Museum of Modern Art

The American Chapter of the International Society of Art Critics (AICA) announces its annual awards. There are a number of categories from site specific works to gallery and museum exhibitions.

L’Abbraccio, (The Hug) the name of the exhibition, refers to a cabinet designed by Gaetano Pesce in 2009 of two people locked in an embrace. In addition to its “namesake” cabinet, the exhibition will feature some of Pesce’s rarely seen drawings, maquettes, lighting and furniture from the 1970s. On view at Fred Torres Collaborations from March 21-May 25, 2013.

The Latino List: Photographs by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders exhibition is a portrait survey of 30 important Hispanic Americans by photographer and documentary filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. The exhibition debuted in 2011 at the Brooklyn Museum. It is on view in Atlanta's High Museum of Art from March 17 through May 19.

Jaune Quick to See Smith is one of the foremost Native American artists of her generation. She will exhibit work on the theme of Water and War at the Accola Griefen Gallery in New York City from February 28 through April 6.

From the Frist Center For The Visual Arts, in Nashville, its originating venue, the Carrie Mae Weems retrospective travels to the Portland, Oregon Art Museum, (February 2-May 19, 2013), The Cleveland Museum of Art (June 30-September 29, 2013, Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University in California (October 16, 2013 – January 5, 2014), ending its run at the Guggenheim Museum in New York (January 24-April 23, 2014).

The vast vaulted space of Building Five is roughly the length and width of two, end to end, football fields. Globally, there are only a handful of similar spaces. The basic approach of artists over the last 13 years has been to jam it full or leave it relatively empty. The current installation "Phoenix" by Xu Bing realizes its full potential. In this second and final installment of an extensive dialogue Mass MoCA director Joe Thopson discusses the museum's programming and challenges.

Ada Louise Huxtable was the first architecture critic at the New York Times (1963) and the first architecture critic to win the Pulitzer Prize (1970). Her clearly stated analytical prose was always accessible and enlightening. She was a voice of reason and often a voice of conscience. Ms. Huxtable's thoughts and refined wisdom will be missed from our civic conversation. Reprinted here is a 2008 review of the last major compendium of her writings.

Oscar Niemeyer passed away just short of his 105th birthday on December 5, 2012. A Brazilian, he was one of the most prolific and influential architects of the 20th Century. Influenced by Le Corbusier, however Niemeyer championed the curve over the right angle. His portfolio included the major buildings of Brasilia, the planned new capital of Brazil, the United Nations complex in New York City and several significant museums and headquarters buildings.

Sarah Bapst, Katarina Burin, Mark Cooper, and Luther Price were named finalists for the 2013 James and Audrey Foster Prize, the ICA's biennial award and exhibition program for Boston-area artists, the museum announced today. Bapst, Burin, Cooper, and Price will participate in an exhibition organized by Helen Molesworth, Barbara Lee Chief Curator, on view at the ICA from May 1 through July 21, 2013.

Approaching design from differing points of view, Liminal Objects initiated a conference series at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design about design that aims to identify pressing issues within the field by exploring the designed object’s role in diverse spatial practices. Designers, academics, critics and curators looked objectively at the designed object.

The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute will honor artist, writer, and critic Brian O’Doherty with the 2012 Clark Prize for Excellence in Arts Writing by recognizing his continuing contributions to the visual arts. Established in 2006, the Clark Prize recognizes insightful and accessible prose that advances a genuine understanding and appreciation of the visual arts.

The Joffrey Ballet, one of America’s pioneering ballet companies of the 20th century, makes a rare East Coast appearance to conclude the Jacob’s Pillow 80th Anniversary Season August 22–26. The Joffrey Ballet returns for the first time since its high-profile appearances at the Pillow in the 1950s and 60s, presenting an impressive program that features Taiwanese-American choreographer Edwaard Liang’s Age of Innocence, Russian choreographer Yuri Possokhov’s Bells, and the world premiere of Son of Chamber Symphony by Stanton Welch, Artistic Director of Houston Ballet.

Architecture as sculpture was a 20th Century concept embraced by many modernist architects. This year there were several major examples of noteworthy sculptural architectural statements. This is architecture as form. Unlike many other less imaginative Olympic games, the London Olympics showcased several wonderful structures. Perhaps the worst one was by sculptor Anish Kapoor who created a bad piece of architecture as a piece of grandiose functional sculpture. Other fine examples are a wonderful temporary piece at PS 1, a new design museum in Shenzen, China and one at London's Serpentine Gallery.

Conceptualized in 1945 and completed in 1949, architect Philip Johnson's Glass House almost immediately became a 20th Century architecture icon. Used by Johnson as a weekend retreat for 58 years, it is now shared with the public as part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is a pilgrimage mecca for architecture buffs to see the eccentric outer structures and contemporary art collection of Johnson and his longtime partner art curator/critic David Whitney. This is a visually-compelling experience of an architectural masterpiece.

I explain to my clients that they are not auditioning for a record company; the record company is auditioning for us. We know you’re great and we are looking for the A&R man who gets it.

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival kicks off June 16 with the 80th Anniversary Gala, followed by “a veritable dance explosion” (Claudia La Rocco of The New York Times) of more than 300 free and ticketed performances, talks, exhibits, classes, and events spanning three months.

A version of the traveling exhibition The Italians by the late photographer, Leonard Freed, will be presented in August at the Eclipse Mill Gallery by the gallerist/ entrepreneur Ralph Brill. We met with Brill to discuss Freed and other wide ranging thoughts and projects. There was a focus on North Adams as the former home of Arnold Printworks and Sprague Electric prior to becoming home to Mass MoCA.

The 7th Annual season of The Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) will celebrate this year with the latest in independent feature, documentary, short and family films. The festival runs from May 31 – June 3, 2012 in Great Barrington and June 1 – June 3rd in Pittsfield, MA and will be showcasing over 70 films in independent filmmaking.

ArtsEmerson: The World On Stage announces a second round of curated programming for the Paramount LED Windows on the façade of 559 Washington Street. The old Arcade Building LED Wall, first programmed last fall, now features a new show of work by three contemporary artists.

The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute presents a new installation by artist Mark Dion, Phantoms of the Clark Expedition, reflecting on the history of exploration and on an expedition to North China that the Institute’s founder Sterling Clark undertook in 1908. On view May 9 to August 3, 2012, the installation consists of a series of dioramas and sculptures representing objects and specimens that would have been used or collected during expeditions that occurred in that era. The installation is being presented at The Explorers Club at 46 East 70thStreet in New York.

None of the collections of Gertrude, Leo, Michael Stein and his wife Sarah remained intact. They sold and traded many masterpieces during their lifetimes. The collections were further dispersed by their heirs. In a definitive exhibition The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde 200 of these works have been brought together and are now on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The 80th Anniversary Season includes an impressive blend of world premieres, U.S. premieres, live music, company debuts, legendary dance companies, emerging choreographers, and more than 300 ticketed and free events, talks, performances, classes, exhibits, and tours hosted at the Pillow’s 163-acre National Historic Landmark site.

Why do we "like" even "love" certain objects? And others we do not? Is it somehow in our DNA? How did Apple (Steven Jobs) connect so well with our wants despite what our needs are? Our objects of desire strike emotional chords. It isn't just about aesthetics, but certainly that is a major aspect of what the resonance of desire and ownership are. Designers wrestle constantly with an element's functional form. Getting it just right has less to do with science than art. This is true of a structure, object or fashion statement.

The Cindy Sherman restrospective at MoMA is a must see knockout. It demonstrates why she is among the most successful and widely appreciated artists of her generation. While following the simple premise of photographing herself in a range of setting and personas there has been a remarkable ongoing evolution theough the work.

The 7th Annual season of The Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) will celebrate this year with the latest in independent feature, documentary, short and family films. The festival runs from May 31 – June 3, 2012 in Great Barrington and June 1 – June 3rd in Pittsfield, MA and will be showcasing over 70 films in independent filmmaking.