2011 in art
Encyclopedia
The year 2011 in art involves some significant events.
Events
- April 3 – The Chinese artist and dissident Ai Wei Wei is arrested and detained and his studio sealed off, by the government of the Peoples Republic of China, during an apparent crackdown by the regime on activists and dissidents. The PRC government later states that Wei Wei is being held while investigated for economic crimes.
- April 16 – Turner Contemporary art gallery, designed by David ChipperfieldDavid ChipperfieldSir David Alan Chipperfield CBE, RA, RDI, RIBA is a British architect, born in London. He has offices in London, Berlin and Milan, and a representative office in Shanghai...
, opens in MargateMargate-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
, Kent, England. - May 1st - UK publication of @earth@earth@earth is a 2011 book made by London born photomontage artist Peter Kennard with Lebanese artist Tarek Salhany. It is a photo-essay told through photomontage with seven chapters exposing the current state of the earth, the conditions of life on it and the need to resist injustice...
- May 21 – The Hepworth WakefieldThe Hepworth WakefieldThe Hepworth Wakefield is an art gallery in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, which opened on 21 May 2011. The gallery, is situated on the south side of the River Calder and takes its name from artist and sculptor Barbara Hepworth who was born and educated in the city.The gallery was designed by...
art gallery, designed by David Chipperfield, opens to the public in West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England. - June 22 – The Chinese legal authorities release Ai Weiwei on bail after three months detention, after being charged for alleged tax evasion. His incarceration was widely viewed as an attempt to silence a prominent critic while authorities had time to decide on legal grounds for prosecuting him, and his detention prompted condemnation of the Chinese government from some corners of the globe. According to the China's Foreign Ministry, he is prohibited from leaving Beijing without permission for one year. After his release Ai declined to give interviews saying that he is not allowed to talk.
- September – firstsite's new art gallery, designed by Rafael ViñolyRafael ViñolyRafael Viñoly is an Uruguayan architect living in the United States.-Biography:He was born in Montevideo, Uruguay to Román Viñoly Barreto, and Maria Beceiro ....
, opens in ColchesterColchesterColchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, England. - October 28 – ArcelorMittal OrbitArcelorMittal OrbitThe ArcelorMittal Orbit is a high observation tower in the Olympic Park in Stratford, London. The steel sculpture is Britain's largest piece of public art, and is a permanent, lasting legacy of London's hosting of the 2012 Summer Olympics, assisting in the post-Olympics regeneration of the...
, designed by Anish KapoorAnish KapoorAnish Kapoor CBE RA is a British sculptor of Indian birth. Born in Mumbai , Kapoor has lived and worked in London since the early 1970s when he moved to study art, first at the Hornsey College of Art and later at the Chelsea School of Art and Design.He represented Britain in the XLIV Venice...
, erected at Olympic Park, LondonOlympic Park, LondonThe Olympic Park in London is a new sporting complex currently under construction, adjacent to the Stratford City development in Stratford, Bow, Leyton & Homerton in East London for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics....
. - November 8- Rhein IIRhein IIRhein II is a photograph made by German visual artist Andreas Gursky in 1999. In 2011, a print was auctioned for $4.3 million , making it the most expensive photograph ever sold....
by the GermanGermansThe Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
photographer Andreas GurskyAndreas GurskyAndreas Gursky is a German visual artist known for his enormous architecture and landscape color photographs, often employing a high point of view...
sells for $4.3m (£2.7m) at Christies, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
becoming the most expensive photograph ever sold. - November 15- Ai Weiwei pays 8.45 million yuanYuanYuan may refer to:* Chinese yuan, the basic unit of currency in China** Renminbi, the current currency used in the People's Republic of China, whose basic unit is Yuan...
in taxes after receiving a large number of donations from supporters who believe the debt was politcially motivated because of his criticism of the Chinese government. http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/15/world/asia/china-weiwei-tax/index.html?hpt=ias_c2 (CNN)
Exhibitions
- Thomas LawrenceThomas LawrenceThomas Lawrence may refer to:*Sir Thomas Lawrence, British artist, President of Royal Academy*Thomas Lawrence , mayor of colonial Philadelphia*T. E. Lawrence, "Lawrence of Arabia"*Thomas Lawrence , U.S. politician...
: "Regency Power and Brilliance", Yale Center for British ArtYale Center for British ArtThe Yale Center for British Art is an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut at Yale University which houses the most comprehensive collection of British Art outside the United Kingdom...
, February 24 – June 5, 2011 - “Picasso and Marie-Thérèse Walter: L’amour Fou”, curated by John RichardsonJohn Richardson (art historian)John Richardson is a British art historian and Picasso biographer.-Life and work:John Patrick Richardson was born as the elder son of Sir Wodehouse Richardson, D.S.O., K.C.B., Quarter-Master General in the Boer War, and founder of London and the British Empire's Army & Navy Stores...
and Dianne Widmaier Picasso, Gagosian GalleryGagosian GalleryGagosian Gallery is a contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. There are currently eleven gallery spaces: three in New York; two in London; one in each of Beverly Hills, Rome, Athens, Paris, Geneva, Hong Kong and Moscow.-1980s:...
522 West 21st Street New York City, April 14 – July 15, 2011 - Julian SchnabelJulian SchnabelJulian Schnabel is an American artist and filmmaker. In the 1980s, Schnabel received international media attention for his "plate paintings"—large-scale paintings set on broken ceramic plates....
: "Permanently Becoming and the Architecture of Seeing" curated by Norman RosenthalNorman RosenthalSir Norman Rosenthal is a British curator. He was Exhibitions Secretary at the Royal Academy from 1977 until 2008. His encyclopedic programme of exhibitions which stretched from Egyptian antiquities to recent art production, included the exhibition of Charles Saatchi's collection of contemporary...
, the Museo CorrerMuseo CorrerThe Museo Correr is the civic museum of Venice, located in the Piazza San Marco, and is entered by the ceremonial stairway in the Ala Napoleonica at the western end of the Piazza opposite the church of San Marco at the other end...
Venice, Italy, June 4 – November 27, 2011 - "TwomblyCy TwomblyEdwin Parker "Cy" Twombly, Jr. was an American artist well known for his large-scale, freely scribbled, calligraphic-style graffiti paintings, on solid fields of mostly gray, tan, or off-white colors...
-Poussin Arcadian Painters" at the Dulwich Picture GalleryDulwich Picture GalleryDulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, South London. England's first purpose-built public art gallery, it was designed by Regency architect Sir John Soane and opened to the public in 1817. Soane arranged the exhibition spaces as a series of interlinked rooms illuminated naturally...
, London, June 29 – September 25, 2011
Awards
- The Venice Biennial –
- The Lion d'or (Golden LionGolden LionIl Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
) for best national pavilion-Germany exhibiting the work of Christoph SchlingensiefChristoph SchlingensiefChristoph Maria Schlingensief was a German film and theatre director, actor, artist, and author. Starting as an independent underground filmmaker, Schlingensief later began staging productions for theatres and festivals, which often were accompanied by public controversies... - The Lion d'or for lifetime achievement – Franz WestFranz WestFranz West is an Austrian artist.-Work:His art practice started as a reaction to the Viennese Actionism movement has been exhibited in museums and galleries for more than three decades...
and SturtevantSturtevantSturtevant may refer to:* Albert D. Sturtevant , American naval officer* Alfred Sturtevant , American geneticist* Butler Sturtevant , American landscape architect... - The Lion d'or for best artwork in the main exhibition – Christian MarclayChristian MarclayChristian Marclay is a Swiss-American visual artist and composer.Marclay's work explores connections between sound, noise, photography, video, and film...
- The Silver Lion for most promising new artist – Haroun Mizra
- The Archibald PrizeArchibald PrizeThe Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
2011- Ben QuiltyBen QuiltyBen Quilty is an Australian artist who won the 2011 Archibald Prize.-Biography:Quilty grew up in Kenthurst in Sydney's north-west. He lives and works in Robertson, New South Wales. He is a graduate of the Sydney College of the Arts at the University of Sydney...
Deaths
- January 4 – B. H. FriedmanB. H. FriedmanBernard Harper Friedman , better known by his initials "B. H.", was an American author and art critic who wrote biographies of Jackson Pollock and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, a number of novels that combined his experiences in the worlds of art and business, as well as an autobiographical account...
, 84, writer, author of the first biography on Jackson PollockJackson PollockPaul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and... - January 5 – Malangatana NgwenyaMalangatana NgwenyaMalangatana Valente Ngwenya was a Mozambican painter and poet. He frequently exhibited work under his first name alone. He died on January 5, 2011 in Matosinhos, Portugal.-Life:...
, 74, MozambicanMozambicanMozambican may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Mozambique, a country in southeastern Africa** A person from Mozambique, or of Mozambican descent. For information about the Mozambican people, see Demographics of Mozambique and Culture of Mozambique. For specific persons, see List of...
painter and poet - January 9 – Makinti NapanangkaMakinti NapanangkaMakinti Napanangka was a Pintupi-speaking Indigenous Australian artist from Australia's Western Desert region...
, 80s, Australian Papunya TulaPapunya TulaPapunya Tula, or Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, is an artist cooperative formed in 1972 that is owned and operated by Aboriginal people from the Western Desert of Australia. The group is known for its innovative work with the Western Desert Art Movement, popularly referred to as "dot painting"...
artist - January 11 – Won-il RheeWon-il RheeWon-il Rhee was a Korean digital art curator. He was born and died in Seoul.Rhee was the artistic director in 2002 and 2006 of the Media City Seoul Biennale. He was the leading curator of the Total Museum of Art and co-ordinator of the Korean Pavilion for the 1995 Venice Biennale...
, 50, South Korean digital art curator - January 13 – Ellen StewartEllen StewartEllen Stewart was an American theater director and producer and the founder of La MaMa, E.T.C. . In the 1950s she worked as a fashion designer for Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor, and Henri Bendel.-Biography:Ellen Stewart was either born in Alexandria, Louisiana or Chicago,...
, 91, Founder of La MaMa E.T.C., New York, designer - January 20 – Alan UglowAlan UglowAlan Uglow was an English-born abstract painter. In 1969 he moved to New York City where he also worked in construction to help support himself. In 1978 and 1979 he exhibited at Mary Boone Gallery in New York City...
, 69, British-born American painter - January 21 – Dennis Oppenheim, 72, American sculptor
- February 8 – Charles O. PerryCharles O. PerryCharles Owen Perry was an American sculptor particularly known for his large-scale public sculptures....
, 81, American sculptor - February 11 – Roy GussowRoy GussowRoy Gussow was an American abstract sculptor known for his public pieces often crafted from polished stainless steel...
, 92, American sculptor - February 25 – Suze RotoloSuze RotoloSusan Elizabeth Rotolo , known as Suze Rotolo , was an American artist, but is perhaps best known as Bob Dylan's girlfriend between 1961 and 1964 and a strong influence on his music...
, 67, American book artist - March 10 – Gabriel LadermanGabriel LadermanGabriel Laderman was a New York painter and an early and important exponent of the Figurative revival of the 1950s and '60s.He studied with a number of leading American painters, including Hofmann, de Kooning, and Rothko....
, 81, American painter - March 13 – Leo SteinbergLeo SteinbergLeo Steinberg was an American art critic and art historian and a naturalized citizen of the U.S.-Life:Steinberg was born in Moscow, Russia and grew up in Berlin, Germany. He was the son of Isaac Nachman Steinberg. He studied at the Slade School of Fine Art...
, 90, American art historian and critic - March 27 – George TookerGeorge TookerGeorge Clair Tooker, Jr. was a figurative painter whose works are associated with the Magic realism and Social realism movements...
, 90, American painter - March 30 – Jorge CamachoJorge Camacho (painter)Jorge R. Camacho Lazo was a Cuban painter.Born in Havana in 1934, in 1952, he left law studies to dedicate himself to painting. In 1959, he met his colleague José Luis Cuevas and they both investigated the sources of Mayan culture.Camacho arrived in Paris in 1959 where he met his friend Augustín...
, 77, Cuban Painter - April 8 – John McCrackenJohn McCrackenJohn Harvey McCracken was a contemporary artist who lived and worked in Santa Fe, New Mexico and New York.- Education/teaching :...
, 76, American sculptor and painter - April 8 – Hedda SterneHedda SterneHedda Sterne was an artist best remembered as the only woman in a group of Abstract Expressionists known as "The Irascibles" which consisted of Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, and others...
, 100, Romanian born, American painter - April 12 – Miroslav TichýMiroslav TichýMiroslav Tichý was a photographer who from the 1960s to 1985 took thousands of surreptitious pictures of women in his hometown of Kyjov in the Czech Republic, using homemade cameras constructed of cardboard tubes, tin cans and other at-hand materials. Most of his subjects were unaware they are...
, 84, Czech photographer - May 13 – Stephen De StaeblerStephen De StaeblerStephen De Staebler was an internationally celebrated American sculptor best recognized for his work in clay and bronze...
, 79, American sculptor and printmaker - May 18 (body found on this date) - Wlodzimierz KsiazekWlodzimierz KsiazekWlodzimierz Ksiazek was a contemporary artist based in New England, and since 2001 worked from a 6000 sq. ft. studio in Rhode Island...
, 60, Polish born American painter - May 25 – Leonora CarringtonLeonora CarringtonLeonora Carrington OBE was a British-born Mexican artist, a surrealist painter and a novelist. She lived most of her life in Mexico City.-Early life:...
, 94, British born, surrealist painter, who lived in Mexico - June 4 – Claudio Bravo, 74, Chilean painter
- June 9 – M. F. Husain, 95, Indian painter
- June 16 – Twins Seven SevenTwins Seven SevenPrince Twins Seven Seven, born Prince Taiwo Olaniyi Oyewale-Toyeje Oyelale Osuntoki in Ogidi, Nigeria, was a Nigerian painter, sculptor and musician....
, 67, Nigerian painter and sculptor - June 20 – Thomas N. Armstrong IIIThomas N. Armstrong IIIThomas N. Armstrong III was an American museum curator who was director emeritus of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum ,...
, 78, American curator and museum director (Whitney Museum of American ArtWhitney Museum of American ArtThe Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
and the Andy Warhol Museum) - June 22 – Robert MillerRobert Miller (art dealer)Robert Miller was an American art dealer in New York City whose contemporary gallery, located first on 5th Avenue, later in the Fuller Building on East 57th Street, and finally on 26th Street in Chelsea is a leading gallery for the works of Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Robert...
, 72, American gallerist - July 5 – Cy TwomblyCy TwomblyEdwin Parker "Cy" Twombly, Jr. was an American artist well known for his large-scale, freely scribbled, calligraphic-style graffiti paintings, on solid fields of mostly gray, tan, or off-white colors...
, 83, American painter - July 17 – Alex SteinweissAlex SteinweissAlexander "Alex" Steinweiss was a graphic designer known for inventing the album cover.-Early life:Alex Steinweiss was born on March 24, 1917, in Brooklyn. His father was a women's shoe designer from Warsaw and his mother was a seamstress from Riga, Latvia...
, 94, American graphic designer, inventor of the album cover - July 20 – Lucian FreudLucian FreudLucian Michael Freud, OM, CH was a British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time...
, 88, British painter - July 31 - John HoylandJohn HoylandJohn Hoyland RA was a London-based British artist. He was one of the country's leading abstract painters.-Life:...
, 76, British painter - August 6 - Roman OpalkaRoman OpalkaRoman Opałka was a French-born Polish painter.Opałka was born on August 27, 1931, in Abbeville-Saint-Lucien, France, to Polish parents. The family returned to Poland in 1946 and Opałka studied lithography at a graphics school before enrolling in the School of Art and Design in Lodz. He later...
, 79, French-born Polish painter - August 21 - Budd HopkinsBudd HopkinsBudd Hopkins was an American painter, sculptor, and prominent figure in abduction phenomenon, and related UFO research.-Life:Born in 1931 and raised in Wheeling, West Virginia...
, 80, American painter - August 23 - Jeanette IngbermanExit ArtExit Art is a non-profit cultural center established in 1982. Located in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City, United States, the two-story gallery exhibits contemporary visual art, installation, video, theater, and performance....
, 59, American curator co-founder of Exit ArtExit ArtExit Art is a non-profit cultural center established in 1982. Located in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City, United States, the two-story gallery exhibits contemporary visual art, installation, video, theater, and performance.... - September 5- Vann NathVann NathVann Nath was a Cambodian painter, artist, writer and human rights activist who was one of a diverse group of writers from 22 countries to receive the prestigious Lillian Hellman/Hammett Award which recognizes courage in the face of political persecution which he faced during the Khmer Rouge...
, 66, Cambodian painter - September 13- Richard HamiltonRichard Hamilton (artist)Richard William Hamilton, CH was a British painter and collage artist. His 1956 collage, Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?, produced for the This Is Tomorrow exhibition of the Independent Group in London, is considered by critics and historians to be one of the...
. 89, British painter - September 16- Stephen MuellerStephen MuellerStephen Mueller was an American painter whose color field and Lyrical Abstraction canvases took a turn towards pop. He earned his B.F.A. in painting from the University of Texas, Austin in 1969 and his M.F.A...
, 63, American painter - October 24- Bruno WeberBruno WeberBruno Weber was a Swiss artist and architect, specializing in fantastic realism.-Early life:Bruno Weber was born in 1931 in Dietikon, Switzerland. In 1947, he completed college in Zürich under Johannes Itten, the founder of chromatics...
, 80, Swiss artist and architect - November 23- Gerald LaingGerald LaingGerald Ogilvie Laing was a British pop artist and sculptor. He lived in the Scottish Highlands.- Life :...
, 75, British painter and sculptor