New Art Fair takes hold after Moscow falls, Vilnius, Lithuania 09

A fresh new cultural experience is available this July from Vilnius, Lithuania; ArtVilnius’09 will run from 8-12 July, hosting 101 galleries from 31 counties. Will be interesting to see how it's hosted and the response that comes with it opening up the artworld's reach and potential for growth outside of the focused West of Europe.

What's at the heart of our art in England now? Art and it's anthropological reminder

Funny but while reading through various art news today two different art exhibitions in different locations created a synthesis around the same core questions. It started while reading about Tim Crouch's new play at the Whitechapel Gallery, 'England'. It narrates a mini-exchange between a Western art dealer and non-Western heart donor's widow, both who are connected solely through survival, an art piece is exchanged for a second chance at life. Various dichotomies arise from the work via symbolism intended within subject such as West/non-West, Heart/heartless, Art/Life, Art/Heart, Art with a heart/Art without a heart, Life/Death, Art as financial object/Art without financial value. Then you have to centre all of this within the title 'England', how is our art valued all over the world? How do we value our art? Has England's art lost value? Have we lost the heart in our art? Does art matter more to us as financial object or heart gripping power?
From this the next article read came as sad disappointment in terms of capitalism, globalisation and financial power within the world. Western Australia's Burrup peninsula contains aboriginal carvings that are believed to pre-date present art historical carving recordation.However it is shockingly at present under threat from a liquid natural gas plant. Those who live there are said to be devastated understandably so as it can be said areas of the non- Western world have a connection with nature that some would say we in the West have lost, developed over or left behind in our numbing of our natural instincts and sensuality. A touring festival, 'Origins-Festival of First Nations' around London at present covers theatrical performances, shamanistic expression and healing, films from Canada, Australia,New Zealand and America. Named because all nations involve people indigenous to countries of colonisation with events such as a theatre piece about the Maori Battalion in Second World War Italy. It sounds like the festival will be a great eye-opener to what Bourriard would call translation expressing the relativism and deconstruction taking place as our world becomes more interconnected dialetically. Unheard opinions, expressions and understandings of the West and other nations history and understanding of them will be expressed.Together with a reminder of how spirituality, art, nature and healing interact in relation to our artificial made 'gallery space' controlled by market power. Will non-Western art be more powerful to the heart of humans, more representative of real life, spirituality or is this being eurocentric in itself, though if you think how much Hirst's collection raised not long ago you could say not. He himself as many artists challenges life and death, nature and art in fact he turns the reality of nature into a huge commodity?You could say he tries to control nature/life, 'preserve it'?

Focus on Russian Art and exhibition 'Liquid Modernity' from new Orel Art Gallery in Victoria,London

Interested in a concentrated look at Russian art, well head down to Victoria to see the new gallery by Orel Art, originally a Paris creation by Ilona Orel. The first exhibition centres around Russia's representative of the Venice Biennale, Andrei Molodkin and the exhibition, 'Liquid Modernity (Grid and Greed)'.Will be looking at and commenting on the exhibition in future posts.

John Cale from Velvet Underground to exhibit at Venice Biennale

Sounds interesting eh? Think it's always hard to know how well different musicians transcend into the art world, most harbour enough creativity to produce high standards but you wonder if lack of experience in production lessens the level of the work.However from the sounds of it John Cale has held his own. Of course it helps that he's apparently produced an audio-visual artwork, a multi-screened video work with accompanying audio that focuses on his roots in Wales. It sounds like a media-based snippetted autobiography however with a fine art twist to it of course.It covers his classically trained youth in Wales together with his home and homelands surrounding landscape, narrated with it seems beautiful audio.It seems theres a mix of audio from spoken word to song, interesting as he was said to love Dylan Thomas to see any reference there. The review I read said it was a very beautiful piece with great depth, sounds definitely worth a look and worthy of the Biennale, such an audio work has to become enhanced within the beauty and history of artistic Venice.Especially as it will be presented in the old brewery building on Giudecca where the last few Wales exhibits have been shown.