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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]

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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]

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New Tate Britain Exhibition Is Tres Derivative

A new "installation" at the Tate Britian is made up of groups of runners sprinting through the neoclassical galleries. Work No. 850, which will continue at the museum until November 16, is a non-stop relay race back and forth through the museum, with each 15-second dash accompanied by a 15-second pause.

Artist Martin Creed says the work was inspired by his attempt to see the catacombs in Palermo, Italy in just five minutes, but we immediately saw another muse. In Bertolucci's "The Dreamers," Isabelle, Théo and Matthew sprint through the Louvre in a moment of youthful jubilation and rebellion.

Of course, that too was an homage. The original museum runners were the trio from Godard's "Bande à Part" in 1964. We've got the clips after the click.

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Tags: Spain Travel / Exhibitions / Green Travel / → All Tags

Expo Travel: Zaragoza 2008 Opens This Weekend

Spain's oldest town, Zaragoza, has been on the lookout for a tourism boost. And they're hoping to get it with the 2008 Expo which starts on Saturday and runs until September 14.

While the "water and sustainable development" theme doesn't sound too sexy to us, the 60 acres of exhibitions from 100 countries are meant to be focused on entertainment and education--only 20 percent of the space is allowed to be about selling stuff--and we're open to a bit of edu-tainment.

If you're one of the estimated 7 million visitors to Expo 2008, you'll get to see stuff like the multimedia iceberg show every night, the "air bound theater" of Hombre Vertiente and the midday Awakening of the Serpent parade. It's kinda like Disneyland with an environmental conscience.

Related Stories:
· Expo Zaragoza 2008 [Official Site]
· World Expo Zaragoza 2008 [GoNomad]
· Spain Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: aranmanoth]

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Fashion Travel: YSL Exhibit Cheaper than Ready-to-Wear

Montreal isn't exactly known as a center of haute couture, but beginning May 29 all the fashionistas will be packing their all-black ensembles to attend a new retrospective on the career of French designer Yves Saint-Laurent at The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Saint-Laurent revolutionized fashion in his Paris studio by making pieces from his runway shows available pret-a-porter, or available for purchase without a custom order. The designer officially retired in 2002 but you can see over 100 of his fully accessorized outfits on display all summer long.

This show--and a copy of Alicia Drake's book The Beautiful Fall, about Saint-Laurent and competitor Karl Lagerfeld--ought to tide you over till Fashion Week.

Related Stories:
· Datebook [NYT]
· The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts [Official Site]
· Fashion Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: OiMax]

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Affordable Souveniers Travel: Art in NYC

We've always thought it'd be cool to travel around the art circuit--like writer David Amsden did last year--but it's always seemed too pricey. We'd hardly be able to afford all the champagne and cocktail dresses, let alone the actual work for sale. But the Affordable Art Fair coming to NYC may actually be worth a visit.

The event, started in London in 1999, aims to make contemporary art buying accessible, without the snobby atmosphere or astronomical prices. (At least, so they say.) At the stateside fair this year will be more than 70 galleries from 12 countries, and 75 percent of the art will be priced from $100-$5,000. Not exactly cheap, but certainly reasonable.

And even if you're not buying, it's still a good chance to see a bunch of art under one roof. There will also be printmaking and sculpture demos, so you can get your hands dirty if you get inspired. The fair runs June 12-15 and admission is $17.

Related Stories:
· Affordable Art Fair NYC [Official Site]
· Art Galleries in NYC Map [Jaunted]
· Art coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Andrew Wodzianski/Fraser Gallery, via AAF]

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Warhol Works Hit Brisbane Soon

Andy Warhol fans are in for a treat if they can get to the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia in the next few months. A major new exhibition featuring pieces from a number of galleries across the world will come together from January 4 to March 28, 2008.

Along with a bunch of Warhol artwork, including his famous Campbell's soup cans, the exhibition will include a Warhol Up Late program every Friday evening, an interactive activity for children and a freely downloadable Audio Guide to the Warhol exhibition on the gallery website.

We know he coined the phrase, but Warhol always seems to get much more than his fifteen minutes of fame.

Related Stories:
· Warhol's Fifteen Minutes of Fame [Courier Mail]
· Andy Warhol at Gallery of Modern Art [Official Site]
· Warhol's Fifteen Minutes at the AGO [Jaunted]
· Brisbane Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: wallyg]

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Dutch Art Coming to New York

Despite the fact that New York gets super crowded in the fall, it's one of the best times to visit because so much cultural stuff is happening. And The Metropolitan Museum of Art is leading the charge with a massive exhibit of Dutch paintings that starts today and runs until January 6.

Before you sniffle at the idea of catching a bunch of still life paintings of skulls, know that The Met has one of the largest collections of these paintings anywhere. And among them are 20 Rembrandts. The guy's famous for a reason.

Also interesting is the exhibit format: Instead of organizing the show by theme, the paintings will hang in the order in which the museum acquired them. So rather than walking through the development of Dutch art, the show is a snapshot of the museum's history. Not a bad way to spend a rainy fall day in the city.

Related Stories:
· The Age of Rembrandt [Official Site]
· Museums coverage [Jaunted]
· New York Hotels [HotelChatter]

[Photo: The Met]