Jaunted

Tags: Musuems / Art Galleries / Art / Amsterdam Travel / → All Tags

The Hermitage Amsterdam Looks Pretty But Needs a Better Opening Exhibit

You know how when someone tells you they’re going to Amsterdam you give them a knowing look and think “I know what you’ll be up to, you dissolute human being”? Well you’d better stop doing that because this summer the 'Dam is all about the culture.

The Stedelijk Museum is running a mobile exhibition round town while it’s under refurbishment, the Royal Palace in Dam Square has just reopened, and on June 20, the Hermitage Museum of St Petersburg, no less, opened up a branch in a 17th-century building that used to be an old folks’ home.

more ›

Tags: Sweden Travel / Exhibitions / Art Galleries / Art Museums / Furniture Tourism / → All Tags

IKEA Furniture Not For Sale in Stockholm Art Gallery

While the name of the Swedish gallery Liljevalchs Konsthall may seem like a bit of a mouthful, its English subtitle "The Stockholmers' own public art venue" explains it pretty well. We can't pronounce it, but we want to go there, because starting this month they have a special IKEA exhibition happening.

We should admit, to be fair, that half our furniture has its origins at the local IKEA, so we're natural candidates for this kind of exhibition. The retrospective looks at the history of IKEA over its 50 years: starting back at the first flat-pack table it sold back in the 1950s and showing how furniture designs changed and developed over the decades.

There are also interesting anecdotes about IKEA life. For example, back in the 70s there was a big spate of denim-covered furniture, but it wasn't really about style – that was because the founder bought up a huge supply of denim at a bargain price from a Chinese factory that was going broke.

The IKEA exhibition runs until August 30 in Stockholm, and getting in will cost you 69 SEK (less than $9). In summer the Liljevalchs Konsthall is open every day except Monday (but on Mondays, of course, you can go shopping at the real IKEA instead).

Related Stories:
· Liljevalchs Konsthall [Official Site]
· Ikea Exhibition Showcases 50 Years of Functional Furnishing [Guardian]
· Stockholm Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: ktpupp]

Tags: Amsterdam Travel / Art Galleries / Museums / Exhibitions / → All Tags

Vincent van Gogh's Letters To His Brother Will Be On Display in Amsterdam

Be careful what letters (or emails) you write: if you become famous, like Vincent van Gogh, the letters might end up on display for thousands of people to see. That's what's about to happen at the impressive Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, with a new exhibition including 120 letters written by van Gogh opening in October this year.

Most of the letters are from van Gogh to his younger brother, and it sounds like they give you some insight into his mental illness and his passion for art. The hundred odd letters they've picked will be displayed next to artwork that they refer to; in fact, there are another 800 letters around and many of them are about to be published in a book.

You can get into the Van Gogh Museum every day between 10am and 6pm – or until 10pm on Fridays – and at the moment the adult entry fee is €12.50 ($17.50). The letters – sensitive as they are – will only be on display for three months so don't leave your planning too long. Whether or not the letters solve the cutting-off-his-ear mystery is something we're keeping secret.

Related Stories:
· Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam [Official Site]
· Van Gogh Letters To Go On Display in Amsterdam [AFP]
· Amsterdam Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: Van Gogh Museum]

Tags: Amsterdam Travel / Art Galleries / Art / Netherlands / Amsterdam / → All Tags

Russian Art Branches Out To Amsterdam

Who says the Russians aren't good at sharing? A little to our surprise, the Hermitage Amsterdam is opening next month in a new art gallery in an old seventeenth century building which is basically a branch of the famous and original Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia. They've been running minor exhibits in another building for a few years, but now the real Hermitage Amsterdam is ready to thrill.

We've had a couple of trips to the Russian version and always been dazzled by the suggestions it would take a lifetime to view every piece of art there – and only if they rotated their display in time with your visits. The opening of the Amsterdam branch means there's another place for the Hermitage to exhibit some of their vast number of art treasures, and we're excited about that.

more ›

Tags: New South Wales Field Trip / Art Galleries / Museums / → All Tags

Cat Skeletons And Funky Art

Our very own Aussie, Amanda Kendle, just returned from a trip to New South Wales, where the summer fun is in full swing.

Since Sydney is the biggest city Down Under, it's no surprise that it's a damn good place to get cultural. Yet after half a dozen visits, our latest trip was the first time we ended up in a couple of museums.

We started out at the Australian Museum up near Hyde Park, which sounded like it should sum up the whole country in one small-ish building. It didn't, as it's instead one of those natural history places full of stuffed animals that we used to love as kids. The exhibits are modern and there are tons of those weird Aussie animals, plus a cute display of typical living room skeletons--including this cat skeleton which impressed us no end.

At the other end of town, in the Rocks area, we checked out the Museum of Contemporary Art in a gorgeous old building recently saved from demolition. There are five floors of galleries including some video installations and a floor of their newest acquisitions. Development plans mean the MCA will get a new wing and huge renos by 2011. Yay for more funky culture, we say.

Related Stories:
· Museum of Contemporary Art [Official Site]
· Australian Museum [Official Site]
· New South Wales Field Trip [Jaunted]
· Sydney Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: A Horse Is a Horse / Art Galleries / Animals / → All Tags

Italian Art Lovers Have An Animal Attraction

We're all for getting a bit cultural on our travels but perhaps the latest exhibition planned for the Galleria d'arte Giudecca in Venice is taking art a gallop too far.

Turns out that this Italian gallery is planning a spring exhibition of the works of a new artist... who happens to be a horse. As you'd expect, these paintings seem to belong to the abstract genre and aren't exactly what we'd want on our wall, but apparently there are buyers out there. It gets better: The horse's owner reckons the animal could be a reincarnation of someone like Monet.

Come on. We thought art galleries are serious businesses, but these guys seem to be just, well, horsing around.

Related Stories:
· Cholla Gets Venice Exhibition [Telegraph]
· Venice Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Art Galleries coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Telegraph]

Tags: Art / Art Galleries / China Travel / → All Tags

Our Mother Told Us Not to Play With Our Vegetables

While we spent our childhood being told to sit still and eat all our vegetables, the upbringing in Chinese artist Ju Duoqi's house was obviously different. She's making a living out of exhibiting vegetables that she's turned into art.

Clearly unsatisfied with using the traditional paint or pastels or even getting creative with tin cans, Ju's gone the route of pickling, drying and boiling vegetables to use in recreating famous paintings like the Mona Lisa or Andy Warhol's version of Marilyn Monroe.

Curious travelers can find the vegetable works in the Vegetable Museum exhibition running now in Beijing; perhaps it's the only art gallery exhibition where you can have you art and eat it too.

Related Stories:
· Woman Recreates Art With Veggies [UPI]
· Yes We Can Edition [Jaunted]
· Beijing Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: Ananova]

Tags: Art / Art Galleries / Exhibitions / → All Tags

Flying Art or Artsy Dump?

After Australia's giant potato ended up looking like a piece of dino poop, we can say that today's news is not the first time a large turd has become a tourist attraction.

But in Switzerland a giant inflatable dog doo, which was part of an exhibition in Bern's Paul Klee Centre, has blown away and terrorized the city.

This art work, created by American Paul McCarthy, has the sophisticated name of "Complex Shit." Bringing down power lines and landing at some kind of orphanage is certainly complex behavior for a large turd--or a fantastic way to get the gallery some worldwide publicity.

Related Stories:
· Flying Piece of Art Causes Museum Chaos in Switzerland [AFP, via Google]
· Fossilized Dino Poop Down Under [Jaunted]
· Bern Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: gordonwatts]

Tags: Fall Travel / Fall Culture Travel / Art / Art Galleries / → All Tags

Fall Culture Travel: San Francisco's Open Studios

Although we hate to admit it, the summer does eventually come to an end. Come October, the place to be will be San Francisco, as the city welcomes Open Studios '08, a free four-week public art event hosted by ArtSpan.

Running strong for more than 30 years, the Open Studios program is one of the longest running and largest events of its kind in the nation. In fact, other major cities worldwide have used this event as a model to create their own. The 2007 edition brought over 60,000 visitors and nearly $1.7 million in art was sold.

The festivities offer a wide range of work representing the many differences in the city's art scene as well as a wide ranges of prices--so you can bring home a piece of the action to hang over your couch.

Related Stories:
· ArtSpan [Official Site]
· Fall Culture Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· San Francisco coverage [Jaunted]

[Photos: headexplodie]

Tags: Art / Art Galleries / → All Tags

Art Travel: Weekend Warrior Series Invades a Town Full of 'Em

Ojai may seem like some kind of LOLcats town, but tell that to the Los Angeles elite that go there for the weekends and they'll crack your fat skull with their pre-release 3G iPhones.

Known for some killer Pinot Noir, this quiet former hippie enclave north of LA is home to this summer's chicest art exhibit at the Nathan Larramendy Gallery. It's called, appropriately enough, "Weekend Warrior."

Open Wednesday to Sunday until August 10, the hipster haven will feature work from some epic artists that work in a wide range of media and styles. Artist Steven Stein had his worked described as "maximalist geometric saturated synthetic 'full void, empty volume' pieces." Riiight. Just try to act too cool for school, and you'll do fine.

Related Stories:
· Nathan Larramendy Gallery [Official Site]
· Weekend Warrior [Cool Hunting]
· Art Galleries coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Art Galleries / Art / Museums / Japan Travel / → All Tags

Summer Museum Travel: What the Ancients Drank From

The Miho Museum in Shiga, Japan is one of those places that always comes along with adjective "renowned," and for good reason. It was funded by one of the richest women in Japan, Mihoko Koyama, and its collection of both Asian and Western antiques could be worth up to a billion dollars.

Right now it's closed because they're getting ready for their summer exhibition: Ancient Sacred Drinking Vessels. Yes, it's about what the people of old used to drink from. In fact, there are a lot of animal-shaped drinking vessels which sound more exciting than the very regular-shaped glass we drank our last beer out of.

Along with the exhibition there'll be stories and myths about what they were drinking (and possibly, how they cured their hangovers). It opens up on July 12 and should run to August 17. Even if you don't want to see how your ancestors drank, tag along to the Miho just for the scenery. We promise it's great.

Related Stories:
· Miho Museum [Official Site]
· Miho Museum Special Exhibitions [eTravel]
· Japan Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: john_w]

Tags: Art / Museums / Art Galleries / Robert Rauschenberg / → All Tags

Adventures of Link: Remembering Robert Rauschenberg

Artist Robert Rauschenberg died Monday night. Best known for his "combines" that blurred the lines between painting and sculpture, he's a fixture at modern art museums around the world. Below, we've listed some of the many places you'll find his art, including his famous piece "Bed."

Coincidentally, Rauschenberg lived in a large estate--including nine homes and multiple studios--on Captiva Island, a place that we've been covering this week.

Related Stories:
· Where to See Rauschenberg in NYC [NewYorkology]
· Robert Rauschenberg, Titan of American Art, Is Dead at 82 [NYT]
· The Met Museum on Rauschenberg's Combines [Official Site]
· National Gallery of Art [Official Site]
· Rauschenberg at NYC's MoMA, Including "Bed" [Official Site]

[Photo: NYT]