International Art News

Image © The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust

From June 7, 2012 to September 2, 2012 – Norton Museum of Art
Edward Gorey (1925-2000) is among the rare breed of artist whose work is as much beloved by children as it is by adults. His stories and illustrations carry an Edwardian sophistication while still able to impart the whimsy of an invented world that was all his own. The exhibition features more than 170 works by the master artist and author drawn from The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust. The exhibition includes selections from The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Unstrung Harp, The Doubtful Guest, The Gilded Bat and other well-known publications. Featured are original pen-and-ink illustrations, preparatory sketches, unpublished drawings, and ephemera.

Norton Museum

Clyfford Still 1949-A-No.1, 1949 Oil on canvas, 93 x 79 in. © Clyfford Still Estate

Until September 2, 2012 – Norton Museum
American Masters at the Norton:
Three exceptional canvases by Joan Mitchell and Clyfford Still, each a master of late twentieth century American painting,  will be on view at the Museum from March 22 through the Fall of  2012.  Still (1904 – 1980) is credited with laying the groundwork for the Abstract Expressionism movement, which is exemplified by a variety of styles from the pour paintings of Jackson Pollock to Mark Rothko’s fields of luminescent color. Until the opening of the Clyfford Still Museum last year, there were few public insitutions where his sublime, remarkable canvases could be seen. On view at the Museum are 1949-A-No.1 (1949) and PH-1033 (1976). Although younger than Still, Mitchell found her voice (as did many other artists of succeeding generations) within the style of gestural abstraction. While the very action of the manner of painting was powerful, Mitchell (and her peers) reinterpreted it, using paint directly from tubes, applying it with her hands and conceiving of compositions that worked from the center out, rather ethan over the entire surface of her canvas. These characteristics are seen in the untitled canvas by Mitchell (circa 1960) also on view.

Museum Hours

Debbie Mostel - Southwest by Sky - 2x4ft - Mixed media

Until December 31, 2011 – The Lighthouse Art Center – Tequesta
Technology Deconstructed/Nature Reconstructed
Tequesta, Fla-The Lighthouse Art Center’s 2nd annual Landscape Exhibition Show awarded ’s  SouthWest By Sky  as Best in Show.  The piece is an abstract mixed media expression from her collection “Technology Deconstructed/Nature Reconstructed”. It features among other surprises; integrated circuits, a vintage globe, Tiffany Glass,  all layered over a dramatic Southwest landscape. As an avid nature lover she asks: “From the oceans to the deserts, are we going to take care of these gifts? Technology makes our lives more exciting and interesting but we still need to use this legacy wisely. Stepping back can be as important as stepping forward.”

Formally trained as a Goldsmith & Glassblower with a BFA from California College of the Arts, Mostel had been in the jewelry design and manufacturing business from 1979-1994.  After some time off as a stay at home Mom, she got back to nature by changing careers and becoming a Landscape Designer. Now her fine art background has given rise to her newest creations.  This is a culmination of her voracious appetite for collecting the unusual, as well as her experience as an environmental activist.  Tin wind-up toys, mummified amphibians, vintage hood ornaments and optically perfect Pyrex glass are just a few of the elements she has to draw on.

Debie Mostel - Meet Me in Paradise - Mixed Media - 24" x 24" x 12"

Also the artwork of Debbie Lee Mostel  will be featured at the Mos’Art Gallery, in Lake Park, Florida thru January 2, 2012.   Mostel, has also been a guest artist at the Norton Museum’s “At After Dark” series.  Her abstract Mixed Media work features among other surprises; integrated circuits, vintage hood ornaments, mummified frogs, replogle globes and Tiffany glass…all layered over dramatic painted backgrounds.

More info

Portrait of the Imperial Guard Uksiltu / Keshiki Batu Luwuke Shier ( 伍 克 什 尔 图 wu ke shi er tu), the 29th of 100 portraits of Meritorious Officers participating in the East-Turkestan campaign (1755-1759) Ink on silk Qianglong seal, dated 1760 with honorific calligraphy in Manchu and Chinese by Liu Tong xun (1700-1773) Image 60 x 38 in Private collection

From October 22, 2011 to February 19, 2012 – Norton Museum of Art
The Emperors Orders: Designs from the Qianlong Imperial Workshop (1736 – 1796)
This exhibition features 10 objects in various media–painting, jade, ceramic, glass, and metalwork–all created for the greatest art collector in 18th century China, the Qianlong Emperor. Works from the Norton Museum’s own collection are featured and accompanied by important loans representing superlative examples of works produced in or from designs provided by the Imperial Palace Workshop. Being extremely inquisitive, this emperor invited many foreign artists to work at his court, including Mughal jade carvers, and Jesuit priest painters and glassmakers.

Norton Hours

Sword guard with a section of blade China, Western Han dynasty (202 BCE-9 CE),Jade, bronze, sword guard: 1 x 2 1/2 x 1 1/4 in (2.5 x 6.4 x 3.2 cm) blade: 4 5/16 x 1 1/4 x 1/4in (11 x 3.2 x .6cm), Gift of R.H. Norton, 50.6

July 23 to November 13, 2011 – Norton Museum of Art
About 2,600 years ago, one of the most influential books on military strategy, The Art of War (孫子兵法, Sunzi Bing Fa) was written.  The author was probably a general named SUN Wu (孫武, 544 – 512 BCE). He commanded 30,000 troops in the service of HE Lu (阖闾), ruler of the State of Wu (吴国, Wu Guo). He Lu, a member of the Ji (姬) family who founded the Zhou dynasty, bestowed the honorific title of “master” on Sun. He is known to this day as Sun Zi (孫子, Master Sun).  This book is probably a combination of information passed down from father to son in the Sun military family and Sun Wu’s own ideas, which are aligned with the Chinese philosophy of Taoism.

The Art of War has been studied through the ages by famous military men such as Napoleon, and warlords in Japan. Both ideas from this book, and East Asian art, provide inspiration for heroes and villains in contemporary tales and film.  For example, film director George Lucas’ interest in the samurai warriors of Japan is clearly manifested in the creation of the Star Wars characters, such as Darth Vader.  In the end, Vader came to understand one of the key concepts in The Art of War: “If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.”

Museum Hours

Mummy Cartonnage of a Woman Roman Period, 1st century C.E. Linen, gilded gesso, glass and faience 22 11/16 x 14 5/8 x 7 1/2 in. (57.6 x 37.2 x 19 cm) possible place collected: Hawara, Egypt, Africa Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

February 12 – May 8, 2011 – Norton Museum
Encompassing more than 100 objects drawn from the Brooklyn Museum’s world-renowned holdings of ancient Egyptian art, this exhibition explores the Egyptians’ beliefs about life, death, and the afterlife; the process of mummification; the conduct of a funeral; and the different types of tombs—answering questions at the core of the public’s fascination with ancient Egypt. Two of the primary cultural tenets, through thousands of years of ancient Egyptian civilization, were a belief in the afterlife and the view that death was an enemy that could be vanquished. To Live Forever features objects that illustrate a range of strategies the ancient Egyptians developed to defeat death, including mummification and various rituals performed in the tomb. The exhibition reveals what the Egyptians believed they would find in the next world and contrasts how the rich and the poor prepared for the hereafter.
Organized by the Brooklyn Museum.

Museum Hours