for his nude paintings. Yet throughout his career he continued to paint portraits, often of his friends and associates and later in life he began to paint landscapes and still lives. Etty retained close links with his home city of York , campaigning for a new school of design and fighting to save the historic buildings and city walls. In 1911 a statue of Etty was erected in Exhibition Square , in front of York art gallery and the artist is still one of York ’s most famous sons.
Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball is a significant addition to the gallery’s Etty collection, the largest public holding of his works in Britain . Part of this collection, together with loans from across the country will feature in the gallery’s exhibition on the artist in summer 2011.
William Etty’s ambitious “Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball” was commissioned in 1833 by MP Charles Watkin Williams–Wynn and depicts two of the patron’s five daughters. It is one of only a handful of society portraits painted by the artist.
The acquisition was made possible thanks to the generosity of Friends of York Art Gallery - which gave £44,000, independent charity The Art Fund - which provided £40,000, the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund which gave £35,000, and £1,000 from the Tomasso Brothers. The painting will go on show in the gallery in the next few weeks.
“Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball” was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1835, and depicts Charlotte and Mary Williams-Wynn, the daughters of the Hon. Charles Watkins Williams-Wynn MP. Charlotte, the eldest daughter, is shown helping to decorate her younger sister’s hair with a ribbon and a rose. The theme of the work reflects the popularity such events had acquired in the period. Indeed, in September 1835 York hosted one of the biggest fancy dress balls the country had ever seen, when Princess Victoria, soon to be Queen Victoria , visited the city with her mother. The ball was held at York ’s Assembly Rooms and newspaper reviews of the period vividly describe the ‘wonderful variety’ of costumes on display, which included a mixture of the ‘fanciful’, the ‘outlandish’, and the ‘ridiculous’. The choice of dress in the painting responds to Etty’s passion for Italy, and particularly Venice, which he had visited in 1822.
Andrew Macdonald, Acting Director of The Art Fund said, “This striking painting with its warm tones and lively subject matter will be instantly attractive to visitors at York Art Gallery . Etty’s York roots make the acquisition doubly significant and The Art Fund is pleased to be helping to bring the work home.”
Laura Turner, curator of art at York Art Gallery said, “This is a remarkable painting and we are delighted that it will now be enjoyed here in the artist’s home city. It is a captivating work of art and shows another side to Etty and the variety of commissions he undertook. We could not have purchased this work without the fantastic support of the funders who saw the importance of this work coming to York . We would especially like to thank the Friends of York Art Gallery who have donated their biggest ever grant.”
Born in York in 1787, William Etty spent several years as an apprentice to the printer Thomas Peck at the Hull Packet before entering the Royal Academy schools in London in 1806. During the 1820s Etty made several trips abroad, visiting France , Italy and the Low Countries . He completed the the Grand Tour in 1824, spending several months in Venice . Encounters with the Venetian masters helped shape his distinctive painting style, characterised by a rich colour palette.
Etty is nowadays best known for his nude paintings. Yet throughout his career he continued to paint portraits, often of his friends and associates and later in life he began to paint landscapes and still lives. Etty retained close links with his home city of York , campaigning for a new school of design and fighting to save the historic buildings and city walls. In 1911 a statue of Etty was erected in Exhibition Square , in front of York art gallery and the artist is still one of York ’s most famous sons.
Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball is a significant addition to the gallery’s Etty collection, the largest public holding of his works in Britain . Part of this collection, together with loans from across the country will feature in the gallery’s exhibition on the artist in summer 2011.