Art2Bank

““The works are stepping stones around the space inside the head; hammocks on which you can sit to catch your breath ...Everything I do is based on my experience and feeling.”...”

Source: Margrét Blöndal

“Electricity as power is taken for granted by most people in the 21st century, at least in the West. We have tamed this strange and violent energy, and keep it in plugs in the ...”

Source: Paul Fryer

“The abstract paintings Tal R creates have many stories to tell..Inspiration sources include elements of music, comic-strips aesthetics, television and the graphic design of ol...”

Source: Tal R

“Presented as a statue, the body is a monument both to itself and to human thought. I use images of statues to represent the idea of the body as a monument to itself and our c...”

Source: Sue Vesely

Richard Long at the Tate Britain, London, 3 Jun - 6 Sep

This major exhibition is Richard Long's first survey in London for eighteen years and is a unique opportunity to understand afresh the artist's radical rethinking of the relationship between art and landscape.

Richard Long has made the landscapes of the world the potential territory of his work. He first came to prominence in the late 1960s and is part of a generation of international artists who extended the possibilities of sculpture beyond traditional methods and materials.

Long's work comes from his love of nature and through the experience of making solitary walks. These take him through rural and remote areas in Britain, or as far afield as the plains of Canada, Mongolia and Bolivia. Long never makes significant alterations to the landscapes he passes through. Instead he marks the ground or adjusts the natural features of a place by up-ending stones for example, or making simple traces. He usually works in the landscape but sometimes uses natural materials in the gallery. His work explores relationships between time, distance, geography, measurement and movement.

Featuring over 80 works, Heaven and Earth includes sculptures, large-scale mud wall works, and new photographic and text works documenting walks around the world, plus a big selection of the artists' books, postcards and other printed matter.

Filmmaker Kenneth Anger's first major survey in a decade, P.S.1, New York, until 14 Sep

This is the first major survey of the filmmaker's body of work at a U.S. museum in over a decade. Kenneth Anger has been making films since 1947 and is considered internationally as a pioneering and influential force in avantgarde cinema, inspiring the likes of Martin Scorsese, Gus Van Sant, and Guy Maddin. The focus of this exhibition will primarily be Anger's early iconic works. These include Fireworks (1947), Puce Moment (1949) and Eaux D'Artifice (1953). Also included are Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954 - 66), Scorpio Rising (1963), Kustom Kar Kommandos (1964 - 65), Invocation of my Demon Brother (1969) and Lucifer Rising (1970 - 81).

Kenneth Anger's work is a radical critique of Hollywood and often evokes and references pop icons within occult settings and depicting youth counterculture surrounded by violence and eroticism. He lyrically explores themes of ritualistic transformation and transfiguration, rather than following a narrative-based style. His films are infused with a baroque splendor stemming from the heightened sensuality of his opulent colors and imagery, most often accompanied by a haunting soundtrack, composed by renowned musicians such as Mick Jagger and Bobby Beausoleil.

Corporate acquisitions significant contribution to growth within the Contemporary art market...

Microsoft owns 4000+ works of art, according to CNN June 2007, their curator and New York gallery owner Michael Klein spend $1.2 million on acquisitions for the company last year alone. Other leading corporate collectors include UBS and the Progressive Corporation. Market leader, Deutsche Bank own 50,000+ works of art, valued at approximately £75 million. This can be seen as strong evidence of arts investment value to these corporations and to those wishing to invest in art. These serious collectors pour considerable investment into research of emerging artists and expert curatorship, so can become a useful guide to the new discerning investor on possible direction to take.

Although these corporations insist their investments are not specifically for financial gain, even in light of corporate tax incentives, the Mei/ Moses Indices of art's performance shows 20th century Impressionists and American Paintings to have consistently outperformed the S&P500, since 1950. A unique potential here of ever-increasing demand with a corresponding limited supply. Contemporary art is thought to have been even more lucrative when purchased wisely. These indices also show how art has a low correlation with the US stock market, thus having the ability to reduce risk, therefore having good potential for those investors wishing to diversify.

Patronage & Investment