ART: FUTURA & MORE

Following his momentous exhibition of paintings at Eric Firestone Gallery in New York City, Futura returns with yet another special presentation to take place at The Noguchi Museum in the borough of Queens. The influential graffiti writer and contemporary artist will present a selection of hand-painted Akari light sculptures designed by Isamu Noguchi from 1952-86. 

“Akari inspire many people to contribute creatively to what Noguchi called their ‘self-generative cycle.’ Owning Akari is like having and tending a garden; it’s a way to stay in touch with nature and the world. We are excited to see where Futura—like Noguchi, an open-to-the-world boundary-crosser—will take them,” said senior curator, Dakin Hart.

Noguchi’s inspirations for his Akari light sculptures date back to 1951 during the artist’s trip to Hiroshima in Japan. He observed illuminated paper lanterns called chochin that lined the Nagara River in the town of Gifu. The mayor of the city requested that Noguchi help revitalize the lantern industry and offered him a commission to create a series of lanterns. He used the term Akari, a Japanese word meaning “light” to label his series of light sculptures that were intended to be modular, customizable, and extensible. In his lifetime, Noguchi designed over 200 models. 

Coinciding with the exhibition, the Noguchi Museum will host a limited-capacity book signing and print release event to commemorate the Rizzoli publication of FUTURA: The Artist’s Monograph alongside a limited edition print by Futura and Takashi Murakami. Visit Noguchi Museum’s official website to reserve tickets. 

Elsewhere in art, Felipe Pantone will release a modular OPD3S sculpture edition as part of his signature Optichromie series.

The Noguchi Museum
9-01 33rd Road (at Vernon Boulevard)
Long Island City, NY 11106Sotheby’s New York will soon launch its Contemporary Art Day Auction featuring an impressive selection of works by leading post-war and contemporary artists including Keith Haring, Helen Frankenthaler, Alexander Calder, Tom Wesselmann, Ed Ruscha, Albert Oehlen, and Yoshitomo Nara. 

One of the most standout lots is a series of 23 works on paper by Keith Haring from 1982 that defined his signature visual vocabulary. The black-and-white pieces portray Haring’s bold marker drawings of his familiar cast of characters such as a human figure whose arm has morphed into a serpent, a UFO shooting rays and a barking dog with wings to name a few. These works would act as an index for his iconic subway drawings in the early 1980s.

“There is a sense of immediacy in these bold drawings that is integral to Haring’s iconic style. They are deceivingly simple—initially designed to be recognized in a split second by the commuter in a subway station—yet insightfully crafted. Even if one sole image appears perfectly innocent, these drawings connote layers of somewhat apocalyptic meaning that become especially evident when they are viewed together,” said Sotheby’s in a statement.

The Untitled (Twenty-Three Works) currently has a pre-sale estimate of $900,000-$1,200,000 USD. The work will go on auction starting November 17 on Sotheby’s website. Read more about Sotheby’s upcoming and current auction sales here.This past Tuesday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte ordered a second lockdown in the Netherlands to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. The measure has once again forced the shuttering of many of the country’s top museums. However, many institutions such as the Kröller-Müller Museum and the Van Gogh Museum in Otterlo and Amsterdam, respectively, have looked to online resources to share their expansive holdings to interested viewers.

Dutch institutions such as the Kröller-Müller Museum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Groninger Museum, the Rijksmuseum, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, and more have teamed up to create a massive database featuring over 1,000 works on paper and paintings by the iconic Post-Impressionist, Vincent Van Gogh. The digital project features early paintings and drawings by Van Gogh of the working class to his later compositions portraying expressive landscapes. 

Viewers may also access technical information about each work including provenance, reports on restorations and any damages. Several works also feature exclusive quotes by the artist’s family members and other artists. Half of the works in Van Gogh’s prolific oeuvre are currently on shown in the database. Visit Van Gogh Worldwide’s website for more information.