Category Archives: Visual Art

Today at Ark Arts Center – Last Chance to See Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough and Other Kenwood House treasures in United States

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Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665 Oil on canvas Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836) Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

Rembrandt van Rijn
Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665
Oil on canvas
Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836)
Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

Celebrate the final day of the exhibition with us at the Last Call for Kenwood House Party on Sunday, September 8 from 6-8 p.m.

Guiness and Harp’s beer, London gin tonics and wines, classic Irish pub cheese and savory miniature meat pies will be served. Plus, enjoy traditional fanfare and other surprises, including a special ceremonious closing of the exhibition at the reception’s end.

It’s a farewell you won’t want to miss! Admission is free for members and $20 for non-members and may be paid at the door.

Presented in Arkansas by: Bank of the Ozarks; Harriet and Warren Stephens, Stephens Inc.; Windgate Foundation

Sponsored in Arkansas by: Chucki and Curt Bradbury; Sandra and Bob Connor; Remmel T. Dickinson; Lisenne Rockefeller

Follow your art by taking advantage of the many benefits that a membership to the Arkansas Arts Center brings like free admission to the Last Call for Kenwood House Party as well as special exhibitions.

Visit the Arkansas Arts Center website to become a member today and start enjoying discounts and exclusive access to parties and receptions.

Labor Day Museum Monday: Arkansas Arts Center

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arkartsThe Arkansas Arts Center is happy to announce that its doors will be open on Labor Day from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Enjoy a tasty lunch at Best Impressions restaurant, open from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and take a tour through Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London. Be sure to check out all the other exhibitions currently on display like Bauhaus twenty-21: An Ongoing Legacy – Photographs by Gordon Watkinson on its final day before it closes. Don’t forget to bring home a one-of-a-kind memento from the Museum Shop!

Remember that military receives free admission into Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London through the Blue Star Museums program!

Follow your art by taking advantage of the many benefits that a membership to the Arkansas Arts Center brings like free admission to lectures and Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London! Visit the Arkansas Arts Center website to become a member today and start enjoying discounts and exclusive access to parties and receptions.

Ark Arts Center exhibit on Bauhaus School of Architecture closes this week

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bauhausToday is the final Sunday of the exhibit Bauhaus twenty-21: An Ongoing Legacy – Photographs by Gordon Watkinson. The exhibit, organized by Foto+Synthesis Incorporated, has been at the Arkansas Arts Center since May.  (It was set to close today but has been extended through Monday.)

This exhibition conveys the architectural history, design and enduring philosophies of the Bauhaus, a German expression meaning “house for building” and the name of an important German School principle of architecture and design. The exhibition offers a unique perspective on Bauhaus design philosophy as it relates to architecture and its relevance in today’s society.

The Bauhaus school was founded by Walter Gropius in 1919 and introduced principles that shaped the foundation of modern architecture. Conceived as a project encompassing architecture, design and photography, Bauhaus twenty-21 not only conveys the architectural history, but also illustrates the enduring philosophies of the Bauhaus. The exhibition is comprised of 77 photographs, plans and elevations and furniture that capture the essence of Bauhaus design and its influence on modern architecture and design.

Sponsored by: Janet and Sam Alley; Cromwell Architects Engineers; The Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects; Brent Stevenson Associates

Ark Arts Center Family Festival Today

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arkartsIn celebration of Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London, join us for an English Garden Party Family Festival. Families can participate in activities and games and experience what it would have been like for Rembrandt, Van Dyck and Gainsborough.

The program takes place from 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM.

The event is free for Arkansas Arts Center members.  Non members are $5 per person, $20 per family.

Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and English Heritage. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities with additional funding from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. In-kind support is provided by Barbara and Richard S. Lane.

This special exhibition showcases 48 masterpieces from the collection known as the Iveagh Bequest. These magnificent paintings reside at Kenwood House, a neoclassical villa in London. The tour of Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London will provide a unique opportunity to view superb paintings outside the United Kingdom. Most of these paintings have never traveled to the United States before, and many of them have rarely been seen outside Kenwood. The highly acclaimed works represent the greatest artists of their periods, including Rembrandt van Rijn, Thomas Gainsborough, Anthony van Dyck, Frans Hals, Joshua Reynolds, J.M.W. Turner and more.

Extended Hours, Lecture, Nighttime Dining all at Arkansas Arts Center tonight

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Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665 Oil on canvas Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836) Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

Rembrandt van Rijn
Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665
Oil on canvas
Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836)
Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

Tonight at the Arkansas Arts Center, there is a lecture in conjunction with the Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London exhibit.

The Arkansas Arts Center is presenting “Collecting Rembrandt: Perils and Pleasures One Hundred Years Ago,” a lecture by Catherine B. Scallen. Professor Scallen is Chair of the Department of Art History and Art at Case Western Reserve University.

The program begins at 5:30 p.m. with a reception followed by a 6 p.m. lecture at the Arkansas Arts Center.  The admission is $10 for non-members; free for members and students.

Professor Scallen received her BA from Wellesley College, her MA from the Williams College Graduate Program in the HIstory of Art, and her PhD from Princeton University. After receiving her doctorate, she held a graduate internship in the Paintings Department of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. A specialist on the paintings and prints of Rembrandt van Rijn, her book, Rembrandt, Reputation, and the Practice of Connoisseurship, was published in 2004.  She has been a faculty lecturer on trips to The Netherlands and Belgium for Princeton University and CWRU, and is the author of two courses for The Great Courses Company, Art of the Northern Renaissance and Museum Masterpieces: The National Gallery, London.

Attendees are welcome to stay after the lecture to view Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London during the exhibition’s special extended hours.

Best Impressions restaurant will also be open during the extended hours.

Ark Arts Council announces 2013 Fellowship Recipients

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Arkansas_Arts_Council_logo_2Last week, the Arkansas Arts Council announced the recipients of its Individual Artist Fellowship awards. The artists will be recognized at a reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 6, at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock. The reception is open to the public. Space is limited and reservations are required. RSVP by calling (501) 324-9766.

The Arkansas Arts Council awarded nine artist fellowships in the amount of $4,000 each. Fellowships are awarded annually to artists in Arkansas in recognition of their individual artistic abilities. These fellowships enable artists to set aside time for creating their art and improving their skills. Three artistic disciplines are selected each year as categories for the awards.

The three categories for this year are Literary Arts: Playwriting; Performing Arts: Directing of Narrative and Documentary Films; and Visual Arts: Creating Contemporary and Traditional Crafts.

The fellowship recipients were selected by a jury of out-of-state professional artists, writers, performers and art administrators.

Literary Arts: Playwriting

Kelley Smith Pruitt, Little Rock – In a Year’s Time

Clinnesha D. Sibley, Fayetteville – Tell Martha Not to Moan

Werner Trieschmann, Little Rock – Disfarmer

 

Performing Arts: Directing of Narrative and Documentary Films

Joshua H. Miller, Little Rock – Pillow

Mark Thiedeman, Little Rock – Last Summer

Nathan Willis, Little Rock – “The Van”

 

Visual Arts: Creating Contemporary and Traditional Crafts

Ed Pennebaker, Osage – blown glass, stone and metal work

Timothy LaTourette, Fayetteville – wood, lighting and printmaking

Adam Posnak, West Fork – functional ceramic with stark black, white and red imagery

 

The Arkansas Arts Council is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Art comes to life at Arkansas Arts Center tonight

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Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665 Oil on canvas Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836) Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

Rembrandt van Rijn
Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665
Oil on canvas
Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836)
Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

In conjunction with Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London the Arkansas Arts Center and Arkansas Festival Ballet are presenting “Stepping off the Canvas: A History of Dance from Rembrandt to Turner.”

Dancers from Arkansas Festival Ballet will bring the masterpieces to life in a way which shows the evolution of both dance and visual art through the past centuries.

The program begins at 7pm with a complimentary wine reception at 6pm.

Tickets are $25 for non-members and $20 for Arkansas Arts Center members. Ballet ticketholders will receive a complimentary visit to the exhibition at a later date.

Now through September 8, 2013, the Arkansas Arts Center is hosting the exhibition: Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London. From one of the greatest country houses in England, a treasure trove of Old Master paintings is in Little Rock. This summer, the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock is one of only four institutions in North America hosting this special exhibition.

The Arkansas Arts Center is an art museum with a children’s theatre and a studio school. Opened in 1963, its mission is to ensure that learning, inspiration and creative expression in the arts flourish throughout Arkansas, for people of all ages and backgrounds. The AAC realizes this mission by developing, preserving and exhibiting its outstanding permanent collection, offering a rich variety of art from other collections and presenting programs for the education and cultural benefit of the public. Dr. Todd Herman is the Executive Director.

Arkansas Festival Ballet, Rebecca M. Stalcup, Artistic Director, is a repertory dance company dedicated to classical ballet training and performance. The company was founded in 2000. Arkansas Festival Ballet’s seasonal programming includes enchanting storybook ballets and mixed-bill productions featuring fresh, new choreography by local and guest artists, along with excerpts from beloved ballet classics.