The Cleveland Museum of Art celebrates emerging artists with CIA Students: Cleveland, 2009

CLEVELAND (November 19, 2009) –The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) celebrates The Cleveland Institute of Art exhibition CIA Students: Cleveland, 2009. The CIA student exhibition, featuring 10 pieces created just for this occasion by 21 students, is inspired by Paul Gauguin and other anti-establishment artists at Monsieur Volpini’s Café des Arts in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in 1889.  Just as Gauguin showed the world a glimpse of the emerging artists of his day, the CIA café exhibition at the museum offers a look at today’s young talent.

CIA Students: Cleveland, 2009 is on view in the CMA café November 13 through January 24, 2010 and is free to the public.  Call 1-888-CMA-0033 for more information.

 

Paul Gauguin:  Paris, 1889

Featuring more than 75 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by Paul Gauguin and his contemporaries, Paul Gauguin:  Paris, 1889, is the first exhibition to focus on 1889 as a critical juncture in Gauguin’s artistic development.  Paul Gauguin:  Paris, 1889 is on view at The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) from October 4, 2009 – January 18, 2010.

Excluded from the exhibition of academic paintings at the Grand Palais, Gauguin presented his work and works by his contemporaries in Monsieur Volpini’s Café des Arts, located on the grounds of the Exposition Universelle.  The exhibition in Café Volpini, L’Exposition de peintures du groupe impressionniste et synthétiste is recognized as the first Symbolist exhibition in Paris.  Paul Gauguin:  Paris, 1889 recreates the 1889 avant-garde exhibition at Volpini’s café, showing paintings Gauguin exhibited as well as works exhibited by Louis Anquetin, Émile Bernard, Charles Laval and Émile Schuffenecker.  This exhibition will be the first reinstallation of works from the Volpini exhibition, and will include many works that have not hung side-by-side since 1889.

 

The Cleveland Institute of Art

Founded in 1882, The Cleveland Institute of Art is an independent college of art and design committed to leadership and vision in all forms of visual arts education. The Cleveland Institute of Art is located at 11141 East Boulevard in Cleveland, Ohio. For more information visit www.cia.edu or call 216-421-7000.

 

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes over 40,000 objects and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. Currently undergoing a multi-phase renovation and expansion project, it is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, performing arts, and art education. Admission to the museum has been free since its founding charter.  The museum is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.  Additional support comes from the Ohio Arts Council, which helps fund the museum with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.  For more information on the museum, its holdings, programs, and events, call 1-888-CMA-0033 or visit www.ClevelandArt.org.

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Alice Neel’s Jackie Curtis and Rita Red Acquired by The Cleveland Museum of Art

CLEVELAND (November 11, 2009) – The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) today announced the acquisition of Jackie Curtis and Rita Red (oil on canvas, 1970) by Alice Neel (American, 1900-1984).  Purchased from the collection of Mary Schiller Myers and Louis S. Myers at Sotheby’s in New York on November 11, Jackie Curtis and Rita Red is widely recognized as a superb example of Neel’s work during the most fertile years of her career as well as one of her most moving pieces. CMA temporarily borrowed Jackie Curtis and Rita Red from the Myers for the inaugural opening of the East Wing this past summer in order to more fully represent the work of Neel and women artists of the 20^th century among the museum’s contemporary collection.

“I am sure many will be eager to see Jackie Curtis and Rita Red return to the newly opened East Wing galleries,” said Deborah Gribbon, interim director of CMA.  “This purchase underscores the CMA’s focus on the continued development of our collection, always considered as one of the finest in this country, and specifically our dedication to acquiring the art of our time.”

Neel was a pioneering woman artist and one of the great portrait painters of the 20^th century. Neel’s work conveys a distinguished personal vision, which she forged in the crucible of the social experiences and cultural avant-garde of New York City.  Throughout the years during which Modernism and art-for-art’s sake dominated debates about art, she championed an approach to painting that was rooted in human relationships. Neel’s work was fueled by her desire to draw attention to the lives of those whose contribution to society she viewed as unrecognized.  Neel’s work has had a pervasive influence on artists of successive generations, including Chuck Close and Keith Mayerson.
This painting offers a significant parallel to the museum’s painting Marilyn x 100 by Andy Warhol, resonates strongly with earlier figurative works and portraiture represented in the collection, and further strengthens the museum’s representation of work by women artists. 

About the Cleveland Museum of Art

Founded in 1913, the Cleveland Museum of Art is one of the world’s most distinguished comprehensive art museums. Renowned for the scope and quality of its collection, which numbers nearly 45,000 objects and represents 6,000 years of achievement in the arts, the CMA annually acquires more than 300 works of art for its permanent collection. Through innovative programs and events centered on its collection, the museum brings the pleasure and meaning of art to the broadest possible audience. Currently undergoing a multi-phase renovation and expansion project, the CMA is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, performing arts, and art education. General admission to the museum is free for all visitors.

The Cleveland Museum of Art has a membership of nearly 25,000 households and is supported by a broad range of individuals, foundations, and businesses in Cleveland and northeastern Ohio. The museum is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Additional support comes from the Ohio Arts Council, which helps fund the museum with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.  For more information on the museum, its holdings, programs, and events, call 1-888-CMA-0033 or visit www.clevelandart.org.

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The museum closes at 9 p.m. on Fridays … or does it?

Performance art, an electro-squiggle band, and student art are just a few of the things you’ll be able to find this Friday at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s special After Hours party.  We’re keeping the museum open extra late from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. and we’re inviting you to stop by and help us keep the party going all night.

To keep you entertained we’ve invited some very unique performers.  At 9:30 p.m. New York based composer and artist Marina Rosenfeld will be showcasing her performance art creation the Sheer Frost Orchestra.  This one-of-a-kind musical group is executed by 17 mostly female performers who play floor-bound guitars with nail polish bottles.  Curiouser and curiouser.  The performance should be good considering Rosenfeld’s list of credentials.  Her large scale works have been displayed at Deitch Projects in New York, the Tate Modern in London, Wien Modern in Vienna and the Taktlos in Bern.  She is also a featured artist at PEFRORMA 09 , the third biennial of new visual art performance, in NYC this November.  Click here for a YouTube preview.

Just when you think it won’t get any stranger that’s when the San Francisco based electro-squiggle duo Eats Tapes (Marijke Jorritsma and Gregory Zifcak) takes the stage.  They perform at 11:30 p.m. just outside the Gauguin exhibition.  Eats Tapes uses hardware sequencers, synths, modified drum machines, cassette players and a midi Nintendo to achieve a psychedelic, art rock sound that is guaranteed to make you want to get up and dance.

Meanwhile, we’re also displaying a very special art exhibition that opens during the party.  The Cleveland Institute of Art’s CIA Students: Cleveland, 2009 exhibition is inspired by Gauguin’s independent exhibition at Monsieur Volpini’s Café des Arts.  The CIA students will be emulating Gauguin and his contemporaries by setting up a small exhibition of 10 works inside the CMA café.  Just like in Gauguin in 1889, the students will be giving you a glimpse of what is new and upcoming in today’s art world.

Admission to the party is $10 and that gets you into the Gauguin exhibition all night, access to a cash bar and refreshments, plus you are guaranteed to see performances like you’ve never seen before.  For more information and to get your tickets in advance click here.

Thanks for all who participated in the contest on Nov. 10.  Congrats Mel!

We ope to see all of you there!

We have a winner!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our contest and congratulations to Blaire Bomber for winning the drawing!  She correctly answered that the first painting is the fake and the second is the real Vermeer.  For answering correctly and winning the drawing Blaire will be receiving a copy of Jonathan Lopez’s book The Man Who Made Vermeers. 

So now you can see how easy it was for van Meegeren to fool everyone with his fake Vermeers.  If you want to learn more about his crafty ways stop by the museum tomorrow night at 7 p.m.  Lopez will be there to lecture about van Meegeren, answer questions and autograph copies of his book. 

See you all there!

The Man Who Made Vermeers

You’ve heard of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and Balloon Boy, but have you ever heard of Han van Meegeren, the man who forged Vermeer paintings and fooled the Nazis? 

Van Meegeren, a.k.a. the Art Liar, was a master of art forgery, but like any liar he was eventually caught.  During WWII, van Meegeren thought he was a pretty smooth criminal when he began creating Vermeer paintings and passing them off as new discoveries in Vermeer’s artistic career.  He fooled art experts, critics, museums and even Hitler’s number 2 man, Hermann Goring, who bought one of van Meegeren’s creations for a whopping 1.6 million Dutch guilders ($1,064,243 in U.S. dollars) making it one of the most expensive paintings ever sold.  It was this sale that eventually landed van Meegeren behind bars. 

If you want to hear more about the rise and fall of one of the greatest hoaxers of all time then stop by the CMA on Wednesday, November 11 at 7 p.m. for a book signing and lecture with Jonathan Lopez, author of The Man Who Made Vermeers.  The lecture is sponsored by the Painting and Drawing Society of the Cleveland Museum of Art.  Admission to the lecture is $15, $10 for students.

It took Lopez three years and trips to five nations before he gathered enough research to uncover the truth behind van Meegeren and, believe me, he found out some very interesting facts.  For instance, van Meegeren discovered what art and pizza ovens have in common.  To achieve an aged look, van Meegeren learned that if he mixed the paint with small amounts of plastic and formaldehyde then dried the painting out in a pizza oven he could make a new painting appear to be 300 years old.  Pretty crafty.

Can you spot the real versus the fake?  One work is by Vermeer and one was created by van Meegeren and passed off as a Vermeer.  If you think you know which is the fake leave a comment and we’ll put you in a drawing for a free copy of Lopez’s book.

 

Painting #1

Painting #2

For more information about Jonathan Lopez and his book click here.

For more information about Lopez’s lecture at the CMA click here.

The Green Pour

If you couldn’t make it to our first TGIF event or really enjoyed the first one then we have some good news for you.  This Friday we’re having another happy hour at the museum and this time we’ll be offering something a little unusual.  Instead of wine, we’ll be serving absinthe, the other iconic French drink.  We’ll be staging our own l’heure verte (the green hour) from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m., just as Gauguin would have.

For those who have never tried absinthe before, it is very unique experience.  Why else would it be nicknamed the Green Fairy?  To begin with, the drink is served in a very unusual way.  The liquor is first poured into a glass and then a slotted spoon is balanced on top.  A sugar cube is placed on the spoon and then water is poured onto the sugar until it dissolves and the drink becomes a milky green color.  This is definitely not your typical cocktail.  If you’d like to read more about absinthe click here.

 Admission to the event is $15, $10 CMA members and includes a cash bar, snacks, an encounter with the Green Fairy, live music and a ticket to Gauguin: Paris, 1889.

See you there!

Great Success!

Thanks to everyone who came out on Friday and helped to make our first TGIF such a success! We hope you had as much fun as we did. If you didn’t make it, you missed quite the party. Wine was flowing freely and everyone had a blast mingling amid the music. If Gauguin could have been there he would definitely have said c’est magnifique! To say the least, everyone enjoyed the fine French wines, the delectable h’ordeuvres and all the amazing art in the Gauguin exhibition. Who wouldn’t have fun with that?

So, if you missed out last week don’t be sad. We’re doing this three more times! This Friday we’re going to be serving absinthe, the Friday after that we are going to celebrate with champagne and then on November 13 there is going to be a special after hours party that will include live music and performance art. www.cma.org/TGIF or www.cma.org/afterhours for more details!

Vinology

Today most people use Friday as an excuse to hit the town and unwind with a few drinks.  Hey, you worked hard all week, you deserve it!  Gauguin, on the other hand never needed such an excuse.  He drank no matter what day of the week it was.  So, in celebration of Gauguin’s free-spirited nautre we’re having happy hour at the museum.  Make Gauguin your new drinking buddy and indulge in some of his favorite beverages. 

This Friday, TGIF is going to be all about French wine.  We’ll be featuring some very fine selections,  so don’t forget your sophisticated palate at home.  This will be a great opportunity for any wine-lover, beginner or expert.  You’ll get the chance to try wines from all the most notable regions in France including Bordeaux and Burgundy.  The bar will also have a selection of beer and other types of wine.

Entrance to the event will be $15 for non-members, $10 for members and this will include a ticket to the Gauguin: Paris, 1889 exhibition, snacks, music and cash bar.  For more details and to make reservations click here.

À la vôtre!

Art on the Runway

Fashion designers are descending on Cleveland this Sunday for the 6^th Annual Wearable Art Fashion Show and Boutique hosted by the Textile Art Alliance of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Designers have been hard at work making one-of-a-kind garments and now they are getting the chance to show off their unique pieces.  Models will strut their stuff down the runway as radio and TV personality Ann Elder provides insightful commentary about the pieces.  The fashion show will also include lunch and musical accompaniment by Neil Kammiller .  Best of all, after the show you can buy anything you see on the runway.  So, if you’re looking for a unique holiday gift or you are into fashion you won’t want to miss this event.

The event is located at the LaMalfa Conference Center in the Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites on 5783 Heisley Road in Mentor.  Click here for directions [http://www.taacleveland.org/pdf/map.pdf].

The fashion show begins at 1 p.m. followed by shopping from 3 to 5 p.m.  If you just want to do some afternoon shopping tickets are $5.   For additional information about the wearable fashion show visit www.taacleveland.org.

We hope to see you there!

La Fée Verte (The Green Fairy)

“The first stage is like ordinary drinking, the second when you begin to see monstrous and cruel things, but if you can persevere you will enter in upon the third stage where you see things that you want to see, wonderful curious things.” – Oscar Wilde on drinking absinthe

The Green Muse, El Diablo Verde, the Green Curse of France, whatever you call it absinthe is a force to be reckoned with.  This highly alcoholic liquor made of distilled herbs most notably wormwood, green anise, and fennel tastes like black licorice and looks like Scope. 

Absinthe enjoyed widespread popularity during France’s Bell Epoque, or Beautiful Era.  This was a time when bohemian lifestyle was glamorous and art was becoming more adventurous.  Perhaps the absinthe’s effects played a

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901). Monsieur Boileau at the Café, 1893.

part in this revitalization in France’s Social history, perhaps it didn’t.  What we do know is no artist or writer during this time went unaffected by the Green Fairy.  Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Allan Poe, Pablo Picasso, and Charles Baudelaire to name a few were enthusiastic absinthe indulgers.  In fact, absinthe was so popular that many bars, cabarets, and cafes in France began referring to the 5 o’clock hour as l’heure verte (the green hour).  But all good things must come to an end, and by 1915 it was banned in the U.S. and many European countries, including France.  The government took it off the market because it was thought the wormwood in absinthe caused people to become insane.  We now know that to be a myth, and absinthe is on the comeback.

To celebrate our latest exhibition,  Gauguin: Paris, 1889, we are offering our own l’heure verte at the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 30 from 5:30 to 9 p.m.  Gauguin loved to drink absinthe so we thought it was fitting to offer some to our visitors and say TGIF (Thank Gauguin It’s Friday).  Entrance to the event will be $15 for non-members, $10 for members and will include a ticket to the exhibition, snacks, music and a cash bar featuring signature beverages as well as wine and beer

We’ll be preparing absinthe in the traditional way.  The first step is to pour the absinthe into a glass; you then place a slotted spoon on top followed by a sugar cube and then finally pour water over the sugar until the absinthe achieves a milky green color.  The final step is to enjoy the liquor slowly and try not to let the Green Fairy carry you away.

We hope to see you there, but if you can’t make it (or don’t like absinthe) we’re having two more TGIF events.  On October 23 there will be a French wine and on November 6 a champagne.

Go here for more information about our TGIF events.  For more information about absinthe from the New York Times go here and here.