Martin Cid's Blog: Martin Cid Magazine, page 1065

Abstract artist Jack Whitten will receive an honorary doctorate degree from Brandeis University

Abstract artist Jack Whitten will receive an honorary doctorate degree from Brandeis University on May 22.

Abstract artist Jack Whitten

Whitten, whose exhibition “Light Years” was featured at the Rose Art Museum in 2013, will be in conversation with Rose Director Christopher Bedford and Curator at Large Katy Siegel on Saturday May 21 at 2 p.m. in the Pollack Fine Arts Teaching Center.  Next year, a book of Whitten’s writings, coedited by Siegel, will be published by the Rose.

Whitten’s decades-long career illustrates a brilliant convergence of creativity, experimentation and political activism. His work is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Modern, the Rose Art Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among many others.

Whitten (b.1939) began his earliest experiments in painting during the 1960s, inspired by Abstract Expressionism.  In 1974, Whitten had a landmark solo exhibition at the Whitney. Forty years later, a major retrospective, “Jack Whitten: Five Decades of Painting,” was organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, and later traveled to the Wexner Center for the Arts and the Walker Art Center. A longtime believer in abstract painting’s ability to address political issues, Whitten created a monumental artwork, 9.11.01, into which he incorporated crushed bone, glass and ash, as a memorial to the lives lost on September 11. Whitten’s work from the 1970s was presented at the Rose in 2013s “Light Years: Jack Whitten 1971-73,” curated by Curator at Large Katy Siegel, the Thaw Chair in Modern Art at Stony Brook University.

Mark Bradford, the Los Angeles–based abstract painter recently announced as the United States representative at the Venice Biennale in 2017 that will be presented by the Rose, said, “Jack’s hard-wrought place in the history of abstractions shows his stamina and talent.”

Commencement exercises will take place Sunday, May 22, at 10:30 a.m. in Gosman Sports and Convocation Center.

The Most Important Cubist Painting to Come to Auction in Decades

A Defining Moment in Modern Art. The Most Important Cubist Painting to Come to Auction in Decades. Picasso’s ‘Femme assise’ to Lead Sotheby’s London.

The Most Important Cubist Painting to Come to Auction in Decades

Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in June.

Helena Newman, Global Co-Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department, said: “Cubism not only underpins Picasso’s entire creative output but also marks a defining moment in Modern Art. Whilst major paintings from other key periods by Picasso have appeared on the market in recent years*, it has been decades since a Cubist painting of this calibre has been offered at auction, since virtually all the significant works of this period are in international museums and institutions. Femme assise, painted in 1909, is one of the artist’s greatest masterpieces to be sold in a generation.”

Cubism is considered to be Pablo Picasso’s most important contribution to Modern art, and Femme assise of 1909 is one of the artist’s greatest Cubist portraits. It comes from the series of canvases that revolutionised Picasso’s working methods and established his path to Cubism, and will lead Sotheby’s June Impressionist & Modern Art Evening sale in London (estimate upon request). The painting will be on view in Sotheby’s New York galleries from 16th May, in Hong Kong from 26-30 May and in London from 10 June, prior to the Evening Auction on 21 June 2016.

Swansea and Southampton top premier league of invoice payments

The Payment Premier League 2016

Ormsby Street analysis reveals the payment performance and credit risk of premier league football teams

16 May 2016 – Swansea City and Southampton are the two best teams in the English Premier League when it comes to paying invoices on time and having a good credit rating with their suppliers.

Data analysis by fintech startup Ormsby Street, the company behind free credit-checking tool, CreditHQ, showed the two teams ahead of more successful on-pitch rivals, important information when most football clubs number hundreds of local small businesses among their suppliers.

Small businesses wait an average of 72 days for payment of invoices, while 2015 Ormsby Street figures showed the average overdue invoice to a small business was worth £6,142. The Payment Premier League was compiled by combining figures for payment performance and credit risk.

“If a small business wins a contract with their local football team then it is easy to let the heart rule the head, and just go ahead with the work regardless – people love the idea of working for the team they support,” said Martin Campbell. “But our analysis shows that just because a team is good on the pitch, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they will be as strong when it comes to paying invoices on time. Not every business is as efficient as Swansea and Southampton are at paying invoices to local businesses on time.”

“Winning a major contract with any sizeable local company is a big deal for a small business, but few would think to run a credit check. Yet the average time for a small business to be paid is 72 days, a period of time which could be seriously problematic for a small business, if the figures involved were big enough.”

Sunderland and Crystal Palace prop up the payment premier league, meaning small businesses should be more mindful when trading with those teams. There was insufficient data around payment performance for West Ham United, Watford and West Bromwich Albion to be included in the final table, although Watford’s credit rating of two out of ten suggested that it would be bottom of the league should data have been available.

“For the most part, English Premier League teams pay on time, but credit-checking customers and partners is something that every small business should do as a matter of course,” continued Martin Campbell. “Late payment threatens a small business’ ability to grow and sometimes even survive. When Portsmouth FC faced financial difficulties a few years ago, there were many small businesses in the area that ended up not getting paid so there is a clear precedent for not letting local loyalty get in the way of sound business insight.”

CreditHQ is a free online tool that allows a small business to check the credit status, payment performance and general financial health of any customer or partner. It takes credit data from Companies House and major credit data supplier Dun & Bradstreet and presents the analysis via a simple traffic light ratings system. The traffic lights show clearly the level of risk associated with the company in question, with users are given two different ratings, one addressing credit risk and the other payment performance.

“Late invoice payment is a blight on small business in the UK,” concluded Martin Campbell. “Many larger companies do not pay when they should so, so small businesses must protect themselves against this by learning more about the financial health of their customers.”

For any small business with concerns about a customer’s ability to pay on time, Ormsby Street recommends the following measures:

• Stay on top of your invoice process to get invoices out on time.

• Follow up before the invoices are due.

• Chase invoices when due and always charge interest on overdue invoices (or issue a letter of intent).

• Review payment terms for this company, including payment up front if you are really worried about the impact of late payment.

• For major concerns about a customer’s financial health, don’t be afraid to walk away from a deal.

Aerospace Advanced Metal Heat Treatment and Hard Surface Coatings – Wallwork Group: FIA 2016 Stand G121 Hall 4

Nitron Flight hard coatings from Wallwork reduce w

Aerospace metal heat treatment and hard micro-fine coatings specialist, the Wallwork Group, return to Farnborough with a more extensive portfolio of services having invested an additional £2.5 million since the previous exhibition. New buildings, plant, training and research means the company is providing more advanced and enhanced services to meet the specific needs of the aerospace industry.

These developments are underpinned by extending aerospace approvals for processes at all three UK Wallwork sites in Manchester, Cambridge and Birmingham. Nation-wide coverage and high speed turnaround to meet the aerospace industry’s high quality, lean and just-in-time requirements is assured.

Vacuum brazing has a special role in aerospace for the fabrication of complex components. Responding to this, Wallwork has doubled capacity at the Cambridge site and created a completely new vacuum brazing unit at the Manchester site. The Cambridge factory footprint has been increased by 25 per cent to allow for new services such as mechanical testing and to create space for future expansion.

The range of heat treatment (HT) services has been expanded. Aluminium HT was introduced just before the 2014 Farnborough Airshow and is now augmented by new services to heat treat magnesium which is a more complex process. Nitriding services have also been greatly expanded. Low temperature nitriding processing are now available in addition to traditional thermal techniques, with the option that nitride product may also be treated by PVD coating to further enhance surface properties.

Nitron Flight is a Wallwork patent process that improves aero-engine performance, giving greater resistance to aerofoil erosion and encrustation to extend the service interval on these key components. Similarly Nitron O is a process that prolongs the life of titanium bearings by hardening the surface and reducing surface friction.

Legislation to outlaw the use of hard chrome plating (HCP) because of the toxicity of the source materials and waste products is to come into force in 2017. New, Nitron CA, from Wallwork replaces HCP with a process that is environmentally more acceptable and technically superior. This is attracting increasing interest from aerospace manufacturers in Europe and North America.

As the official partner in the UK for CemeCon, Wallwork provide a range of specialist carbon (diamond) and other aerospace coatings for carbide tooling used in the drilling and cutting of aerospace composites. Tools coated using the CemeCon process provide much cleaner cuts, run cooler and have a significantly longer endurance, reducing tool changes and ensuring higher productivity with improved quality.

The show stand will be fully staffed throughout the week long show with experts to discuss heat treatments, special coating, duplex processes, issues of metallurgy and the collaborative partnering and research programmes undertaken by the company.

Wallwork Group: Farnborough International Airshow 2016 Stand G121 Hall 4

Storefront hosts Beyond Borders at TWA Flight Center

On Sunday, May 8th, Storefront for Art and Architecture occupied TWA Flight Center for BEYOND BORDERS, its 2016 Spring Benefit.

BEYOND BORDERS, Storefront for Art and Architecture 2016 Spring Benefit at TWA Flight Center. Photo by Romy Rodiek

The benefit brought 700 people to the terminal to celebrate and support Storefront. It was the last public event held in the 1962 Eero Saarinen-designed structure before its redevelopment into a hotel begins later this year.

BEYOND BORDERS activated the terminal with a variety of experiences, including a series of virtual and mediated installations, a live auction, film montages and messages, a special photographic commission, global food experiences, portrait and raffle opportunities, and musical performances.

The event reflected upon a growing collective consciousness about spaces of difference and the desire to transcend them. During the evening, Storefront honored photographer and agency Ezra Stoller / ESTO / Erica Stoller, whose photos of the terminal are a reference to the worlds of architecture and photography, as well as architect and activist Teddy Cruz, who has investigated the nuances of the US-Mexico border for decades.

“The border exists only to be transgressed; and isn’t the ultimate aspiration of art and architecture the transgression of our own fears and conventions? This is what Storefront stands for, as a cultural space it has always been at the forefront of cultural debate pushing our creative fields to reinvent themselves.” -Teddy Cruz, honoree.

MAD New York. Musicians are invited to create recordings

Musicians are invited to create recordings with an installation of sounding sculptures currently on display in MAD’s exhibition Atmosphere for Enjoyment: Harry Bertoia’s Environment for Sound.

MAD New York. Musicians are invited to create recordings

Atmosphere for Enjoyment: Harry Bertoia’s Environment for Sound explores the Sonambient sculptures of Bertoia, an artist and designer whose career spanned just over thirty-five years.

Known to many as the designer of the “Diamond” chair still in production today by Knoll, Bertoia was also a prolific maker of prints, jewelry and sculpture—both intimate and monumental—that grapple with properties of light, volume and sound. He created much of his work from metal wire and rods, and toward the middle of his career, he discovered that when these strike one another, they make lush, resonant sounds. By the early 1960s, he was creating prototypes for his sounding, or tonal, sculptures—work that would eventually occupy the remaining years of his career.

These sculptures would become collectively known as Sonambient, a combination of the Latin roots of the words “sound” and “environment.” In 1968 Bertoia began to set up the eighteenth-century stone barn on his property in Pennsylvania to house a selection of his sounding sculptures and gongs. There he recorded 360 (known) reel-to-reel tapes of the sculptures. The barn is still standing today, with ninety-one original sounding sculptures installed inside, as Bertoia had intended them: an environment for sound.

MAD’s exhibition includes an interactive display of Sonambient sculptures created by Harry Bertoia’s son Val Bertoia. Every final Friday throughout the run of the exhibition, MAD invites musicians to create sound recordings with this installation. These Studio Sessions may be booked in one-hour segments, and artists must provide their own recording equipment.

Atmosphere for Enjoyment: Studio Sessions
: May 27, June 24, July 29, August 26 | 6:00 to 9:00 pm
. Free with Museum admission.

First Class Watches & James Moore Jewellers have got the X factor!

Wagner & Rowland at First Class Watches

A First Class Watches customer service representative was met with a telephone enquiry from a charismatic and colourful gentleman last week who had some queries regarding the extensive range of watches available on the First Class Watches website. After a quick discussion of the customer’s needs the two homed in on a Citizen Black Ion-Plated watch from the Navihawk Radio Controlled collection.

As the conversation drew to a close and names exchanged the member of staff could hardly believe it when he discovered that he had been talking to Brazilian-born singer, and X Factor finalist, Wagner Fiuza-Carrilho. As a personal fan of the singer the representative implored him to finalise his purchase in store to which Wagner agreed.

True to his word, he visited the James Moore Jewellers in Kenilworth on the morning of May 11th and met with the representative who rushed to serve him on the shop floor. After purchasing his new watch, he showed him the newly revamped store and the new exquisite range of Thomas Sabo jewellery and watches. He was also kind enough to share pictures of his visit with us on his Facebook page:

And it doesn’t seem like this will be the last time Wagner will be visiting Kenilworth as he’s already got his eye on another watch for his collection!

Wagner shot to fame on UK television in the seventh series of the X Factor in 2010 after entering the contest hoping to make a “new start” and provide for his son. Wagner came 6th in the show and was one of the top 10 contestants asked to go on the X Factor tour 2011. Now a household name Wagner is using his new found fame to make guest appearances and personalised video messages through his public Facebook page where he has over 170,000 people following him.

Launched in 2005 by high street jewellers James Moore & Co, First Class Watches is a family owned and operated business who have used the power of internet retail to reach customers from all corners of the globe. More than ten years on, they are one of the UK’s largest independent watch retailers with hundreds of thousands of happy customers. Using their responsive website customers can browse a stock of over 5000 watches and more than 85 designer watch brands at their leisure. First Class Watches uses self-photographed 360-degree imagery, product reviews, price matching and free watch adjustment to allow customers to make an informed and quick purchases while receiving the same service and warranty they would expect from a retail store.

Exhibition Opening: Reconstructing The Portrait: Kim DePaul and Liz Steketee June 3rd– July 30th 2016

Liz Steketee, Bouffant 1

Kim Depaul, Duality

Reconstructing The Portrait : Kim DePaul and Liz Steketee.  June 3rd– July 30th 2016.  Opening Reception: Friday, June 3rd 5:00pm – 7:30pm

Schneider Gallery is pleased to announce the exhibition Reconstructing the portrait with work by Kim DePaul and Liz Steketee. The work in this exhibition questions memory and the photograph as a reliable source of our own history through altered photographs.DePaul and Steketee both utilize collage and deliberate juxtaposition in to create unique portraits.

Kim DePaul rewrites her family’s history through the photographs she alters. DePaul incorporates found objects and text to images to encourage intimate narratives told in various voices. The reworked, torn apart, layered portraits become ambiguous pieces of information.

Liz Steketee fabricates hybrid personas and memories of people by stitching together layers of fragmented faces. Steketee conjoins what once were independent moments to form a questionable account of these newly formed individuals’ histories.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Photographs by Joshua Jensen-Nagle at Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver

Bau-Xi Gallery is pleased to present Simple Days, a new series of photographs by Joshua Jensen-Nagle.

Photographs by Joshua Jensen-Nagle at Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver

Simple Days conveys nostalgic thoughts and feelings of Joshua Jensen-Nagle’s childhood spent along the shore. Inspired by endless days floating in the water, jumping waves, and surfing with his father, the series evokes memories of a simpler time; one that captures the essence of pure happiness.

For over a decade, Jensen-Nagle has been photographing picturesque beachscapes and romantic European vistas. In the past year, the artist has introduced aerial photography into his repertoire scouting locales in Australia, Rio de Janeiro, Miami and Hawaii with exciting geography and tidal patterns. Images captured by leaning out of a helicopter unfold to reveal an organic arrangement of  umbrellas, surf, and swimmers contributing to a seductive abstract composition. The transportive quality of Simple Days immerses the viewer in the endless joy of  a summer spent at the beach.

Bau-Xi Gallery is pleased to present Simple Days, a new series of photographs by Joshua Jensen-Nagle. July 9 – 23, 2016. Artist Reception: Saturday, July 9, 2-4pm. ARTIST IN ATTENDANCE.

About The Artist: Joshua Jensen-Nagle has captivated the viewer with his evocative photographs and singular aesthetic. Best known for his dreamy large-scale beaches and romantic European vistas, Jensen-Nagle’s photographs take the viewer to faraway places.

Jensen-Nagle bases his successful full-time art practice in Toronto, and has become a prominent fixture in the arts community. Having mounted over fifty exhibitions in the last twelve years, he has developed a strong standing in the art world, and is collected widely throughout North America and Europe.

Fijian exhibition canoe sails in for Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebrations

Fijian exhibition. Historic Sailing Canoe Commissioned for Major Exhibition, Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific, will Parade in The Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebration Pageant.

Fijian exhibition canoe sails in for Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebrations

From 12–15 May 2016 in Home Park, Windsor Castle, a traditional hand-built Fijian sailing canoe, specially commissioned for the major forthcoming exhibition Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific, will be a dramatic feature of the Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebration pageant.  The canoe has been shipped early to the UK at the behest of the pageant organisers in order to participate in the 90th Birthday Celebrations, before it is eventually displayed to the public atThe Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, from 15 October 2016 to 12 February 2017.

The Birthday Celebration pageant takes place over four nights attended by members of the royal family including The Queen, who will be present on the final night of Sunday 15 May, when it will be televised by ITV. During the pageant, the canoe will be accompanied by 45 members of the Fijian Army Band and Dancers.  The Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebration is a not-for-profit event and aims to create a significant surplus that will be donated to charities.  It will feature many well-known performers and over 900 horses and 1,500 participants from around the World.

The canoe will then be transported to Norwich to become the centrepiece of Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific which opens 15 October 2016 at The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia, Norwich.  The largest and most comprehensive exhibition about Fiji ever assembled, it will reveal stunning sculptures, textiles, ceramics and ivory and shell regalia, taking the visitor on a journey through the art and cultural history of Fiji since the late 18th century.  Stunning paintings, drawings and photographs from the 19th and 20th century provide context for the Fijian artworks.