Exhibition | From Veronese to Casanova: Italian Paintings from Brittany
From the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes:
De Véronèse à Casanova: Parcours italien dans les collections de Bretagne
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper, 19 April — 30 September 2013
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes, 14 December 2013 — 2 March 2014
Curated by Mylène Allano
Les musées des beaux-arts de Rennes et de Quimper présentent successivement une grande exposition des peintures italiennes conservées dans la région. La manifestation a pour vocation de mettre en valeur et de faire connaître le patrimoine de la Bretagne historique, en exposant les fleurons des collections italiennes des musées de Brest, Dinan, Morlaix, Nantes, Quimper, Rennes, Vannes et ainsi que les plus belles œuvres des églises bretonnes ; soit 85 peintures de tout premier ordre offrant un panorama représentatif de la peinture italienne des XVIe au XVIIIe siècles.
Didier Rykner provides an exhibition review at La Tribune de l’Art (13 May 2013). . .
. . . L’exposition s’est basée sur une thèse de Mylène Allano—commissaire scientifique de cette exposition—qui cataloguait toutes les peintures italiennes conservées en Bretagne. Le parcours aurait pu être chronologique, par école ou par thèmes. C’est cette dernière présentation qui a été choisie. . .
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The catalogue is available from Artbooks.com:
Mylène Allano, ed., De Véronèse à Casanova: Parcours italien dans les collections de Bretagne (Lyon: Lieux Dits, 2013), 199 pages, ISBN: 978-2362190742, $47.50.
Italian paintings held in Brittany are well known and appreciated by art specialists, and are characterised by their quality and by the variety of places represented (Venice, Rome, Naples…). This exhibition enables access to a remarkable set of works collected by museums, which have never previously received such attention. There are no less than eighty works which, for the first time, are the subject of an original display underlying the extraordinary vitality of artistic creation in Italy from the 16th century until the end of the 18th century.
Programming at the 2014 New York Ceramics Fair
Coinciding with New York’s Winter Antiques Week is the city’s Ceramics Fair, which will feature approximately “36 galleries offering all things ‘fired’—porcelain, pottery, glass, cloisonné and enamels, in a setting perfect for the exhibition and sale of important small objects.” A press release outlines programming, which will include an exhibition combining historic and contemporary pieces:
The Bacchanalistas: Passions + Pleasures
15th New York Ceramics Fair, Bohemian National Hall, New York, 22–26 January 2014
Curated by Leslie Ferrin
Large English Delftware Adam & Eve Dish, Bristol, ca. 1700–20
(Photo: Earle Vandekar of Knightsbridge)
The fifteenth edition of New York Ceramics Fair promises not only a dazzling array of traditional and contemporary treasures to entice the eye, but also thought-provoking lectures, panel discussions with top interior designers, and an exhibition called The Bacchanalistas: Passions + Pleasures, curated by Leslie Ferrin, the contemporary ceramics specialist.
The Bacchanalistas: Passions + Pleasures will present an overview of contemporary ceramics by living artists whose art draws inspiration from ceramic history. Themes of passion, eroticism, sexuality, abundance and excess of food and wine will be shown through figural sculpture, animated painted vessels and still life from the 16th century through today. To convey her theme, Ms. Ferrin invited the participating dealers at the New York Ceramics Fair to submit historic objects to juxtapose with the contemporary artists.
“Bacchanalia, the Roman festival of Bacchus, the Greco-Roman god of wine, freedom, intoxication and ecstasy were attended by a secret society and became legendary,” says Ms. Ferrin. “Ancient ceramic objects were in use during these parties and then later created to commemorate such events. Today a generation of artists is inspired by those objects and create their own for celebratory experiences. Decorative arts and fine art worlds collide with references to feast, sexuality and over the top pleasures. While not exactly a mystery cult, our contemporary art scene appears to some to operate today as the Bacchanalia did during Roman times, wild parties and excess in the name of pleasure and culture.”
The fair has designated Friday as their Designer Day featuring Alexa Hampton, Kitty Hawks, and David Scott on a panel called “Porcelain Perfect: How Top Decorators Accessorize with Ceramics,” in cooperation with the New York School of Interior Design, and moderated by Judith Gura, noted author and member NYSID. Mario Buatta, the highly acclaimed interior designer, will entertain his audience with “If You Can’t Hide It, Decorate It” followed by a book-signing of his best-seller Mario Buatta: 50 Years of American Style and Decoration, published by Rizzoli.
W E D N E S D A Y , 2 2 J A N U A R Y
12:00 “Tortoise Shell Ware Made in This Town: A Re-examination of the Benjamin Leigh and John Allman Partnership in Boston” Angelika Kuettner, Associate Registrar for Imaging and Assistant Curator of Ceramics, Colonial Williamsburg.
2:00 “English and Continental Glassware in Early America” Leslie B. Grigsby, Winterthur’s Curator of Ceramics and Glass.
4:00 “Perfected in New York City: Jean-Pierre Colné and the Origins of Mechanized Glass Cutting,” Ian Simmonds, antiques dealer and researcher.
F R I D A Y , 2 4 J A N U A R Y
12:00 “Porcelain Perfect: How Top Decorators Accessorize with Ceramics,” prominent interior decorators Alexa Hampton, David Scott and Kitty Hawks will discuss the importance of ceramics in decorating. Sponsored in co-operation with The New York School of Interior Design, the discussion will be moderated by Judith Gura, author and NYSID member and area co-ordinator.
2:00 “If You Can’t Hide It, Decorate It,” Mario Buatta, the internationally acclaimed interior designer. Mr. Buatta will sign copies of his new book, Mario Buatta: Fifty Years of American Style and Decoration.
S A T U R D A Y , 2 5 J A N U A R Y
12:00 “Making Pottery Tell Its Own Story: Royal Worcester’s Vases with Scenes of Chinese Porcelain Production,” Ron Fuchs II, Curator of the Reeves Collections at Washington and Lee University.
2:00 “Angels and Demons: The Pleasures of Pottery and Porcelain” Robert Hunter, the editor of Ceramics in America.
4:00 “The Bacchanalistas: Passions + Pleasure,” Leslie Ferrin, Director, Ferrin Contemporary. Coinciding with the exhibition, Ms. Ferrin’s lecture will present an overview of contemporary ceramics by living artists whose art practice draws inspiration from ceramic history. Themes of passion, eroticism, sexuality, abundance and excess of food and wine will be shown through figural sculpture, animated painted vessels, and still life.
All the lectures are free with show admission and are sponsored by the Chipstone Foundation.
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The New York Ceramics Fair, which takes place in the Grand Ballroom of the Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues), opens with a private preview on Tuesday evening, from 5 to 8:30 PM. Tickets are $90 each. The show opens to the public on Wednesday, January 22 and runs through Sunday, January 26. Hours are 11 AM–7 PM and on Sunday, 11 AM–4 PM. Ticket price with catalogue is $20 per person and can be used throughout the duration of the fair.
The New York Ceramics Fair is produced by Meg Wendy/MCG Events LLC and Liz Lees/Caskey Lees Inc.
In addition to the New York CeramicsFair, Caskey-Lees currently produces the San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show in San Francisco.
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